Documentary
Venice Film Fest 2015 Women Directors: Meet Pietra Brettkelly — ‘A Flickering Truth’
Pietra Brettkelly is a multi-award-winning director and producer. Her 2008 film “The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins” won the World Cinema Documentary Editing Award at the Sundance Film Festival...
Rebels With a (Very Good) Cause: Crowdfunding Campaigns
It’s crowdfunding time again, and this week there are some ingenious projects created by and about women that deserve support. Included in our picks this week is “Free to Laugh,” a short...
Trailer Watch: Malala Yousafzai is Both a Heroine for the Ages and “Still a Teenager” in New Doc
“I want people to learn from the experience I had,” says Malala Yousafzai in the trailer for “He Named Me Malala,” the upcoming documentary about one of the coolest teen rebels in history....
Lois Vossen to Lead PBS Doc Series ‘Independent Lens’
Longtime “Independent Lens” supervisor Lois Vossen has been promoted to executive producer of the PBS documentary series. This new role means that Vossen will be among the top-ranking overseers...
Trailer Watch: Meryl Streep Narrates ‘Shout Gladi Gladi’ Doc About Maternal Care for African Women
The trailer for “Shout Gladi Gladi,” a new doc narrated by Meryl Streep, includes a startling statistic: In Africa, one in 39 women die during childbirth. “Shout Gladi Gladi” focuses on the...
Flying Headscarves, Trans Dating, and Plus-Size Models: Crowdfunding Projects of August 2015
The dating lives of transgender women. An Arab-American girl searching forfreedom on her motorcycle. Plus-size models rebelling against size-zero tyranny.If you want to see films about women defying...
Sandra Bullock Took Role Meant for George Clooney After Not Finding Any “Exciting” Female Characters
Sandra Bullock is gunning for a second Oscar with the political comedy “Our Brand is Crisis,” in which she plays a Machiavellian genius described as a “female Karl Rove.” The mega-popular...
NYFF 2015’s Main Slate Revealed; 3 of 26 Features Directed by Women
The New York Film Festival, now in its 53rd year, has released the final lineup for its main program. Twenty-six films will be screened, only three (or 12%) directed by women. The disappointment...
TIFF Announces More Films, Including World Premiere of Barbara Kopple’s ‘Miss Sharon Jones!’
The Toronto International Film Festival has announced more entries in a number of lineups for the 40th installment of the high-profile fest. Of the first batch of films TIFF made public, a mere 14%...
Producer Justine Nagan to Head American Documentaries at PBS’s ‘POV’
After a decade at Chicago’s Kartemquin Films, director/producer Justine Nagan will serve as the next executive director of American Documentary, Inc., as well as the executive producer of PBS’s...
Self-Harm, Female DJs and Emily Dickinson: August 2015’s Crowdfunding Picks
There are some important women-centric projects to check out this August, but before these works can come into full fruition, they could do with a little help from some friends — and that’s...
HBO’s Upcoming Docs: Autism Portrait ‘How to Dance in Ohio,’ Urban Portrait ‘San Francisco 2.0,’ More
“How to Dance in Ohio,” Alexandra Shiva’s chronicle of three autistic girls’ preparations for Prom, and “San Francisco 2.0,” Alexandra Pelosi’s examination of that city’s...
Guest Post: Why You Should Consider Embracing the Punk Rock Ethos by Editing Your Doc Yourself
Jessica Yu. Ondi Timoner. Naomi Kawase. What do these names all have in common? Yes, they’re all successful female documentarians. But theyhave something else in common. Something you may not...
Ingrid Bergman’s Life and Work to Be Celebrated By BAMcinématek, MoMA and New Documentary (VIDEO)
Late summer and fall are shaping up to be a great time for fans of legendary actress Ingrid Bergman. If the Swedish icon were alive today, she would be celebrating her one hundredth birthday this...
Trailer Watch: An Indian-American Guy Searches for Love via Traditional Matchmaking in ‘Meet the Patels’ Doc
BBC Lists Top 100 American Films of All Time; Only 3 Female Directors Make the Cut
The BBC has compiled a list of the 100 greatest American films ever made. The list spans decades and genres, but what 98% of the listed movies have in common is that they’re directed by men. Only...
Volleyball Olympics Medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings to Get Doc Treatment
Beach volleyball star Kerri Walsh Jennings, who won the gold medal at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics with partner Misty May-Treanor, will be the subject of a new documentary. Walsh...
Guest Post: Midwives Finally Get the Spotlight They Deserve in ‘The Mama Sherpas’
After having myfirst child, I always got a lump in my throat when noting that my son was bornvia cesarean birth. Whether rational or irrational, I felt a sense of failure that my body couldn’t do...
Trailer Watch: Amy Berg Tackles Cult Leader and Child Rapist Warren Jeffs in ‘Prophet’s Prey’
Prolific filmmaker Amy Berg has yet another movie set for release in 2015. It was only last month that the Academy Award nominee debuted the documentary “An Open Secret” and her first narrative...
‘Tig’ Offers an Intimate Look at the Comic’s Darkest Moments and Unexpected Joys
Overnight success in the Internet age is often equal parts skill, timing and luck. Or, in the case of comic Tig Notaro, really bad luck. While well known in comedy circles, Notaro wasn’t a...
‘Citizenfour’ Director Laura Poitras Suing US Government Over “Kafkaesque Harassment”
From 2006 to 2012, documentarian Laura Poitras has been detained at the border more than four dozen times, often for hours. Despite never being charged with a crime, the Oscar-winning...
Guest Post: The Challenges of Making Docs About Women and Why It’s So Crucial to Overcome Them
When I began work on “In The Game” almost six years ago, I assumed that in terms of funding and distribution it would be like shooting into an open goal. It was a film that was going to look at...
ArcLight Cinemas Spotlights “Exceptional” Women-Directed Docs in Summer Series
Four nonfiction films directed or co-directed by women have been selected to be screened as part of ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood’s summer series on female filmmakers. Starting Tuesday, July 7, the...
Trailer Watch: Comedienne Tig Notaro Fights Cancer and Heartbreak with Humor in Netflix Doc
2012 was a hell of a year for Grammy-nominated comedienne Tig Notaro. After steadily growing her fanbase and platform over the span of her career, Notaro was busier professionally than ever before....
“There Aren’t Any Civil Rights”: The Sad, Topical “What Happened, Miss Simone?”
Guest Post: It Starts With a Pronoun
On June 23, my documentary, “A Self-Made Man,” aired onAmerica Reframed. After a successful festival run, this was its broadcast premiere. I used to get quite nervous when I had to speak about...
Watch: John Oliver Stands Up for Women Online on ‘Last Week Tonight’
Women Win Majority of Awards at Provincetown Film Fest: Coixet, Green, Bianco and More
Women directors won big at this year’s Provincetown International Film Festival, taking home five of the eight prizes awarded. Isabel Coixet’s “Learning to Drive” landed the HBO Audience...
Trailer Watch: Be Inspired by Malala Yousafzai All Over Again in ‘He Named Me Malala’ Doc
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Lyn Goldfarb — ‘Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race’
Lyn Goldfarb is an Academy Award-nominated andaward-winning filmmaker specializing in historical and social-issuedocumentaries for PBS and major cable. Her series and documentaries include “The...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Åse Svenheim Drivenes — ‘Maiko: Dancing Child’
Åse Svenheim Drivenes is a Norwegian-born filmmaker who made herdirectorial debut with the documentary “Our Man in Kirkenes” (2010), which screened on NRK (Norway’s BBC) and YLE (Finland’s...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Chai Vasarhelyi — ‘Incorruptible’
Elizabeth “Chai” Vasarhelyi’sfilms as a director include “Meru,” winner of the Audience Award for US Documentary at Sundance 2015; “Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love”...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Renee Tajima-Peña — ‘No Más Bebés’
Renee Tajima-Peña is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker whose directing credits include “Calavera Highway,” a road movie influenced by the novelist Juan Rulfo, about her husband Armando...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Daphne McWilliams — ‘In a Perfect World…’
Daphne McWilliams began her producing career by producing music videos for artists such as Blues Traveler, Notorious BIG and Queen Latifah. In 1995, she was hired to line produce the Academy...
Human Rights Watch FF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Laura Nix — ‘The Yes Men Are Revolting’
Laura Nix is an independent filmmaker committed to exploringprovocative characters and subject matter. She directed the documentary “TheLight In Her Eyes,” about a Syrian Quran school for women,...
Human Rights Watch FF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Gini Reticker — ‘The Trials of Spring’
GiniReticker is the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning producer and director of “Pray the Devil Goes Back to Hell,” “Asylum,” and the celebrated PBS Series, “Women, War & Peace.” She...
Trailer Watch: A Gay Firebrand Goes to War in Jean Carlomusto’s “Larry Kramer in Love & Anger”
Human Rights Watch FF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Tamara Erde — ‘This Is My Land’
Tamara Erde is a French-Israeli filmmakerliving and working in Paris. She often deals in her work with politicaland social issues focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Her works mixesher...
LAFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Delila Vallot — ‘Can You Dig This’
Delila Vallot isan actress, dancer and director, born and raised in Hollywood, California. Inher career, she has worked with some of the most well-known choreographersto date, including Vince...
Gini Reticker Chronicles Muslim Women’s Fights for Social Justice in ‘The Trials of Spring’
The brave efforts of nine women activists striving for a better world in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen are documented in Gini Reticker’s “The Trials of Spring.” Billed as a...
4 Female Directors Discuss What It Takes to Make a Passion Project
RichardLinklater’s “Boyhood” got a lot ofdeserved attention for the dedication it took to make a feature film over 12years. While that timeline was planned, getting a film made often turns out...
Watch: Exclusive Clip from ‘Queen of Versailles’ Director Lauren Greenfield’s ‘Beauty CULTure’
Before she directed the critically lauded documentary “The Queen of Versailles,” about the construction of the largest mansion in the country and the wealthy weirdoes who contracted it,...
Inside Out 2015 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Hammer — ‘Welcome to This House, a Film on Elizabeth Bishop’
A highly prolific filmmakerand videographer, Barbara Hammer has directed over eighty films and videos in acareer that spans 40 years. She is considered a pioneer of queer cinema. Hammer made the...
Trailer Watch: The World Makes a Dying Child’s Wish Come True in ‘Batkid Begins’
Batman’s least broody iteration introduced himself on the streets of San Francisco on November 15, 2013, in front of thousands of enraptured strangers. Behind the mask was five-year-old Miles...
Trailer Watch: Amy Winehouse Wants to Disappear in First Official Spot for ‘Amy’
“I don’t think I’m going to be at all famous,” predicts Amy Winehouse in the new documentary about her, which has opened to critical acclaim at Cannes 2015. That statement was probably...
Cannes 2015 Women Directors: Meet Nancy Buirski — ‘By Sidney Lumet’
Nancy Buirski is the director, producer and writer of “Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq,” which had its world premiere at the 51stNew York Film Festival and its international premiere at...
Guest Post: Why We Desperately Need More Girls On Screen for Both Our Sons and Daughters
I’m an independent filmmaker who tells stories about girlsand women. It wasn’t intentional, at least not at first. But having justfinished my fourth documentary, “Winning Girl,” about a...
Watch: Ingrid Bergman Speaks in New Cannes Doc
Ingrid Bergman’s status as a screen legend is secure — her three Academy Awards can attest to that — but during the actress’s lifetime, the “Casablanca” star was just as famous...
Trailer Watch: Amy Berg Uncovers Molestation of Child Actors in Hollywood as ‘An Open Secret’
“I think every little kid dreams about being famous and being in movies.” The trailer for Amy Berg’s “An Open Secret” begins with those words — then reveals how high the cost of...
LA Film Fest Lineup Released: 40% of Features in Competition Directed by Women
An impressive number of female filmmakers are set to screen their work at the 21st annual Los Angeles Film Festival. The festival released its full lineup on May 5, and 40% of features in...
Bentonville Women Directors: Meet Elizabeth Van Meter — ‘Thao’s Library’
Elizabeth Van Meter’s documentary work has taken her from the AndesMountains of Peru to the Tohoku region of Japan. Van Meter hasdirected/produced 40 short films for Gorgeous Entertainment,...