Features
Quote of the Day: Issa Rae Talks Advocating for Herself and Holding the Door Open for Others
Issa Rae is an actress, creator, writer, and producer with three Emmy nominations to her name and a resume that includes “Insecure,” “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” “The...
Documenting Care: Crowdfunding Picks
Current overlapping cultural, political, and economic realities seem to necessitate additional doses of care-taking and truth-telling as we navigate, and in some cases, resist, creating a new normal....
Exclusive: A Feminist Porn Director and Actress Speaks Out in This Red Band Clip of “Morgana”
A 50-year-old woman reflects on her evolving relationship with her body in our exclusive red band clip of “Morgana.” The doc sees its central character’s life take an unexpected...
Weekly Update for August 14: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Represent (Documentary) – Directed by Hillary Bachelder The past few years have seen a record-breaking number of women running for office. Hillary...
Quote of the Day: Jurnee Smollett Calls Out Hollywood’s Fake Anti-Racism
“Lovecraft Country” sees Jurnee Smollett playing a young woman battling monsters both literal and figurative — including the horrors of Jim Crow America and nocturnal, flesh-eating...
Pick of the Day: “Boys State”
There’s much to love about “Boys State,” a Grand Jury Prize winner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ doc gives an all-access look into an...
Pick of the Day: “Lovecraft Country”
The supernatural, like everything else, informs and is influenced by systemic racism in “Lovecraft Country.” Misha Green’s new HBO series, developed from Matt Ruff’s novel of...
Pick of the Day: “Represent”
The past few years have seen a record-breaking number of women running for office. Hillary Bachelder follows three of these women — Myya Jones, Bryn Bird, and Julie Cho — in her feature...
Cinematographer to Watch: Carmen Cabana of “Vida” and “High Fidelity”
Cinematographer Carmen Cabana’s reel is a varied trove of genres and forms that are all linked by an ability to visualize emotion on scales both intimate and magnificent. Her camera operation and...
Exclusive: Julia Scotti Revisits Her Old Stand-Up With a New Perspective in “Funny That Way” Clip
Transgender folks are still having to deal with cis people’s fixation on which bathroom they use. “They’re freaking out about my pee,” says Julia Scotti in our exclusive clip...
Quote of the Day: Sierra Teller Ornelas Talks Native American Representation on Her New Show
According to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, 70 percent of female television characters in the 2018-2019 season were white. Seventeen percent were Black, seven percent were...
Weekly Update for August 7: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN COMING TO STREAMING/VOD I Used to Go Here – Written and Directed by Kris Rey A former professor and crush beckons Gillian Jacobs back to her old stomping grounds in “I Used...
Pick of the Day: “A Thousand Cuts”
“A Thousand Cuts” is a powerful portrait of an indomitable journalist and an impassioned call to arms. Described by director Ramona S. Diaz as a film about “the erosion of democracy,...
Pick of the Day: “I Used to Go Here”
A former professor and crush beckons Gillian Jacobs back to her old stomping grounds in “I Used to Go Here.” Kris Rey’s latest sees the “Community” alumna returning to a...
Pick of the Day: “Spinster”
“Spinster” is not a subtle film — again, its title is “Spinster.” The pic, from director Andrea Dorfman and writer Jennifer Deyell, features a few clunky conversations...
Magical Empathy: Crowdfunding Picks
By Tatiana McInnis and Shayna Maci Warner This round of crowdfunding picks offers reflections and representations of gender identity, environmentalism in a crumbling world, and how climate change...
Pick of the Day: “Sam Jay: 3 In The Morning”
Sam Jay is comfortable with being uncomfortable. In her new Netflix special, “3 In the Morning,” the comedian — a masculine-presenting Black queer woman — wrestles with hard...
Quote of the Day: Lena Waithe Wants Hollywood to Mandate and Enforce Inclusion
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Lena Waithe reiterated some common knowledge about show business’ inner workings — and how it can be especially tough for women and people...
Weekly Update for July 31: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN COMING TO STREAMING/VOD She Dies Tomorrow – Written and Directed by Amy Seimetz After waking up convinced that she is going to die the following day, Amy’s (Kate Lyn...
August 2020 Film Preview
By Shayna Maci Warner and Tatiana McInnis This August, women run the gamut in film: offering laughs, working through breakups, and even fending off killer lions. There are a wealth of VOD and...
Pick of the Day: “The Fight”
Every day of the three-and-a-half years that we have endured the Trump presidency has felt like a fight — a fight for our rights and for the world we want to live in. The lawyers of the ACLU...
Exclusive: Climate Change and Feminism Podcast “Mothers of Invention” Is Back With Season 3 Trailer
“Mothers of Invention” is here to help save the world — or at the very least, provide listeners with “plenty [of content] to clog their racist uncle’s inboxes...
Collective Cameras: VOD and Web Series Picks
By Tatiana McInnis and Shayna Maci Warner This month’s VOD and web series picks showcase the power of community, both in front of and behind the camera. They emphasize the strength and complexity...
Weekly Update for July 24: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Yes, God, Yes – Written and Directed by Karen Maine “Yes, God, Yes” Described by writer-director Karen Maine as “a love story between...
Absence on Both Sides of the Camera: Crowdfunding Picks
By Shayna Maci Warner and Tatiana McInnis For many marginalized storytellers, the absences of their identities within the Hollywood canon can only be combatted by creating independent content....
Exclusive: Rosamund Pike Defends Marie Curie’s Brilliance in “Radioactive” Clip
“How dare you take my brilliance. How dare you take their applause,” says Rosamund Pike in our exclusive clip of Marjane Satrapi’s “Radioactive.” The biopic sees the...
Pick of the Day: “Yes, God, Yes”
Described by writer-director Karen Maine as “a love story between one woman and her vagina,” “Yes, God, Yes,” stars “Stranger Things’” Natalia Dyer as a teenage girl who discovers...
Pick of the Day: “Amulet”
“Amulet” features several horror staples: a derelict house, a mysterious family, a handsome, tortured hero, and a young woman in need. And yet Romola Garai’s feature directorial...
Weekly Update for July 17: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
“Black Lives Matter” FILMS ABOUT WOMEN COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Carmilla – Written and Directed by Emily Harris Fifteen-year-old Lara (Hannah Rae) lives with her father and her...
Pick of the Day: “Blessed Child”
If, in 2020, you’ve ever even heard of the Moonies — i.e. the followers of the Unification Church, founded by Reverend Sun Myung Moon — it’s probably been as a punchline:...
Quote of the Day: Viola Davis’ “Entire Life Has Been a Protest”
When a tide of Black Lives Matter protests broke out after George Floyd’s murder, Viola Davis wanted to join them. But, due to COVID-19 concerns, she decided not to attend the events. Instead,...
Weekly Update for July 10: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN COMING TO STREAMING/VOD The Old Guard – Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood Led by a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron), a covert group of tight-knit mercenaries with a...
Pick of the Day: “Relic”
A manifestation of dementia wreaks havoc on three generations of women in “Relic,” Natalie Erika James’ terrifying and touching feature debut. Inspired by her grandmother’s...
Pick of the Day: “P-Valley”
“P-Valley” is full of strong women — not “strong” in the nebulous, she’s-an-interesting-character-but-also-a-woman! way. I mean strong as in athletic, powerful,...
Quote of the Day: “The Old Guard’s” KiKi Layne on Black Female Superheroes
KiKi Layne is speaking out about how representation — and the lack thereof — influences her aspirations in Hollywood. The “If Beale Street Could Talk” breakout stars alongside...
Exclusive: Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces Four New Project: Hatched Grantees
Four documentaries with festival premieres that were impacted by COVID-19 will receive grants from Chicken & Egg Pictures. The org, which supports women and non-binary nonfiction filmmakers, has...
Weekly Update for July 3: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
Read our message on BLM and the protests against racism and anti-Black police brutality. FILMS ABOUT WOMEN COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Desperados – Directed by LP; Written by Ellen...
Pick of the Day: “John Lewis: Good Trouble”
John Lewis is a seminal figure in our history. What the activist and political leader has done to improve civil rights in our country is immeasurable. Watching Dawn Porter’s new doc, “Good...
July 2020 Film Preview
This July offers many new films by and about women to discover on VOD and streaming platforms, and — as some films make their tentative return to cinemas — in movie theaters,...
Pick of the Day: “Scheme Birds”
“If you stay here you either get locked up or knocked up,” explains Gemma, the Scottish teenager at the center of “Scheme Birds.” Still, she hopes to spend the rest of her...
Pick of the Day: “And She Could Be Next”
Sometimes “And She Could Be Next” is a joy to watch, and sometimes it’s infuriating. Seeing so many women of color running and winning political races is incredibly exciting. Grace...
Weekly Update for June 26: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
Read our message on BLM and the protests against racism and anti-Black police brutality. FILMS ABOUT WOMEN COMING TO STREAMING/VOD House of Hummingbird – Written and Directed by Bora Kim Set in...
Pick of the Day: “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark”
True crime’s got a bad reputation for exploiting victims, and rightfully so. The genre has made a habit of dehumanizing those affected by violent crime in its glamorization of rapists and...
Pick of the Day: “House of Hummingbird”
Among all the people you know, how many do you understand? This question, posed by a teacher, visibly stirs 14-year-old Eun-hee (Ji-hu Park). Despite being surrounded by classmates, teachers, and...
Writer to Watch: Amanda Idoko of “Central Park” and “Breaking News in Yuba County”
Before Amanda Idoko was in writers rooms, she was on a pre-med track at Cornell with aspirations to be a doctor. Halfway through her college career, she changed her major to theater arts, forging a...
Weekly Update for June 19: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
Read our message on BLM and the protests against racism and anti-Black police brutality. FILMS ABOUT WOMEN COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Miss Juneteenth – Written and Directed by Channing Godfrey...
Pick of the Day: “Miss Juneteenth”
Today’s release of “Miss Juneteenth” couldn’t be more welcome or better timed. As calls for making Juneteenth a federal holiday gain further momentum amidst Black Lives Matter...
Pick of the Day: “Babyteeth”
The slog of long-term illness can do weird things to people — not just those who are actually sick, but their loved ones, as well. Shannon Murphy’s “Babyteeth,” the story of a...
Connections and Conversations: Crowdfunding Picks
Remembering the things that connect us and bring us together, as well as committing to honest conversation with each other — even when the topic is difficult — has never been more...
Pick of the Day: “Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth”
Shortly before I watched “Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth,” Jeanie Finlay’s documentary about a trans man embarking upon pregnancy and parenthood, “Harry Potter” author...
Future and Fantasy: VOD and Web Series Picks
Women filmmakers are redefining what intimacy and relationships may look like in the future — not through making tired critiques of dating apps, but rather by offering expansive interpretations...