Festivals
Trailer Watch: Kristen Stewart Talks to Ghosts in “Personal Shopper”
The new trailer for Olivier Assayas’ “Personal Shopper,” starring Kristen Stewart, makes the film look downright scary. “Personal Shopper” marks Stewart’s second time teaming up with...
NYFF 2016 Highlights: Ava DuVernay, Annette Bening, and More
“13th” The 54th annual New York Film Festival opens with a bang today. One of our most anticipated titles of the year, never mind this particular fest, holds the honor of kicking off the...
60th BFI London Film Festival Lines Up Diverse Jury
The jury members for the 60th London BFI Film Festival, which runs from October 5–16 this year, have been revealed. The inclusive juries feature a number of women and people of color. As Screen...
Dawn Porter to Be Honored at DOC NYC Film Fest
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter will be honored at this year’s DOC NYC Film Festival, Realscreen reports. Porter will receive the Robert and Anne Drew Award for Documentary...
AFI Fest to Celebrate Dorothy Dandridge, Ida Lupino, and Anna May Wong
The American Film Institute has announced that the 30th iteration of AFI Fest will spotlight Dorothy Dandridge, Ida Lupino, and Anna May Wong. Dandridge was the first African-American woman...
Annie Howell and Lisa Robinson’s “Claire in Motion” Goes to Breaking Glass
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired the North American rights to writer-director team Annie Howell and Lisa Robinson’s “Claire in Motion,” ScreenDaily reports. The film premiered at SXSW and...
Amanda Plummer Receives Oldenburg Fest’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Three-time Emmy-winner Amanda Plummer has received the Oldenburg International Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The actress accepted the honor on Friday September 16 at the German indie...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Kristina Kumrić — “Half A Man”
Kristina Kumrić has helmed several short fiction and documentary films. Her short documentary “Welcome to Igrane” won a special jury prize at the Vukovar Film Festival, and her short doc “i...
TIFF 2016 Deals: “The Bad Batch” and “Paris Can Wait” Find Homes
The Toronto International Film Festival wrapped up September 18, but the 41st edition of the fest continues to be a source of exciting film news. Both Ana Lily Amirpour’s follow-up to “A Girl...
Katherine Dieckmann’s “Strange Weather” is HIFF’s Southampton Opening Night Film
Katherine Dieckmann’s “Strange Weather” will be the Southampton Opening Night at the Hamptons International Film Festival, which runs from October 6–10 this year, Variety has...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Miwa Nishikawa — “The Long Excuse”
Miwa Nishikawa debuted as a writer-director with “Wild Berries” in 2002, which among other awards took Best Screenplay at the 2004 Mainichi Film Concourse. Her second feature, “Sway” showed...
“Miss Stevens” Director Julia Hart on the Need for Telling Female Stories
Interview by Laura Berger Julia Hart’s debut script “The Keeping Room” landed on the Black List and was made into a feature directed by Daniel Barber starring Brit Marling. She’s written...
Mill Valley Film Festival Will Honor Nicole Kidman and Julie Dash
The Mill Valley Film Festival announced the complete lineup for the 39th iteration of the fest, which will run from October 6–16 this year and includes tributes to Nicole Kidman and...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Alanis Obomsawin — “We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice”
Alanis Obomsawin’s directing credits include “70 Years of Resistance,” “Rocks at Whiskey Trench,” “Is the Crown at War with Us?,” “Hi-Ho Mistahey!,” and “Trick or Treaty?” In...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Kelly Fremon Craig — “The Edge of Seventeen”
Kelly Fremon Craig started out writing sketch comedy and spoken word poetry in college, then landed an internship in the film division of Immortal Entertainment, where she read her first film script...
TIFF 2016 Deals: Films Starring Anne Hathaway, Cynthia Nixon, and More
A number of outlets are describing the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival as an unusually quiet and conservative year when it comes to film deals. Fortunately, not all movies are having...
Trailer Watch: A Young Woman Disguises Herself to Play Sports in “Girl Unbound”
Erin Heidenreich’s documentary “Girl Unbound: The War To Be Her” tackles the story of a young Pakistani woman who lived as a boy for many years just to have the chance to play...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Katherine Dieckmann — “Strange Weather”
Katherine Dieckmann’s films include “Motherhood,” “Diggers,” and “A Good Baby.” She began her career as a journalist, writing for such publications as Rolling Stone, The Village Voice,...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Katell Quillévéré — “Heal the Living”
Katell Quillévéré was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Her films include the shorts “À bras les corps,” “L’Imprudence,” and “L’Échappée,” and the features “Un poison violent”...
Pietra Brettkelly’s “A Flickering Truth” Will Represent New Zealand at the Oscars
Film lovers and supporters of female directors will be excited about this one: New Zealand has chosen “A Flickering Truth” as their contender for the Academy Awards in the foreign-language...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Raja Amari — “Foreign Body”
Raja Amari’s previous features include “Satin Rouge” and “Buried Secrets.” She was born in Tunis and completed a Master’s degree in French literature at the University of Tunis, and...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Bronwen Hughes — “The Journey is the Destination”
Bronwen Hughes is a Canadian-British film director based in New York and Hollywood. “The Journey is the Destination” is her fourth feature film. Hughes’ previous films include “Forces of...
“Transparent” Creator Jill Soloway Talks the Female Gaze at TIFF
Jill Soloway, one of our favorite artists and creator of hit series “Transparent” and the new comedy “I Love Dick,” hit up the Toronto International Film Festival to give a master class on...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Erin Heidenreich — “Girl Unbound”
Director-writer-producer of documentaries, short films, and branded content, Erin Heidenreich’s voice has been shaped by the cultures she has immersed herself in across the globe. Set in the...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Elite Zexer — “Sand Storm”
Interview by Eboni Boykin and Laura Berger Elite Zexer’s previous short films are “Take Note,” which won the Best Fiction Film Award at the Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival, and...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Robin Swicord — “Wakefield”
Robin Swicord made her feature directorial debut with “The Jane Austen Book Club,” which she also penned the screenplay for. Her other screenwriting credits include “Memoirs of a Geisha,”...
TIFF 2016: Oscar-Worthy Performances, Nudity, and Other Highlights
“American Honey” The Toronto International Film Festival’s program is stacked. While our TIFF preview collected highlights from the slate, there were literally dozens of worthy...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Emmanuelle Bercot — “150 Milligrams”
Emmanuelle Bercot’s previous directing credits include “Clément,” “Backstage,” “On My Way,” and “Standing Tall.” Bercot’s films have earned her many awards and honors,...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors : Meet Sofia Exarchou — “Park”
Sofia Exarchou was born in Athens. She has been working as an assistant director in feature films and commercials since 2004. She has written and directed two short films, “Distance” and...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet María José Cuevas — “Beauties of the Night”
María José Cuevas’ practice draws from her experience in documentary, experimental video, design, and photography. She has collaborated on a variety of diverse cultural projects, which have...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Adina Smith — “Buster’s Mal Heart”
Sarah Adina Smith’s first feature, “The Midnight Swim,” won six top prizes on the festival circuit, including the breakthrough audience award from AFI FEST. Smith was the only female director...
Trailer Watch: Jessica Sula is a Fish-Out-of-Water in Rebecca Johnson’s “Honeytrap”
Raised by her grandparents in Trinidad, 15-year-old Layla (Jessica Sula) moves to Brixton, London to find an uncaring mother and a whole new set of rules and pressures from the area’s teen set. On...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet April Mullen — “Below Her Mouth”
April Mullen’s previous features include “88,” an action thriller, and “Dead Before Dawn 3D,” which confirmed Mullen as the youngest person and first female to direct a live action...
TIFF 2016: Meet Chloé Robichaud — “Boundaries”
Born in Quebec, screenwriter and director Chloé Robichaud lives and works in Montreal. Her first feature film, “Sarah préfère la course,” was selected for the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Her...
TIFF 2016: Isabelle Huppert Seen Through the Male and Female Gaze
Here at TIFF there are three movies starring the amazing Isabelle Huppert, who seems to get better and better as she ages. I saw two of them — Mia Hansen-Love’s “Things to Come” and Paul...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Lambert — “In the Radiant City”
Rachel Lambert received a BFA from Boston University and also studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After graduating, she worked for HanWay Films in addition to writing and...
Ana Lily Amirpour’s “The Bad Batch” Acquired By Netflix Out of Venice
Ana Lily Amirpour’s “The Bad Batch” has been acquired by Netflix out of the Venice Film Festival, The Hollywood Reporter writes. The deal is for SVOD rights. Amirpour’s second feature after...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Selma Vilhunen — “Little Wing”
Selma Vilhunen is an Academy Award nominated director and screenwriter based in Helsinki, Finland. She has written and directed both documentaries and fiction films since 1998. Vilhunen’s short...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Amma Asante — “A United Kingdom”
Amma Asante’s previous directing credits include “Belle” and “A Way of Life.” Both films premiered at TIFF. Asante has been named by Variety as one of the Top Ten Directors to Watch, and...
Rooney Mara Confronts Her Past in Tension-Filled “Una” Clip
Rooney Mara stars in “Una,” an adaptation of the play “Blackbird,” which follows a young woman seeking answers for long-ago events that have shaped her path in life, for better...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Alison Maclean — “The Rehearsal”
Alison Maclean’s credits include “Crush,” “Jesus’s Son,” and “Kitchen Sink.” She was born in Canada and raised in New Zealand. “The Rehearsal” will premiere at the 2016 Toronto...
TIFF 2016 Preview: Women-Directed Films About Athletes, Geniuses, and Cannibals
“A United Kingdom” The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off today, and with nearly 30 percent of the program helmed by women (if you include shorts), there’s lots to look forward to....
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Ann Marie Fleming — “Window Horses”
Ann Marie Fleming is an independent Eurasian-Canadian filmmaker, writer, and artist. She has created award-winning work in a variety of genres, and often focuses on the themes of family, history,...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Anne Émond — “Nelly”
Anne Émond lives and works in Montreal. Between 2005 and 2011, she wrote and directed seven short films, “Naissances” and “Sophie Lavoie” among them, which screened at several international...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Petra Epperlein — “Karl Marx City”
Petra Epperlein and her co-director/husband Michael Tucker’s previous films include “The Last Cowboy,” “Gunner Palace,” “The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair,”...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Ralitza Petrova — “Godless”
Ralitza Petrova studied Directing at the National Film and Television School in the UK. Her films have won acclaim at film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, and Locarno. In 2007 she was awarded the...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Hope Dickson Leach— “The Levelling”
Born in Hong Kong and educated in the UK, Hope Dickson Leach completed her MFA in filmmaking at Columbia University in New York. Her award-winning thesis film, “The Dawn Chorus,” played at...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Maren Ade — “Toni Erdmann”
Maren Ade‘s second feature, “Everyone Else,” won two Silver Bears at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival: the Grand Jury Prize and Best Actress for Birgit Minichmayr. The modern relationship drama...
Going to TIFF? Join Women & Hollywood and Many Others for Happy Hour Event
Women and Hollywood is joining 11 other women’s film and television organizations, film festivals, media outlets, and production companies at the Toronto International Film Festival to continue...
BFI London Announces 2016 Fest Lineup: “Queen of Katwe,” “Divines,” and More
The program for the 2016 BFI London Film Festival has been revealed. As previously announced, Amma Asante’s “A United Kingdom” will open the 60th edition of the fest. Based on a a true story,...
Trailer Watch: Isabelle Huppert Fights Back in “Elle”
Isabelle Huppert’s latest film “Elle” is bound to be considered controversial. Telling the story of a woman’s reaction to and actions after being violently raped, the story veers into...