Documentary
Quote of the Day: Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on Why Anger Is Vital for Her Work
Anger is complicated territory for women. Displaying a trace of irritability—nevermind fury — means running the risk of being called imbalanced or irrational. Yet anger is also a useful,...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Celia Peterson— “The Good Struggle”
Celia Peterson is a photographer and documentary filmmaker. Currently based in Dubai, she works predominantly in the Middle East shooting a range of documentary photographic and film...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Anais Huerta — “David. The Return To Land”
Anais Huerta is the co-creator of Amaina Films production company in Mexico City, where she has produced a range of documentaries. She previously directed “Rehje,” an award-winning feature...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Allison Bohl DeHart — “Bending Lines: The Sculpture of Robert…
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Allison Bohl DeHart — “Bending Lines: The Sculpture of Robert Wiggs” Allison Bohl DeHart is a filmmaker and cinematographer based in Louisiana. Her...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Roopa Gogineni — “I Am Bisha”
Roopa Gogineni is a director and photographer, and has created documentaries for The New York Times, Al Jazeera, and VICE. Her experience producing reality TV in Somalia was chronicled in an episode...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Monica Klemz — “A Singular Garden”
Monika Klemz has worked as first assistant director, researcher, producer, director, and screenwriter of fiction short films, documentaries, experimental film, and animation. Her debut documentary...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Chiara Campara— “Tempting Promises”
Chiara Campara’s documentary project “Photofinish” screened at Festival dei Popoli, Bergamo Film Meeting, Filmmaker Festival, and Milano Film Festival, and her doc “Sotterranea” screened...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Veena Rao — “Rebuilding in Miniature”
Veena Rao’s work has been featured on The New York Times Op-Docs, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. A member of Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, her previous credits include “Mumbai...
IDA Announces Recipients of Inaugural Grants for Women Filmmakers of Color
Jacqueline Olive’s “Always in Season” and Loira Limbal’s “Through the Night” are the the inaugural recipients of the IDA Elevate Grant, a press release has announced. Awarded to emerging...
Trailer Watch: Thailand’s Elephants Find Sanctuary in “Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story”
“You know, I start to think,” Asian elephant conservationist Lek Chailert ponders in the trailer for actress Ashley Bell’s (“Novitiate”) directorial debut. “If the planet don’t have...
Serena Williams Hits the Court and Screen in HBO Docuseries “Being Serena”
Last year was quite the eventful one for tennis champion Serena Williams. In January 2017 Williams won her seventh Australian Open. And she didn’t just dominate: she did so while eight weeks...
Trailer Watch: A Pop Icon Takes Risks in “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami”
“The performer takes the risk,” says Grace Jones in a new trailer for “Bloodlight and Bami.” The pop diva explains, “It’s a lonely place — it’s a fascinating, lonely place.”...
Exclusive: Hasidic Women Form NYC’s First All-Female Volunteer Ambulance Corps in “93Queen” Trailer
“In the Hasidic community there’s a huge divide between the genders,” explains Rachel “Ruchie” Freier in our exclusive trailer for “93Queen.” “I’m being told that it’s not right...
Rude Awakenings: Crowdfunding Picks
“Sirens” When life hands you lemons, go find a life coach who moonlights as a mermaid. Well, at least that’s the conceit of one of our latest crowdfunding picks. Mermaids aside, all of our...
Hot Docs 2018 Program Is 50 Percent Women-Directed
North America’s largest documentary festival has announced its 2018 slate, and this year’s edition of Hot Docs marks a major milestone. Eighty-six of 171 features screening are directed or...
Dawn Porter to Direct Netflix Docuseries About Bobby Kennedy
Dawn Porter is revisiting Robert F. Kennedy’s tragic presidential run. The award-winning filmmaker will helm a Netflix docuseries about the former Senator from New York, Deadline reports. “Bobby...
2018 Full Frame Doc Film Fest’s Main Lineup Is Nearly 50 Percent Women-Directed
The schedule for the 2018 Full Frame Doc Film Fest is in and the subject of its opening night film, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, would be very proud of its representation of women. Women directed or...
AmDoc, Pinewood Atlanta Launch Kickstarter Campaigns to Support Rising Filmmakers
American Documentary (AmDoc) and Pinewood Atlanta Studios have both started Kickstarter funds for up and coming filmmakers. Per Variety, AmDoc is teaming up with the Knight Foundation to support...
Producer Lisa Marie Russo to Run New BFI Doc Society Fund
Lisa Marie Russo is heading to Doc Society (formerly BRITDOC). The “Deep Blue Sea” producer will lead the new BFI Doc Society Fund, a £1M-per-year (about $1.4M USD) endowment supporting...
Trailer Watch: Rebecca Miller Explores Her Father’s Life and Work in “Arthur Miller: Writer”
An award-winning filmmaker offers a nuanced portrait of one of the most celebrated playwrights of all-time — who also happens to be her father — in “Arthur Miller: Writer.” Directed...
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Jenny Murray — “¡Las Sandinistas!”
Jenny Murray is the director of two short films and multiple social satire comedy videos. Her most recent short narrative film was selected to screen at Anthology Film Archives in New Filmmakers New...
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sasha Waters Freyer — “Garry Winogrand: All Things Are…
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sasha Waters Freyer — “Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable” Trained in photography and the documentary tradition, Sasha Waters Freyer fuses...
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Laura Collado — “Constructing Albert”
Laura Collado has developed and produced several documentaries such as “La Casa” and “Yorgos.” “Constructing Albert” is her feature directorial debut. “Constructing Albert” will...
“Half the Picture” Doc About Women Directors Finds a Home
Women accounted for just 11 percent of directors working on the 250 top-grossing films in 2017. “Half the Picture” investigates why women are so often excluded from the director’s chair...
Guest Post: What I Learned From Making a Doc About a Refugee
Guest Post by Kate McCaslin Much of what I know about filmmaking I learned this year from a Sudanese refugee named Rebecca Mabior. I admit it’s peculiar given that I’ve worked in the film...
Trailer Watch: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is a Superhero in Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s “RBG”
As her legendary dissents prove, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg knows how to turn a phrase. Her way with words is one of her trademarks — as is her exercise regimen — and...
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Yuqi Kang — “A Little Wisdom”
Born in Inner Mongolia, China, Yuqi Kang was awarded the Paula Rhodes Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement in Social Documentary Film upon graduating the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her...
Alexandria Bombach’s Sundance Winner “On Her Shoulders” Acquired by Oscilloscope
After wowing audiences and critics alike at Sundance in January, “On Her Shoulders” has secured distribution. A press release announced that Oscilloscope Laboratories snagged the rights to...
Trailer Watch: “I Am Evidence” Shines a Light on the 400,000 Untested Rape Kits in the U.S.
“The rape kit back log is the most shocking demonstration of how we regard these crimes,” says Mariska Hargitay in a new trailer for “I Am Evidence.” Produced by the “Law & Order:...
Exclusive: Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces 2018 Accelerator Lab Cohort
Chicken and Egg Pictures has announced the participants of their 2018 Accelerator Lab. Designed to support first- and second-time nonfiction female filmmakers, the program offers each finalist a...
Distribution Deals: Christina Choe’s “Nancy” and Lorna Tucker’s Vivienne Westwood Doc
Two women-directed films that bowed at Sundance 2018 recently scored distribution deals: Christina Choe’s Andrea Riseborough-starrer “Nancy” and Lorna Tucker’s Vivienne Westwood documentary...
“Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” Release Date Announced
Sophie Fiennes’ Grace Jones doc has a release date. Described by Fiennes as intimate and experiential, “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” shows a different side of the iconic...
Trailer Watch: A Woman Rebuilds Her Life in Kate Davis’ Police Brutality Short Doc “Traffic Stop”
Breaion King is a teacher. She’s the first person in her family to attend college or to get a Master’s degree and she’s determined to earn a PhD. Breaion is also a survivor of police...
Lyric R. Cabral, Michelle Latimer, and More Announced as 2018 Field of Vision Fellows
First Look Media’s documentary unit, Field of Vision, has announced a new fellowship. A press release also revealed the year-long, collaborative program’s 2018’s fellows, and three of four of...
Tribeca Film Festival to Open with Lisa D’Apolito’s Gilda Radner Doc “Love, Gilda”
The 17th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival will kick off with a portrait of Gilda Radner. The comedian is the subject of “Love, Gilda,” the fest’s opening film. Directed and produced by...
Gabriela Pichler’s “Amateurs” Wins Top Prize at Goteborg Film Festival
Gabriela Pichler’s second feature took home Goteborg Film Festival’s highest honor. “Amateurs” was named as the winner of the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film, The Hollywood Reporter...
Sundance Deals: Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s “RBG” Gets Distribution
“Colette” and Debra Granik’s “Leave No Trace” are in good company. Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary “RBG” is one of the latest flicks to get a deal at...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Narcissister — “Narcissister Organ Player”
Narcissister is a Brooklyn-based artist and performer who works at the intersection of dance, art, and activism in a range of media including video art and experimental music. She won Best Use of a...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Stephanie Soechtig — “The Devil We Know”
Stephanie Soechtig is an award-winning writer, producer, and documentary film director. Her films “Fed up” and “Under the Gun” were previously nominated for Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize....
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Amy Scott — “Hal”
Amy Scott is a director and editor. A former media producer for the University of Chicago, she has been editing social-issue documentaries for over 15 years. “Hal” is her feature directorial...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sandi Tan — “Shirkers”
Sandi Tan is a Singaporean-born, California-based novelist and filmmaker. Her short films have played at over 100 film festivals including the New York Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand International...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Cristina Costantini — “Science Fair”
Christina Costantini has reported and produced for the New Haven Independent, The Huffington Post, ABC News, Univision, and Fusion. Her first TV documentary, which looked at sex trafficking in...
Agnès Varda Has a New Doc in the Works
One of the most influential filmmakers in French cinema is set to share her “own vision of art” with the world. Variety reports that Agnès Varda is working on a new, as-yet untitled documentary...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Lorna Tucker — “Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist”
Lorna Tucker cut her teeth working behind the camera creating tour videos and music promos before moving onto directing documentaries, writing scripts, and creating more experimental video art...
Barbara Kopple Will Receive Hot Docs’ 2018 Outstanding Achievement Award
Documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple is truly a force to be reckoned with. She has received not one but two Academy Awards atop a bevy of other honors. Now, Kopple will receive the Outstanding...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Alexandra Shiva — “This Is Home”
Alexandra Shiva is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. She won a Peabody Award for her film “How to Dance in Ohio,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015 and aired on HBO to...
“Yours in Sisterhood” Doc Brings ’70s Era Ms. Magazine Letters to Life
A lot has changed since Ms. magazine launched in 1971 — and a lot hasn’t. This ironic truth is something Irene Lusztig explores in her performative documentary, “Yours in Sisterhood.”...
Trailer Watch: Gloria Allred Refuses to Be Silenced in “Seeing Allred”
“Seeing Allred” “Women are now empowered,” feminist attorney Gloria Allred declares in the trailer for “Seeing Allred,” “and they will never be silent again.” That’s true: our...
“Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” Acquired by Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber has snagged North American rights to “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami,” a press release has announced. If you’re already familiar with the singer-songwriter’s art and persona,...
Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Recipients
Chicken & Egg Pictures will support Nanfu Wang, Ramona Diaz, Natalia Almada, Laura Nix, and Kimi Takesue as they break through to the next phase of their filmmaking careers. The five documentary...
Liz Garbus’ New York Times Doc Gets Release Date on Showtime
Awards for fake news stories and the fact that terms like “post-truth” exist suggest that we need a David and Goliath narrative about the importance of journalism now more than ever. Thankfully,...