BY Laura Berger
Sophie Hyde to Direct Adaptation of Cult Fave “Animals”
Australian director Sophie Hyde has announced her follow-up project to Sundance-winner “52 Tuesdays.” She’ll helm an adaptation of Emma Jane Unsworth’s 2014 novel “Animals,” a cult...
“The Great Gilly Hopkins” Gets a U.S. Release from Lionsgate
Those saddened by the recent news that CBS decided against picking up “Drew,” their Nancy Drew pilot, may be heartened to know that they’ll be able to catch an adaptation of another beloved...
We Do It Together Announces First Project with Robin Wright, Catherine Hardwicke, and Freida Pinto
We Do It Together has announced its first feature film, the aptly titled “Together Now.” The non-profit production company launched in February this year with the promise to finance and produce...
Cannes Deals: Helen Mirren, Ellen Page, Elisabeth Moss, and More
The Cannes Film Festival kicked off on May 11, and each day brings word of new projects and acquisitions. Cannes isn’t just a forum to screen prestigious films — it’s an industry hub where...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Domenica Cameron-Scorsese — “Almost Paris”
Domenica Cameron-Scorsese is a Tribeca alum whose short films “Spanish Boots” and “Roots in Water” played the festival. Her first short, “A Little God,” won the Torchlight Short Film...
Catherine Keener’s “Little Pink House” Acquired by Film Mode
Film Mode Entertainment has acquired writer-director Courtney Moorehead Balaker’s “Little Pink House.” The David and Goliath drama stars two-time Oscar-nominee Catherine Keener (“Show Me A...
Weekly Update for May 13: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Money Monster” Films About Women Opening This Week Sunset Song (Opens in NY, LA, and Toronto) The film takes place during the early years of the twentieth century, with the conflicts and...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Julia Ducournau — “Raw”
Julia Ducournau’s previous credits include “Mange,” a television movie made for Canal plus, and “Junior,” a short. According to her bio, each of her films has been about physical...
Trailer Watch: Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood are Resilient Sisters in “Into the Forest”
Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood’s sisterly bond is put to the test in a post-apocalyptic world in a newly released trailer for Patricia Rozema’s “Into the Forest.” The atmospheric clip...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Shahrbanoo Sadat — “Wolf and Sheep”
Shahrbanoo Sadat is an Afghan screenwriter and director. Sadat’s first short fiction film, “Vice Versa One,” was selected at Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2011. In 2013, she launched her...
Halle Berry To Star in “Mustang” Director Deniz Gamze Erguven’s English-Language Debut
Deniz Gamze Erguven’s English language debut has a major star attached. Academy Award-winner Halle Berry will topline “Kings,” a drama set against the backdrop of the 1992 Los Angeles race...
Oscar Winner Brenda Chapman to Make Live-Action Directing Debut
The Oscar-winning co-director of “Brave” is entering the world of live-action filmmaking. Brenda Chapman’s first foray outside of animation will be “Come Away,” a prequel to two animated...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Stéphanie Di Giusto — “The Dancer”
Stéphanie Di Giusto co-wrote “The Dancer,” which marks her feature directorial debut. “The Dancer” will premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 13. W&H: Describe the film for...
Human Rights Watch Film Fest Lineup Over 50% Female-Directed
The lineup for the 2016 Human Rights Watch Film Festival has been revealed, and 10 of the 18 features being screened are directed or co-directed by women, amounting to 56 percent of the slate....
Natalie Johns on Her Inspiring Skateboarding Doc “I Am Thalente”
Natalie Johns was born in Zimbabwe, grew up in South Africa, and moved to London in 1997 to begin a career specializing in live entertainment television and documentary film. In 2013, she moved to...
Rosemary Myers’ “Girl Asleep” Acquired by Oscilloscope
The U.S. rights to Rosemary Myer’s debut feature, “Girl Asleep,” have been acquired by Oscilloscope Laboratories. Set in Australia in the 1970s, the coming-of-age tale centers on Greta...
Trailer Watch: Mira Nair’s “Queen of Katwe” Cheers For an Underdog Chess Champ
The trailer for Mira Nair’s highly anticipated “Queen of Katwe” has finally dropped, and the clip is introduced with an inspirational quotation that beautifully captures what follows: “The...
Megan Griffiths’ Richard Ramirez-Inspired “The Night Stalker” To Premiere on LMN
The demand for stories about serial killers is showing no sign of slowing down. LMN, a television network that’s part of the Lifetime family, has acquired award-winning writer-director Megan...
Maisie Williams To Star in YA Thriller Directed by Kate Maberly
Arya Stark has her vision back on “Game of Thrones,” and Maisie Williams has her eyes set on a new project. ScreenDaily reports that “The Falling” actress will star in Kate Maberly’s...
Jodie Foster Gets a Star on the Walk of Fame, Talks Her Directing Style
Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “I grew up blocks from Hollywood Boulevard and would cross it every single day of my life,” said...
Cannes 2016: Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis Named 2016 Recipients of Kering Women in Motion Awards
It’s been 25 years since “Thelma & Louise” debuted on the big screen, but the iconic film — and its Oscar-winning stars — continue to make a mark on pop culture, and will be...
“The Birth of the Pill” Coming to TV
Reproductive health in the U.S. has never been short of drama. Now a new event series will tell the story of the capsule that’s changed the lives and bedrooms of millions nationally and...
Angela Davis Biopic Acquired By The Firm
An unauthorized biopic of activist Angela Davis is coming to the big-screen. Deadline reports that The Firm has acquired an as-yet untitled script from LaToya Morgan, who previously served as a...
Louise Osmond on the Village That Inspired Her Underdog Doc “Dark Horse”
Director Louise Osmond started her career at the UK network ITN in their news journalism graduate trainee program, covering stories in Europe and Africa before moving into documentaries. Her most...
U.S. Film Fests Screen Three Times as Many Male-Directed Narratives As Female Ones
New research from Dr. Martha Lauzen reveals that high-profile U.S. film festivals screen more than three times as many narrative films directed by men than women. It’s well-known that female...
Naomi Watts and Daisy Ridley to Star in Reimagining of “Hamlet”
Two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts and rapidly ascending star Daisy Ridley are likely teaming up for a project. The pair are in final negotiations to star in “Ophelia,” a reimagining of...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Marcie Hume — “Magicians: Life in the Impossible”
Marcie Hume began her documentary career in factual television in London. She has produced and directed a range of series for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel. Along...
“Twilight” Author Stephenie Meyer to Produce YA Thriller “Anna Dressed in Blood”
The force behind the “Twilight” phenomenon is returning to the world of YA. “Twilight” author and producer Stephenie Meyer is backing a new supernatural film franchise. Meyer and Meghan...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Rama Thiaw — “The Revolution Won’t Be Televised”
Rama Thiaw is a writer, director, and producer at Boul Falle Images, a Senegalese film production company. Mauritanian and Senegalese, she grew up between Senegal and Europe. She has previously...
Trailer Watch: Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell Are “Bad Moms”
“I’m so tired of trying to be this perfect mom,” reveals Mila Kunis in the newly released Red Band trailer for “Bad Moms.” The overworked, under-appreciated mom simply says she’s...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Hollie Fifer — “The Opposition”
Hollie Fifer’s documentaries are inspired by true life stories that are too bizarre and courageous to believe. Her first documentary was commissioned by Australian Volunteers International,...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Beth Murphy — “What Tomorrow Brings”
Beth Murphy is founder of Boston-based Principle Pictures and Director of GroundTruth Films. Her work as producer, director, journalist, writer, and photographer is focused on human rights,...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Trisha Ziff — “The Man Who Saw Too Much”
Trisha Ziff’s feature documentary credits include “Chevolution” and “The Mexican Suitcase.” Ziff’s “Pirate Copy; Pirate Stories” is a collection of three shorts following a road trip...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Heidi Brandenburg — “When Two Worlds Collide”
Heidi Brandenburg co-founded Yachaywasi Films to explore social and environmental issues and challenge audiences to rethink preconceptions. Born in Paraguay and raised in Peru and Germany, she now...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Anjali Nayar — “Gun Runners”
Anjali Nayar’s award-winning filmmaking and journalism work has explored myriad topics, ranging from climate change to political activism to pop culture. In her fractionally fictional documentary,...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors — Meet Monika Grassl — “Girls Don’t Fly”
Monika Grassl was born in in Vienna, Austria. In 2006 she wrote an analysis about Austrian documentary filmmaking for the Vienna Film Fund. She also created monthly portraits about unusual people...
Weekly Update for April 29: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“The Wait” Films About Women Opening This Week Viktoria — Written and Directed by Maya Vitkova (Opens in NYC) Maya Vitkova’s debut feature “Viktoria,” follows three generations of...
Penélope Cruz to Star in Toni Kalem’s “Layover”
Penélope Cruz is set to hit the road in Toni Kalem’s “Layover.” The Oscar-winner will play a traveling saleswoman who, according to the release, goes “on the lam from her life.” Claire...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Tiffany Hsiung — “The Apology”
Tiffany Hsiung is an award-winning filmmaker based in Toronto. Since 2009, Hsiung has been documenting the lives of survivors of military sexual slavery during World War II; for the past six years,...
“Viktoria” Director Maya Viktova on the Difficult Journey To Make Her Directorial Debut
Maya Viktova is a writer-director and producer. In 2008, she executive produced Kamen Kalev’s debut feature “Eastern Plays,” which premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 2009 and...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Christy Garland — “Cheer Up”
Before moving to documentary filmmaking, Christy Garland directed several award-winning dramatic and comedic shorts, while working in the film industry as an assistant director. The Canadian...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Maria Arlamowsky — “Future Baby”
Maria Arlamowsky lives and works in Vienna, Austria. She studied at the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna, the Film Academy, and Donau University in Krems. (Press materials) “Future...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumball-LaValle — “Ovarian Psycos”
Documentary filmmakers Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle met while earning their M.A. in Social Documentation at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Directing their thesis films, the...
Daisy Ridley to Star in Holocaust Drama “The Lost Wife”
Daisy Ridley continues to ride the wave of her “Star Wars” success. According to Variety, the “Force Awakens” breakout is attached to star in “The Lost Wife,” a drama based on Alyson...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Samira Goetschel — “City 40”
Samira Goetschel is an Iranian-born American award-winning filmmaker based in Los Angeles. An alumnus of NYU Film School, her graduating film, “Clown de la Vie,” won Best Short Film at the New...
Trailer Watch: “AbFab” Ladies Kill Kate Moss and Flee to France
Edina (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley) are coming to the big screen, and now a full-length trailer has been released giving us an idea of what to expect from the tremendously...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Eva Orner — “Chasing Asylum”
Academy and Emmy Award winner Eva Orner is an Australian filmmaker based in Los Angeles. According to her bio, Orner wrote, directed, and produced the feature documentary “The Network,” set...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Rama Rau — “League of Exotique Dancers”
Rama Rau is an award-winning writer-director whose credits include cyber bullying doc “No Place to Hide: The Rehtaeh Parsons Story” (2015), which had its world premiere at Hot Docs and was among...
Theresa Rebeck to Write and Direct Family Drama Starring Anjelica Huston
Great news for fans of NBC’s “Smash.” The creator behind the musical drama is set to reunite with two of its stars. Theresa Rebeck will write and direct “Trouble,” an indie comedy drama...
Trailer Watch: “Weiner” Sex Scandal Rocks the Political World
A trailer has finally landed for Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman’s political sex scandal doc “Weiner.” The feature took home the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance earlier this...
Nancy Buirski To Make Jim Crow South Sexual Violence Drama
Award-winning filmmaker Nancy Buirski has her next project lined up. The director of “The Loving Story” and “By Sidney Lumet” will helm “The Rape of Recy Taylor,” described as an “epic...