BY Jenna Dorsi
January 2020 Film Preview
Offerings from women filmmakers will not be slowing down in the new year. From thrillers to comedies to documentary films, there will be something for everyone to enjoy in January. Floria Sigismondi...
Yes She Can: Crowdfunding Picks
This month’s crowdfunding picks look at women who persevere — whether through daring feats, everyday moments that could mean life or death, or divulging something personal to someone they...
Under the Radar: April Wright Celebrates the Cinema in “Going Attractions”
“Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace,” from writer-director April Wright, is a loving documentary celebrating cinema and movie houses. Movie palaces were ornate,...
YouTube Premium’s “Impulse” Is the Rare Story That Offers a Nuanced Depiction of Rape
Countless films and television series have depicted girls and women being sexually assaulted — with varying degrees of success. Sometimes the incident isn’t even acknowledged by the show or...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Mariam Ghani – “What We Left Unfinished”
Mariam Ghani is a visual artist whose first feature, “What We Left Unfinished,” premiered at 2019 Berlinale and won the Critics Choice Award at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival....
Ready for Their Close-Up: VOD and Web Series Picks
Marginalized groups — such as women, people of color, and the queer community — have not always gotten the critical attention they deserve. Fortunately, each of the projects highlighted...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Ema Ryan Yamazaki – “Koshien: Japan’s Field of Dreams”
Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s first feature documentary, “Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators,” premiered in 2017 and won the Audience Award at the Nantucket...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Sara Dosa – “The Seer and the Unseen”
Sara Dosa’s first directorial feature, “The Last Season,” won the Golden Gate Award when it premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 2014. In addition to film,...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Olga Lvoff – “Busy Inside”
Olga Lvoff is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and a member of The European Film Academy. Her feature doc “When People Die They Sing Songs” was nominated for a Student Oscar in 2014...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Deia Schlosberg – “The Story of Plastic”
Deia Schlosberg made national news in October 2016 when she was arrested and charged with 45 years’ worth of felonies for filming the #ShutItDown pipeline protest in North Dakota. She produced...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Geeta Gandbhir – “Hungry to Learn”
Geeta Gandbhir is an award-winning director, producer, and editor. As director, she won Best Documentary at the News and Doc Emmys for HBO’s “I Am Evidence,” and Best Government and...
Class Is Now in Session: Crowdfunding Picks
A person’s moral center starts developing at a young age, and continues to grow throughout their life — something we’re exploring in this month’s round of crowdfunding selections....
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Cara Jones – “Blessed Child”
Cara Jones is an Emmy Award winning journalist who founded the production company Storytellers for Good. Her short films include “Surfing Possibility,” “Mama Hope,” and...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Katie Green and Carlye Rubin – “1275 Days”
Katie Green and Carlye Rubin have directed three feature documentaries together: “The (Dead Mothers) Club,” “The Family I Had,” and “1275 Days.” Together, the pair...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Jo Ardinger – “Personhood”
Jo Ardinger is an award-winning editor working on documentary and narrative film projects. Her editing credits include the documentary short “Beyond The Visible: The Story of the Very Large...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Abby Ginzberg – “Waging Change”
Abby Ginzberg has been making documentaries about race and social justice for over 30 years. Her directing credits include “And Then They Came for Us,” which won a Silver Gravel Award,...
November 2019 Film Preview
Awards season kicks into high gear this November. A host of films by and about women — prestigious biographical films, Oscar hopefuls, and blockbusters alike — are set to premiere. One...
Women Making History: Crowdfunding Picks
When it comes to history, women’s contributions have often been left out of the textbooks, or an event has been told exclusively from the male perspective. Each of this month’s crowdfunding picks...
BFI London FF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Aoife O’Kelly – “Walking with Shadows”
Aoife O’Kelly has worked in several aspects of television and film production for nearly a decade. She has made two short films, including “Fish” in 2015, and “Lula”...
Under the Radar: Francine Zuckerman Spotlights the Women of the Olympic Massacre in “After Munich”
The 1972 Munich Olympics were the first Games held in Germany since the Nazi regime oversaw the 1936 Olympics. Dubbed “The Happy Games,” initially it seemed like a successful fresh start, with...
NYFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Justine Triet – “Sibyl”
“Sibyl” is director Justine Triet’s third feature. She directed “Age of Panic” in 2013 and “In Bed with Victoria” in 2016. All three films screened at the...
The Family Complex: VOD and Web Series Picks
Our latest round of VOD and web series picks takes on one of the most complicated, universal, and inescapable institutions in existence: family. Whether it centers on a nontraditional path towards...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Shonali Bose – “The Sky Is Pink”
Shonali Bose’s 2005 feature film debut, “Amu,” won several awards, including the FIPRESCI by the International Federation of Film Critics, as well as two Indian National Awards for...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Jorunn Myklebust Syversen – “Disco”
Jorunn Myklebust Syversen works across film, video-art, and photography. Her first feature was 2017’s “The Tree Feller.” Since 2005, her work has been shown at several international...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Lina Alabed – “Ibrahim: A Fate to Define”
Lina Alabed’s senior project, a documentary about author Mohamed Al-Maghout, was broadcast on Al Jazeera in 2007. Her first documentary short, “Noor Alhuda,” won the DOX BOX jury...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Eva Orner – “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator”
Eva Orner’s directing credits include “The Network,” “Chasing Asylum,” and “Out of Iraq.” She’s also produced many films, including “Taxi to the...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Lauren Greenfield – “The Kingmaker”
For the last 25 years, Lauren Greenfield has made documentaries about consumerism, youth culture, and gender. Her feature film credits include “Thin,” “The Queen of...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Kopple – “Desert One”
Barbara Kopple’s “Harlan County, USA” and “American Dream” both went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In addition to documentaries, she has also...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Eva Mulvad – “Love Child”
Eva Mulvad had her international breakthrough in 2006, with the release of documentary “Enemies of Happiness,” which followed a female politician in Afghanistan. The film won the World...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Marielle Heller – “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Marielle Heller’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” was nominated for three Academy Awards in 2019. Heller’s 2015 directorial debut, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” won...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Sanja Živković – “Easy Land”
Sanja Živković is a writer, director, and film professor. Her work is influenced by having grown up in both Serbia and Canada. She’s directed multiple short films, including...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Julie Delpy – “My Zoe”
Julie Delpy began her international career as an actress, then turned to writing and directing. Her first feature was 2007’s “2 Days in Paris,” for which she later directed a...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Antoneta Kastrati – “Zana”
Originally from Kosovo, Antoneta Kastrati’started directing in the late-1990s after surviving the war. She began tackling issues of post-war society in documentaries that she collaborated on...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Paula Hernández – “The Sleepwalkers”
Paula Hernández’s debut film, “Inheritance,” won Best First Feature from Argentina’s National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts. Her next two features,...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Heather Young – “Murmur”
“Murmur” is director Heather Young’s first feature. Her 2016 short “Fish” has played at festivals around the world. It won Best Short Film in the NSI Online Short Film...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Rojda Sekersöz – “My Life as a Comedian”
Rojda Sekersöz’s first feature, “Beyond Dreams,” debuted in 2017 and won the Göteborgs Film Festival’s Angelos and Audience Choice for Best Film. It also won Best Picture at...
Exploring Trauma: VOD and Web Series Picks
In media, women’s pain is usually used to motivate men. So there’s a real demand for nuanced portrayals of female trauma, which looks at what women are actually going through — as...
Female Rage Against the Machine: Crowdfunding Picks
“It’s different for girls”: a ubiquitous phrase that holds a lot of truth. Things are different for girls. Harder, scarier, and so endlessly frustrating, it might just make someone scream. This...
Under the Radar: Antonia Grace Glenn Explores American History Through “The Ito Sisters”
In the opening narration for the documentary “The Ito Sisters: An American Story,” director Antonia Grace Glenn states, “My family started recording interviews with my grandmother and her two...
You Must Remember This: Crowdfunding Picks
History is important. Those that don’t remember this aren’t just doomed to repeat their mistakes, but could potentially destroy or lose something irreplaceable. The point of this round of...