BY Rachel Montpelier
Trailer Watch: A Woman Grapples with Trauma in Jessica M. Thompson’s “Light of the Moon”
“The Light of the Moon” “How about you let me decide how I feel?” Bonnie (Stephanie Beatriz, “Brooklyn Nine- Nine”), a rape survivor, tells her boyfriend Matt (Michael Stahl-David,...
Women’s Media Summit Issues White Paper & IDs Strategies for Fighting Gender Inequality
Nearly six months after its inaugural meeting, the Women’s Media Summit has unveiled its promised action plan for combating gender inequality in the media. The Summit released a white paper that...
Watch: This Honest Trailer Spotlights Why We Love “Wonder Woman”
Screen Junkies’ new Honest Trailer for “Wonder Woman” breaks down the charm of the much-loved film with one line: “Patty Jenkins bravely asks the question, ‘What if a female-led superhero...
Newly Launched BFI Filmography Reveals Stark Gender Disparity in UK Film
Today the BFI introduced the BFI Filmography, a complete, living record of all the 10,000-and-counting UK films released since 1911. While the resource is, as the BFI describes, “a treasure trove...
Fall 2017 TV Preview: New Shows By and About Women to Check Out
“Star Trek: Discovery”: CBS ENTERTAINMENT We are officially in the throes of the fall television season — and the next couple of months will be an especially good time for women on the...
Shonda Rhimes’ Lifestyle Website Shondaland.com Has Arrived
Now we all have the chance to a part of Shondaland. According to Variety, “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” creator and mogul Shonda Rhimes has officially launched her lifestyle website....
Elisabeth Moss to Topline Film About Underground Abortion Network
Elisabeth Moss is pivoting from one women’s rights narrative to another. The star of the feminist dystopian drama “The Handmaid’s Tale” has signed on to topline Simon Curtis’ (“My Week...
Trailer Watch: A Native American Woman Takes to the Stage to Tell Her Story in “Te Ata”
“Te Ata”: The Chickasaw Nation “What do you have to say?” a professor challenges college student Mary Thompson Fisher aka Te Ata (Q’orianka Kilcher, “The New World”). “What stories do...
Emmys 2017: “Big Little Lies,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and Lena Waithe Win Big
The 2017 Emmy Awards were a great night for women in television. Not only did the two biggest awards go to women-centric series — “The Handmaid’s Tale” took home the best drama series...
Over Half of Filmmaker’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film Are Women
Filmmaker Magazine has published its annual 25 New Faces of Independent Film feature and over half of the individuals profiled are female. Fifteen women—including 12 solo filmmakers and three...
Weekly Update for September 15: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“First They Killed My Father” Films About Women Opening This Week First They Killed My Father — Directed by Angelina Jolie; Written by Angelina Jolie and Loung Ung (Available on...
Trailer Watch: A Grieving Family Searches for Answers in Lucy Cohen’s “Kingdom of Us”
“Kingdom of Us” One of the subjects of Lucy Cohen’s doc “Kingdom of Us” recalls an interaction she had with her father the morning before he killed himself. “He told me he had nobody...
Tatiana Huezo’s “Tempestad” Is Mexico’s Foreign-Language Oscar Pick
Another film from a female director has been selected to compete for a best foreign-language film nomination at the 2018 Academy Awards. “Tempestad,” a documentary about the human trafficking...
You’re Invited: Women and Hollywood’s 10th Anniversary Celebration in LA
Women and Hollywood will be hosting one of its 10th anniversary celebrations in Los Angeles on October 25. As we honor a decade of educating, advocating, and agitating for greater gender diversity...
Rebel Wilson Receives Record Settlement in Defamation Lawsuit
Rebel Wilson won a landmark sum in her lawsuit against Bauer Media, the publisher behind Woman’s Day and the Australian Women’s Weekly. Wilson, who had brought a libel case against Bauer,...
Women to Direct Royal Shakespeare Company’s Entire Summer 2018 Season
On the heels of the announcement of London’s new, all-female acting company, Dangerous Space, and the Royal Court’s majority female season, we have some more positive theater news from the UK....
Study: Number of Black and Asian Women on TV Reaches Recent Historical High, Behind the Scenes…
Study: Number of Black and Asian Women on TV Reaches Recent Historical High, Behind the Scenes Progress Stalls As the 2017–2018 television season gears up, you’re probably looking forward to...
Women-Helmed Films Set to Open and Close Busan International Film Fest
Female-directed films will open and close this year’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). ScreenDaily confirms that Shin Suwon’s “Glass Garden” will kick off the fest October 15, while...
You’re Invited: Women and Hollywood’s 10th Anniversary Celebration in NYC
Women and Hollywood is celebrating its 10th anniversary this fall. And our first event, to be held in New York City, is fast approaching. As we honor a decade of educating, advocating, and agitating...
Laverne Cox to Star in Elizabeth Banks-Produced Psychic Drama Pilot for ABC
The woman behind “Orange Is the New Black’s” Sophia Burset has signed on to portray another — albeit very different — reformed criminal. Laverne Cox will star in “Spirited,” a...
Juliette Binoche to Star in Naomi Kawase’s Next Film “Vision”
Juliette Binoche has lined up her next project. The Oscar-winning actress will portray a journalist in “Vision,” from “Radiance” director Naomi Kawase, ScreenDaily confirms. Filming on the...
Weekly Update for September 8: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Home Again”: Open Road Films Films About Women Opening This Week Home Again — Written and Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer “Home Again” stars Reese Witherspoon as Alice Kinney in a...
Submit Your Script to the 2018 Athena IRIS Screenwriting Lab
Are you a female-identifying screenwriter? Then we have some good news for you: Submissions for the 2018 Athena IRIS Screenwriting Lab are now open. The Lab, an intensive focused on script...
Trailer Watch: Three People Struggle to Leave Hasidic Judaism in Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady’s “One…
Trailer Watch: Three People Struggle to Leave Hasidic Judaism in Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady’s “One of Us” “One of Us” “I called my mom and I said, ‘Hey, Mom. Can I talk to...
Gina Rodriguez Producing Two Immigration-Themed Series for CBS TV Studios
Looks like Gina Rodriguez is a multi-tasker on par with Jane Villanueva herself. Per Deadline, “Jane the Virgin” star Rodriguez is producing several projects for CBS TV Studios via her I Can...
Agnès Varda to Receive Honorary Oscar
Agnès Varda is receiving a much-deserved Academy Award. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced via press release that the prolific director will be presented with the Honorary...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Tracy Heather Strain — “Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart”
Tracy Heather Strain is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, writer, and producer. Her previous directing credits include episodes of miniseries “Unnatural Causes” and “I’ll Make Me a...
Trailer Watch: There’s Something within “Thelma”
Thelma (Eili Harboe) has just left her religious family and small hometown to attend university in Oslo. It’s not long before she finds herself thrown by two unexpected and seemingly unrelated...
Trailer Watch: A Superstar Seeks Connection in Sophie Fiennes’ “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami”
“I’ve been around the block — too many times,” Grace Jones observes in a trailer for Sophie Fiennes’ new documentary. “Around the globe is more like it.” That’s for sure: Jones...
New Research Disproves Three Myths About Female Directors
You know that only dudes go to the movies, right? That might sound ridiculous — because it is ridiculous and untrue — but that’s a sexist rule of thumb that studio execs still very...
Screen Australia Funding Projects from Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Watts, Bruna Papandrea, & More
Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Watts, and producer Bruna Papandrea are teaming up on a new feature film. Screen Australia confirms that the three will produce “Penguin Bloom,” a family film in which...
Weekly Update for September 1: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Viceroy’s House” Films About Women Opening This Week Tulip Fever “Tulip” In 17th century Amsterdam, an orphaned girl (Alicia Vikander) is forcibly married to a rich and powerful merchant...
Venice Film Fest 2017 Women Directors: Meet Annika Berg — “Team Hurricane”
Since she was a teenager Danish filmmaker Annika Berg has been making movies. She graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2015 and received critical acclaim for her graduation film,...
Venice Film Fest 2017 Women Directors: Meet Katharina Wyss — “Sarah Plays A Werewolf”
Katharina Wyss is a Swiss filmmaker based in Berlin. She has previously written, directed, edited, and produced commercials and short films “Es war einmal ein König,” “1000 Meilen von...
Venice Film Fest 2017 Women Directors: Meet Natalia Garagiola — “Hunting Season”
Natalia Garagiola is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is the writer-director of shorts “Rincón de López,” which screened at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema, and...
Trailer Watch: Joaquin Phoenix Is a Vigilante in Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here”
Not much is known about Joe (Joaquin Phoenix), the protagonist of Lynne Ramsay’s Cannes-winning thriller, “You Were Never Really Here.” He doesn’t answer when a client asks if he has kids. A...
Alankrita Shrivastava’s “Lipstick Under My Burkha” Gets U.S. Release
“Lipstick Under My Burkha” will have a U.S. theatrical run. Alankrita Shrivastava’s feminist film — which opened in India earlier this summer after initially being blocked for release by...
Venice Film Fest 2017 Women Directors: Meet Alena Lodkina — “Strange Colours”
Alena Lodkina is a Russian-born filmmaker based in Melbourne, Australia. She has made fiction and documentary short films that have played at festivals around the world, including Melbourne...
“Madam Secretary” Showrunner Barbara Hall Developing CIA Drama for CBS
Barbara Hall is shifting gears from the White House to the CIA. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the “Madam Secretary” creator and showrunner is working on “Family Business,” a CBS drama about a...
Trailer Watch: Tig Notaro Is Fearless in Season 2 of “One Mississippi”
“Let’s face it,” Kate (Stephanie Allynne) tells Tig (Tig Notaro), “Mississippi is just not the right demographic for you.” Kate — the producer of Tig’s radio show — is...
Jenji Kohan Recounts Sexism She Faced While Building Her Writing Career
Like the protagonists of her shows “Weeds” and “Orange Is the New Black,” Jenji Kohan isn’t shy about speaking her mind. And she won’t hesitate to call someone out if she needs to. This...
Women Win Four Categories at Gender-Neutral VMAs
After a much-hyped shift to gender-neutral awards, women won or co-won four of the 15 competitive categories at last night’s 2017 VMAs — approximately 27 percent. Female artists were...
Pink Shares Story About Her Daughter, Celebrates Individuality in Moving VMAs Speech
Pink used her VMAs platform to recount an interaction she’d had recently with her six-year-old daughter. Accepting the Video Vanguard award last night — which recognizes an artist’s career...
Weekly Update for August 25: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Served Like a Girl” Films About Women Opening This Week Served Like a Girl (Documentary) — Co-Written and Directed by Lysa Heslov (Opens in NY and LA) Director Lysa Heslov’s powerful...
TIFF 2017: Sara Driver’s Basquiat Doc Acquired by The Match Factory
The Toronto International Film Festival hasn’t even begun yet and already a woman-directed selection has been sold. Variety reports that Sara Driver’s doc “Boom for Real: The Late Teenage...
Lady Gaga to Perform at TIFF Premiere of Netflix Doc “Gaga: Five Foot Two”
Lady Gaga: Lady Gaga’s Twitter account Lady Gaga is such a larger-than-life figure that at times we forget that there’s a real woman behind the intricate costumes and bring-the-house-down...
Julianne Moore Will Be Celebrated at 2017 MoMA Film Benefit
It looks like Julianne Moore is going to have a good autumn. The Oscar winner has three films coming out — “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” “Wonderstruck,” and...
Amy Schumer Negotiated with Netflix for Better Pay for “The Leather Special”
“I would like to say that I have been selling out arenas these last couple years. Something a female comic has never done,” Amy Schumer wrote in an Instagram post yesterday. “That’s a big...
Just 4 Women-Directed Films Included in BBC’s 100 Greatest Comedies List
BBC Culture recently asked 253 film critics (118 women and 135 men) to identify their top 10 favorite comedies. “We urged the experts to go with their heart and pick personal favorites,” the...
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Riley Keough and Producer Gina Gammell Team Up for Felix Culpa Production Co.
Riley Keough is the latest actress to begin her own production company. Deadline reports that the “Logan Lucky” star has officially launched company Felix Culpa with producer Gina Gammell....
MoMA to Host Kelly Reichardt Mid-Career Retrospective
If you can’t wait for Kelly Reichardt’s next film, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has something to tide you over. The museum will be hosting a mid-career retrospective of Reichardt’s work,...