Awards
Catherine Deneuve Named the 2016 Recipient of the Lumière Award
Catherine Deneuve will be honored with the 2016 Lumière Award at the Lumière Grand Lyon Film Festival in France, Variety reports. The event focuses almost exclusively on film classics as opposed...
ESSENCE Festival Names Tina Knowles-Lawson Winner of the Inspiring Leadership Award
Tina Knowles-Lawson is best known for being Beyonce’s mother, but her accomplishments extend far beyond raising an uber successful daughter: Knowles-Lawson is a philanthropist, author, and fashion...
Margaret Atwood Wins PEN Pinter Prize
Margaret Atwood has been named this year’s recipient of the PEN Pinter Prize, an honor celebrating champions of free speech. The Canadian writer is perhaps best known for her novels “The...
Trailer Watch: Rachel Weisz Gets Taken to Court in Holocaust Drama “Denial”
A gripping trailer has been released for “Denial,” Rachel Weisz’s upcoming courtroom drama. The hotly anticipated film was just given an Oscar-friendly release date of September 30, and the...
Rachel Weisz Enters the Oscar Race with Holocaust Drama
Don’t be surprised to hear Rachel Weisz’s name mentioned when speculation about the 2017 Oscar nominees heats up. “Denial,” the British actress’s upcoming courtroom drama, has been given...
Taraji P. Henson, Natalie Dormer, Lesli Linka Glatter, and More Win WIF LA Crystal + Lucy Awards
Women In Film, Los Angeles has announced the honorees for the 2016 Crystal + Lucy Awards, which include actresses Taraji P. Henson (“Empire”) and Natalie Dormer (“Game of Thrones”), as well...
Submissions for DGA’s Student Film Awards Spotlighting Diverse Student Filmmakers Now Open
Women student directors, here’s your chance to shine! The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has announced that the application period for the 22nd Annual DGA Student Film Awards for Women and...
Marilynne Robinson To Receive Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
Marilynne Robinson will receive this year’s Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. The annual prize honors “an American literary writer whose body of work is distinguished not only for...
‘Jane the Virgin’ Star Gina Rodriguez to Receive CinemaCon Female Star of Tomorrow Award
Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez is about to add yet another award to her rapidly expanding collection: The “Jane the Virgin” star has been named as the 2016 recipient of the CinemaCon Female...
A Change of Culture Is Necessary for Hollywood Diversity Measures to Succeed
Yesterday, several prominent Asian-American Academy members, including Freida Lee Mock, Ang Lee, Sandra Oh and George Takei, sent a letter to the Academy’s Board of Governors protesting the...
Documentarian Liz Garbus in Talks to Direct Her First Narrative Feature
Fresh off of the Academy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Documentary Feature for “What Happened, Miss Simone?” director Liz Garbus may soon make the switch to narrative film...
Actress and Producer Roma Downey to Receive Inaugural Irish Diaspora Award
Roma Downey has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the “Irish Diaspora Award,” presented by the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) in association with the Office of the Minister...
Longlist Announced for Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction
Literary debuts dominate this year’s longlist for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. 20 novels appear on the longlist, and 11 of them are by first-time authors, marking a tie for the highest...
Oscar-Winning Doc ‘A Girl in the River’ Shines a Light on Honor Killing
When Louis C.K. flawlessly introduced the Best Documentary, Short Subject category at the Oscars, he said it’s his favorite because “this is the one Academy Award that has the opportunity to...
‘Mustang’ Wins Four Cesar Awards
Sadly “Mustang” didn’t come out victorious at the Oscars, but Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s powerful coming-of-age story did pick up an impressive four statuettes at France’s Cesar Awards in Paris...
The Highs and Lows of Oscar 2016 Weekend
We called the 2015 Oscar nominations “a dark day for women in Hollywood.” Unfortunately that description fits most years, and certainly this one. #OscarsSoWhite rightfully dominated headlines...
New LA Times Study: Academy Membership Still 91% White, 76% Male
Nine-tenths white, three-quarters male: That’s the current Academy membership, according to a new study by the LA Times. Back in 2012, the Times found that the Academy was 94% white and 77% male,...
The Roles That Win Actresses Oscars (Hint: Wedding Rings Are A Good-Luck Charm)
What kinds of roles do women win Oscars for? To answer that question, Fusion studied the history of the Academy Awards to learn more about the types of performances that Academy members favor....
Watch: “Hello, Academy,” Women and Hollywood’s Annual Oscar Video
Welcome to Oscar Week. In anticipation of the big night on Sunday, Women and Hollywood is proud to share its annual Oscar video. As we all know, it’s been another shitty year (when hasn’t it...
Lynn Nottage Wins Blackburn Prize for ‘Sweat,’ Calls Theater “The Last Bastion of Segregation”
Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright Lynn Nottage can add yet another impressive accolade to her resume: She’s been named the 2016 winner of the Blackburn Prize. Established in 1978, the...
WMC Study: Women Get Fewer Than 1 in 5 Oscar Nominations in Non-Acting Categories
When the Oscars take place on Sunday, February 28, just 22% of the non-acting award hopefuls at Dolby Theatre will be female. Depressingly, that’s actually an above-average rate for women...
Guest Post: How I Met the Subject of My Doc (Which Was Nominated for an Oscar 8 Years Later)
Full Frame to Honor Director/Cinematographer Kirsten Johnson With Award, Retrospective
Filmmaker Kirsten Johnson will be feted at the 2016 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Johnson will receive this year’s Tribute Award and have her 27-year career behind the camera showcased in...
‘Mustang’ Wins Big at France’s Lumiere Awards
“Mustang” took home the top prizes at France’s Lumiere Awards, held Monday night in Paris. Deniz Gamze Erguven’s powerful coming-of-age story was named Best Picture and Best First Feature...
Guest Post: Hollywood Is Not Solely To Blame For Lack Of Diversity — Critics Are, Too
Lately, due to the #OscarsSoWhite,#OscarsSoMale and #AltOscarParty campaigns, a lot of attention is being paid to how The Academy, and Hollywood in a more general sense, fails to reward women and...
Debuts From Female Filmmakers Win Three of Sundance 2016’s Top Four Awards
Three of Sundance 2016’s top four awards were bestowed on feature debuts from women directors. Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman’s “Weiner,” a portrait of disgraced politician Anthony...
J.K. Rowling to Receive Free-Speech Award from PEN
J.K. Rowling, the real-life wizard behind the “Harry Potter” franchise, has been named as the 2016 recipient of the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service award. PEN (Poets, Essayists and...
Cesar Nods Announced: ‘Mustang’ and Other Female-Directed Films Crowd the Nominations
The Cesar nominations are in, and contrary to most award shows on most years, women-helmed films are well represented. The Cesars are most often compared to the Oscars, but the list speaks for...
Gina Rodriguez Launches Social-Media Movement to Spotlight Latino Performers
The #OscarsSoWhite movement that has dominated headlines for over a week has been a necessary reckoning with the institutional exclusion that plagues Hollywood. But that all-important protest has...
Horizon Awards Winners Named: Four Young Female Filmmakers to Watch
The winners of the 2016 Horizon Award have been announced. This year’s recipients are emerging filmmakers Macarena (Macqui) Gaona, Shanice Malakai Johnson, Juliette Gosselin and Florence...
DGA President Paris Barclay Responds to #OscarsSoWhite: “Structural Changes Are Needed”
Paris Barclay, the president of the Directors Guild of America, weighed in yesterday on the #OscarsSoWhite movement and the new changes to Academy membership that have resulted thereof. Barclay,...
The Academy Steps Up to the Diversity Challenge in a Big Way
Sundance is in full swing but the big news today came out of LA, where Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and CEO Dawn Hudson, with the support of the Board of Governors, unveiled radical changes...
The Investigative Fund Names Inaugural Doc Award Winners: Lyric R. Cabral and Elizabeth Lo
The Investigate Fund, a New York-based award-winning nonprofit journalism organization, has unveiled the winners of its inaugural documentary film contest. Directors Lyric R. Cabral...
Elaine May to Receive WGA’s Lifetime Achivement Award
Elaine May has been named the 2016 recipient of the Writers Guild of America’s lifetime achievement award. She will be presented with the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement at the...
Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces Recipients of Its Inaugural Breakthrough Filmmaker Award
Documentary filmmakers Kristi Jacobson, Julia Reichert, Yoruba Richen, Elaine McMillion and Michèle Stephenson have been named the five recipients of Chicken & Egg Pictures’...
2016 Oscar Noms Announced; ‘Brooklyn,’ ‘Room,’ ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ to Compete For Best Picture
2016 won’t go down as the most homogeneous (i.e., exclusionary) year in recent Oscar history. Three female-centric films ("Brooklyn," "Room" and...
2016 DGA Nods for Angela Bassett, Jill Soloway, Amy Schumer, Dee Rees, Sofia Coppola, and More
A handful of familiar names — among them Angela Bassett, Amy Schumer, Jill Soloway and Sofia Coppola — received DGA Awards nominations for their directing work this year. Also nominated...
Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ EDA Winners: ‘Carol,’ ‘Mad Max,’ Kristen Stewart and More
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has unveiled the winners of the 2015 EDA Awards. As expected, "Carol" won big. The period romance, written by Phyllis Nagy and starring Cate Blanchett...
Golden Globes 2016 Wrap-Up: Cheers to Taraji P. Henson and Rachel Bloom, Jeers to Ricky Gervais
The overwhelming majority of the honorees at the 2016 Golden Globes were, as expected, white men. And Ricky Gervais was, as expected, mean-spirited and dreadfully glib as opposed to delightfully...
2016 BAFTA Noms: Female-Centric Films Well-Represented, Women Directors Sorely Lacking
The BAFTA nominations are in. The good news: A female-centric film, "Carol," is tied for most nominations (with "Bridge of Spies"). The romance about a floundering shop girl...
‘Mustang’ Among Strongest Contenders for France’s Lumieres Awards
"Mustang," France’s 2015 submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, is also racking up nominations across the Atlantic. Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s directorial...
Eurimages Launches Woman Director Prize
Eurimages is introducing a new award to recognize superlative female filmmakers. Valued at 30,000 euros (over $32,000), the prize will launch at an upcoming film festival yet to be announced. The...
‘The Hunting Ground’ to Receive PGA’s Social Issues Award
“The Hunting Ground,” Kirby Dick’s harrowing exposé of campus sexual assault and rousing portrait of a group of young women battling rape-accepting university administrations across the...
Only 3 Women Composers Among 112 Original Scores in 2016 Oscar Race
Of the 112 original scores eligible for an Oscar this award season, only three, or 2.7%, were composed or co-composed by women. Those three female composers are Miriam Cutler for the campus-rape...
Nancy Meyers Named Filmmaker of the Year by American Cinema Editors
The American Cinema Editors board has named Nancy Meyers the recipient of its ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award. Steve Martin, who has starred in a number of films written and directed by...
Mira Nair to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 2016 Athena Film Festival
Director Mira Nair will receive the 2016 Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award at the sixth annual Athena Film Festival next year. The cast and crew of “Suffragette” will be recognized with...
Two Female-Centric, Women-Directed Features Receive Most Goya Nominations This Year
A pair of films by and about women dominate this year’s Goya nominations. Also known as Spain’s Oscars, the Goyas have recognized Paula Ortiz’s Lorca adaptation “The Bride” with the most...
‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett Honored at 2015 Australian Oscars
“Mad Max: Fury Road” took home the best-film and best-director prizes at the 2015 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards on Wednesday. The feminist action flick received...
6 Actresses of Color Nominated by Golden Globes for TV, 0 for Film
TV proved itself not just a medium for women, but especially one for women of color, with this year’s Golden Globes nominations. Six actresses of color — Queen Latifah, Viola Davis, Taraji...
‘Carol’ Sweeps NYFCC Awards, Saoirse Ronan and Kristen Stewart Also Recognized by Critics Group
The New York Film Critics Circle gave “Carol” the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography in a major coup for the period lesbian romance. Todd Haynes’...
Deepa Mehta Honored by Toronto Critics, to Bestow $50,000 to Fellow Filmmaker
Indian-Canadian director Deepa Meehta has been named the recipient of the Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award by the Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA). Mehta will receive $50,000, which she will...