BY Laura Berger
Elizabeth Chomko’s Feature Debut Starring Hilary Swank Acquired by Bleecker Street
Elizabeth Chomko’s feature debut has found a home. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Bleecker Street snagged the North American rights to “What They Had,” a family drama toplined by Hilary...
Exclusive: The Daughters of Holocaust Survivors Uncover Family History in “Past Life” Clip
“You and I were born to a violent, greedy man,” Nana (Nelly Tagar) tells her younger sister Sephi (Joy Rieger) in our exclusive clip of “Past Life.” Set in 1977 Jerusalem, the drama centers...
Helen Mirren to Be Honored at Monte Carlo TV Fest
Helen Mirren is set to receive yet another well-deserved award. The Oscar, Tony, and Emmy winner will take home the Monte Carlo Television Festival’s Crystal Nymph at a ceremony to be held June...
Trailer Watch: Nicole Kidman Joins Elisabeth Moss in “Top of the Lake” Season 2
A trailer has finally landed for the highly anticipated sophomore season of Jane Campion’s “Top of the Lake,” and it looks like the newest installment of the murder mystery will just be as...
Maria Schrader Talks Exile and Inner Turmoil in “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe”
One of Germany’s most acclaimed actresses, Maria Schrader is a two-time winner of the German Film award and two-time winner of the Bavarian Film award. At the 1999 Berlinale she received the...
Crystal + Lucy Awards to Honor Elizabeth Banks, Tracee Ellis Ross, Mira Nair, & More
Former “Daily Show” correspondent Jessica Williams is set to host the 2017 Crystal + Lucy Awards. Elizabeth Banks, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Mira Nair are among the women being honored at the...
Carol Morley to Direct Patricia Clarkson-Starrer “Out of Blue”
A neo-noir mystery toplined by Patricia Clarkson and helmed by Carol Morley? Count us in. A press release has announced that Clarkson will star in “Out of Blue,” Morley’s follow-up to 2014’s...
LA Film Fest Competition Lineup Announced: 46 Percent Women-Directed
The LA Film Festival (LAFF) has announced its 2017 competition lineups. “Our competitions reflect who Film Independent is as an organization,” emphasized LAFF Director Jennifer Cochis. “Within...
Diane Lane to Star in Reed Morano’s Next Film
Hot off rave reviews for directing the first three episodes of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Reed Morano has announced her next project. A press release revealed that the Indie Spirit Award...
Trailer Watch: A Rebellion Is Brewing in Season 5 of “Orange Is the New Black”
“The only way out is for us to come together,” says Gloria (Selenis Levya) in a newly released trailer for Season 5 of “Orange Is the New Black.” The action-packed spot returns to this...
Julie Andrews to Be Honored at Hamptons Film Fest
Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is set to honor one of the most beloved actresses of all time. Whether you know her best as Mary Poppins or Maria von Trapp, chances are you’ve been...
Viola Davis-Produced Web Series About Emerging Artists Released
“You can’t tell yourself no. There’s going to be a lot of people saying no. You can’t be one of those people,” says one of the characters in “Emerging Artist Series,” a new web series...
Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces Participants of Diversity Fellows Initiative
Chicken & Egg Pictures has announced the newest participants of their Diversity Fellows Initiative. Now in its second year, the program supports non-fiction projects directed by women of color....
Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz to Topline “The Widow”
Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz are joining forces. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actresses have signed on to star in “The Widow,” a thriller about a young woman (Moretz) who...
Diane Keaton and Jacki Weaver to Star in Zara Hayes’ “Poms”
Diane Keaton and Jacki Weaver are forming a squad. Deadline reports that the pair have signed on to star in “Poms,” a comedy about women in a retirement community who start a cheerleading team....
Jacqueline Goldfinger Wins $10K Yale Drama Series Prize
Jacqueline Goldfinger has been awarded the 2017 Yale Drama Prize for her play “Bottle Fly,” a multi-generational family drama. The honor comes with a stipend of $10,000, and “Bottle Fly”...
Trailer Watch: “Rough Night” Tackles HPV and Human Friendipedes
FYI: “If you’ve had sex after the year 1991, then you do have HPV.” A new Red Band trailer has dropped for Lucia Aniello’s “Rough Night,” and it’s full of gems like this. The ensemble...
“Little Women” Miniseries on the Way From PBS and BBC
It’s been nearly 150 years since “Little Women” was first published and the March sisters remain some of the most beloved characters of all-time — a fact which will be capitalized on by...
Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, and Candice Bergen to Star in “50 Shades”-Inspired “Book Club”
Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, and Candice Bergen are teaming up. The trio will star in “Book Club,” an indie comedy about lifelong friends in their 60s whose worlds are rocked by Anastasia Steele...
Agnès Varda Film Series to Screen at BAMcinématek
Now is your chance to catch up on — or revisit — the works of Agnès Varda. Brooklyn’s BAMcinématek has announced an upcoming six-film series celebrating the acclaimed auteur’s...
Teaser Watch: Lindsey Stirling Learns to Believe in Herself in “Brave Enough”
“Looking back over my life, I can’t believe everything that has happened to me,” says Lindsey Stirling in a newly released teaser for “Lindsey Stirling: Brave Enough.” The new documentary...
“Transparent” Writer Faith Soloway Has a New Show in the Works
“Transparent” writer and producer Faith Soloway has a new show in development. Variety reports that she’s teaming up with UK-based Dancing Ledge Prods. to make its first series, “Super...
Catherine Deneuve-Starrer “The Midwife” Acquired by Music Box Films
Music Box Films has snagged the U.S. rights to “The Midwife,” a French dramedy starring Catherine Frot ( “Marguerite”) and Catherine Deneuve (“Dancer in the Dark”). Variety broke...
Trailer Watch: Women Rally Against an Extremist Rabbi in “The Women’s Balcony”
A U.S. trailer has arrived for “The Women’s Balcony,” a story of women fighting for justice in their place of worship. The dramedy centers on the aftermath of a bar mitzvah celebration that...
New Princess Diana Doc Coming to HBO
Twenty years ago, the world was rocked by the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales. HBO has acquired the U.S. rights to a new doc about the beloved royal icon produced by Oxford Film and...
Melissa McCarthy to Star in R-Rated Puppet Comedy “The Happytime Murders”
Melissa McCarthy is about to kick some puppet ass. Deadline reports that the Oscar-nominated actress has signed on to star in and produce STXfilms’ “The Happytime Murders,” an R-rated puppet...
“The Handmaid’s Tale” Renewed for a Second Season
“The Handmaid’s Tale” premiered just one week ago, and already we can rest assured knowing that the fun/horror will continue after the first season concludes. Variety reports that Hulu has...
Dionne Warwick Doc in the Works
“I Say a Little Prayer,” “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” — these are the kinds of songs that inspire strangers to sing together, with or without alcohol. And these...
Kelly Carmichael to Head Production & Development for Jessica Chastain’s Freckle Films
Consider us pleasantly unsurprised. Jessica Chastain’s production company, Freckle Films, has hired a female president of production and development: former Weinstein Company and Miramax...
Trailer Watch: A Ballerina Nears the End of Her Career in “Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan”
“I’ve always been extremely devoted to what I do,” says Wendy Whelan in a newly released trailer for an upcoming documentary centered on the acclaimed ballerina. Whelan joined the New York...
Hot Docs 2017 Women Directors: Meet Selma Vilhunen — “Hobbyhorse Revolution”
Selma Vilhunen is a director and screenwriter of both fiction and documentary films. She is also one of the co-founders of the production company Tuffi Films. Her fiction feature debut, “Little...
Sally Potter’s “The Party” Gets UK Distribution
Sally Potter’s latest film has secured distribution in the UK. ScreenDaily reports that “The Party” has been acquired by Picturehouse Entertainment, with a planned fall release. The...
Hot Docs 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sofia Bohdanowicz — “Maison du bonheur”
Sofia Bohdanowicz is an experimental filmmaker from Toronto, Canada. Her most recent collection of shorts, “Last Poems,” explores the passing of her paternal grandmother through the poetry of...
Petra Volpe’s “The Divine Order” Wins Tribeca Audience Award
A woman-helmed film has won another major Tribeca honor. Just days ago we reported that women directors dominated the fest’s top awards, and now a press release has announced that Petra Volpe’s...
“Commanding the Table” Director Leslie Iwerks on Culinary and Hospitality Pioneer Ella Brennan
Leslie Iwerks is an Academy Award and Emmy-nominated director and producer. For over a decade, she has produced, directed, and edited award-winning feature and short documentaries, television...
“Toni Erdmann” Wins Big at German Film Awards
Nearly a year after its world premiere at Cannes, “Toni Erdmann” continues to make its mark around the globe. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Maren Ade’s dark comedy dominated the German...
“Ingobernable” Renewed for Second Season
We haven’t seen the last of Emilia Urquiza. Netflix has renewed “Ingobernable” for a second season, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The Spanish-language political drama centers on the...
Hot Docs 2017 Women Directors: Meet Vaishali Sinha — “Ask the Sexpert”
Vaishali Sinha co-directed and produced the feature documentary “Made in India,” which focused on the personal stories behind the phenomenon of outsourcing surrogate mothers to India. The...
Trailer Watch: Mandy Moore and Claire Holt Become Shark Food in “47 Meters Down”
“It’s like you’re going to the zoo — except you are in the cage.” A new trailer has been released for “47 Meters Down,” a thriller that sees Mandy Moore (“This Is Us”) and...
Women Directors Dominate Tribeca’s Top Awards
Female filmmakers left a major impression on Tribeca jurors. The fest runs until Sunday, April 30, but presented awards for its 16th edition on Thursday. Women-directed films were named U.S. Best...
Teaser Watch: Diana, Princess of Themyscira Becomes Diana Prince in “Wonder Woman”
June 2 can’t come soon enough. We’re counting down the days until Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” hits theaters. In the meantime, a new TV promo for the Gal Gadot-led film has aired, and the...
Lena Khan’s “The Tiger Hunter” Picked Up by Shout! Factory
Lena Khan’s feature directorial debut has secured distribution. Deadline reports that Shout! Factory has acquired all of the North American rights to “The Tiger Hunter,” a timely comedy about...
Alicia Vikander-Starrer “Tulip Fever” Gets a New Release Date and Trailer
We’re finally going to get to see “Tulip Fever.” The Alicia Vikander-led romantic drama was originally scheduled to hit theaters last July, but the film’s distributor, The Weinstein Company,...
Bethany Ashton Wolf’s “Forever My Girl” Acquired by Roadside
“Forever My Girl” has found a home. Variety writes that Roadside Attractions has acquired domestic distribution rights to Bethany Ashton Wolf’s romance about high school sweethearts, missed...
Anika Noni Rose Options Rights to Best-Selling YA Series “Shadowshaper”
Anika Noni Rose is working on taking “Shadowshaper” from the page to the screen. The Tony winner — and her production company, Roaring Virgin Productions — have purchased the film...
Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi’s Chavela Vargas Doc Acquired by Music Box Films
Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi’s award-winning Chavela Vargas documentary has found a home. Music Box Films has acquired the U.S. rights to “Chavela” and is planning a theatrical release for...
Family Comedy from Erica Oyama in Development at Fox
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro and Marti Noxon’s “UnREAL” has earned rave reviews for depicting the disturbing drama and ugliness behind the scenes of a “Bachelor”-esque reality show. But before...
Jacqueline Bisset to Star in “Journey to Miyakojima”
Jacqueline Bisset has signed on to topline “Journey to Miyakojima,” Variety reports. Scheduled to begin shooting this October in Japan, the family drama centers on “a quietly ailing” family...
Anjelica Huston to Be Honored at Seattle Film Fest
Anjelica Huston is set to add another trophy to her mantle. The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) has announced that the Oscar winner has been chosen as the 2017 recipient of their Career...
Elyse Hollander’s Madonna Biopic Picked Up by Universal
Get ready to vogue at your local movie theater: a Madonna biopic is coming to the big screen. Universal has picked up “Blond Ambition,” Elyse Hollander’s 2016 Black List-topping script about...
Ingrid Michaelson to Star in Hulu Series from Liz Tigelaar
Singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson is heading to the small screen. The Hollywood Reporter writes that she’ll star in Hulu’s “The Way I Am,” a semi-autobiographical series she co-created...