BY Laura Berger
Trailer Watch: “On Pointe” Spotlights Students at New York City’s School of American Ballet
“On Pointe” takes viewers behind the scenes of a season at New York City’s School of American Ballet (SAB), where the competition is fierce and the pressure is on. A new trailer for...
“Babyteeth” Wins Big at Australian Academy Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) just announced the winners of its 2020 awards ceremony, and Shannon Murphy’s “Babyteeth” has got plenty to...
Trailer Watch: An LGBTQ Teen Takes a Stand Against Her Conservative Town in “The Prom”
“I know we all have stories to tell, and here’s mine,” says 17-year-old Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman) in a new trailer for “The Prom.” The Netflix musical sees the...
Trailer Watch: A Mother Investigates Her Son’s Disappearance in Border Drama “Identifying Features”
A woman searches for her missing son in a new trailer for Fernanda Valadez’s “Identifying Features.” Set in Mexico, the Spanish-language drama sees Magdalena (Mercedes Hernández)...
Pick of the Day: “Happiest Season”
Hark! The Herald Drag Queens Sing: Clea DuVall’s “Happiest Season” has finally arrived. Eagerly anticipated since it was first announced, the gay rom-com sees Kristen Stewart and...
Cinema Eye Honors Announces First Noms: “Hillary,” “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” and More
Cinema Eye Honors has announced its first wave of nominees. The awards, which recognize nonfiction and documentary filmmaking, will announce “higher-profile feature film nominations”...
IDA Documentary Award Nominations: “Crip Camp,” “Time,” & More
The International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced nominees for the 36th annual IDA Documentary Awards. Of 10 titles competing for Best Feature, three are directed or co-directed by women:...
Gabrielle Union Developing “New Money” Comedy Series at Showtime
Gabrielle Union isn’t letting “L.A.’s Finest’s” cancellation slow her down. The actress and producer just added another project to her packed slate. Variety reports that...
Trailer Watch: Mira Nair Tells a Coming-of-Age Story in 1950s India in “A Suitable Boy”
“The key to a good marriage is to find a man who will give you the space to grow,” 19-year-old Lata (Tanya Maniktala) is advised in a new trailer for “A Suitable Boy.” Based...
Alejandra Márquez Abella in Negotiations to Direct “A Million Miles Away”
Alejandra Márquez Abella may be heading for the stars. The filmmaker is in talks to direct “A Million Miles Away,” a biopic of a Mexican American astronaut that’s set up at...
Ryann Liebl on Celebrating Friendship and Finding Your Way in “Mags and Julie Go on a Road Trip”
Ryann Liebl is an award-winning actress, filmmaker, writer, and director whose longstanding career has culminated in the launch of her production company REL Films and its first feature, “Mags...
“Preparations to Be Together” Named as Hungary’s Pick for Oscars’ International Film Category
Hungary has selected “Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time” as its entry for Best International Film at the 2021 Academy Awards. Variety broke the news. Written and directed...
“Nomadland” Takes Home Best Film Honor at EnergaCamerimage Film Festival
“Nomadland” continues to pick up festival honors as we enter awards season. Variety reports that Chloé Zhao’s Frances McDormand-starrer won the Golden Frog and FIPRESCI jury honors at...
“La Madrina: The [Savage] Life of Lorine Padilla” Wins DOC NYC’s Audience Award
“La Madrina: The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla” has been named the 2020 winner of DOC NYC’s Audience Award, which sees audiences casting votes for their favorite feature film. Directed...
Maya Da-Rin’s “The Fever” Acquired by KimStim
Maya Da-Rin’s feature debut has secured distribution. Variety reports that KimStim snagged North American rights to “The Fever.” Co-written by Da-Rin, “The Fever” follows...
Trailer Watch: A Teen Grieves the Loss of Her BFF & Lives Out Their Shared Dreams in “The Never List”
An overachieving highschooler struggling to come to terms with her best friend’s death finds a creative way to honor her in “The Never List.” When they were kids, Eva (Fivel...
Alfre Woodard Will Play Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hamer in Limited Series
Alfre Woodard is switching gears from futuristic sci-fi to a drama rooted in very real history. The star of “See” has signed on to headline and exec produce a limited series about civil...
Pick of the Day: “Run”
Mommie Dearest does her best impression of Marmee in “Run.” Picture-perfect, warm, and loving on the surface, Diane (Sarah Paulson) is a mom whose true nature is gradually revealed in the...
Trailer Watch: “Audrey” Pays Tribute to Audrey Hepburn
A new trailer for “Audrey” suggests that there was a “real” side to the Audrey Hepburn “that people didn’t know.” Described as both...
Trailer Watch: Jillian Bell Makes Isla Fisher Believe in Magic in Sharon Maguire’s “Godmothered”
“I’m going to prove that people still need fairy godmothers,” Jillian Bell vows in a new trailer for “Godmothered.” The Disney+ comedy sees the “Bill & Ted...
Angelina Jolie Will Direct Biopic About War Photographer Don McCullin
Angelina Jolie has lined up her next project. The Oscar-winning actress, whose last directorial effort, Khmer Rouge drama “First They Killed My Father,” received a Golden Globe nod, will...
DOC NYC Announces Jury Awards, “Landfall” Wins Viewfinders Grand Jury Prize
DOC NYC has announced the winners of its 2020 Jury Awards. “Landfall,” Cecilia Aldarondo’s portrait of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, took home the Viewfinders Grand...
Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain Will Pen TV Adaptation of “The Final Girl Support Group”
Imagine Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson, and Sidney Prescott had each other to lean on in the wake of experiencing unimaginable horror and surviving killing sprees that left loved ones dead. “The...
Trailer Watch: Alicia Silverstone Is the “Sister of the Groom” and Makes a Mess of His Wedding
Alicia Silverstone makes someone else’s big day all about her in a new trailer for “Sister of the Groom.” The comedy sees the “Clueless” star playing Audrey, a woman...
Trailer Watch: Billie Piper Finds Herself at the Center of a Very Public Scandal in “I Hate Suzie”
Billie Piper is in desperate need of a TARDIS to take her far, far away from the wreckage of a scandal in “I Hate Suzie.” A trailer just dropped for the HBO Max comedy about a waning star...
Trailer Watch: Vanessa Kirby Enters the Oscar Race with “Pieces of a Woman”
Expectant parents are dealt a tragic blow in a new trailer for “Pieces of a Woman.” “I wanted to stay at home. I wanted the baby to decide when she wanted to come,” Martha...
Lynne Ramsay to Direct Stephen King Adaptation “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon”
Lynne Ramsay is following up her violent vigilante thriller “You Were Never Really Here” with another disturbing story. She’s signed on to direct Village Roadshow’s...
Israel Adds “Asia” to Oscars’ International Feature Race
Shira Haas is starring in another awards contender. The “Unorthodox” breakout leads “Asia,” a drama that has been named as Israel’s pick for Best International Film at...
Trailer Watch: “Through the Night” Goes Inside a 24-Hour Daycare Center
A trailer has arrived for “Thorough the Night,” Loira Limbal’s cinema verité portrait of a 24-hour daycare center. “I see a lot of parents come in and break down. They...
Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson Is Dead” Wins Big at Critics Choice Doc Awards
“Dick Johnson Is Dead’s” Oscars chances are very much alive. The documentary just won big at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, which are considered among the most accurate...
Trailer Watch: Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, and Dianne Wiest Reconnect in “Let Them All Talk”
“Here’s to picking up the conversation where we left off — and here’s to reconnecting the gang of three we used to be,” says Meryl Steep in a new trailer for HBO Max pic...
Deborah Shaffer on Honoring a Trailblazing Artist in “Queen of Hearts: Audrey Flack”
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Deborah Shaffer began making social issue documentaries as a member of the Newsreel collective in the ‘70s. She co-founded Pandora Films, one of the first woman’s...
Lesli Linka Glatter Will Direct “Ashley’s War” Adaptation
Lesli Linka Glatter is shifting her focus from a troubled CIA agent to a team of women soldiers on the special operations battlefield. The “Homeland” director has been tapped to direct...
Trailer Watch: Debbie Allen Reimagines a Classic Ballet in “Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker”
Debbie Allen gives the Sugar Plum Fairy a makeover in “Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.” A new trailer for the upcoming Netflix documentary sees the “Fame” actress and...
Pick of the Day: “I Am Greta”
Greta Thunberg never expected to become a household name helping to lead the charge on climate activism. Her life, she explains in “I Am Greta,” now seems like a movie or dream,...
“Hope” Named as Norway’s Pick for Oscars’ International Film Race
“Hope” is eyeing a trip to the Oscars. Norway has selected Maria Sødahl’s drama as its submission to the Best International Film category at the 2021 Academy Awards. The Norwegian Film...
Trailer Watch: “Assassins” Investigates the Women Behind Kim Jong-nam’s Murder
“Assassins” revisits a stranger-than-fiction crime that galvanized the world in 2017. The Sundance doc investigates the shocking story behind Kim Jong-nam’s assassination in broad...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Petra Epperlein – “The Meaning of Hitler”
Petra Epperlein makes documentaries with her husband Michael Tucker. Epperlein was born in Karl Marx City, GDR, and began her professional life as an architect. Her credits include “The Last...
Pick of the Day: “Coded Bias”
With “Coded Bias,” Shalini Kantayya wanted to explore “the dark underbelly of big tech.” She was following the lead of Joy Buolamwini, an MIT media lab researcher who...
Trailer Watch: Melissa McCarthy Saves the World in “Superintelligence”
The fate of the world is in Melissa McCarthy’s hands in “Superintelligence.” A new trailer for the comedy sees Carol Peters (McCarthy), the “most average person on...
Selena Gomez to Play History-Making Gay Mountaineer Silvia Vasquez-Lavado in “In the Shadow of the Mountain”
The mountains are calling Selena Gomez. The pop star and actress has signed on to topline “In the Shadow of the Mountain,” a biopic of trailblazing Peruvian mountaineer Silvia...
Oge Egbuonu’s “(In)Visible Portraits” Lands at OWN
“(In)Visible Portraits” is coming to OWN. The Oprah Winfrey Network has acquired rights to Oge Egbuonu’s celebration of Black women “sharing their stories of struggle,...
Teaser Watch: “Calendar Girl” Celebrates New York Fashion Mainstay Ruth Finley
Set to make its world premiere at DOC NYC, “Calendar Girl” pays tribute to the Ruth Finley, a New Yorker who made an indelible mark on the city’s fashion scene. “Fashion is...
Cathy Brady’s “Wildfire” Secures UK Distribution
Cathy Brady’s feature directorial debut has landed UK distribution. According to Screen Daily, Modern Films secured UK and Ireland rights to the award-winning Irish drama that’s screened at...
Trailer Watch: Kristen Stewart Leads “Happiest Season,” Clea DuVall’s Lesbian Rom-Com
Kristen Stewart is in love and she wants everyone to know it. A new trailer for Clea DuVall’s “Happiest Season” sees the “Twilight” alumna ditching Edward Cullen for a...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Elizabeth Lo – “Stray”
Elizabeth Lo is an award-winning filmmaker who was named one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine. Her shorts include “Hotel 22,” “Bisonhead,” and...
Trailer Watch: “Chasing Childhood” Explores How U.S. Kids Are Missing Out
“Childhood today is full of stuff that kids have to accomplish,” we’re told in a new trailer for “Chasing Childhood.” Directed by Margaret Munzer Loeb and Eden Wurmfeld,...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Loira Limbal – “Through the Night”
Loira Limbal is an Afro-Dominican filmmaker and DJ based in the Bronx. She is the Senior Vice President of Programs at Firelight Media, an organization that provides mentorship, funding, and industry...
Pick of the Day: “Proxima”
“Proxima” charts a different kind of hero’s journey. The astronaut drama is decidedly more grounded than what we’ve come to expect from stories about space exploration. From...
“Song Without a Name” Is Peru’s Pick for Oscars’ International Feature Category
“Song Without a Name” could be heading to the Oscars. Peru has submitted Melina León’s debut feature as their pick for the International Feature Film category at the 2021 Academy...
Karena Evans to Direct Inaugural Episodes of HBO Max’s “Gossip Girl” Reboot
Karena Evans will introduce a new generation of viewers to Manhattan’s upper elite. She’s been tapped to helm the pilot and second episode of HBO Max’s “Gossip Girl”...