#Women Directors
Brown Girls Doc Mafia Announces Awardees of Black Directors, Sustainable Artist Fellowships
Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM) has announced the recipients of the 2022-2023 Black Directors Fellowship and Sustainable Artist Fellowship, two new programs that will facilitate the creative and...
Trailer Watch: “Battleground” Goes Inside the Anti-Abortion Movement
Described by director Cynthia Lowen as an “urgently timely window into the intersection of abortion and politics in America,” “Battleground” follows three women who lead...
Nesta Cooper and Kelley Kali Team Up For “Kemba” Drama Inspired by Kemba Smith
Nesta Cooper is bringing the story of activist and author Kemba Smith to the screen in “Kemba.” Directed by Kelley Kali for MPI Original Films and BET, “Kemba” is a drama inspired by the true...
Alice Diop’s Venice Winner “Saint Omer” Lands U.S. Distribution From Super
“Saint Omer” has landed U.S. distribution on the heels of its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Deadline reports that Super, Neon’s boutique label,...
Justine Bateman Teams Up with Mary-Louise Parker, Carrie-Anne Moss, & More for “Face” Adaptation
Justine Bateman is lining up a star-studded cast for “Face,” her sophomore directorial effort. Mary-Louise Parker (“Weeds”), Carrie-Anne Moss (“The Matrix”...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Chandler Levack – “I Like Movies”
Chandler Levack grew up in Burlington, Ontario, and lives in Toronto where she studied cinema at the University of Toronto and screenwriting at the Canadian Film Centre. She has directed numerous...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Rima Das – “Tora’s Husband”
Rima Das is a filmmaker from India known for making indigenous and realistic stories that explore complicated relationships, finding purpose, coming of age and life amidst nature. Her films...
Join the Girls Club for a Chat with “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” Co-Director Abigail Disney
“The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” co-director and producer Abigail Disney will be taking part in a virtual conversation event with the Girls Club about the documentary exploring...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Luis De Filippis – “Something You Said Last Night”
Luis De Filippis is a Canadian-Italian filmmaker whose work has played at festivals such as TIFF, Rotterdam, and Sundance, where her most recent work, “For Nonna Anna,” received a Special...
Pick of the Day: “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales”
Disney branding itself as a wholesome, magical company where dreams come true, where happy endings are within everyone’s grasp, has always been treacly enough to irk me. But now, after watching...
Agnieszka Smoczyńska on Exploring the Bond Between Sisters in “The Silent Twins”
Agnieszka Smoczyńska is a Polish film and television writer and director. She is an alumnus of the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice. She is most known for her debut feature film...
Pick of the Day: “The Silent Twins”
“The Silent Twins” is hardly your everyday biopic. From director Agnieszka Smoczyńska (“The Lure”) and screenwriter Andrea Seigel (“Laggies”), and based on the...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Lindsay MacKay – “The Swearing Jar”
Lindsay MacKay is a writer and director. MacKay is a graduate of the York University Film program and went on to get her Masters in Directing from the AFI Conservatory. Her debut feature, “Wet...
Trailer Watch: Kasi Lemmons & Naomi Ackie Tell Whitney Houston’s Story in “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”
The story behind the greatest voice of her generation is coming to the big screen. A trailer has dropped for “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Kasi Lemmons’ Whitney Houston biopic. In...
Trailer Watch: Brandi Carlile Pushes For “The Return of Tanya Tucker”
“When I heard that Tanya Tucker hadn’t made a record in the better part of 15 years, I suddenly realized how potent an influence Tanya Tucker has been on women in country music,”...
Carla Simon’s Berlinale Winner “Alcarràs” Named as Spain’s Oscar Pick
This year’s recipient of the Berlinale’s highest honor may be heading to the Oscars. Spain has selected Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs” as its pick for the international...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Angela Wanjiku Wamai – “Shimoni” (“The Pit”)
Angela Wanjiku Wamai works as a film editor in Nairobi, Kenya. She was recently awarded best film editor by the Women in Film Awards – Kenya. In 2018 she wrote “I Had to Bury...
Austria Submits Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” for Oscars, Drops Trailer for the Vicky Krieps-Starrer
“Corsage” is eyeing a trip to the Academy Awards. Austria has selected Marie Kreutzer’s portrait of Empress Elisabeth of Austria as its pick for the 2023 international feature film...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Carmen Jaquier – “Thunder”
Swiss film director Carmen Jaquier graduated from the Cantonal School of Art in Lausanne (ECAL) in 2011. Her graduation film, “The Girls’ Gravere,” went on to receive the Pardino...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Marie Kreutzer – “Corsage”
Marie Kreutzer has had a hand in many Austrian film productions. Her first feature film, “The Fatherless”(“Die Vaterlosen”) (2011), has been shown and awarded at numerous...
Pick of the Day: “Medusa”
I can’t lie: At this point in time, I’m not above indulging in schadenfreude when I hear about people who have played an active part in rolling back women’s rights — white...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Jub Clerc – “Sweet As”
Jub Clerc is a Nyul Nyul/Yawuru woman from the Kimberley in Western Austrlia. Clerc spent many years in theatre before moving into film and television, working on multiple award-winning productions....
Zendaya Makes History (Again) at 2022 Emmys, Quinta Brunson Also Among Big Winners
Zendaya is now the youngest actress to receive two Emmys and the first Black woman to win Lead Actress in a Drama Series twice. The 26-year-old took home her second statuette for...
Sofia Coppola to Direct Priscilla Presley Biopic, Cailee Spaeny Will Star
Priscilla Presley is coming back to the big screen, and this time, she’s taking center stage. After being portrayed by Olivia DeJonge in “Elvis” earlier this year, the...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Lila Neugebauer – “Causeway”
Lila Neugebauer is a theater, film, and television director from New York City. Her stage work includes the Tony-nominated Broadway revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s “The Waverly Gallery,” starring...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Frances O’Connor -“Emily”
Frances O’Connor is an Australian-English actress living in London who is best known for her film roles in “Mansfield Park” and “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Her TV...
Georgia Oakley’s Venice Winner “Blue Jean” Acquired by Magnolia Pictures
“Blue Jean” has secured North American distribution on the heels of its world premiere at Venice Film Festival, where it landed the Giornate degli Autori People’s Choice Award....
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Liliane Mutti – “Miúcha, The Voice of Bossa Nova”
Born in Salvador, Brazil, Liliane Mutti is the founder of the Ciné Nova Bossa Association in Paris. She produces and directs films with strong political engagement, such as “Ecocide,”...
Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” & Alice Diop’s “Saint Omer” Take Top Prizes at Venice
For the third consecutive year, Venice Film Festival has awarded its top prize, the Golden Lion, to a film by a woman director. Following in the footsteps of Chloé Zhao in 2020...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Sophie Kargman – “Susie Searches”
Sophie Kargman is a director, writer, producer, and actor based in Los Angeles. Her short film “Query,” which she also co-wrote and produced, had its world premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Tamana Ayazi – “In Her Hands”
Tamana Ayazi is a filmmaker and journalist from Afghanistan. She has a background in business, sports, and activism. She is a NatGeo explorer who uses storytelling as a tool to advocate for equality...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Amy Redford – “Roost”
Amy Redford’s career in the creative arts spans over three decades as a director, producer, and actor in film, television, music videos, and theater. “The Guitar” marked her directorial...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Bess Wohl – “Baby Ruby”
Bess Wohl is a writer, director, and playwright. In theater, her play “Grand Horizons” was nominated for a Tony Award. In film and television she has developed projects with Amazon, HBO,...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Aitch Alberto – “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe”
Aitch Alberto is a writer and director born and raised in Miami, Florida. She is a Sundance Episodic Lab fellow, the recipient of a Skowhegan Artist Residency, a Yaddo fellowship, and a Latino...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Stephanie Johnes – “Maya and the Wave”
Stephanie Johnes is a director, producer, and documentary filmmaker who gravitates toward stories of underdogs and dreamers. Her directorial debut, “Doubletime,” premiered at SXSW and Tribeca and...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Maggie Levin and Vanessa Winter – “V/H/S/99”
Maggie Levin is a filmmaker with rock ‘n’ roll roots. She served as second unit director and credit designer for Universal’s “The Black Phone,” in theaters now....
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Mary Nighy – “Alice, Darling”
Mary Nighy is a UK-based director who has directed episodes of “Industry,” a new series for HBO and Bad Wolf, and “Traces,” a new series for Red Productions. Nighy was the...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Lauren DeFilippo – “Free Money”
Lauren DeFilippo is a documentary filmmaker based in New York City. She most recently produced “Ailey” (Sundance 2021), an acclaimed feature documentary that was released in theaters...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Vera Drew – “The People’s Joker”
Vera Drew (she/her) is an accomplished LGBTQ+ director and editor who has worked in TV and film for nearly a decade. She recently directed Season 12 of Tim Heidecker’s “On Cinema at...
Trailer Watch: Essie Davis Will Go to Any Lengths to Get Her Kids Back in “The Justice of Bunny King”
Described by director Gaysorn Thavat as “a social justice action film about motherhood,” “The Justice of Bunny King” sees the titular character (Essie Davis, “The...
Pick of the Day: “True Things”
I love stories that give their female characters the space and compassion to be messy, stories that are unconcerned if, on paper, they’re flirting with the misogynist “crazy woman”...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Selcen Ergun – “Snow and the Bear” (“Kar ve Ayı”)
Selcen Ergun is a director and screenwriter from Turkey. She began her career as an assistant director, working on many national and international productions. Her short films...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Malou Reymann – “Unruly”
Malou Reymann is a director and screenwriter who graduated from the National Film and Television School in England. Her debut feature, “A Perfectly Normal Family,” which premiered at...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: V.T. Nayani – “This Place”
V.T. Nayani is a director, producer, and writer. She is a recipient of the UN Women Yvonne M. Hebert Award for filmmakers and photographers. Most recently, she completed her residency in the...
Anna Kendrick to Make Directorial Debut with True Crime Pic “The Dating Game”
Less than a week ahead of the world premiere of her latest film, “Alice, Darling,” word comes that Anna Kendrick is stepping behind the camera. Deadline reports that the Oscar-nominated...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Sinéad O’Shea – “Pray for Our Sinners”
Sinéad O’Shea is an award-winning filmmaker and writer. Her first feature documentary, “A Mother Brings her Son to be Shot,” premiered at CPH:DOX 2018 where it was nominated for a...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Laura Baumeister – “Daughter of Rage”
Laura Baumeister was born and raised in Nicaragua and trained at Mexico’s Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica. A sociologist as well as a filmmaker, Baumeister has directed the...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Alice Winocour – “Paris Memories”
Alice Winocour directed her first feature film in 2011, “Augustine.” It was selected for Cannes’ Critics Week and nominated for a César Award for the Best First Film. Her second...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Nisha Pahuja – “To Kill a Tiger”
Nisha Pahuja is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker based in Toronto and Bombay. Her credits include the critically-acclaimed “Diamond Road,” “Bollywood Bound,” and “The World...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Carolina Markowicz – “Charcoal”
Carolina Markowicz is a screenwriter and director based in São Paulo, Brazil. Her short films have won many international awards and have played in more than 200 festivals worldwide including TIFF,...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Gail Maurice – “Rosie”
Gail Maurice is a fluent Cree/Michif-speaking actor and an award-winning independent filmmaker and Arts Laureate. She is a recipient of the Hnatyshyn Foundation Indigenous Award for Excellence in the...