BY Rachel Montpelier
“Vida” Renewed for Season 3 at Starz
More “Vida” is on the way. Deadline confirms Tanya Saracho’s half-hour Starz dramedy has been renewed for a third season. Season 2 is currently airing, and the third is expected...
Weekly Update for May 31: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Too Late to Die Young – Written and Directed by Dominga Sotomayor (Opens in NY; Opens in LA June 7) “Too Late To Die Young” Set in post-Pinochet Chile in...
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Starting a Prod. Company Focused on Stories By/About Women
Hillary Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, are taking Barack and Michelle Obama’s lead. Like the former President and First Lady, the Clintons are launching their own production company....
Thumbs Down Report 2019: Women Critics Still Outnumbered by Men Two to One
The gender gap in film criticism is, unfortunately, holding firm. Dr. Martha Lauzen and the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film have released their annual “Thumbs Down”...
Apply Now: Chicken & Egg Pictures’ 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab
If you’re a woman or nonbinary director working on your first or second nonfiction feature, this is for you. Chicken & Egg Pictures is now accepting applications for its 2020 (Egg)celerator...
Marsai Martin Will Topline and Produce Fantasy Pic “Amari and the Night Brothers”
Marsai Martin has lined up her next project. The “Black-ish” and “Little” actress will star in and produce “Amari and the Night Brothers,” a pic based on B.B....
Karlovy Vary Film Fest’s 2019 Main Competition Lineup Is 25% Women-Directed
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 54th edition. Cineuropa confirms 12 titles have been selected for the fest’s Main Competition. Three of those...
Sarah Streicher’s Amazon Pilot “The Wilds” Ordered to Series, Amy B. Harris Will Showrun
Amazon’s newest show will be “Mean Girls” meets “Lost” or more specifically, “part survival drama, part dystopic slumber party.” According to The Hollywood...
2019 Women in Animation Summit to Feature New Study from Stacy L. Smith
The third Women in Animation World Summit will unveil landmark research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. A press released announced that the Summit — to be...
Sally Wainwright’s “Last Tango in Halifax” Will Return in 2020
“Gentleman Jack” is in good company. Just a few days after HBO and BBC renewed the period drama about “first modern lesbian” Anne Lister, there’s news another Sally Wainwright...
Trailer Watch: Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” Follows Central Park Five Before & After Conviction
In the latest trailer for “When They See Us,” Ava DuVernay’s Netflix miniseries about the Central Park Five, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and...
British MP Jess Phillips’ Book “Everywoman” Will Be Adapted for TV
Jess Phillips is about to have her “Shrill” moment. The self-described “gobby MP,” who “has a tendency to shout about the stuff I care about,” will have her story told on TV....
Weekly Update for May 24: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Booksmart – Directed by Olivia Wilde; Written by Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, Katie Silberman, and Emily Halpern “Booksmart” is one of the best movies I...
Inside Out 2019 Women Directors: Meet Almerinda Travassos – “Dykes in the Streets”
Almerinda Travassos was born in Portugal and is now based in Canada. Her work primarily explores issues of history, memory, and family within the context of the Portuguese-born, Lesbian identity....
Cannes: Rebecca Zlotowski’s “An Easy Girl” Named Best French-Language Film at Directors’ Fortnight
Rebecca Zlotowski’s fourth feature has been honored at Cannes Film Festival. Her 2019 Directors’ Fortnight selection, “An Easy Girl,” won the sidebar’s prize for best...
“Gentleman Jack” Renewed for Season 2 at HBO and BBC
The Yorkshire lady of renown, the one who has the fairer sex under her spell, is sticking around. Deadline confirms “Gentleman Jack,” the HBO and BBC period drama about “first...
Jill Magid on Exploring Art, Accessibility, and Legacy in “The Proposal”
Jill Magid is an artist, writer, and filmmaker whose work includes performance art and large and small-scale installations. She has been commissioned to make work for the Whitney Museum of American...
Quote of the Day: “Port Authority’s” Leyna Bloom on Being the First Trans WOC to Lead a Cannes Pic
Leyna Bloom, star of Danielle Lessovitz’s “Port Authority,” is the first trans woman of color to lead a film selected for the Cannes Film Festival. As she explained in a talk at the fest,...
Maria Schrader Will Direct Netflix Miniseries Based on Deborah Feldman’s “Unorthodox”
Another woman-centric international series is in the works at Netflix. Production on “Unorthodox,” a miniseries inspired by Deborah Feldman’s best-selling memoir, has kicked off in...
Watch: Busy Philipps and ACLU Fight Back Against Abortion Bans with #YouKnowMe Campaign
Busy Philipps and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are putting a human face on an issue that is being unjustly politicized — one that, unsurprisingly, affects women, women of color,...
Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah’s “Party Girls” Film Pitch Nabbed by Paramount
Paramount Pictures has snagged “Party Girls,” an original film pitch from”Legally Blonde” screenwriters Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Karen McCullah. Deadline confirmed the...
Trailer Watch: Nova’s New Book Breaks Her Family’s Heart in “Queen Sugar” Season 4
The memoir Nova Bordelon was writing last season on “Queen Sugar” hits shelves in Season 4. “Blessing and Blood” makes quite a splash, but the buzz isn’t all positive. A...
Jill Soloway Shares Topple List, an Inclusive Collection of Working Culture Creators
Jill Soloway has unveiled the latest way they’re working to topple the patriarchy. The “Transparent” creator and Time’s Up supporter introduced The Topple List, a living...
Trailer Watch: Aisling Franciosi Is on a Quest for Revenge in Jennifer Kent’s “The Nightingale”
“You know what it’s like to have a white fella take everything you have, don’t ya?” Clare (Aisling Franciosi) asks her traveling companion, Billy (Baykali Ganambarr), in the...
Reed Morano and Kristen Wiig Pull Projects from Georgia in Protest of Abortion Ban
Reed Morano and Kristen Wiig are standing up for every woman’s right to choose. Both women have pulled productions from Georgia to resist the state’s draconian, misogynist...
Ursula Macfarlane’s Harvey Weinstein Doc “Untouchable” Acquired by Hulu
Ursula Macfarlane’s take on Harvey Weinstein, his power in Hollywood, and how he used said power to prey on and abuse women is heading to Hulu. The Hollywood Reporter confirms the streamer has...
New Database of Women Working Above & Below the Line in Film Introduced at Cannes
The tired myth that gender equality in film is impossible because there just are not enough women working is being disproven yet again. A new database, Primetime, debuted at Cannes today. Founded by...
New Study From 5050×2020 Finds Significant Gender Gap in French Film Criticism
It’s been a year since 5050×2020 introduced the Gender Parity Pledge at Cannes, but the equality collective’s work is far from over. Since Cannes 2018, 5050×2020 has...
Weekly Update for May 17: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING The Sun Is Also a Star – Directed by Ry Russo-Young; Written by Tracy Oliver College-bound romantic Daniel Bae (Charles Melton) and Jamaica-born pragmatist Natasha...
SyFy Orders “Vagrant Queen,” A Space Opera with All-Women Writers and Directors
Syfy’s next series will follow in the footsteps of “Harlots” and “Queen Sugar,” shows that boast all-women creative teams and directing rosters, respectively. Comic...
Jen and Sylvia Soska Sign First-Look Deal with Prospero Pictures
Cult movie filmmakers and twins Jen and Sylvia Soska have entered into a first-look deal with Prospero Pictures (“A Dangerous Method”). The Hollywood Reporter confirms the Soskas’...
Swedish Film Institute Unveils Initiative for Women Screenwriters at Cannes
The Swedish Film Institute has launched a new initiative in the hopes of addressing the gender gap among Sweden’s screenwriters — especially the one that persists on bigger budget films....
Trailer Watch: “Black-ish’s” Rainbow Johnson Tells the Story of Her Childhood in “Mixed-ish”
In the summer of 1985, “Black-ish” matriarch Rainbow Johnson was 12 years old and living on a commune with her parents and two younger siblings. It was an idyllic, welcoming environment...
Watch: A Woman Gets a Text from Her Missing Lover in Clips of Mati Diop’s Cannes Pic “Atlantics”
Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” is making history as the first film directed by a black woman to screen in Cannes’ main Competition. The drama centers on Ada (Mame Bineta Sane), a young woman...
Trailer Watch: Ali Wong Reconnects with Her Childhood Sweetheart in “Always Be My Maybe”
Sasha Tran’s life seems perfect. She’s a happily engaged celebrity chef who’s about open another high-end restaurant. But things go sideways when she returns to her hometown, San...
Cate Blanchett Will Star in “Stateless,” Immigration Limited Series She Co-Created
Cate Blanchett has another TV project in the works. On the heels of directing and casting news for “Mrs. America,” the FX show in which she’ll portray Phyllis Schlafly,...
“Full Frontal’s” Amy Hoggart Is Getting Her Own TBS Show
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” correspondent Amy Hoggart will soon have her own TBS project. She’ll deconstruct the problems facing Americans by playing a severely underqualified...
Touring Julia Reichert Film Retrospective Will Kick Off at MoMA
Julia Reichert’s almost 50-year career is getting a retrospective. A press release confirms the Wexner Center for the Arts has organized “Julia Reichert: 50 Years in Film,” a...
Apply Now: AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women
The American Film Institute (AFI) is now accepting applications for its second annual Cinematography Intensive for Women. The tuition-free program will take place June 28-July 1, 2019 at the AFI...
Cannes Releases Gender Stats for 2019 Festival, in Accordance With Parity Pledge
Representation-wise, Cannes 2019 has been a significant — albeit not unexpected — disappointment for women directors. Just a handful of women-helmed films have been selected for...
Cannes 2019: Lana Condor & Brianna Hildebrand to Star in Marianna Palka Comedy “Girls Night”
The latest news from Cannes involves a new movie from Marianna Palka. The “Good Dick” writer-director will helm women-driven buddy comedy “Girls Night,” starring “To All the...
Hannah Gadsby’s New Stand-Up Special “Douglas” Heading to Netflix
If you love Hannah Gadsby’s work but haven’t been able to catch her on tour, we have some good news for you. The “Nanette” comedian’s last stand-up set,...
Teaser Watch: “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” Is No Fairy Tale
Maleficent is back and as acerbic as ever. A teaser trailer has dropped for “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” a sequel to 2014’s “Sleeping Beauty” reimagining,...
Trailer Watch: “After Maria,” Three Puerto Rican Women Are Stuck Between Home & Homelessness
After the devastation Puerto Rico endured during Hurricane Maria, FEMA provided “transitional shelter assistance” to displaced people, and put them up in hotel rooms. Nadia...
Trailer Watch: Waad Al-Kateab Shares a Story of Family, Love, and War in “For Sama”
Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts’s “For Sama” sees Kateab shooting footage of the Syrian revolution and war while speaking directly to her young daughter, Sama, via narration....
Swedish Film Institute CEO Anna Serner to Be Honored at Mill Valley Film Fest
The Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) is set to celebrate Anna Serner’s commitment to gender parity in the biz. According to a press release, Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, will...
Weekly Update for May 10: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Poms – Directed by Zara Hayes It is always nice to see women over 40 on-screen, as central characters. “Poms” takes us into a retirement community where...
Report: Top Studios and Talent Agencies’ Leadership Lagging in Inclusion
Throughout the past year or so, the film industry has seen several gains in terms of inclusivity. Sixteen black directors worked on top-grossing movies in 2018, a 12-year high. Last year also marked...
Trailer Watch: Nola Darling Commits to Opal and Her Art in “She’s Gotta Have It” Season 2
“This love shit is a motherfucker,” Nola Darling laments in the trailer for Season 2 of Netflix’s “She’s Gotta Have It.” After a season of juggling three male...
Dawn Porter Directing Doc About Congressman & Civil Rights Leader John Lewis for CNN Films
Dawn Porter will reunite with Congressman John Lewis for her next project. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the “Trapped” filmmaker is directing a documentary about Lewis’ most recent...
Phoebe Robinson Signs Multi-Year Overall Deal with ABC Studios
Maybe everything’s not trash, after all. According to Deadline, comedian, writer, and podcaster Phoebe Robinson has inked a multi-year overall deal with ABC Studios. Under the agreement, the...