Festivals
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ky Dickens — “Zero Weeks”
Ky Dickens directed the acclaimed documentary “Sole Survivor,” which profiles four survivors of otherwise fatal plane crashes. “Sole Survivor” was acquired by CNN Films for broadcast and...
DP Nancy Schreiber to Receive Susan B. Anthony Award at High Falls Film Fest
Prolific cinematographer Nancy Schreiber will be honored Thursday at the High Falls Film Festival, an annual event celebrating female filmmakers. The “Better Things” DP is set to receive the...
DOC NYC’s 2017 Feature Lineup Is 40 Percent Women-Directed
DOC NYC, the largest American documentary film festival, has unveiled its 2017 program. The fest’s eighth edition will screen 111 feature docs, 44 of which, or about 40 percent, are women-helmed....
Cannes Officials Need to Look Inward While They Denounce Harvey Weinstein
Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux and prez Pierre Lescure are the latest film industry figures to publicly decry Harvey Weinstein. In a joint statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Fremaux...
Guest Post: What It’s Like to Be a Fiercely Independent Woman Film Fest Director in the Trenches
Guest Post by Meira Blaustein When I co-founded the Woodstock Film Festival 18 years ago I had no sense of how hard the work would be, and how immense the positive influence on so many people, near...
Andrea Arnold Named Jury President of BFI London Film Fest’s Official Competition
“Fish Tank” director Andrea Arnold is heading to the 61st BFI London Film Festival. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that the Oscar-winning filmmaker will lead the official competition’s jury....
Tribeca’s First-Ever TV Festival Reflected Changing Tides for Women in TV
At least some women directors working on the small screen have packed slates. That good news came out at Tribeca’s first-ever, TV-only festival that ran from September 22–24 in New York City....
Judi Dench to Receive Kirk Douglas Award at Santa Barbara Film Fest
The Queen is adding another jewel to her crown. Judi Dench will receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film, a press release has...
Acclaimed Women-Directed Films Were One of the Major Narratives of TIFF 2017
There are always multiple narratives that come out of a festival as big as TIFF. This year, one of the through lines was the amazing films that had female directors. TIFF consistently includes lots...
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Wins TIFF’s People’s Choice Award
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” made its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, and if the reception it received at TIFF is any...
TIFF 2017 Deal: Ingrid Veninger’s “Porcupine Lake” Goes to Breaking Glass Pictures
“Porcupine Lake” has secured U.S. distribution. While several companies expressed interest in the project, it was Breaking Glass Pictures that snagged the rights to Ingrid Veninger’s...
Watch: Gemma Arterton Yearns for More from Life in Exclusive Clip of “The Escape”
A chance encounter with a book may lead to life-changing consequences in “The Escape.” The drama follows Tara (Gemma Arterton, “Their Finest”), a stay-at-home mom who is struggling with...
TIFF 2017 Deals: Emma Thompson’s “The Children Act” and Ellen Page’s “The Cured”
Emma Thompson and Ellen Page’s latest projects have secured distribution. Both features scored strong reviews out of the Toronto International Film Festival, where they made their world premieres...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Bornila Chatterjee — “The Hungry”
Bornila Chatterjee is a writer and filmmaker. Her feature film “Let’s Be Out, The Sun Is Shining” premiered at the 2012 New York Indian Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. Previous...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Tali Shalom-Ezer — “My Days of Mercy”
Tali Shalom-Ezer is a screenwriter and director whose previous works include “Princess” and “Surrogate.” Her films have garnered critical acclaim and won her the Grand Prix at the 2015 Kiev...
Women-Helmed Films Set to Open and Close Busan International Film Fest
Female-directed films will open and close this year’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). ScreenDaily confirms that Shin Suwon’s “Glass Garden” will kick off the fest October 15, while...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kamila Andini — “The Seen and Unseen”
Kamila Andini made her feature debut with “The Mirror Never Lies,” which portrays the life of a sea wanderer in the Indonesian ocean. Previous short films include “Following Diana” and...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Mila Turajlic — “The Other Side of Everything”
Mila Turajlic is a documentary filmmaker from Belgrade, Serbia. Her 2010 directorial debut, “Cinema Komunisto,” premiered at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam and the Tribeca...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Joan Chemla — “If You Saw His Heart”
Joan Chemla is a director who decided to dedicate herself to filmmaking after an initial stint in law. She has helmed three short films: “Mauvaise Route,” “Dr Nazi,” and “The Man with the...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Mouly Surya — “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts”
Mouly Surya was born in Jakarta, where she currently lives. She is considered one of the most promising filmmakers in Indonesia. Her debut film, “Fiksi.” won numerous awards including Best...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ainsley Gardiner — “Waru”
Ainsley Gardiner is of Ngāti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Pikiao, and Whakatōhea descent. Gardiner previously produced the short films “Two Cars, One Night” and “Tama Tu,” written...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lisa Langseth — “Euphoria”
Lisa Langseth is a playwright and filmmaker from Stockholm. Her film credits include “Pure” and “Hotell,” both of which are toplined by “Euphoria” star Alicia Vikander. “Euphoria”...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Erika Cohn — “The Judge”
Erika Cohn is a director who has received numerous accolades for her work, including a Director’s Guild of America award for her film, “When the Voices Fade,” a narrative profile of the...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Brie Larson — “Unicorn Store”
Brie Larson is an Academy Award-winning actress whose credits include “Short Term 12,” “Room,” “The Glass Castle,” and the upcoming “Captain Marvel.” Her short film “The Arm” won...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Elizaveta Stishova — “Suleiman Mountain”
Elizaveta Stishova is a Russian writer and director. Her previous short films include “Arta,” “The Hen,” “Watering,” and “The Seagull.” In 2014, Stishova participated in Berlinale...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Grady — “One of Us”
Rachel Grady is a filmmaker and co-owns New York’s Loki Films with Heidi Ewing. She and Ewing have have directed six feature-length films, including “Jesus Camp,” “The Boys of Baraka,”...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Anahí Berneri — “Alanis”
Anahí Berneri is an Argentinian film and theater director and scriptwriter. Previous feature films include “Un Año Sin Amor,” “Encarnación,” and “Por Tu Culpa.” She has been...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Violeta Ayala — “Cocaine Prison”
Violeta Ayala is an award-winning Indigenous filmmaker and writer from Bolivia. Her other credits include “The Flight,” “The Bolivian Case,” and “Stolen,” which has won numerous awards...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ingrid Veninger — “Porcupine Lake”
Ingrid Veninger is a writer, producer, and director whose work has premiered at numerous festivals around the world. Previous feature films include “He Hated Pigeons,” “I am a Good Person/I am...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Limor Shmila — “Montana”
Limor Shmila is an Israeli writer and director, who is also known for her work as a casting director. For the last 10 years she has been one of the leading casting directors in Israel, working on...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Zaida Bergroth — “Miami”
Zaida Bergroth is a Finnish film director whose works has been screened at several prominent festivals, including TIFF, and have received awards at Pusan International Film Festival and Chicago...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Clio Barnard — “Dark River”
Clio Barnard is a director whose films have won her The Douglas Hickox Award at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), Best Screenplay at the Evening Standard British Film Awards, and Best...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Nora Twomey — “The Breadwinner”
Nora Twomey is a filmmaker and co-founder of Cartoon Saloon, the twice Oscar-nominated animation studio based in Ireland. Having co-directed “The Secret of Kells” with Tomm Moore, Twomey went on...
Juliette Binoche to Star in Naomi Kawase’s Next Film “Vision”
Juliette Binoche has lined up her next project. The Oscar-winning actress will portray a journalist in “Vision,” from “Radiance” director Naomi Kawase, ScreenDaily confirms. Filming on the...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Susanna White — “Woman Walks Ahead”
Susanna White is a BAFTA-winning film and television director. Her previous credits include “Our Kind of Traitor” and “Parade’s End.” White was lauded for her six episodes of “Bleak...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Valerie Faris — “Battle of the Sexes”
Valerie Faris and her husband, Jonathan Dayton, have co-directed music videos for R.E.M., The Smashing Pumpkins, Janet Jackson, Oasis, and many others in the 1990s and 2000s. Their previous film...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sadaf Foroughi — “AVA”
Sadaf Foroughi is an Iranian-born, Montreal-based filmmaker. In 2005 she was selected to participate in the Berlinale Talent Campus as a writer-director. She created a short documentary,...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Priscilla Cameron — “The Butterfly Tree”
Priscilla Cameron is a writer and director whose short films have won awards, screened in national and international festivals, and have been sold nationally and internationally. “The Butterfly...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kathleen Hepburn — “Never Steady, Never Still”
Kathleen Hepburn is a Vancouver born writer and director. “Never Steady, Never Still” is an expansion on a short with the same name, which was selected as one of TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten. She...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Iram Haq — “What Will People Say”
Iram Haq is a Norwegian actress, writer, and director. Her directorial debut short, “Little Miss Eyeflap,” screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. Her feature film debut, “I Am...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Tracy Heather Strain — “Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart”
Tracy Heather Strain is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, writer, and producer. Her previous directing credits include episodes of miniseries “Unnatural Causes” and “I’ll Make Me a...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Molly McGlynn — “Mary Goes Round”
Molly McGlynn is a Canadian writer and director. Her previous short films include “I Am Not a Weird Person,” “Shoes,” and “3-Way (Not Calling).” “Mary Goes Round” is her first...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Haifaa Al-Mansour — “Mary Shelley”
Haifaa Al-Mansour is the first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia, where her 2005 documentary “Women Without Shadows” has influenced a new wave of filmmakers. Her work is both praised and vilified...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Greta Gerwig — “Lady Bird”
Greta Gerwig’s acting credits include “Maggie’s Plan,” “Frances Ha,” and “Mistress America.” She co-wrote the latter two features, and alongside Joe Swanberg she co-directed the...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Albert — “Mademoiselle Paradis”
Barbara Albert is a director and writer whose short films have been introduced at festivals around the world. Her first feature film “Nordrand,” or “Northern Skirts,” premiered at Venice...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sophie Fiennes — “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami”
Sophie Fiennes is a film director whose feature documentaries include her collaborations with the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, “The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema” and “The Pervert’s...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Aoife McArdle — “Kissing Candice”
Aoife McArdle was born in Northern Ireland. Her work as a music video director has earned her a nomination for Best Director at the 2014 UK Music Video Awards. “Kissing Candice” is her feature...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Jenna Bass — “High Fantasy”
Jenna Bass is a director and writer whose work has premiered around the world, including Sundance, Berlinale, Göteborg, Busan, and Durban International Film Festivals, where she has been heralded...
17 Films By and About Women to Check Out at TIFF 2017
“Unicorn Store” The 42nd edition of the Toronto International Film Festival will kick off in just two days, and as always, there is an overwhelming amount of amazing-sounding films screening at...
Venice Film Fest 2017 Women Directors: Meet Annika Berg — “Team Hurricane”
Since she was a teenager Danish filmmaker Annika Berg has been making movies. She graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2015 and received critical acclaim for her graduation film,...
Venice Film Fest 2017 Women Directors: Meet Katharina Wyss — “Sarah Plays A Werewolf”
Katharina Wyss is a Swiss filmmaker based in Berlin. She has previously written, directed, edited, and produced commercials and short films “Es war einmal ein König,” “1000 Meilen von...