BY Lyra H.
January 2018 Film Preview
“Proud Mary” January is here with a collection of women-centric, women-directed, and women-written films that range from kick-ass to life-altering to eye-opening. The month begins with “In...
Latina Directors Amplifying Their Voices: Crowdfunding Picks
Latinas are severely under-represented in film — both onscreen and behind the scenes. Among the directors of the top films from 2007 to 2016, only one was Latina. In addition, Latinas...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lili Fini Zanuck — “Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars”
Lili Fini Zanuck is an Oscar-winning producer with a talent for finding and transforming unconventional material into box-office champions. Her producing credits include “Cocoon,” “Driving...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sascha Ettinger Epstein — “The Pink House”
Sascha Ettinger Epstein is a documentary director/shooter known for raw, observational Australian stories featuring unusual characters. Her credits include “Painting with Light in a Dark World,”...
Navigating This Life Together: November’s VOD and Web Series Picks
“Like Crazy” Friendships between women often don’t receive the attention they deserve in the narratives we consume. So the women behind this month’s VOD and web series picks have taken things...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Kopple — “A Murder in Mansfield”
Barbara Kopple is a two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker. Her credits include “This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous,” “Miss Sharon Jones!” and “Harlan County USA.” Kopple actively...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Jessica Wolfson — “Hot Grease”
Jessica Wolfson has created award-winning media content for ESPN 9 for IX, MTV, Conde Nast, NYU, Canon, and many nonprofit organizations. At IFCtv Original Programming, she developed and produced...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ceyda Torun— “Kedi”
Ceyda Torun is an Istanbul-born director who spent her early years among the street cats, while her mother worried she’d get rabies and her sister worried she’d bring home fleas. She co-founded...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Alice Elliott — “Miracle on 42nd Street”
Alice Elliott is the Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker of “The Collector of Bedford Street.” Her short “Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy” was nominated for an International...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Dretzin — “Far From the Tree”
Rachel Dretzin has been honored with numerous awards for her documentaries, including the Emmy Award, the Peabody, the Du-Pont Columbia, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. For many years...
Women Who Make Us Laugh: Crowdfunding Picks
Get ready to laugh and reflect: for this round of crowdfunding picks, we’re focusing on comedies about and made by women. First up is Sarah Delpizzo and Melissa Graver’s “The Pet Peeve...
November 2017 Film Preview
“Lady Bird” November is here with collection of women-centric, women-directed, and women-written films that range from funny to heartbreaking to eye-opening to game-changing. On November 1, the...
Struggles That Define Us: Crowdfunding Picks
We all face personal struggles that are drastically altered and influenced by the world we live in. For this round of crowdfunding picks, we’re looking at shorts centered on the struggle to...
Girl Seeking Girl: September’s VOD and Web Series Picks
“Fear of Water” We need better representation of the LGBT community in TV and film — especially when it comes to lesbians. The women behind this month’s VOD and web series picks have...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Tali Shalom-Ezer — “My Days of Mercy”
Tali Shalom-Ezer is a screenwriter and director whose previous works include “Princess” and “Surrogate.” Her films have garnered critical acclaim and won her the Grand Prix at the 2015 Kiev...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kamila Andini — “The Seen and Unseen”
Kamila Andini made her feature debut with “The Mirror Never Lies,” which portrays the life of a sea wanderer in the Indonesian ocean. Previous short films include “Following Diana” and...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Joan Chemla — “If You Saw His Heart”
Joan Chemla is a director who decided to dedicate herself to filmmaking after an initial stint in law. She has helmed three short films: “Mauvaise Route,” “Dr Nazi,” and “The Man with the...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ainsley Gardiner — “Waru”
Ainsley Gardiner is of Ngāti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Pikiao, and Whakatōhea descent. Gardiner previously produced the short films “Two Cars, One Night” and “Tama Tu,” written...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Erika Cohn — “The Judge”
Erika Cohn is a director who has received numerous accolades for her work, including a Director’s Guild of America award for her film, “When the Voices Fade,” a narrative profile of the...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Clio Barnard — “Dark River”
Clio Barnard is a director whose films have won her The Douglas Hickox Award at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), Best Screenplay at the Evening Standard British Film Awards, and Best...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Nora Twomey — “The Breadwinner”
Nora Twomey is a filmmaker and co-founder of Cartoon Saloon, the twice Oscar-nominated animation studio based in Ireland. Having co-directed “The Secret of Kells” with Tomm Moore, Twomey went on...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Susanna White — “Woman Walks Ahead”
Susanna White is a BAFTA-winning film and television director. Her previous credits include “Our Kind of Traitor” and “Parade’s End.” White was lauded for her six episodes of “Bleak...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Priscilla Cameron — “The Butterfly Tree”
Priscilla Cameron is a writer and director whose short films have won awards, screened in national and international festivals, and have been sold nationally and internationally. “The Butterfly...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kathleen Hepburn — “Never Steady, Never Still”
Kathleen Hepburn is a Vancouver born writer and director. “Never Steady, Never Still” is an expansion on a short with the same name, which was selected as one of TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten. She...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Albert — “Mademoiselle Paradis”
Barbara Albert is a director and writer whose short films have been introduced at festivals around the world. Her first feature film “Nordrand,” or “Northern Skirts,” premiered at Venice...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Jenna Bass — “High Fantasy”
Jenna Bass is a director and writer whose work has premiered around the world, including Sundance, Berlinale, Göteborg, Busan, and Durban International Film Festivals, where she has been heralded...
Mothers of the 21st Century: Crowdfunding Picks
“Brighton” Mothers play a critical role in our ability to grow, love, learn, and experience the world — but they are still women of the 21st century. They love, falter, make mistakes, and...
September 2017 Film Preview
Jennifer Lawrence in “mother!” Fall will come rolling in with a bevy of women-centric, women-directed, and women-written films that range from romantic to historical to scary to funny. There’s...
Letting Go of the Past: Crowdfunding Picks
The past is the story of who we are: it defines us and plays a part in how we act. But sometimes the past can hold us back and take away our ability to make progress. For this round of crowdfunding...