BY Laura Berger
Debra Granik Bringing Una LaMarche YA Novel “Like No Other” to the Big Screen
Debra Granik is taking on a new genre. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker will make her first foray into the YA world with a feature adaptation of “Like No Other,” Una LaMarche’s 2014 novel...
Pick of the Day: “How It Ends”
It’s the end of the world and Zoe Lister-Jones is feeling anything but fine in “How It Ends,” an apocalyptic Sundance comedy that sees the multi-hyphenate reuniting with the star of...
Teaser Watch: Rosa Salazar Is a Filmmaker Looking for Revenge in “Brand New Cherry Flavor”
Rosa Salazar heads to Hollywood looking to make her dreams a reality in “Brand New Cherry Flavor,” a new Netflix limited series with “Mulholland Drive” vibes. Set in the early...
San Sebastian Film Fest Announces First Batch of Competition Titles, Majority Hail from Women Directors
San Sebastian Film Festival has announced its first Competition titles, and — so far — the program is dominated by women directors. Of nine titles set to screen, six are helmed by women,...
Cannes: Kira Kovalenko’s “Unclenching the Fists” Wins Top Prize in Un Certain Regard Sidebar
“Unclenching the Fists” has clenched the Grand Prize in Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar, Deadline reports. Written and directed by Kira Kovalenko, the Russian drama is...
Bentonville 2021: 71% of Competition Lineup Directors Are Women, 75% BIPOC/AAPI, 33% LGBTQIA+
Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) has announced its 2021 program, and the Geena Davis-led event promises to be an inclusive celebration of talent on both sides of the camera. Seventy-one percent of...
Janicza Bravo Tapped to Direct FX Adaptation of Octavia Butler’s “Kindred”
Janicza Bravo is set to bring a beloved sci-fi novel to the small screen hot on the heels of adapting a viral Twitter thread. The “Zola” filmmaker is taking inspiration from Octavia...
Trailer Watch: “Julia” Child Doc Sees Betsy West & Julie Cohen Paying Tribute to a Revolutionary Cook
Julia Child transformed the way Americans cook, and her impact on the culinary would cannot be overstated. A new trailer for “Julia,” an upcoming doc about the trailblazer, emphasizes...
“Bridgerton’s” Julie Anne Robinson & Adjoa Andoh Reteam for Adaptation of Vanessa Riley’s “Island Queen”
Julie Anne Robinson is celebrating her Emmy nomination for directing “Bridgerton” by reteaming with one of the smash hit’s stars. She’s optioned “Island Queen,”...
Trailer Watch: A Māori Family Finds Their Way Back to One Another in “Cousins”
“People go away or they die — your land, that’s where you belong,” we’re told in a new trailer for “Cousins.” The drama is based on Patricia Grace’s...
Joey King Signs First-Look Deal with Netflix
Joey King is taking the next step in her relationship with Netflix. The star of the streamer’s wildly successful “Kissing Booth” franchise has inked a first-look deal with the...
Noora Niasari to Direct Historical Drama “Raya”
Noora Niasari is bringing “Raya” to the big screen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Iranian-Australian filmmaker has been tapped to write and direct an adaptation of Mahsa...
Apply Now: BBC Studios & Directors U.K.’s Mentorship Scheme for Underrepresented Voices
BBC Studios Productions and Directors U.K. have teamed up to launch a mentorship scheme with the goal of supporting underrepresented voices in the British entertainment industry. Designed to deliver...
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s “Clara Sola” Acquired by Oscilloscope Laboratories
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s debut feature has found a home following its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. A press release announced...
Emmy Nominations: “I May Destroy You,” “Hacks,” “Pen15,” and More
“I May Destroy You’s” egregious snub at this year’s Golden Globe Awards remains as infuriating as ever, but Michaela Coel’s acclaimed drama is getting major love from...
Apply Now: Screenwriting Fellowship for Black Women in Comedy
Sundance Institute and Laugh Out Loud, Kevin Hart’s production company and digital network, are teaming up to launch Women Write Now, a screenwriting fellowship dedicated to championing the...
Vanessa Bayer and Molly Shannon Team Up for Showtime Comedy “I Love This for You”
More “Saturday Night Live” alumni are teaming up. Hot on the heels of the announcement that Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer will act in, write, and executive produce holiday parody “A...
Trailer Watch: Tilda Swinton Can’t Stop Hearing a Mysterious Sound in Cannes Drama “Memoria”
The jungles of Colombia leave a lasting mark on Tilda Swinton in “Memoria,” a Cannes drama about Jessica (Swinton), a Scottish woman who begins experiencing a mysterious sensory syndrome...
Anna Kendrick, Wunmi Mosaku, & Kaniehtiio Horn Will Star in Mary Nighy Thriller “Alice, Darling”
Anna Kendrick is teaming up with Mary Nighy for Lionsgate’s “Alice, Darling,” a thriller that marks Nighy’s feature directorial debut. Currently in production in Canada, the...
Trailer Watch: Kristine Stolakis Exposes the Toll of Gay Conversion Therapy in “Pray Away”
Kristine Stolakis pulls back the curtain on the “ex-gay movement” in “Pray Away,” a doc exploring how former leaders of Exodus International, the largest conversion therapy...
Cannes 2021 Women Directors: Meet Kira Kovalenko – “Unclenching the Fists”
Kira Kovalenko was born in Nalchik, Russia. She graduated from Alexander Sokurov’s directing workshop at Kabardino-Balkarian State University in 2015. She made her feature directorial debut in 2016...
Kristen Stewart-Led Princess Diana Drama “Spencer” Will Debut at Venice Film Fest
The People’s Princess is heading to Venice. Variety reports that “Spencer,” a drama inspired by a especially turbulent chapter in Princess Diana’s life, is set to make its...
Adele Lim Making Directorial Debut with R-Rated Comedy, Ashley Park to Star
Adele Lim is stepping into the director’s chair. The “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Crazy Rich Asians” scribe is set to make her directorial debut with an R-rated...
Cannes 2021 Women Directors: Meet Luàna Bajrami – “The Hill Where Lionesses Roar”
Self taught, Luàna Bajrami acquired experience through her collaborations with different filmmakers while practicing writing, editing, and directing through numerous amateur short film projects....
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie Team Up for “Barbie,” Shooting Kicks Off in 2022
Greta Gerwig’s last film saw her re-imagining an iconic novel, and now she’s set to put a fresh spin on an iconic toy. The “Little Women” helmer has officially signed on to...
Cannes 2021 Women Directors: Meet Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic – “Murina”
Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic is a writer-director born in Dubrovnik and currently based in New York. Her short “Into the Blue” was nominated for a Student Academy Award, and won awards at...
Mounia Meddour to Reteam with “Papicha” Star Lyna Khoudri for “Houria”
Mounia Meddour is set to reunite with her “Papicha” leading lady. Lyna Khoudri will star in the writer-director’s next feature, “Houria,” a drama set in Algeria....
Trailer Watch: Kristen Bell & Kirby Howell-Baptiste Are “Queenpins” of a Counterfeit Coupon Ring
“The system has set us up to fail. You know who gets rewarded? People who don’t follow the rules. It’s time we start bending them,” says Kristen Bell in a new trailer for...
Cannes 2021 Women Directors: Meet Nathalie Álvarez Mesén – “Clara Sola”
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén is a Costa Rican-Swedish writer and director. She is an alumna of Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program, the Berlinale Talents, and the TIFF Filmmaker Lab. Alvarez...
“A Quiet Place’s” Millicent Simmonds Will Topline and Exec Produce TV Adaptation of “True Biz”
Millicent Simmonds is following up a blockbuster with her first leading role on the small screen. The “A Quiet Place II” actress will topline and exec produce a television adaptation of...
Prano Bailey-Bond to Co-Write and Direct “Things We Lost in the Fire”
Prano Bailey-Bond has lined up her follow-up to “Censor.” According to Deadline, she’ll co-write and direct “Things We Lost in the Fire,” an adaptation of a short story...
“Vida” Creator Tanya Saracho Bringing “Mala Hierba” to the Big Screen in Feature Directorial Debut
“Vida’s” creator is back and taking inspiration from her theater days. Deadline reports that Tanya Saracho is bringing “Mala Hierba,” her 2014 Off-Broadway play, to the...
Trailer Watch: “Naomi Osaka” Sees Garrett Bradley Following a Tennis Star Off the Court
Garrett Bradley is following up “Time,” her Oscar-nominated portrait of a woman fighting to free her incarcerated husband, with an intimate look behind the scenes of a tennis...
Shannon Murphy Will Receive Women in Motion’s Young Talent Award at Cannes
BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Shannon Murphy is set to be recognized by Women in Motion this year at Cannes. Dedicated to celebrating women and advancing gender equality throughout the industry,...
Trailer Watch: Charlotte Gainsbourg Revisits Family History with Mother Jane Birkin in “Jane By Charlotte”
“Why do we learn to live without our mothers? It seems to be a purpose in life: to free ourselves at any cost. I don’t want to free myself,” says Charlotte Gainsbourg in a new...
Jane Campion to Be Honored with Lyon Fest’s Lumiere Award
Jane Campion is set to receive a prestigious honor at the Lumiere Festival. The Oscar-winning filmmaker will accept the Prix Lumiere at the Lyon fest in October, Variety confirms. “Jane Campion had...
Justine Bateman’s Directorial Debut “Violet” Acquired by Relativity Media
Justine Bateman’s feature directorial debut has found a home. Relativity Media scored rights to Olivia Munn-starrer “Violet,” Deadline reports. The drama recently premiered at...
Lucy Walker Wildfire Doc “Bring Your Own Brigade” Gets a Release Date
Lucy Walker’s latest has found a home. A press release announced that CBSN snagged rights to “Bring Your Own Brigade,” the two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker’s look inside the...
Trailer Watch: Tig Notaro Returns with the First-Ever Fully Animated Stand-Up Special “Drawn”
Tig Notaro is returning to HBO with a new look. A trailer has dropped for “Tig Notaro: Drawn,” the first-ever fully animated stand-up special. A new trailer for “Drawn” sees...
Trailer Watch: Jena Malone Reunites with Her Ex in Sabrina Doyle’s “Lorelei”
A high school couple reunites over a decade after parting ways in “Lorelei.” After 15 years in prison, Wayland (Pablo Schreiber) reconnects with Dolores (Jena Malone), who is now a single...
Gabrielle Union and Sonja Perryman Developing Series Adaptation of “The Sisters Are Alright”
Gabrielle Union is bringing “The Sisters Are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women In America” to the small screen. The “L.A.’s Finest” actress’...
Trailer Watch: Trailblazer Valerie Taylor Welcomes Us into the Underwater World in “Playing with Sharks”
“Every dive has the potential to be a great adventure. I would slide into the water into another world,” says Valerie Taylor in a new trailer for “Playing with Sharks.” From...
Dawn Porter Has a Doc About Cirque du Soleil in the Works
Dawn Porter is nothing if not prolific. The documentary filmmaker has added yet another project to her slate. Just weeks ago it was announced that the Emmy-nominated director will helm a multi-part...
Jamie Lee Curtis to Receive Venice Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Honor
Jamie Lee Curtis is set to receive a major honor at Venice Film Festival. She’s been named as this year’s recipient of the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. She’ll accept the...
Trailer Watch: Kate Beckinsale Harnesses Her Murderous Rage in Tanya Wexler’s “Jolt”
“What is it about gross old men always underestimating women?” asks Kate Beckinsale in a new trailer for “Jolt.” The “Underworld” star plays another kickass lead...
Pick of the Day: “Zola”
Like the viral Twitter thread it’s inspired by, “Zola” begins with an invitation: “Y’all wanna hear a story about why me and this bitch here fell out? It’s kind of...
Trailer Watch: “Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters” Revisits a Trailblazing Ballet
“We were hurting, but our work was a way that we kept going,” says Bill T. Jones in a new trailer for “Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters.” Rosalynde...
“Made For Love” Renewed for Second Season at HBO Max
Hazel Green’s fight for freedom continues. HBO Max has renewed “Made For Love” for a second season. A press release announced the news and revealed that the critically acclaimed...
Taraji P. Henson to Direct Jennifer Hudson in Segment of “Tell it Like a Woman” Anthology
“Think Like a Man” and “What Men Want” star Taraji P. Henson is ready to “Tell it Like a Woman.” The Oscar-nominated actress has been tapped to direct a segment of...
Exclusive: Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces Newest Grantees of Project: Hatched Program
Chicken & Egg Pictures has announced the newest grantees of their Project: Hatched program for feature-length documentary impact. The filmmaking teams behind five projects will receive mentorship...
Rachel Dratch & Ana Gasteyer Team Up for Holiday Parody “A Clüsterfünke Christmas,” Vella Lovell Stars
Two “Saturday Night Live” grads are teaming up for a holiday-themed comedy. Deadline reports that Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer will act in, write, and executive produce “A...