Features
Exclusive: Noémie Merlant is a New Mom Struggling to Cope in “Baby Ruby” Clip
Noémie Merlant finds herself in another living nightmare in “Baby Ruby.” After escaping the clutches of an egomaniacal boss in ‘Tár,” the French actress plays a new mother...
Sundance 2023 Preview: Judy Blume, the Indigo Girls, and Bethann Hardison Make Their Mark on Park City
The first major fest of 2023 is nearly upon us. With over 100 films representing 23 countries, the 25th edition of Sundance Film Festival features plenty of promising titles from emerging voices as...
Quote of the Day: Michelle Yeoh Says “We Can Tell Our Own Stories on Our Own Terms”
Michelle Yeoh took home an award and made history at last night’s National Board of Review gala. The Oscar favorite received Best Actress honors for “Everything Everywhere All At...
Exclusive: A Throuple Hits a Rough Patch in “Petit Mal” Trailer
“Three is not balanced — there are always two or one,” we’re told in an exclusive trailer for “Petit Mal.” Written and directed by Ruth Caudeli, the Tribeca title...
January 2023 Film Preview
The 2022 winner of the Berlinale’s Golden Bear hits finally hits theaters this month. Carla Simón’s “Alcarràs,” a portrait of a family of peach farmers in a small village in...
January 2023 Television Preview
Whether you’re looking for a new series to binge or awaiting the return of an existing series, January has plenty to offer. If one of your resolutions for 2023 is to practice a new language,...
Pick of the Day: “Corsage”
“Never forget, no matter bronchitis or headache, you are the Empress,” Vicky Krieps is told in “Corsage,” Marie Kreutzer’s fictionalized account of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. The film...
Exclusive: Olivia Coleman Consoles Runaway Preteen in “Joyride” Clip
Olivia Colman hits the road in “Joyride,” Emer Reynolds’ drama about a strangers who connect under unusual circumstances. Joy (Colman) is a middle-aged solicitor with a goal: to...
Pick of the Day: “The Super 8 Years”
“Behind the image of the nondescript young mother, I can’t help but remember a woman secretly tormented by the need to write,” Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux reflects in “The Super 8 Years”...
Writer to Watch: Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence of “Twenties”
Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence uses writing as a means of world-building. Raised in both Washington, D.C. and Honolulu, Hawai’i in “a family of activists, critical race theorists, and freedom...
Queer Common Spaces: Podcast Picks
Find friends who don’t judge you. Find friends who understand you. Find friends who listen to you, help you grow, and commiserate with you when the future seems uncertain. All these qualities...
Exclusive: An “Army” of Climate Activists Fight for Change in Clip of Rachel Lears’ “To the End”
“Can you imagine what would happen if we took these young folks [and] got them involved in elections? And young people were the reason why certain politicians won or lost in the 2020 elections,”...
Pick of the Day: “Hidden Letters”
“A man dreams to conquer the world / Does a woman dream any less?” a Nüshu poem asks. Centuries ago, in a rural pocket of China called Jiangyong County, at a time when women and girls were held...
Pick of the Day: “To the End”
“Some of us have to actually live the future that you all are setting on fire,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warns the fossil fuel execs testifying before Congress in Rachel Lears’ “To...
December 2022 Television Preview
Temperatures are dropping — there’s no better time to tune in and find your next TV addiction. Premiering December 1 on ALLBLK is “Wicked City,” the story of five witches who turn...
Pick of the Day: “Framing Agnes”
In 1958, a trans woman who went by “Agnes Torres” outsmarted the system to attain gender-affirming healthcare. Thanks to her resourcefulness, she received hormones and corrective surgery from a...
Pick of the Day: “Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power”
“Strong people don’t need strong leaders: the emphasis was on the organizing,” civil rights activist Jennifer Lawson tells us in “Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power,” Geeta Gandbhir...
Self and Society: Crowdfunding Picks
There are countless ways identity can shape a person, with countless factors that shape that identity. This month’s crowdfunding projects, whether narrative fiction or documentary, explore the...
December 2022 Film Preview
December marks the long-awaited release of “Women Talking” (December 23), Sarah Polley’s star-studded adaptation of Miriam Toews’ novel of the same name. Led by Rooney Mara,...
Pick of the Day: “Leonor Will Never Die”
“Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,” we’re told. But how does this adage apply to the final quarter of our lives, when we are no longer working? Do we surrender what...
Under the Radar: The Lesbian Bar Project
When the COVID-19 shutdown stripped people away from friends and family, filmmakers Erica Rose and Elina Street began to contemplate the crucial role that community plays in our lives. Although their...
Women’s Trauma Reverberates at the Cinema This Fall
I’ve been thinking about the portrayal of women’s trauma onscreen this fall. It started back at the Toronto International Film Festival with “The Woman King,” directed by Gina...
Pick of the Day: “Bantú Mama”
How far would you go to save your own life? How far would you go to save the life of someone you love? Deceptively minimalist in its story and action, the Dominican Republic’s official Oscar entry...
Exclusive: Go Behind the Scenes of “The People We Hate at the Wedding” with Kristen Bell & Allison Janney
“I hope [the movie makes] people have a deeper appreciation for how wonderful and annoying family can be,” says Kristen Bell in our exclusive featurette for “The People We Hate at...
DOC NYC 2022 Preview: Social Justice Reckonings, Cirque du Soleil, & More
Set to take place November 9-27, this year’s edition of DOC NYC film festival promises to enlighten, entertain, inspire, and provoke. Programming includes exciting titles from first-time...
Cinematographer to Watch: Charlotte Hornsby
New York-based cinematographer Charlotte Hornsby has been making a name for herself on the festival circuit, working on titles such as Mariama Diallo’s “Master,” a horror pic...
Pick of the Day: “Causeway”
It’s been too long since Jennifer Lawrence starred in a movie worthy of her talents. “Causeway” is a welcome return to form for the A-lister. It’s been a dozen years since...
November 2022 Television Preview
If you’re not quite ready to say goodbye to spooky season, you may find solace in the fact that “Wednesday” is launching on Netflix this month (November 23). Jenna Ortega is...
November 2022 Film Preview
Awards contenders are making their way to multiplexes this month. Jennifer Lawrence is eyeing a fifth Oscar nomination for “Causeway” (November 4), Lila Neugebauer’s drama about a...
Pick of the Day: “Call Jane”
Above all else, Phylliss Nagy’s “Call Jane” is a testament to the bulletproof resilience of women in the face of adversity. Written by Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi, the Elizabeth...
Exclusive: Elizabeth Banks Faces a Life-Threatening Pregnancy in “Call Jane” Clip
Set in 1968 Chicago, “Call Jane” sees Elizabeth Banks playing Joy, a surburban housewife whose ordinary life gets turned upside down when her pregnancy leads to a life-threatening heart...
Pick of the Day: “Aftersun”
A moving meditation on memory, nostalgia, and loss, “Aftersun” is positively radiant, and left me reeling in its glow. To say that Charlotte Wells’ feature debut, the story of an...
Pick of the Day: “Descendant”
What does it mean to be a descendant? The concept of ancestry is nebulous, abstract, and often taken for granted by folks who are lucky enough to be able to trace their genealogy. To be a lineal...
Pick of the Day: “The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile”
“Delta Dawn, what’s that flower you have on / Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?” asks country music legend Tanya Tucker in her 1972 debut hit, “Delta Dawn.” The chart-topping...
Whose Lens is it Anyway?: Podcast Picks
While we’ve come a long way with on-screen representation, much of mainstream television and film fails to offer relatable, authentic representation for all. That’s the beauty of...
The Weight of Community: Crowdfunding Picks
Community can mean a host things: comfort, responsibility, representation, and identity, to name a few. The word holds undeniable power, and our communities often inform what we come to think of our...
Pick of the Day: “Battleground”
Take a few seconds to picture an anti-abortionist in your head. Did you envision a man? Probably old, probably white, probably Republican, right? While it’s true that, historically, it has been...
NYFF 2022 Preview: NYT Reporters Expose a Predator, A Grieving Mother Turns to Activism, & More
The 60th edition of New York Film Festival is upon us. Kicking off today and running through October 16, this year’s program boasts the world premiere of buzzy titles such as Maria...
October 2022 Television Preview
Nothing screams fall quite like creepy, unnerving entertainment — at least for Halloween lovers like us. Fortunately, October will offer plenty of chills and thrills. The month kicks off with...
October 2022 Film Preview
October will mark the release of a number of buzzy films that we’ve been tracking on the festival circuit, starting with “Tár” (October 7), a drama about a world-famous conductor...
Under the Radar: The “Mind Your Uterus” Podcast Looks Beyond Stereotypes to Destigmatize Abortion
Abortion is “so much more complicated than the stereotypes.” This sentiment, expressed by 2+ Abortions Worldwide founder Karen Thurston in the first episode of “Mind Your...
Pick of the Day: “Nothing Compares”
It’s not an unusual for docs paying tribute to musical artists to begin with a performance, but I’ve never seen anything quite like the opening scene of “Nothing Compares”...
Pick of the Day: “Catherine Called Birdy”
“You have wings. You must learn how to harness them,” the 14-year-old protagonist of “Catherine Called Birdy” is advised midway through the Medieval coming-of-age pic....
Exclusive: Abigail Disney Calls Out Inequality in “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” Clip
Abigail Disney’s latest pulls back the curtain on the happiest place on Earth. “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” sees the activist, philanthropist, and filmmaker following...
Pick of the Day: “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales”
Disney branding itself as a wholesome, magical company where dreams come true, where happy endings are within everyone’s grasp, has always been treacly enough to irk me. But now, after watching...
Pick of the Day: “The Silent Twins”
“The Silent Twins” is hardly your everyday biopic. From director Agnieszka Smoczyńska (“The Lure”) and screenwriter Andrea Seigel (“Laggies”), and based on the...
Pick of the Day: “Medusa”
I can’t lie: At this point in time, I’m not above indulging in schadenfreude when I hear about people who have played an active part in rolling back women’s rights — white...
Pick of the Day: “True Things”
I love stories that give their female characters the space and compassion to be messy, stories that are unconcerned if, on paper, they’re flirting with the misogynist “crazy woman”...
Quote of the Day: Viola Davis & “The Woman King” Cast on Being Black Women in the Biz & Building Sisterhood
The stars of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s highly anticipated “The Woman King” — Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Thuso Mbedu, and Adrienne Warren — speak frankly...
Quote of the Day: Jennifer Lawrence Reflects on Pregnancy & Motherhood in the Wake of Roe Reversal
“The morning after I gave birth, I felt like my whole life had started over. Like, Now is day one of my life,” Jennifer Lawrence recalls in a new feature for Vogue. “I just stared. I...
TIFF 2022 Preview: Indigenous Icons, Women Warriors, Heroic Sisters, and More
Summer is winding down just as chatter about awards contenders is starting to heat up. The 46th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is nearly upon us, and the fest’s...