Festivals
Liliana Cavani to Receive Venice Film Fest’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement
Liliana Cavani is set to receive a major honor at the 80th edition of Venice Film Festival. The Italian filmmaker will be awarded a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement, per Deadline. Counting...
Eva Longoria’s “Flamin’ Hot” Wins SXSW Audience Award
Eva Longoria’s narrative feature debut set SXSW ablaze. The fest has announced its Audience Award winners, and “Flamin’ Hot” took home the honor in the Headliners slate. The...
Athena Film Festival Unveils Winners and Finalists for the Athena List
The Athena Film Festival (AFF) has announced the winners and finalists for the 2023 Athena List, the fest’s selection of the best unproduced screenplays highlighting female...
Savanah Leaf’s “Earth Mama” to Open New Directors/New Films Fest
Savanah Leaf’s “Earth Mama” will open the 52nd edition of New Directors/New Films (ND/NF). Jointly presented by the Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center, the fest will take...
Athena Film Fest to Open with Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till,” Close with Tracy Droz Tragos’ “Plan C”
“Till” will open the 2023 Athena Film Festival (AFF). A press release announced that Chinonye Chukwu’s acclaimed drama, which tells the true story of Mamie Till-Mobley’s pursuit of...
European Film Market to Host Day-Long Event on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
One of the world’s most prominent meeting places for members of the entertainment industry is set to highlight the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Variety reports...
Santa Barbara Film Festival to Open with Michelle Danner’s “Miranda’s Victim,” Abigail Breslin Stars
Abigail Breslin’s latest project is set to open the 2023 of the Santa Barbara Film Festival, per Deadline. The “Zombieland” and “Little Miss Sunshine” actress toplines...
Caroline Monnet Selected by Sundance Institute For the 2023 Merata Mita Fellowship
Caroline Monnet is this year’s recipient of the 2023 Merata Mita Fellowship. A press release announced that the Anishinaabe/French multidisciplinary artist from Outaouais, Quebec has been...
Alice Diop’s “Saint Omer” Snags Top Honor At Palm Springs Film Festival
Alice Diop’s feature debut continues to rack up accolades. “Saint Omer” has been voted Best Picture at the 34th edition of Palm Springs International Film Festival, Deadline...
Berlin Film Fest to Open with Rebecca Miller’s “She Came to Me,” Anne Hathaway Stars
Rebecca Miller’s latest has been tapped to open the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival. Oscar winner Anne Hathaway and four-time Emmy winner Peter Dinklage topline “She Came to...
Sundance 2023: Women Directors Dominate Competition Slates
As 2022 winds down, it’s time to look onward. Sundance Film Festival has announced its 2023 features lineup. High-profile films set to make their world premiere at the fest include Susanna...
Sarah Polley to Receive Director of the Year Award from Palm Springs Film Festival
“Women Talking” doesn’t hit theaters until December but writer-director Sarah Polley is already attracting plenty of awards attention for the star-studded drama. She’s been...
Lena Waithe Named Ambassador of 2023 American Black Film Fest
Lena Waithe will serve as the ambassador of next year’s American Black Film Festival (ABFF). The 27th edition of the fest is set to take place June 14 to 18 in Miami Beach followed by a virtual...
The ACA Cinema Project Announces Series Showcasing Women Filmmakers From Japan
The ACA Cinema Project has announced a new film series showcasing women visionaries in Japanese cinema, The Female Gaze: Women Filmmakers from Japan Cuts and Beyond. A press release announced...
Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” Lands Top Prize at London Film Festival
“Corsage” has been crowned with the the top honor at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival. The biopic of Empress Elisabeth of Austria won the best film award from the fest’s official...
DOC NYC Announces Main Slate: “Aftershock,” “In Her Hands,” & More
DOC NYC has announced its 2022 main slate. Set to take place in-person November 9-17 and continuing online through November 27, this year’s edition of America’s largest doc fest includes...
“Our Father, the Devil’s” Ellie Foumbi to Receive Mill Valley Film Fest’s Mind The Gap Creation Prize
The Mill Valley Film Festival has named Ellie Foumbi as the winner of the 2022 Mind The Gap (MTG) Creation Prize of $10,000. The MTG prize spotlights up-and-coming filmmakers who exhibit both...
Get Your Discounted Athena Film Festival Passes
The 13th annual Athena Film Festival is quickly approaching. The 2023 edition of the film fest celebrating stories about women leaders will take place March 2-5 at Barnard College. Women and...
Catherine Hardwicke to Be Honored by Santa Fe International Film Fest
Catherine Hardwicke will receive a Visionary Award at the Santa Fe International Film Festival (SSFiFF), a press release announced. The “Twilight” director is also set to lead an actors...
Stephanie Johnes’ “Maya and the Wave” to Open DOC NYC
Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira is set to make a splash at DOC NYC. Stephanie Johnes’ doc about the trailblazer, “Maya and the Wave,” will open the 13th edition of the festival. A...
“The Power of the Dog” Producer Tanya Seghatchian to Head London Film Fest’s Main Jury
Tanya Seghatchian has been named head of this year’s BFI London Film Festival’s official competition jury. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the “Power of the Dog” producer...
Laura Mora Lands San Sebastian Film Fest’s Top Honor for “The Kings of The World”
For the third year in a row, a woman-directed feature has taken home San Sebastian Film Festival’s top honor, the Golden Shell. Deadline reports that Colombian filmmaker Laura Mora topped the...
Buffy Sainte-Marie to Receive TIFF Tribute Award
Buffy Sainte-Marie is getting a TIFF Tribute Award at the 47th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. The Oscar-winning Indigenous Canadian-American musician will be honored with the...
Awkwafina, Debra Granik, and Arianna Bocco Among Woodstock Film Festival Honorees
Awkwafina, Debra Granik, and Arianna Bocco are set to receive honorary awards at the 23rd edition of Woodstock Film Festival, per Deadline. “Crazy Rich Asians” breakout star Awkwafina...
Lone Scherfig To Be Honored at Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival
Lone Scherfig is set to be honored at the Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival (EMIFF), per Screen Daily. The award-winning Danish filmmaker, who is currently in post-production on her...
TIFF Adds Docs From Laura Poitras & Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Expands Contemporary World Cinema Slate
The program for the 47th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival continues to grow. The fest has added new titles to its TIFF Docs and Contemporary World Cinema sections. The former...
“She Said” Pic About the Journalists Who Took Down Harvey Weinstein to Make World Premiere at NYFF
“She Said” will make its world premiere at the 2022 New York Film Festival. From Emmy-winning “Unorthodox” helmer Maria Schrader, the drama revisits how New York Times...
Women Directed 41 Percent of New York Film Fest’s 2022 Main Slate
The New York Film Festival (NYFF) has lined up titles from Kelly Reichardt, Claire Denis, Alice Diop, Joanna Hogg, and more for its Main Slate this year. Overall, women directed or co-directed 13 of...
Journalist Emily Maitlis to Deliver James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at Edinburgh TV Fest
Emily Maitlis, the journalist who made headlines for questioning Prince Andrew about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein in a jaw-dropping “Newsnight” interview, has been tapped to deliver...
Mary Harron’s “Dalíland” Set as TIFF 2022’s Closing Night Gala Film
The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival will be bookended by films directed by women. A couple weeks after the fest unveiled Sally El Hosaini’s “The Swimmers” as its Opening Night Gala, it...
Viola Davis and “Woman King” Spotlight to Close Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Fest
Viola Davis is set to showcase her new film, “The Woman King,” at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF) on the fest’s closing night, August 13. Ahead of...
TIFF: Women & Non-Binary Folks Directed Majority of Discovery, Midnight Madness, & Wavelength Titles
TIFF announcements continue to flood in, and the filmmaker gender stats are getting better and better. The festival has confirmed the 2022 slates for its Discovery, Midnight Madness, and Wavelengths...
Frances O’Connor’s “Emily” to Open TIFF’s Platform Section, Women Directed Half of Overall Lineup
Now this is more like it. Nearly a week after unveiling its Gala and Special Presentation slates — which fell well short of director gender parity — the 2022 Toronto International Film...
Just Three Features from Women Directors to Screen in Competition at San Sebastián 2022
Laura Mora, Marian Mathias, and Pilar Palomero are the only women who will be competing for the Golden Shell at this year’s San Sebastián International Film Festival. The fest has added 12...
TIFF Announces Gala and Special Presentation Films, 30 Percent Are Directed by Women
New films from Sarah Polley, Catherine Hardwicke, and Alice Winocour will join Sally El Hosaini’s “The Swimmers,” Lena Dunham’s “Catherine Called Birdy,” Gina Prince-Bythewood’s...
Sally El Hosaini’s “The Swimmers” Will Be TIFF 2022’s Opening Night Gala Presentation
This year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival will kick off with Sally El Hosaini’s depiction of Olympian Yusra Mardini and her sister Sara’s heroic swim from...
Venice Film Fest 2022: Women Directed Just 23 Percent of Competition Titles
Another year, another Venice Film Festival that severely underrepresents women filmmakers. The prestigious fest has unveiled the lineup for its 79th edition, taking place August 31-September 10, and...
Lena Dunham’s “Catherine Called Birdy” Will Make World Premiere at TIFF
Lena Dunham kicked off her year by premiering her latest directorial effort, “Sharp Stick,” at Sundance. Now there’s word she’ll be starting her autumn by screening yet...
Edinburgh Film Fest’s Main Competition Lineup Achieves Gender Parity
Ten features are set to screen in Edinburgh International Film Festival’s main competition this year, and six of them are directed or co-directed by women. The fest just announced its full...
Isabel Coixet Will Head Venice Film Fest’s Horizons Jury
Isabel Coixet is heading to the Lido. Variety reports that the Spanish filmmaker will preside over the jury of the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section, which is dedicated to unconventional,...
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King” to Make World Premiere at TIFF, Viola Davis Stars
Gina Prince-Bythewood’s epic tale about the Agojie, an all-female unit of warriors, is heading to the Toronto International Film Festival. A press release announced that “The Woman...
Julianne Moore Will Head Venice’s Main Jury, to Be Joined by Audrey Diwan and Leila Hatami
Julianne Moore is set to head Venice Film Festival’s main jury at the fest’s upcoming 79th edition. The Oscar winner is presiding over a seven-person jury that includes two other women:...
Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” Will Open Edinburgh Film Festival
Charlotte Wells’ debut feature is set to open the 75th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) following its warm reception at Cannes Critics’ Week earlier this year....
Sanaa Lathan’s Feature Directorial Debut “On the Come Up” to Make World Premiere at TIFF
Sanaa Lathan’s feature directorial debut is set to make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. A press release announced that “On the Come Up,” the story of...
Ellie Foumbi’s “Our Father, the Devil” Wins Big at American Black Film Fest
The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has named Ellie Foumbi’s “Our Father, the Devil” as Best Narrative Feature. The 26th edition of the fest ran from June 15-19 in Miami, and...
Anike L. Tourse’s “America’s Family” Lands Top Honors at Dances With Films
Anike L. Tourse’s feature debut made a major splash at the 25th annual Dances with Films festival in LA. “America’s Family,” a drama that depicts a family in crisis after their...
Tribeca: “Good Girl Jane,” “The Cave of Adullam,” & More Women-Directed Offerings Win Major Awards
Women-directed titles have landed the top prizes in the U.S. Narrative Competition and Documentary Competition at the 2022 edition of Tribeca Film Festival. The winner of the Founders’ Award for...
Submit Now: Athena Film Festival and The Athena List
Submissions are now open for the 2023 editions of the Athena Film Festival and The Athena List. A celebration of films from across the globe that tell the stories of fierce and fearless women...
New Scorecard Initiative Will Evaluate Film Festivals Based on Their Accessibility
During this year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival, FWD-Doc, a collective of non-fiction filmmakers living with disabilities, released a statement about the fest’s overall...
Catherine Deneuve to Be Honored with Venice Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Catherine Deneuve will soon be able to add another accolade to her collection — she is set to be awarded with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at Venice later this fall. As noted by the...
Claire Denis, Riley Keough, and More Women Filmmakers Win Big at Cannes 2022
Less than a year after Julia Ducournau made history as the second woman director to take home Cannes’ top prize, the Palme d’Or — and following weeks of its usual foolishness —...