Features
Relationships That Deserve Screen Time: Crowdfunding Picks
One of the things that independent cinema does best is tell stories of relationships found outside of the dominant culture. The mainstream tends to focus on romantic relationships between men and...
February 2022 Film Preview
February brings a slate of films about and made by women centered on the theme of love, in all its follies. Kicking off the month is Oscar hopeful “The Worst Person in the World”...
February 2022 Television Preview
Although it will be dominated by sports — i.e. the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl — television is also offering plenty of intriguing projects by and about women this February. A new...
Exclusive: Petra Costa and Tracy Heather Strain Among 2022 Chicken & Egg Award Recipients
Chicken & Egg Pictures has selected the recipients of the 2022 Chicken & Egg Award, which offers unrestricted funding to advanced women and gender nonconforming documentary filmmakers. Women...
Sundance 2022 Preview: A Racist History Haunts a College, Activists Fight for the Right to Choose, & More
COVID-19 isn’t putting the brakes on Sundance 2022. The fest has gone digital once again this year due to the pandemic, but we’re thankful the show will go on — online, where...
Pick of the Day: “Somebody Somewhere”
After years of memorable supporting turns in the likes of “Unbelievable,” “Camping,” and “Patti Cake$,” Bridget Everett is finally leading her own show. She stars...
January 2022 Film Preview
“The 355” is finally making its way to cinemas. Long delayed due to COVID-19, the star-studded spy movie kicks off 2022 right. Featuring Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Lupita...
January 2022 Television Preview
As we welcome 2022 and make plans for the upcoming months, we have new shows to match our moods, grab our attention, and guide us through the first 31 days of the year. The TV premieres this month...
2021’s Best Series and Docuseries By and About Women
Our favorite series and docuseries of 2021 revisited one of Hollywood’s biggest scandals from an intimate angle, introduced us to hilarious new voices like Rose Matafeo and Hannah Einbinder,...
2021’s Best Documentaries By and About Women
Some of the most notable 2021 docs by and about women introduced us to a legal trailblazer, showed us a different side of music royalty we thought we knew, and followed activists from around the...
Entering the Unknown: Crowdfunding Picks
As the end of the year nears, the desire to examine and confront the unknown or the unfamiliar parts of our lives creeps to the front of our minds. When it comes to moving into a new point in time,...
2021’s Best Films By and About Women
Whether you braved movie theaters or stayed at home and enjoyed viewing experiences from the comfort of your couch, there were plenty of films by and about women to check out this year, including a...
Comfortable in Her Own Skin: VOD, Web Series, and Podcast Picks
The burden to live up to social expectations is omnipresent. As such, the struggle to be free of modern society’s demands — from unattainable body standards propagated through social...
Pick of the Day: “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street”
Marilyn Agrelo traces the radical roots of “Sunny Days” spent with Elmo, Bert, and Big Bird in “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street.” The HBO doc examines how creators, artists,...
Pick of the Day: “Anne Boleyn”
Over the past few years, there have been an increased number of historical dramas that employ color-blind, or color-conscious, casting. Sometimes these projects feature people of color yet completely...
Pick of the Day: “The Slow Hustle”
“It’s Baltimore — don’t be surprised by anything that takes place here,” we’re warned early on in “The Slow Hustle.” The HBO doc sees Sonja Sohn, best...
December 2021 Television Preview
2021 promises to go out with a bang, with a gamut of festive television releases adding warmth to this chilly season. The TV offerings this month are full of holiday cheer, extending from sitcoms to...
Costume Designer to Watch: Vera Chow of “The Walking Dead” and “Boogie”
Born in Texas and raised in British Hong Kong, Vera Chow never quite found herself at ease with her surroundings. Made to feel like a misfit during her schooling in Hong Kong, Chow admits in a talk...
December 2021 Film Preview
The New Year is just around the corner, but there’s plenty to look forward to before we ring in 2022. Besides holiday-themed content, December will also mark the release of an Oscar-nominated...
Pick of the Day: “Adrienne”
I saw “Waitress” at an art-house theater when I was in high school, and it instantly became one of my favorite movies. A few months after seeing the bittersweet dramedy about a pregnant...
Pick of the Day: “Writing with Fire”
“I believe that journalism is the essence of democracy,” announces Meera Devi, the central protagonist of Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s “Writing with Fire.” Devi is...
Pick of the Day: “Black and Missing”
Even if you don’t know the ins and outs of her story, you’ve probably, at one point or another, heard of Natalee Holloway. Have you heard of Tamika Huston, who went missing around the...
A Focus on Family: Crowdfunding Picks
Family dynamics are an ever-evolving part of life; a large element of understanding family is understanding our individual selves. At times, familial relationships can feel overwhelming or confusing,...
Pick of the Day: “The Sex Lives of College Girls”
“The Sex Lives of College Girls” isn’t nearly as raunchy as its eye-catching title suggests. The HBO Max comedy is unapologetically horny, yes, and considerably more invested in...
Pick of the Day: “Sort Of”
A selection at TIFF this year, the Toronto-set “Sort Of” adds a much-needed perspective to the ubiquitous “20-something trying to figure things out” subgenre of comedy. Like...
Pick of the Day: “Cusp”
Ahead of “Cusp’s” world premiere at Sundance, directors Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt told us that they hope audiences will “think about what it actually looks like to...
Pick of the Day: “Night Raiders”
Marking Danis Goulet’s feature directorial debut, “Night Raiders” is a dystopian sci-fi take on the history, and possible future, of colonialism and authoritarianism. It’s a bleak...
DOC NYC 2021 Preview: Films About Social Justice, Systemic Racism, Healthcare, and More
DOC NYC 2021 is kicking off today, November 10. The documentary film festival will feature in-person events through November 18 and online screenings through November 28. Women and Hollywood has...
Pick of the Day: “The Dilemma of Desire”
Described by director Maria Finitzo as “a film about power, and how power is easily taken when the truth is replaced with a lie,” “The Dilemma of Desire” puts the clitoris under a microscope...
Exclusive: Holly Morris Spotlights the Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition in “Exposure” Teaser
Explorer Felicity Aston leads a high-stakes expedition in “Exposure,” a documentary that’s set to make its world premiere at DOC NYC November 13. “This is such a dangerous...
Cinematographer to Watch: Ana M. Amortegui of “Twenties” and “Black Lightning”
From Colombia, Ana M Amortegui got her start studying electrical engineering and dancing professionally; she discovered cinematography while transitioning from stage performance to television...
Pick of the Day: “Beans”
“You need to be able to stand up for what’s important to you,” a 12-year-old Mohawk girl is told in “Beans.” Tracey Deer’s coming-of-age drama tells the story of Tekehentahkhwa,...
Pick of the Day: “Mark, Mary & Some Other People”
From the very beginning of their relationship, Mary (Hayley Law) and Mark (Ben Rosenfield) do things a little unconventionally. In the opening scenes of “Mark, Mary & Some Other...
November 2021 Television Preview
Even though the end of 2021 is near, it is just the beginning for shows premiering this November. This month offers us a range of programs, from comedies to intense dramas, to keep our attention as...
November 2021 Film Preview
November promises to ring in the festive season with fervor and fanfare, with a list of highly anticipated releases hitting theaters and streaming platforms. The dynamic offerings this month include...
Pick of the Day: “Passing”
“Passing” is a complicated term. Whether it relates to race, gender, or sexual orientation, it connotes posing, pretending, striving to be something you’re not. On the other hand,...
Quote of the Day: Gabrielle Union Calls Out Hollywood’s Fake Meritocracy in Book Foreword
Gabrielle Union has nearly 90 acting credits on IMDb. She has appeared on-screen since the mid-90s. She has had scene-stealing turns in cult classics and blockbusters alike, from “Bring It...
Exclusive: Chicken & Egg Pictures and Fork Films Select Participants for Inaugural Story Workshop
Chicken & Egg Pictures and Fork Films are joining forces on a new creative story workshop for documentarians. Women and Hollywood can exclusively reveal that the orgs have selected the...
Pick of the Day: “Insecure”
“The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl” served as Issa Rae’s calling card in the industry, but it’s “Insecure” that launched her into another stratosphere. Now...
Indigeneity in All Its Complexity: Web Series and Podcast Picks
Representation of Indigenous people in mainstream media is undergoing a tectonic shift, from being perceived through the dominant lens of white settler society, which mostly oversimplifies and...
Under the Radar: Rhiana Yazzie’s “A Winter Love” Showcases Inter-Tribal Romance & Celebrates Self-Love
From Sterlin Harjo’s “Reservation Dogs” on FX to Peacock’s “Rutherford Falls,” created by Sierra Teller Ornelas, Ed Helms, and Michael Schur, 2021 has offered audiences more Indigenous...
Pick of the Day: “Found”
Like Amanda Lipitz’s first documentary, “Step,” a portrait of a girls’ step dance team during their senior year at a Baltimore high school that took home a Special Jury Award for...
Pick of the Day: “Bergman Island”
“Do you think you can create a great body of work and raise a family at the same time?” asks Vicky Krieps in “Bergman Island.” Writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve identified this...
Pick of the Day: “Introducing, Selma Blair”
Selma Blair holds no illusions about her place in Hollywood. Whether it’s “Cruel Intentions,” “Legally Blonde,” or “Hellboy,” she’s best known standing...
Tackling Trauma: Crowdfunding Picks
Rarely does a day pass when the life of a woman is not affected by the haunting of the trinity — that of assault, abuse, and trauma. No matter which rung of the social ladder one stands at, the...
Pick of the Day: “The Rescue”
E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin are back with another crowd-pleasing, jaw-dropping look at a death-defying mission. They’re following up their Oscar-winning portrait of rock climber Alex...
Pick of the Day: “Prism”
A prism can be a lens, a way of seeing. In the figurative sense, it can be a tool that refracts and deconstructs ideas. In the literal sense, it breaks down white light into a rainbow. A prism is not...
Pick of the Day: “Delphine’s Prayers”
Similar to her previous two features as a solo director, “Chez Jolie Coiffure” and “The Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman,” Rosine Mbakam’s latest doc gives an...
Book Excerpt: “How to Be Golden: Lessons We Can Learn from Betty White”
The following is adapted from Paula Bernstein’s “How to Be Golden: Lessons We Can Learn from Betty White,” which will be available October 5. Reprinted by permission of Running Press, part of...
It’s Complex, It’s Latinx: VOD and Podcast Picks
Every year since 1968, September 15 marks the beginning of the Hispanic Heritage celebration in the United States, which originally lasted just one week. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush changed...
Pick of the Day: “Hester Street” 4K Restoration
The old and the new collide in Joan Micklin Silver’s beloved “Hester Street.” The Oscar-nominated 1975 portrait of Jewish immigrant life in turn-of-the-century New York has received...