BY Rachel Montpelier
Pick of the Day: “The Macaluso Sisters”
A fun day at the beach has unforeseen ripple effects in “The Macaluso Sisters,” Emma Dante’s adaptation of her play of the same name. Comprised of three parts that catch up with the...
Thriller Starring Boxing Champ Kali “K.O.” Reis Lands at IFC Films
“Catch the Fair One,” a thriller toplined by boxer Kali “K.O.” Reis, based on a story of her own creation, is on its way to theaters. According to Variety, IFC Films has acquired U.S....
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter” Acquired by Netflix Ahead of Venice World Premiere
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s feature directorial debut has found a home ahead of its world premiere at Venice Film Festival next month. U.S. rights to “The Lost Daughter,” an adaptation of Elena...
Trailer Watch: Marina Zenovich Dives Deep into Show Biz Misogyny in “What Happens in Hollywood”
Documentarian Marina Zenovich turns her eye to Hollywood’s insidious misogyny in a new docuseries. A trailer for “What Happens in Hollywood” has arrived and sees actresses,...
NYCWF Presents Inaugural Microgrants to 10 Women and Nonbinary Filmmakers
NYC Women Filmmakers (NYCWF), a non-profit that supports women and nonbinary filmmakers, has announced the first recipients of its new microgrant program. According to a press release, the grantees...
HBO Developing Series Based on Annabelle Gurwitch’s LA Times Essay on Homelessness
Annabelle Gurwitch has written about her experience taking in an unhoused couple for the Los Angeles Times and in her new book, “You’re Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility.”...
Pick of the Day: “The Pursuit of Love”
The new miniseries “The Pursuit of Love” features two storytelling tropes that tend to annoy me: the juxtaposition of the free spirited woman and her wallflower best friend, and the woman...
Heather Mitchell & Jenna Bans Land Script Commitment at Fox for “Never Have I Ever” Series Adaptation
“Scandal” alumnae Heather Mitchell and Jenna Bans have another twisty drama on the way. Deadline reports the duo have landed a script commitment with penalty at Fox for an untitled series...
Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” Will Be New York Film Fest’s Centerpiece Film
The 59th New York Film Festival (NYFF) has named Jane Campion’s latest, “The Power of the Dog,” as its Centerpiece selection. A press release has announced the Western is set to...
Limited Series About Nobel-Winning Scientist Jennifer Doudna in the Works
Jennifer Doudna and her breakthroughs in gene editing could be coming to the small screen. Mark Gordon Pictures has optioned the rights to Walter Isaacson’s bestseller “The Code Breaker:...
Grace Parra Janney Developing Mexican-American Family Comedy for ABC, Eva Longoria to Direct Pilot
Eva Longoria and writer-comedian Grace Parra Janney are collaborating on an ABC comedy. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Parra Janney is writing a family comedy “inspired by her own Mexican...
Whoopi Goldberg & Danielle Deadwyler to Star in Chinonye Chukwu’s Mamie Till-Mobley Biopic
Whoopi Goldberg and Danielle Deadwyler (“Watchmen”) have joined the cast of Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till,” which follows Mamie Till-Mobley in the aftermath of the murder of...
NALIP, Disney, Amblin, Starz, and MPA Team Up for Latino Lens: Producers Pipeline Incubator
The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) is working with Disney, Amblin Partners, Starz, and the MPA to nurture the next generation of Latinx producers. The orgs have joined...
Trailer Watch: Weed, Romance, & Shenanigans Abound in “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens” Season 2
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Such is life — and “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens.” A trailer has arrived for Season 2 of Awkwafina’s...
“Cousins” Directors Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith on Exploring Indigenous Identity and Resilience
Ainsley Gardiner (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Whakatōhea), has produced more than a dozen short and feature films, documentaries, and television drama series. Her first short...
Telefilm Canada Achieves Gender Parity, but Lags in Its Support of Women of Color
Telefilm Canada, Canada’s top film financier, has reached gender parity among the projects it funds. But the org still has some work to do. According to The Hollywood Reporter, there is still a...
Samantha N. Sheppard and J.E. Smyth Named AMPAS’ 2021 Academy Film Scholars
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is supporting the work of scholars Samantha N. Sheppard and J.E. Smyth. They have been named as the 2021 Academy Film Scholars and will each...
English-Language Remake of Lesbian Romantic Drama “Two of Us” in the Works
“Two of Us,” a French drama about a retirement-age lesbian couple, may be getting an English-language update. According to Screen Daily, Sarah Sulick of London’s Bright...
Lena Waithe Producing “Being Mary: The Mary Tyler Moore Documentary”
Lena Waithe is gonna make a Mary Tyler Moore documentary after all. Variety reports that Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions and Endeavor Content are producing “Being Mary: The Mary Tyler...
“Pen15,” “I May Destroy You,” “Girls5eva,” and More Awarded ReFrame TV Stamp
Buzzy titles and awards nominees such as “I May Destroy You,” “Pen15,” “Hacks,” “Girls5eva,” and “Pose” are among the latest awardees of...
Sophia Nahli Allison Directing Follow-Up Special to Civil Rights Docuseries “Eyes on the Prize”
For her next project, Oscar-nominated “A Love Song for Latasha” filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison will embark on a journey begun by Henry Hampton’s Peabody-winning civil rights...
Trailer Watch: Rep. Barbara Lee Has Been “Speaking Truth to Power” Throughout Her Career
“I see myself more as a public servant, not necessarily a politician,” Congresswoman Barbara Lee tells us in the trailer for “Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power.” From...
Pick of the Day: “No Ordinary Man”
In January 1989, jazz musician Billy Tipton died from a bleeding ulcer with his son, Billy Tipton, Jr., by his side. When the paramedics arrived, they and the younger Tipton discovered Billy —...
Swedish Film Institute & Netherlands Film Fund Launch International Fund to Support Underserved Filmmakers
The Swedish Film Institute and the Netherlands Film Fund are partnering on an initiative designed to support filmmakers who are too often denied funding. A press release announced that the two orgs...
The Future of Film Is Female Announces Spring 2021 Grant Recipients
The Future of Film Is Female (FOFIF) has awarded its latest round of funding. The org, which supports female filmmakers with financial support, exhibition, and promotion, presented Spring 2021 grants...
Quote of the Day: Jodie Turner-Smith Calls for Inclusive Hiring Above & Below the Line During Cannes Talk
Jodie Turner-Smith is emphasizing the importance of inclusive hiring — and not just directors and actors. Per Variety, the “Queen & Slim” star called on the industry to provide...
Filmmakers Resita Cox and Latoya Flowers Receive Hulu/Kartemquin Accelerator Program Grants
Once again, two women have been named the recipients of Hulu and Kartemquin Films’ Accelerator Program for filmmakers of color. As Deadline reports, Resita Cox and Latoya Flowers will each...
Pick of the Day: “This Way Up”
Set in the months before COVID-19 brought the world to a grinding halt, Season 2 of “This Way Up” sees its main character, Aine (writer-creator-EP Aisling Bea), navigating fits and starts...
Pick of the Day: “Black Widow”
Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow made her MCU debut in 2010’s “Iron Man 2.” In the intervening 11 years, she’s joined the Avengers, saved the world half a dozen times, and...
Diversity in Cannes Will Make Its Post-Pandemic Return with Diversity Day 2021
Unless you live under a rock, the following won’t come as a surprise, yet it still bears repeating: Cannes is not overly concerned about diversity or inclusion. Despite pledging to do better in...
Trailer Watch: Aisling Bea and Sharon Horgan Have So Many Secrets in “This Way Up” Season 2
A trailer has arrived for the new season of “This Way Up,” the Hulu/Channel 4 dramedy about a woman rebuilding her life after a nervous breakdown. Last time we saw protagonist Aine...
Pick of the Day: “The Legend of the Underground”
Arriving on HBO as Pride Month comes to a close, Giselle Bailey and Nneka Onuorah’s documentary “The Legend of the Underground” follows a group of non-conformist Nigerian men in the...
Pick of the Day: “Kevin Can F**k Himself”
“King of Queens,” “According to Jim,” “Still Standing,” “Home Improvement,” “Kevin Can Wait” — the list of sitcoms centering doofus,...
Apply Now: Women’s Weekend Film Challenge’s Inaugural Pilot Accelerator Program
This fall, Women’s Weekend Film Challenge (WWFC) will give six to eight up and coming TV scribes the opportunity to pitch to studios, production companies, and producers. Applications are now...
Amazon Studios Implements Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Playbook
Amazon Studios is making it official. The company has implemented a formal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) policy, including “a detailed ‘playbook’ with hiring and...
New Org Will Offer Mentorship and Financial Support to Disabled Screenwriters
According to last year’s WGAW Inclusion Report, self-identified writers with disabilities comprise only 0.7 percent of current active Writers Guild of America West members. In contrast, about a...
Assia Boundaoui, Débora Souza Silva, & More Receive Sundance Institute Documentary Fund Grants
Eighteen non-fiction projects, at various stages of production, have received funding from the latest round of Sundance Institute Documentary Fund Grants. The initiative provides a total of $590,000...
Pick of the Day: “Little Birds”
Situated at the intersection of sexual liberation and colonialism, “Little Birds” is a reimagining of Anaïs Nin’s 1979 erotic story collection of the same name. The Starz...
Pick of the Day: “Feel Good”
Mae tries to break out of her destructive patterns in the new season of “Feel Good” — which means she has no choice but to face her past head-on. The second and final season of the...
Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY and Google Launch $500K Film Grant for Underrepresented Creatives
ARRAY, the arts collective for women and people of color founded by Ava DuVernay, will help bring one underrepresented creative’s film to the screen with its latest initiative. According to a...
June 2021 Television Preview
Summer TV kicks off in earnest this June — a boatload of new and returning projects by and about women are set to debut, including a comedy about an all-Muslim women punk band, a darkly funny...
2021 WIA World Summit to Feature Talks from Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin and Victoria Alonso
The fifth Women in Animation World Summit is almost here. JusticeRx’s Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin, Ph.D. and Marvel Studios’ Victoria Alonso will be among the virtual event’s...
Pick of the Day: “Port Authority”
When we asked writer-director Danielle Lessovitz why she wanted to make “Port Authority,” she told us, “I wanted to write about a connection, both romantic and familial, that...
Pick of the Day: “Plan B”
Given its subject matter and raunchy sense of humor, Natalie Morales’ teen comedy “Plan B” will probably draw comparisons to “Booksmart” and “Unpregnant.”...
Barbara Shearer Directing Ghislaine Maxwell Docuseries for Peacock
Barbara Shearer is bringing the story of alleged Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to Peacock. She directed the three-part docuseries “Epstein’s Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell,”...
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” Renewed for Season 3 at HBO
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” *clap clap* is getting another season *clap clap*. A press release has confirmed Robin Thede’s groundbreaking sketch series has been renewed for Season 3...
Women in Animation Launches Talent Database, Platform Currently Boasts Over 5,000 Candidates
Women in Animation’s (WIA) latest step in its 50/50 by 2025 gender equality campaign is the WIA Talent Database. According to a press release, the new system is “designed to be an...
Abby Ginzberg’s Barbara Lee Doc “Speaking Truth to Power” Acquired by Greenwich Entertainment
It can be hard to remember in times like this, but there are actually people in Congress who are on the right side of history. A documentary about one of them has landed at Greenwich Entertainment, a...
Michaela Coel, Theresa Ikoko, Candice Carty-Williams, & More Have Shows in the Works at the BBC
The BBC has announced its upcoming drama slate, and confirmed it has projects on the way from “I May Destroy You” creator and star Michaela Coel and BAFTA-nominated “Rocks”...
Pick of the Day: “Take Out Girl”
“Take Out Girl” is one of those films that really could’ve benefited from a bigger budget. That may sound like an insult, but it’s more of a lament. Starring and co-written by...
Trailer Watch: The Past Catches Up with Mae in the Second and Final Season of “Feel Good”
“I think I’m gonna self-destruct,” Mae (Mae Martin) announces in the new trailer for “Feel Good’s” second and final season. The spot teases peaks and valleys in...