BY Mercedes Gonzales-Bazan
January 2022 Film Preview
“The 355” is finally making its way to cinemas. Long delayed due to COVID-19, the star-studded spy movie kicks off 2022 right. Featuring Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Lupita...
January 2022 Television Preview
As we welcome 2022 and make plans for the upcoming months, we have new shows to match our moods, grab our attention, and guide us through the first 31 days of the year. The TV premieres this month...
Entering the Unknown: Crowdfunding Picks
As the end of the year nears, the desire to examine and confront the unknown or the unfamiliar parts of our lives creeps to the front of our minds. When it comes to moving into a new point in time,...
December 2021 Television Preview
2021 promises to go out with a bang, with a gamut of festive television releases adding warmth to this chilly season. The TV offerings this month are full of holiday cheer, extending from sitcoms to...
December 2021 Film Preview
The New Year is just around the corner, but there’s plenty to look forward to before we ring in 2022. Besides holiday-themed content, December will also mark the release of an Oscar-nominated...
A Focus on Family: Crowdfunding Picks
Family dynamics are an ever-evolving part of life; a large element of understanding family is understanding our individual selves. At times, familial relationships can feel overwhelming or confusing,...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Diane Tsai – “Be Our Guest”
Diane Tsai is a Taiwanese-American documentary filmmaker and journalist at TIME. Her award-winning documentary series “Firsts,” which she directed and produced with Spencer Bakalar,...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Geeta Gandbhir and Samantha Knowles – “Black and Missing”
Geeta Gandbhir is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning director, producer, and editor. Her most recent film, “Apart,” co-directed with Rudy Valdez, is currently playing on HBO Max and her...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Julia Bacha – “Boycott”
Julia Bacha is a Peabody award-winning filmmaker and the Creative Director at Just Vision. She started her filmmaking career in Cairo, where she wrote and edited “Control Room,” for which...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Nira Burstein – “Charm Circle”
Nira Burstein is an emerging director based in New York City and was recently selected for Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. Burstein is an Independent Film Project (now The...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Emily Kuester – “Messwood”
Emily Kuester is a director, producer, and writer. She got her start at 371 Productions and has assisted in producing short and long form documentaries, virtual reality experiences (2019 Sundance VR...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Abby Epstein – “The Business of Birth Control”
Abby Epstein started her career as a theater director having her own Chicago-based production company, Roadworks Productions, which was founded in 1992. After directing a few productions in Chicago,...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Holly Morris – “Exposure”
For two decades Holly Morris has told, and championed, pro-woman, cross-cultural stories on the global stage. She is an internationally known filmmaker, author, and presenter. Her last feature film,...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Sandra Alvarez – “InHospitable”
Sandra Alvarez has spent her career directing and producing a wide spectrum of documentary and television programs for CNN, Netflix, Sundance Channel, History Channel, BBC America, A&E Network,...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Yasmin C. Rams – “Go Heal Yourself”
Yasmin C. Rams’ credits include the mid-length documentary “Miriam” and the short documentary “A Life in Blue.” She co-directed the former and directed the latter. As a...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Valerie Blankenbyl – “The Bubble”
Valerie Blankenbyl is an Austrian documentary filmmaker. She previously directed feature length documentaries “I Am Jesus” and “A Mother’s Dream.” “The Bubble”...
Cinematographer to Watch: Ana M. Amortegui of “Twenties” and “Black Lightning”
From Colombia, Ana M Amortegui got her start studying electrical engineering and dancing professionally; she discovered cinematography while transitioning from stage performance to television...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Jamie Boyle – “Anonymous Sister”
Jamie Boyle is a two-time Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker. She is the director, cinematographer, and editor of the short documentary “Take A Vote” and she is the producer, editor, and...
November 2021 Television Preview
Even though the end of 2021 is near, it is just the beginning for shows premiering this November. This month offers us a range of programs, from comedies to intense dramas, to keep our attention as...
November 2021 Film Preview
November promises to ring in the festive season with fervor and fanfare, with a list of highly anticipated releases hitting theaters and streaming platforms. The dynamic offerings this month include...
Under the Radar: Rhiana Yazzie’s “A Winter Love” Showcases Inter-Tribal Romance & Celebrates Self-Love
From Sterlin Harjo’s “Reservation Dogs” on FX to Peacock’s “Rutherford Falls,” created by Sierra Teller Ornelas, Ed Helms, and Michael Schur, 2021 has offered audiences more Indigenous...
NewFest 2021 Women Directors: Meet Emily Branham – “Being BeBe: The BeBe Zahara Benet Documentary”
Emily Branham is a filmmaker captivated by artists, performance, and identity. She directs short documentaries for art and corporate organizations including Lincoln Center, AT&T, and JP Morgan,...
It’s Complex, It’s Latinx: VOD and Podcast Picks
Every year since 1968, September 15 marks the beginning of the Hispanic Heritage celebration in the United States, which originally lasted just one week. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush changed...
October 2021 Film Preview
With the arrival of autumn comes chilling, thrilling, and captivating new releases in theaters and on streaming sites. From drama and documentary to edgy horror, this month offers plenty of variety...
October 2021 Television Preview
From narratives of independent women striving to find a foothold for themselves to coming-of-age narratives, fall TV has much to offer. Kicking off the month is Molly Smith Metzler’s “Maid”...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Camille Griffin – “Silent Night”
Camille Griffin is a writer, director, and co-producer. She originally trained in the camera department and worked for 13 years as a Clapper Loader, and has since written and directed seven short...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Laura Santullo – “The Other Tom”
Laura Santullo is a Uruguayan filmmaker and author based in Mexico. She is an internationally recognized for her work as a screenwriter, collaborating with film director and life-partner Rodrigo...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Agustina San Martín – “To Kill The Beast”
Agustina San Martín is an Argentinian filmmaker, screenwriter, and colorist who has also worked as a screenwriting professor at her alma mater, the University of Buenos Aires. Her short films...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Darin J. Sallam – “Farha”
Darin J. Sallam is a Jordanian writer and director who has five award winning short films including “Still Alive,” “The Dark Outside,” and “The Parrot,” all of...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Laura Samani – “Piccolo Corpo” (“Small Body”)
Laura Samani was born in Trieste, Italy. In 2016, her short film “The Sleeping Saint” premiered at Cannes Cinéfondation and has since gained international acclaim and awards from several...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Kamila Andini – “Yuni”
Kamila Andini is a mother and filmmaker based in Jakarta, Indonesia. She released her debut feature film, “The Mirror Never Lies,” in 2011 and her second feature, “The Seen and...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Aga Woszczyńska – “Silent Land”
Aga Woszczyńska is a director, scriptwriter, and anthropologist. Her short films have screened and won awards at numerous film festivals — including Cannes, Helsinki International Film...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Tea Lindeburg – “As in Heaven”
Tea Lindeburg wrote the TV series “Equinox” for Netflix, as well as the podcast “Equinox 1985” for DR, which was nominated for the Prix Italia 2017. She’s also directed...
September 2021 Television Preview
It’s that time of the year again, where new shows premiere on every network and we’re reunited with some of our favorites as their new seasons begin. We’re seeing some exciting releases by and...
September 2021 Film Preview
From a modern-day revamp of a classic fairytale to a comedy about unabashed suburban women who become Robin Hoods of their community, along with an array of socially conscious documentaries and...
Navigating the New: Crowdfunding Picks
Entering a new chapter in life feels daunting for anyone; with outside perspectives projected upon you, there can be a sense of powerlessness in the midst of change. It takes courage to claim space...
Writer to Watch: Bolu Babalola of “Big Age”
The Internet’s favorite “romcomoisseur,” the President and CEO of the Nick Miller fanclub, “Love Island’s” most beloved live tweeter, the bestselling author of “Love In Color:...
August 2021 Television Preview
Summer television will go out with a bang this August, with releases ranging from a star-studded miniseries set at a health-and-wellness resort to an Emmy nominee’s animated return. This...
August 2021 Film Preview
A history-making Sundance winner and a biopic about the Queen of Soul are among the most anticipated titles hitting theaters this August. Kicking off this month’s releases is “Pray...