BY Laura Berger
Hurricane Maria Doc “Landfall” Acquired by PBS’ “POV,” Gets a Trailer
“Landfall” is coming to PBS. A press release announced that “POV” snagged U.S. broadcast rights to Cecilia Aldarondo’s documentary tracing the aftermath of Hurricane...
“Charter” Named Sweden’s Pick for Oscars’ International Feature Category
“Charter” is an Oscar hopeful. Sweden has submitted Amanda Kernell’s second feature in the Best International Feature Film category at the 2021 Academy Awards, a press release from...
Trailer Watch: “Transhood” Follows Four Transgender Kids’ Coming-of-Age Stories
“What I really hope is that people realize we’re human. We’re not, like, some exotic species. We have human emotions — that’s what matters,” says one of the...
Rachel Bloom Is Writing a Movie About *NSYNC Superfans for TriStar
Rachel Bloom is attached to another female-led project revolving around obsession. After saying “Bye Bye Bye” to “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” the multi-hyphenate is once again...
“True Mothers,” “Funny Boy,” & “And Tomorrow the Entire World” Join International Oscar Race
Naomi Kawase is entering the Oscar race. Japan selected the Cannes regular’s latest offering, “True Mothers,” as its pick for the International Feature category at the 93rd edition...
Trailer Watch: Drew Barrymore Stars Alongside Drew Barrymore in Jamie Babbit’s “The Stand In”
Drew Barrymore pulls double duty in a new trailer for “The Stand In.” Directed by Jamie Babbit, the comedy tells the story of Candy, an actress, and Paula, her stand in. Barrymore plays...
Pick of the Day: “The Donut King”
With “The Donut King,” director Alice Gu hopes to “challenge any preconceived notions of what a refugee is, or looks like, and that the film helps put a human face on refugees and...
Alice Gu Sees Her Doc “The Donut King” as the “Quintessential American Dream Story”
Alice Gu launched her career as a still photographer/cinematographer. Shooting docs has taken her from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, to touring with rock bands throughout Europe, to following the...
Andrea Savage to Direct Feature Adaptation of “Georgia Mertching Is Dead”
Andrea Savage is bringing “Georgia Mertching Is Dead” to the screen. The “I’m Sorry” creator and star has been tapped to direct a feature adaptation of Catya...
Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway Team Up for “Mothers’ Instinct” English-Remake
Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway are joining forces on an English-language remake of “Duelles.” The pair will star in “Mothers’ Instinct,” a press release announced....
Mindy Kaling to Topline and Produce HBO Max Adaptation of Jennifer Weiner’s “Good in Bed”
Mindy Kaling is taking Jennifer Weiner’s beloved debut novel to HBO Max. The “Late Night” star and screenwriter has signed on to topline and produce an adaptation of “Good in...
IDA Doc Awards Announce Shortlists for Best Feature and Best Short: “Time,” “Boys State,” & More
The International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced shortlists for the Best Feature and Best Short categories at the 36th Annual IDA Documentary Awards, which will be presented at a...
Uzo Aduba to Star in Season 4 of HBO’s “In Treatment”
Uzo Aduba is set to take over Gabriel Byrne’s therapist chair. According to Deadline, the three-time Emmy winner has signed on to topline Season 4 of “In Treatment” in a reimagined...
Mira Nair’s “A Suitable Boy” Coming to Acorn TV
“A Suitable Boy” is coming stateside. A press release announced that AMC Networks’ Acorn TV snagged exclusive U.S. and Canada premieres of the Mira Nair-directed period drama, which...
Victoria Mahoney Will Direct Kerry Washington-Starrer “Shadow Force” for Lionsgate
Victoria Mahoney has lined up another genre pic. Back in June she signed on to helm “Kill Them All,” the story of a woman on a revenge campaign with a high body count, for Paramount, and...
Trailer Watch: Netflix Celebrates the Queen of Tejano Music with “Selena: The Series”
“When I think about being on stage… nothing else matters,” says Christian Serratos in a new trailer for “Selena: The Series.” The “Walking Dead” actress...
Ava DuVernay and Sydney Freeland Team Up for Native American Drama at NBC
A history-making series could be coming to NBC. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network is developing a drama about a Native American family — “a first for network...
Trailer Watch: “Dear Santa” Goes Behind the Scenes of the Postal Service’s Operation Santa Program
Volunteers join forces with the United States Postal Service to help kids’ Christmas dreams come true in “Dear Santa,” a look inside the USPS’s 100-year-old Operation Santa...
Sara Wolitzky on Exploring “Reawakened Feminist Energy and Organizing” in “Not Done: Women Remaking America”
Sara Wolitzky is a documentary filmmaker. In 2012, she helped launch the multi-platform documentary series MAKERS, which chronicles the U.S. and global women’s movement and the stories of hundreds...
Trailer Watch: Christine Baranski Is a Major Scrooge in “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square”
“Christmas is a time for caring, being at your best,” the Queen of Country sings in a new trailer for “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square.” “Christmas is a...
Trailer Watch: “Us Kids” Fight to End Gun Violence
Kim A. Snyder is back with another documentary about gun violence. She’s following up 2016’s “Newtown,” a portrait of Newtown, Connecticut, one year after the shooting at...
Pick of the Day: “The Queen’s Gambit”
Anya Taylor-Joy plays a brilliant chess prodigy besieged by addiction in “The Queen’s Gambit,” Netflix’s bingeworthy adaptation of the 1983 novel of the same name. Set in the...
Trailer Watch: A Family Reconnects After 17 Years in “Farewell Amor”
A family reunites after nearly two decades apart in a new trailer for “Farewell Amor.” Written and directed by Ekwa Msang, the drama sees Walter (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, “The...
Trailer Watch: “The Donut King” Explores the Power of the American Dream
A trailer has dropped for “The Donut King,” Alice Gu’s portrait of Ted Ngoy, AKA the Donut King, a Cambodian refugee who arrived in America in 1975 with nothing and built a donut...
“Flashdance” Series Reboot in the Works at Paramount+ from Angela Robinson and Tracy McMillan
Take out your legwarmers and pump up the volume on Irene Cara’s anthem: “Flashdance” is getting a second life. Deadline reports that an updated take on the classic 1983 dance pic is...
Kristen Bell to Topline and Exec Produce “The Woman in the House” for Netflix
Kristen Bell has left “The Good Place” and is nursing a broken heart. Deadline reports that she’s set to exec produce and star in “The Woman in the House,” an...
Clea DuVall’s “Happiest Season” Will Debut on Hulu, Kristen Stewart Stars
Clea DuVall’s holiday-themed queer rom-com will debut on Hulu. The streamer snagged domestic rights to Kristen Stewart-starrer “Happiest Season.” According to Deadline, Sony...
Trailer Watch: Kaley Cuoco May Be a Murderer in “The Flight Attendant”
“I’m a crazy, drunk flight attendant, not a killer,” says Kaley Cuoco in a new trailer for “The Flight Attendant.” HBO Max’s comedic thriller sees the “Big...
“Wildfire” Writer-Director Cathy Brady Wins £50,000 Bursary at BFI London Film Festival
“Wildfire’s” hot streak continues. Cathy Brady’s feature directorial debut has already been programmed at the Toronto International Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival,...
Sabrina Van Tassel on Uncovering Flaws in the System in “The State of Texas vs. Melissa”
Sabrina Van Tassel is a French-American film director and journalist. As an investigative reporter, Van Tassel has directed more than 45 documentary films over the last 15 years for major television...
Catherine Eaton on “The Sounding,” Her Film About a Woman Fighting for Her Voice and Freedom
Catherine Eaton is a writer, director, and actor. She was chosen for Tribeca’s Through Her Lens Lab and Grant for her pilot “On the Outs,” and was selected as a Shadowing Director...
Kelly Oxford’s “Pink Skies Ahead” Lands at MTV Studios
Kelly Oxford’s feature debut has secured distribution. A press release announced that MTV Studios snagged worldwide rights to “Pink Skies Ahead,” which made its world premiere at...
Deepa Mehta’s “Funny Boy” Lands at Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing
Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing has acquired Deepa Mehta’s latest. An adaptation of Shyam Selvadurai’s coming-of-age novel of the same name, “Funny Boy” will launch on Netflix in...
Pick of the Day: “Belly of the Beast”
Though it’s most closely associated with Nazi Germany, eugenics has a history stateside as well. And it’s not just a thing of the past. “Belly of the Beast” tells the story of...
Rubika Shah on Exploring the Power of Grassroots Activism in the Punk Scene in “White Riot”
Rubika Shah is a writer-director and Screen International Star of Tomorrow. Her films have screened at Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, and Hot Docs. Her mini-doc about David Bowie, “Let’s...
DOC NYC’s 2020 Lineup Announced, 52 Percent of Features in Competition Are Directed by Women
DOC NYC has announced the lineup for its eleventh edition. “Fifty-seven features (53% of the lineup) are directed or co-directed by women and 36 by BIPOC directors (34% of the feature...
Trailer Watch: Tessa Thompson Won’t Let Her Husband Derail Her Career in “Sylvie’s Love”
“I can’t be the woman of your dreams while also trying to be my own,” says Tessa Thompson in a new trailer for “Sylvie’s Love.” The period romance sees the...
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson to Direct “Strangers” for Netflix
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson has another Netflix pic on the way. She’ll follow up her feature debut, Gina Rodriguez-starrer “Someone Great,” with another comedy for the streamer,...
Yalitza Aparicio & Daniela Vega Team Up on Docuseries About Latin American Women “Who Defied Wars and Violence”
Two trailblazers are teaming up on a four-part documentary series paying tribute to Latin American women “who have survived state and gender violence.” Variety reports that...
Trailer Watch: Amy Adams and Glenn Close Bring “Hillbilly Elegy” to the Screen
“Family’s the only thing that means a goddamn thing. You’ll learn that,” says Glenn Close in a new trailer for “Hillbilly Elegy.” Based on J.D. Vance’s...
NYWIFT Announces 2020 Creative Workforce Summit: Documentary Makers, Industry, & Funders in Conversation
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) has announced the dates and theme for the second annual New York Women in Film & Television Creative Workforce Summit. Set to take place virtually...
Trailer Watch: Rachel Brosnahan Learns to Shoot a Gun in Julia Hart’s “I’m Your Woman”
Rachel Brosnahan goes on the lam in Julia Hart’s latest. A trailer just dropped for “I’m Your Woman,” a drama led by the “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star that’s...
“Beginning” Named Georgia’s Pick for Oscars’ International Feature Category
Cleaning up at the San Sebastian Film Festival was just the beginning for Dea Kulumbegashvili’s latest. “Beginning” has been named as Georgia’s submission for the 2021 Academy...
Nathalie Biancheri’s “Wolf” Acquired by Focus Features
Nathalie Biancheri’s latest has found a home. Focus Features acquired worldwide distribution rights to “Wolf,” a drama about a man convinced that he’s a wolf. Focus Features...
Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins Will Reunite for “Cleopatra”
Gal Gadot is set to play another iconic woman. The “Wonder Woman” actress is switching gears from comic books to history books, and has signed on to topline “Cleopatra,” a...
Alice Winocour’s Astronaut Drama “Proxima” Gets a Release Date, New Trailer
Alice Winocour’s space mission is coming stateside. Vertical Entertainment snagged North American rights to the French filmmaker’s latest, “Proxima,” an astronaut drama led by...
Diane Paragas on Her Portrait of an Aspiring Country Singer, “Yellow Rose”
Diane Paragas is an award-winning director, editor, cinematographer, and producer of narrative features, documentaries, and commercials. She owns and operates Civilian Studios, a Brooklyn-based...
Trailer Watch: Carey Mulligan Preys on Predators in “Promising Young Woman”
“It’s a day of reckoning for everyone,” Carey Mulligan announces in a new trailer for “Promising Young Woman.” Emerald Fennell’s feature directorial debut sees the...
Reed Morano to Direct Adaptation of “The Memory Police”
Reed Morano has yet another project in the works. The prolific, Emmy-winning director has signed on to direct an adaptation of “The Memory Police” for Amazon Studios. Deadline broke the...
Pick of the Day: “The Forty-Year-Old Version”
A struggling playwright decides to reinvent herself as a rapper in “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” this year’s winner of Sundance’s Directing Prize. Written and directed by Radha Blank, the...
Allison Williams Will Topline Horror Thriller “M3GAN”
Allison Williams is adding another horror movie to her resume. The “Get Out” and “The Perfection” star is set to re-team with the production company behind the former,...