Documentary
Exclusive: Women Re-Adjust to Life Outside of Prison in Clip of “Returning Citizens”
“Since I’ve been home, I’ve been fortunate enough to be in a position to form an organization known as The WIRE, Women Involved in Re-Entry Efforts. And The WIRE is basically a group of...
Lysa Heslov’s Female Veteran Doc “Served Like a Girl” Finds a Home
If you’re interested in seeing a film about facing adversity and coming out stronger on the other side— and who isn’t right now? — you’re in luck. According to Deadline, Entertainment...
Susan Lacy to Direct Steven Spielberg Doc for HBO
A woman is stepping behind the camera to help tell Steven Spielberg’s story. Deadline reports that Susan Lacy will direct and produce “Spielberg,” a documentary set to debut October 7 on HBO....
Teaser Watch: Princess Diana Is Remembered in “Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy”
“This is the first time that the two of us have ever spoken about her as a mother,” says Prince Harry in a new teaser for “Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.” He and his brother, Prince...
Exclusive: Anti-Trafficking Activist Isn’t What He Seems in “The Wrong Light” Trailer
“Uncle Mickey is the best person I’ve ever met,” we’re told by an enthusiastic girl in a new trailer for “The Wrong Light.” Uncle Mickey — AKA Mickey Choothesa — heads a...
Unconventional Portraits: July’s VOD and Web Series Picks
“Girl on Girl” Historically, summer is a season of convention. We may expect the same sunny weather, celebratory barbecue, and the (usually male-led) poorly written summer blockbuster. However,...
PBS Doc About Civil Rights Activist Dolores Huerta Gets Theatrical Release Date
An important chapter — and figure — in herstory is about to get some much-deserved and long-overdue attention: “Dolores” has a theatrical release date. PBS Distribution has announced...
Trailer Watch: Witness the Impact of Education in Vanessa Roth’s “Daughters of Destiny”
“I will show the world I am that girl who makes doorways of freedom, hope, and relief,” says one of the students at Shanti Bhavan in a trailer for “Daughters of Destiny.” Directed by Oscar...
Abigail Disney’s Fork Films Offers Grants to 14 Women-Directed Docs
Abigail Disney is spreading some magic — and money. The “Armor of Light” director and grandniece of Walt Disney is the CEO and President of Fork Films, a film production company that has...
Trailer Watch: Women Directors Step in Front of the Camera in “Seeing Is Believing”
“I’m not afraid to say, ‘I don’t know,’” says Leslie Hope, director of TV and docs, in a trailer for “Seeing Is Believing: Women Direct.” “I’m also not afraid to say, ‘This is...
Women Directors Win Big at LA Film Festival
Women-directed films accounted for 46 percent of the films screening at this year’s LA Film Festival. The level playing field resulted in women directors dominating the fest’s awards ceremony....
LAFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Amanda Kopp — “Liyana”
Amanda Kopp is an award-winning photographer and artist. She was producer and cinematographer for “Likhaya.” She also filmed for the “The Hunting Ground,” a documentary about the prevalence...
LAFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Valerie Red-Horse Mohl — “Mankiller”
Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, a filmmaker of Cherokee ancestry, is the owner/founder of Red-Horse Native Productions, Inc., which has become a preeminent collaborator with American Indian tribal nations...
LAFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sara Lamm — “Thank You For Coming”
Sara Lamm is a writer, performer, and documentary filmmaker. Her most recent film, “Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives,” co-directed with Mary Wigmore, won the Audience Award at...
LAFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ciara Lacy — “Out of State”
Ciara Lacy is a Native Hawaiian filmmaker whose interest lies in using strong characters and investigative journalism to challenge the creative and political status quo. Her work has shown in...
Two Films by Madeline Anderson to Screen at American Black Film Festival
Two short documentaries from the history-making director, producer, reporter, and writer Madeline Anderson will be shown at this year’s American Black Film Festival (ABFF). According to Shadow and...
Pamela Yates’ “500 Years” Acquired by Paladin
The third and final installment of Pamela Yates’ “The Resistance Saga” is headed to theaters. Paladin has snagged the U.S. theatrical rights to “500 Years.” According to Variety, the...
“Letters from Baghdad” Directors on Spy, Explorer, and Political Powerhouse Gertrude Bell
Interview by Kate Gardner Sabine Krayenbühl is an award-winning editor with over 20 theatrical documentaries and narrative features to her credit. Her work includes Oscar and Independent Spirit...
Rising Up: June’s VOD and Web Series Picks
“I Am Jane Doe” The release of “Wonder Woman” has Women and Hollywood reflecting on women who aren’t afraid to take charge of their situations. This month’s VOD and web series picks...
Trailer Watch: “Birthright” Documents the Real-Life “Handmaid’s Tale”
Civia Tamarkin’s upcoming documentary “Birthright: A War Story” depicts the so-called pro-life campaign for what it really is: an assault on women’s reproductive choices. For many...
Karlovy Vary Competition Lineups Announced, Program Is 26% Women-Directed
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has announced its 2017 competition lineups. Of 35 films screening in competition programs, nine are directed or co-directed by women, amounting to 26...
Elvira Lind’s Tribeca Winner “Bobbi Jene” Acquired by Oscilloscope
Elvira Lind’s “Bobbi Jene” has found a home. Oscilloscope Laboratories snagged the U.S. rights to the the award-winning documentary about American dancer Bobbi Jene Smith, a press release has...
Trailer Watch: Whitney Houston Struggles with Fame in “Whitney: Can I Be Me”
“Success doesn’t change you — fame does,” says Whitney Houston in a newly released trailer for “Whitney: Can I Be Me.” The documentary follows the icon’s personal and...
The Personal Is Communal: Crowdfunding Picks
We all have that friend who constantly “knows how you feel.” You know what we’re talking about. Well, trust us, this group of crowdfunding picks really know how you feel. Each respective...
Chelsea Manning Documentary in the Works
A documentary about former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning is in the works. According to a press release, “XY Chelsea” is the result of several years of “unique access” to...
LA Film Fest Competition Lineup Announced: 46 Percent Women-Directed
The LA Film Festival (LAFF) has announced its 2017 competition lineups. “Our competitions reflect who Film Independent is as an organization,” emphasized LAFF Director Jennifer Cochis. “Within...
Doc About “Muriel’s Wedding” Musical in the Works from Nel Minchin
Somebody break out the ABBA records. “Making Muriel,” a documentary following director P.J. Hogan as he adapts his beloved cult film “Muriel’s Wedding” into a musical, is headed our way....
Viola Davis-Produced Web Series About Emerging Artists Released
“You can’t tell yourself no. There’s going to be a lot of people saying no. You can’t be one of those people,” says one of the characters in “Emerging Artist Series,” a new web series...
Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces Participants of Diversity Fellows Initiative
Chicken & Egg Pictures has announced the newest participants of their Diversity Fellows Initiative. Now in its second year, the program supports non-fiction projects directed by women of color....
Teaser Watch: Lindsey Stirling Learns to Believe in Herself in “Brave Enough”
“Looking back over my life, I can’t believe everything that has happened to me,” says Lindsey Stirling in a newly released teaser for “Lindsey Stirling: Brave Enough.” The new documentary...
New Princess Diana Doc Coming to HBO
Twenty years ago, the world was rocked by the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales. HBO has acquired the U.S. rights to a new doc about the beloved royal icon produced by Oxford Film and...
“Mr. Chibbs” Director Jill Campbell on the Enduring Appeal of NBA Star Kenny Anderson
Jill Campbell has worked as a producer, director, and writer on myriad documentaries, including “Dancing Across Borders,” “Bernal’s Picasso: When Art Met Science,” and “Out of Print.”...
Dionne Warwick Doc in the Works
“I Say a Little Prayer,” “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” — these are the kinds of songs that inspire strangers to sing together, with or without alcohol. And these...
Hot Docs 2017 Women Directors: Meet Selma Vilhunen — “Hobbyhorse Revolution”
Selma Vilhunen is a director and screenwriter of both fiction and documentary films. She is also one of the co-founders of the production company Tuffi Films. Her fiction feature debut, “Little...
“Commanding the Table” Director Leslie Iwerks on Culinary and Hospitality Pioneer Ella Brennan
Leslie Iwerks is an Academy Award and Emmy-nominated director and producer. For over a decade, she has produced, directed, and edited award-winning feature and short documentaries, television...
Women Directors Dominate Tribeca’s Top Awards
Female filmmakers left a major impression on Tribeca jurors. The fest runs until Sunday, April 30, but presented awards for its 16th edition on Thursday. Women-directed films were named U.S. Best...
Hot Docs 2017 Women Directors: Meet Stacey Tenenbaum — “Shiners”
Stacey Tenenbaum is an award-winning creative producer and director who started her career in factual television 18 years ago. In 2014 Tenenbaum founded H2L Productions, a Montreal-based boutique...
Hot Docs 2017 Preview: A Flamenco Legend, Female Inmates, and Domestic Violence
“A Better Man” Hot Docs kicks off today. Given that the Toronto fest is among the world’s biggest documentary festivals, it’s unsurprising that this year’s expansive program has something...
Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi’s Chavela Vargas Doc Acquired by Music Box Films
Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi’s award-winning Chavela Vargas documentary has found a home. Music Box Films has acquired the U.S. rights to “Chavela” and is planning a theatrical release for...
Trailer Watch: Teens on the Autism Spectrum Make a Splash in “Swim Team”
“When I’m swimming, I feel normal. It feels amazing,” says one of the characters in a newly released trailer for Lara Stolman’s “Swim Team.” The award-winning documentary follows the...
Tribeca 2017 Women Directors: Meet Katie Green and Carlye Rubin — “The Family I Had”
Katie Green and Carlye Rubin made their directorial debut with “The (Dead Mothers) Club,” which broadcast on HBO in 2014. The documentary centers on three women who lost their mothers during...
Child Sex Trafficking Doc “I Am Jane Doe” Gets Digital Release Date
Child sex trafficking is dramatically more common than most people realize. Mary Mazzio’s new documentary, “I Am Jane Doe,” aims to raise awareness about this horrific crime and the fact that...
Tribeca 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lana Wilson — “The Departure”
Lana Wilson is an Emmy-winning filmmaker based in New York. Her first film, “After Tiller,” co-directed by Martha Shane, went inside the lives of the four most-targeted abortion providers in...
“13th,” “Trapped,” & More Women-Directed Docs Win Peabody Awards
Twelve documentaries are being honored by the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, and seven of them are women-directed or co-directed. 2016 was an amazing year for documentaries, and this stellar...
Tribeca 2017 Preview: Arranged Marriages, Endangered Animals, the Justice System, & More
“A Suitable Girl” Women directed nearly 40 percent of the films screening in Competition at this year’s edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, and there are plenty of women-centric projects in...
Trailer Watch: Four Women Take on the Pacific Ocean in “Losing Sight of Shore”
“There’s an incredible insight to be gained to know that you can fight and overcome anything that is thrown your way,” says one of the characters in a newly released trailer for “Losing...
Trailer Watch: Amanda Lipitz’s Sundance Winner “Step” Will Have You Dancing
Get a Kleenex out and clear some space to bust a move. A trailer has been released for Amanda Lipitz’s “Step,” and it’s equally likely to bring you to tears as it is to inspire some dancing...
Laura Poitras’ Julian Assange Doc “Risk” Gets Release Date & Trailer
The Julian Assange documentary “Risk” is receiving a theatrical release. According to a press statement, Showtime Documentary Films and NEON will bring Laura Poitras’ doc to theaters May 5. It...
Nanfu Wang’s “I Am Another You” Secures Distribution
Nanfu Wang’s award-winning new documentary has found a home. FilmRise has acquired North American distribution rights to “I Am Another You,” and PBS’ “Independent Lens” secured U.S...
Daisy Asquith’s “Queerama” to Open Sheffield Doc/Fest
Daisy Asquith’s “Queerama” will open the 2017 Sheffield Doc/Fest, Women in Film and Television UK reports. Created with material from the BFI National Archive, the doc was made to mark the 50...
Trailer Watch: Vanessa Gould’s “Obit” Spotlights Those Who Make the Dead Live Again
“It’s counter-intuitive — ironic, even — but obits have next to nothing to do with death, and in fact absolutely everything to do with the life,” an obituary writer observes in a...