Features
Remembering Lois Weber, Early Hollywood’s Most Successful Woman Director
Last month, Vanity Fair ran a piece on women directors that claimed that “the feisty Ida Lupino was one of thefirst.” They were only off by fifty years. They forgot — or never...
Director Amy Berg on ‘Every Secret Thing,’ Her New Nicole Holofcener-Penned Thriller
Amy Berg is a critically acclaimed, Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her documentary “Deliver Us From Evil” (2006). The film...
Quote of the Day: Cate Blanchett on the Difficulty and Importance of Making Movies About Women
Todd Haynes’ lesbian romance “Carol” is on many a must-see list — including Women and Hollywood’s — but the journey of making and releasing the Cate Blanchett/Rooney Mara drama...
Fall TV and Feminism: A First Look at the Upfronts
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...
Quote of the Day: Kathryn Bigelow on the “Horrific Situation for Women Directors”
The first and only woman to win a Best Director Oscar in the 87-year history of the Academy Awards has spoken out against the rampant sexism that plagues Hollywood. Kathryn Bigelow released a...
Infographic: Celebrating Women Directors at Cannes 2015
Today is the kick off of the Cannes Film Festival. While we are still unbelievably unsatisfied at the amount of female directors in the main competition and other areas, there is still so much to...
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...
New and Noteworthy VOD Films and Webseries: May 2015: Breastfeeding, Campus Rape, ‘My Gimpy Life’
This month’s female-centric VOD releases and noteworthy webseries showcase women at their boldest and bravest. On the VOD front, we have Lisa F. Jackson’s “It Happened Here,” a powerful...
Quotes of the Day: Elizabeth Banks and Amy Berg Talk Women Directing
Elizabeth Banks and Amy Berg have a lot to say about being women directors in Hollywood. 2015 is a big year for both female filmmakers, with Banks making her feature directorial debut with the...
Weekly Update for May 8: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Hot Pursuit (Don’t Mess With Texas) — Directed by Anne Fletcher Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara play opposites on a road trip fleeing for their lives....
The Great Gay Hope of Ellen Page and Julianne Moore’s “Freeheld”
They say good things come to those who wait. So, it only follows that lesbian and bisexual audiences are expecting very good things from “Freeheld” after almost seven long years for the film to...
Quote of the Day: Mark Ruffalo on the Need for More Superheroines
The Hulk is channeling his rage for another good cause: the campaign for more movies about superheroines. Mark Ruffalo recently addressed some of the controversy surrounding “Avengers: Age of...
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin Rise Above Their Material in Netflix’s ‘Grace and Frankie’
I love the premise of “Grace and Frankie,” Netflix’s latest comedy (out May 8), in which two women in their 70s (Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda) are unceremoniously dumped by their husbands...
Bentonville Women Producers: Meet Robyn Butler — ‘Now Add Honey’
Robyn Butler is an award-winning Australian actor, writer andproducer. She runs the highly successfulMelbourne-based production company Gristmill with her husband, Wayne Hope. Ahighly regarded...
Rose McGowan’s Seven Bold Tips for Fighting Sexism in the Film Industry
The following speech was originally delivered on April 21 to the Sisterhood of Traveling Producers, a small, invite-only group of young female executives and producers founded three years ago by...
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,...
Weekly Update for May 1: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Far From the Madding Crowd Carey Mulligan is luminous and inspiring as self-reliant landowner Bathsheba Everdene in “Far from the Madding Crowd.” The Thomas...
Why Wendy Wasserstein’s ‘The Heidi Chronicles’ is Still Relevant Today
Not 24 hours after producers announced that “The Heidi Chronicles” revival will close three months early on May 3rd (after only 80 performances), an article appeared in The New YorkTimes...
Quote of the Day: Kristen Stewart Calls Hollywood “Disgustingly Sexist”
Kristen Stewart’s career trajectory has taken an interesting and exciting turn as of late. But in a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, the young actress argues that the odds are against...
Guest Post: Why I Decided to Direct Lifetime’s Ariel Castro Movie ‘Cleveland Abduction’
Likemany people around the world, I was shocked and gripped by the story of thewomen who were abducted and kept for over a decade by Ariel Castro in a housein Cleveland, Ohio. When Sony first...
An Open Letter to Joss Whedon from a Disappointed Feminist Fan After Watching ‘Age of Ultron’
Is There Room for Women of Color In TV Comedy?
Last week, Amy Schumer made waves with the third season premiere of her sketch show, “Inside Amy Schumer.” The episode mocked everything from ageism in Hollywood to the absurdity of rape culture...
HBO’s ‘The Casual Vacancy’: Even in Rowling’s Adult Work, It’s the Kids Who Shine
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Donna LoCicero — ‘3 Still Standing’
Donna LoCicero is a writer, producer and documentary filmmaker with more than 15 years experience working on dozens of groundbreaking film projects for network, cable and international television....
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Amber Fares — ‘Speed Sisters’
Amber Fares is a Canadian-born filmmaker with Lebanese roots. In the aftermath of 9/11, Fares left her career in marketing to deepen her understanding of life in the Middle East. In response to her...
Women & Hollywood’s Summer Preview, Part 1: May and June 2015
The summer movie landscape can often feel like a haze of one huge blockbuster after another, each more testosterone-drenched than the last. However, this summer is packed with titles about...
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Erinnisse Rebisz — ‘Shoulder the Lion’
Erinnisse Rebisz is a seasoned editor for television and film, born and based in NYC. Her credits include numerous unscripted TV shows and documentaries such as “What Not To Wear,” “24 Hour...
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Amy Benson — Drawing the Tiger
Amy Benson is the co-owner of Nonfiction Media, a production company in Seattle. She has shot and edited over 25 short films, telling the stories of nonprofits in the Pacific Northwest, Africa and...
Broadway Star Kelli O’Hara on Maintaining Self-Worth in a Male-Dominated Industry
Cross-posted from The Interval. You know how when you’re applying to college people always ask you those cliché questions like, “What is a moment that changed your life?” and you think they...
Gay Divorce and Rock-umentaries: April’s Noteworthy Women-Centric Crowdfunding Projects
We at Women and Hollywood are always in pursuit of women-centric projects to promote and encourage, which is why, starting this month, we are beginning a new feature. Once a month, we will highlight...
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Rebecca Parrish — ‘Radical Grace’
Rebecca Parrish is director, cinematographer and an editor on “Radical Grace.” She has run her Chicago-based film company, Interchange Productions, since 2007. She has worked as an editor and...
Guest Post: The Challenges of Filming a Sexual Health Workshop in an Ultra-Conservative Country
“Leaving Africa” is a story of friendship andstrength. Finnish doctor Riitta has been working in Uganda for morethan 25 years. Together with her Ugandan friend Catherine, she brings sex...
Weekly Update for April 24: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week The Age of Adaline The best reason to watch “The Age of Adaline,” a romance starring Blake Lively as a lonely woman who can’t age past 29, is the...
Quote of the Day: Carey Mulligan Criticizes the “Massively Sexist” Film Industry
Carey Mulligan had much to say about the sorry state of the film industry, especially as it pertains to gender, in a recent interview with Time Out. The Academy Award-nominated actress echoed...
Woodstock, Bounty Hunters and Sexy Apples: New and Noteworthy Women-Created VOD and Webseries
From music to war to Jewish identity, this month sees a number of excellent films releasing to streaming services. With “Always Woodstock,” director and writer Rita Merson takes us on a tale...
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Laurie Kahn — ‘Love Between the Covers’
Laurie Kahn started her film career by helping a friend make an adaptation of a Guy de Maupassant story. While working on this project, she found paying work on the side writing film reviews for the...
Queer Women Out of the Picture in 2014 Films
Damn, Hollywood, what is it going to take to finally give us some hot girl-on-girl action? Oh, so now I have your attention? Well, then what I really want to ask is, what will it take to finally...
Hot Docs 2015 Women Directors: Meet Tonje Hessen Schei — ‘Drone’
Tonje Hessen Scheiis an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has worked with independentdocumentary productions since 1996. Her films focus on human rights, theenvironment and social justice....
Carey Mulligan Discusses Her Victorian Heroines in ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ and ‘Suffragette’
Sharing Our Story: Hollywood’s First Contract Director Dorothy Arzner’s ‘Dance, Girl, Dance’
To celebrate the firstanniversary of Seeking Our Story, this month’s screening will proudly feature awoman of many firsts: Dorothy Arzner. Arzner first moved to Hollywood in 1906, whereher father...
Tribeca 2015 Women Directors: Meet Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy — ‘Song of Lahore’
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is an Academy-and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her work centers on human rights and women’s issues. She has worked with refugees and marginalized communities...
Tribeca 2015 Women Directors: Meet Cosima Spender — ‘Palio’
London-based director Cosima Spender graduated with a degree in anthropology and art history from the University of London. Since graduating from the National Film and Television School in 2001, she...
Tribeca 2015 Women Directors: Meet Vanessa Hope — “All Eyes and Ears”
Vanessa Hope started her film career in China while teaching a graduate course at People’s University. Fluent in Chinese, she’s produced multiple films in China, with civil rights as a common...
Tribeca 2015 Women Directors: Meet Lisa Immordino Vreeland — ‘Peggy Guggenheim — Art Addict’
Long immersed in the world of fashion, Italian director Lisa Immordino Vreeland adapted her book “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel” into her first documentary. It won the Silver Hugo at the...
Weekly Update for April 17: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Alex of Venice — Co-Written by Jessica Goldberg and Katie Nehra (simultaneously releasing to VOD) In “Alex of Venice,” workaholic environmental attorney...
Tribeca 2015 Women Directors: Meet Natalia Leite — ‘Bare’
Natalia Leite is from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Since moving to New York, she has directed music videos, documentaries and short films. She is a recipient of the Kodak Grant Award, a Sundance Screenwriters...
Tribeca 2015 Women Directors: Meet Claudia Llosa — ‘Aloft’
Clauda Llosa was born in Lima, Peru. Her debut film “Madeinusa” premiered in Sundance’s official competition in 2006 and won several international awards. Her second film, “The Milk of...
Tribeca 2015 Women Directors: Meet Amy Kohn — ‘A Courtship’
Amy Kohn is an Emmy Award-winning television producer and showrunner. Her documentary work has included the critically acclaimed “My Life as a Child” (TLC), which profiled children ages 7 to 11...
Guest Post: Actress Anne Archer on How Women Can Play the Game Today
Since avery small girl, I have loved to perform and really only cared about acting. And yes, I would say it is still my number one love and goal, but I had an epiphany afew years ago that to...
Tribeca 2015 Women Directors: Meet Leslye Headland — ‘Sleeping with Other People’
Leslye Headland started her writing career in theater, with such plays as “Bachelorette” (Second Stage), “Assistance” (Playwrights Horizons), and the rest of the “Seven Deadly Plays”...