BY Women and Hollywood
ARRAY Releasing Acquires New Zealand Indigenous Drama “Cousins”
“Cousins” has found a home. A press release announced that Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing acquired North American and UKIE rights to the award-winning drama directed by Māori...
SXSW Winner “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics
Ahead of its world premiere at SXSW 2021, Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler described “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” as a film “about confronting this country’s...
Trailer Watch: Transgender Boxing Manager Kellie Maloney Lives Her Truth in “Knock Out Blonde”
“I had a number of people say to me how brave I was. This is not a matter of being brave. This is a matter of necessity,” says Kellie Maloney in Deadline’s exclusive trailer for...
Trailer Watch: Tatiana Huezo Brings “Prayers for the Stolen” to Cannes
An adaptation of Jennifer Clement’s novel of the same name, “Prayers for the Stolen” is set in a solitary town in the Mexican mountains where being a girl or having a daughter is...
Still I Rise Announces Inaugural Fellowship Recipients
Still I Rise Films has announced the recipients of their inaugural Still I Rise Films Fellowship. The documentary film series and platform has chosen eleven women — from more than 90...
Happy Juneteenth! (And a Recommendation of What to Watch)
Happy Juneteenth! We are committed to recognizing ongoing systemic, anti-Black racism and to fighting for a more equitable future. If you’re in the market for a film to honor the day, we...
NYWIFT Announces Lineup for The Creative Industry Radically Reimagined Summit
NYWIFT has announced the full lineup for next week’s NYWIFT Summit: The Creative Industry Radically Reimagined. Set to take place June 22-25, the third annual virtual conference will welcome...
Jeanne Leblanc on Exploring the Silent Complicity of a Tight-Knit Community in “Les Nôtres”
Jeanne Leblanc has directed close to ten short films that have screened in international festivals. In 2017, she directed her first feature film, “Isla Blanca.” “Les Nôtres”...
Tribeca 2021 Women Directors: Meet Kristine Stolakis – “Pray Away”
Interview by Cody Corrall Kristine Stolakis is a director whose films explore power, politics, and prejudice — and the way they unfold in real people’s lives. Stolakis’ directorial debut,...
Jenni Olson to Receive Berlinale’s Special Teddy Award for Making “Queer Film History Visible & Tangible”
Jenni Olson will honored with this year’s special Teddy Award during the Berlin Film Festival. The film curator, archivist, writer, filmmaker, and community builder will receive the award...
The Girls Club Will Bid Farewell to “The Bold Type” with Star Melora Hardin & Showrunner Wendy Straker Hauser
The Girls Club is saying goodbye to “The Bold Type” alongside Melora Hardin and Wendy Straker Hauser. The series’ respective star and co-showrunner will discuss the beloved Freeform...
Stéphanie Lamorré Talks “Being Thunder,” Her Portrait of A Two-Spirit Genderqueer Teen
Stéphanie Lamorré is a French documentary filmmaker working as an international independent writer, director, and producer. She’s shot documentaries in Iraq, Africa, South America, and...
Muslim Characters Are “Missing and Maligned” in Popular Global Movies, Study Finds
The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has released its first-ever study on Muslim representation. Dr. Stacy L. Smith and Co. investigated the prevalence and portrayals of Muslim characters across...
Le Ballon Rouge Will Once Again Offer Childcare at Cannes
The Cannes Marché du Film (Cannes Film Market) and Parenting at Film Festivals are re-teaming for Le Ballon Rouge. First introduced in 2019, the initiative is designed to support Marché du Film...
Tribeca 2021 Preview: Sisters Racing Their Way into History, Nigerians Fighting for LGBTQ+ Rights, & More
Slated to run from June 9-20 with a mix of online screenings and live in-person events at outdoor venues, Tribeca Film Festival is celebrating its 20th edition with a feature lineup that is 60...
Cannes: 50 Percent of Features Screening in Directors’ Fortnight Are Directed or Co-Directed by Women
Just 17 percent of the films screening in Cannes Film Festival’s main competition — and eligible for the fest’s most prestigious honor, the Palme d’Or — are directed by...
Carey Mulligan & Zoe Kazan to Play Pulitzer-Winning Journalists Who Helped Bring Down Harvey Weinstein
Carey Mulligan will topline another timely #MeToo story exploring sexual abuse, consent, and coverups. Alongside Zoe Kazan, the Oscar-nominated “Promising Young Woman” star will lead...
Trailer Watch: Christine Baranski & Audra McDonald Toast to the Future in “The Good Fight” Season 5
“I don’t understand anything anymore,” admits Christine Baranski in a new trailer for “The Good Fight’s” fifth season. Diane (Baranski) is left questioning whether...
Trailer Watch: Lizzie Borden Shows a Different Side of Sex Work in New 4K Restoration of “Working Girls”
Inspired by the experiences of sex workers Lizzie Borden met while making her landmark 1983 feature “Born in Flames,” “Working Girls” shows a different side of the trade....
Cannes Disappoints Yet Again: Just 17 Percent of This Year’s Competition Films Are Directed by Women
As gender parity becomes increasingly commonplace in festival programming, Cannes continues to lag far behind. Long considered one of the most prestigious fests in the world, Cannes still seems to be...
June 2021 Film Preview
By Kara Headley and Vicki A. Lee Since the 1969 Stonewall Uprising members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies have celebrated Pride Month every June, honoring the social, cultural, and...
Athena Film Festival Now Accepting Submissions
Attention filmmakers and writers: Do you have a short film, feature script, or TV pilot about amazing women leaders? Submissions are now open for the 2022 Athena Film Festival (AFF), the 2022 Athena...
Exclusive: A Woman Fights for Her Rights in Teona Strugar Mitevska’s “God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya” Trailer
A woman in small-town Macedonia defies tradition and challenges the patriarchy in “God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya.” Based on a true story, Teona Strugar Mitevska’s satire sees...
Glenda Jackson Receives BIFA’s Richard Harris Award
Glenda Jackson’s long hiatus from acting certainly didn’t detract from the industry’s appreciation of the two-time Oscar winner. After leaving the stage and screen behind for U.K....
Martha Stewart Doc Coming to Netflix
A documentary about Martha Stewart is heading to Netflix. From “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” director R.J. Cutler, the doc will explore the “life and times”...
Trailer Watch: “No Ordinary Love” Shines a Light on Domestic Abuse
Two desperate women plot to escape their abusive marriages in “No Ordinary Love,” Chyna Robinson’s feature debut. “My inspiration for this romantic thriller came as I interviewed...
Guest Post: Do We Have to Choose Between Directing and Motherhood?
Guest Post by Sasha Joelle Achilli I was 24 when I started working in the TV documentary film world. I never thought that one day I would have the opportunity to make a living from traveling the...
“Bridgerton” Spinoff About Queen Charlotte Greenlit By Netflix
Looks like Lady Whistledown missed the scoop: The Hollywood Reporter confirms that a “Bridgerton” spinoff has received a series order from Netflix. Currently untitled, the limited series...
Agnieszka Holland Will Join Seventh Row’s Next Lockdown Film School Conversation
Seventh Row, a non-profit cinema publication, will welcome Agnieszka Holland for its next Lockdown Film School event. A livestreamed series of conversations with filmmakers, Lockdown Film School has...
Trailer Watch: Jodie Turner-Smith Is “Anne Boleyn”
“The world will know my innocence,” vows Jodie Turner-Smith in a new trailer for “Anne Boleyn.” Penned by Eve Hedderwick Turner, the three-part Channel 5 psychological...
Chloé Zhao, Issa Rae, & Emerald Fennell Among THR’s 2021 Women in Entertainment Power 100
Recent Oscar-winners Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell, multi-hyphenates Issa Rae and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, activist and author Stacey Abrams, and moguls Oprah Winfrey and Shonda Rhimes are just a few...
Guest Post: How Women Inspired Me to Pay It Forward and Become a Mentor
By Mimi Chakarova I was 21 when I first met her. I was carrying a large portfolio case, sweating all the way from the train station to her gallery. I can’t tell you what she wore that day. All I...
Guest Post: How Seventh Row Is Revising the Film Canon with Books on Women Directors
By Orla Smith Browsing the film section of most bookstores, books about female directors are a rare find. Nestled between the tomes on Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson, you...
Join the Girls Club for a Conversation with “Allen v. Farrow” Director Amy Ziering
Amy Ziering, a producer and director of docs such as “The Invisible War,” “The Hunting Ground,” and “On the Record,” will join the Girls Club to discuss her latest...
Join W&H at Virtual Reading of Cherien Dabis’ Athena List Dev Grant Winner “What the Eyes Don’t See”
You’re invited to a virtual reading of Cherien Dabis’ Alfred P. Sloan Athena List Development Grant-winning script. The story of Iraqi American pediatrician and Flint water crisis...
Gale Anne Hurd to Be Honored at Locarno Film Festival
The 2021 Locarno Film Festival is set to pay tribute to Gale Anne Hurd. The “Terminator” producer and screenwriter will be honored with the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize, which is awarded to...
Tig Notaro Animated Stand-Up Special in the Works at HBO
Tig Notaro is returning to HBO. The comedian is following up her 2015 Emmy-nominated stand-up special “Boyish Girl Interrupted” at the premium cable network with the first-ever fully...
Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival Announces 2021 Lineup, Will Open with “Language Lessons”
Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival has announced its 2021 lineup, and 70 percent of this year’s selected films are by women, trans, and non-binary directors. Set to take place May 27...
May 2021 Film Preview
By Vicki A. Lee and Kara Headley Since 1992, the United States has observed Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month every May, paying tribute to the monumental role Asian and...
Trailer Watch: “In Our Mothers’ Gardens” Celebrates the Strength and Resiliency of Black Women
“Like most Black women, I would say that the women in my family are complicated,” says one of the characters featured in “In Our Mothers’ Gardens.” Set to premiere May 6...
Hot Docs 2021 Preview: Rockers Reuniting, a Trailblazing Political Candidate, the Opioid Crisis, & More
North America’s largest documentary festival kicks off today. Featuring 219 films from 66 countries, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival runs through May 9. The...
Trailer Watch: Jean Smart Teaches an Entitled Comedy Writer Some Hard-Earned Lessons in “Hacks”
Most job applicants don’t land a gig by accusing their potential boss of being a “fucking bitch” and a “classist monster.” But most folks don’t work in comedy....
Exclusive: Emily Levine Uses Physics & Comedy to Make Sense of Life in “Emily @ The Edge of Chaos” Trailer
A major meltdown leads Emily Levine towards a paradigm shift in “Emily @ The Edge of Chaos.” “I’ve been going through a personal transformation,” the late...
“Best Summer Ever’s” Lauren Smitelli on Making an Inclusive Musical & the Importance of Representation
Interview by Meghan Gheron Lauren Smitelli is a writer, director, and producer. As an alumna of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, her work has been exhibited at SXSW, Sundance, Venice, and the...
Chloé Zhao Blazes a Trail as the First Woman of Color to Win Best Director Oscar
This was, without question, an Oscars unlike any other. For starters, the pre-show started off quite well. Ariana DeBose and Lil Rel Howery were great hosts, and their positive energy helped combat...
Indie Spirit Awards: “Nomadland” Takes Home Top Prizes
The Oscars are just days away, and “Nomadland’s” odds of taking home the night’s top honor are looking as good as ever. More wins were added to writer-director Chloé...
Watch: Diane von Furstenberg & the Academy Museum Celebrate a Historic Year for Women at the Oscars
The 93rd annual Academy Awards marks the first time that two women have been nominated alongside one another in the Best Director category: Chloé Zhao is being recognized for “Nomadland”...
Join the Girls Club for a Conversation with Seed&Spark Founder and CEO Emily Best
Seed&Spark’s Emily Best will join the Girls Club for a conversation about life one year into the pandemic on Wednesday, April 21 at 4 p.m. EST. The event is open to the public, but be sure...
Guest Post: It’s Time For Disability Representation in Hollywood to Increase and Evolve
By Anna Pakman As a young girl growing up in the ’90s, I rarely saw anyone who looked like me on television or in the movies. You see, I was born with Cerebral Palsy, a disability that limits...
April 2021 Film Preview
By Kara Headley and Vicki A. Lee Spring is around the corner, and as the world comes into bloom to offer us renewed hope after the long winter, new women-centric films are coming to the big screen to...
GLAAD Publishes Open Letter in Support of Trans Women, Signatories Include Laverne Cox & Regina King
Today, March 31, is the final day of Women’s History Month as well as the Transgender Day of Visibility. In honor of the occasion, GLAAD and activist and writer Raquel Willis have published an open...