Festivals
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Amber Sealey — “No Light and No Land Anywhere”
Amber Sealey is an LA-based award-winning filmmaker and performer. Her films include “A Plus D” (2008), and “How to Cheat” (2011), which won the Best Performance Award at the Los Angeles...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Jac Gares — “FREE CeCe!”
Jac Gares is a New York-based filmmaker and freelance television producer. From 2009 to 2012, she served as series producer for “In The Life” on public television. During her tenure, the series...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Anisia Uzeyman — “Dreamstates”
Film director and actress Anisia Uzeyman was born in Rwanda and studied drama at the Superior School of Theater in France. She has written and directed four plays, and recently starred in the award...
Sundance London 2016 Women Directors: Meet Elyse Steinberg — “Weiner”
Elyse Steinberg wrote, produced, and directed the acclaimed feature documentary “The Trial of Saddam Hussein” (PBS), an explosive exposé on what really happened at the former dictator’s...
Sundance London 2016 Women Directors: Meet Clea DuVall — “The Intervention”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Clea DuVall began working as an actor at 18 and quickly became a fixture in television and film. Some of her credits include the Academy Award–winning film...
Sheila Nevins to Be Honored at Sheffield Doc/Fest
Powerhouse exec Sheila Nevins will be honored at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest. Nevins is the president of HBO Documentary Films. She first joined the premium cable network in 1979 as Director of...
Inside Out 2016 Women Directors: Meet Maura Anderson — “Heartland”
Maura Anderson has worked in independent film production since 2006. She production managed Academy Award-nominated “Winter’s Bone,” as well as “On the Ice” and “Ceremony,” among...
Inside Out 2016 Women Directors: Meet Shaleece Haas — “Real Boy”
Shaleece Haas is co-producer of the 2013 documentary “The Genius of Marian,” director of the documentary short “Old People Driving,” and producer of several short films including “City...
Inside Out 2016 Women Directors: Meet Carly Usdin — “Suicide Kale”
Carly Usdin spent several years with Viacom Media Networks. During that time she created award-winning promo campaigns for shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and produced an on-air music series...
Inside Out 2016 Women Directors: Meet Nneka Onuorah — “The Same Difference”
Nneka Onuorah started her career at Viacom by being dubbed the “Super-Intern” at BET Networks by The New York Times in an article titled “Dancer at Heart, an Executive in the Making.” After...
Inside Out 2016 Women Directors: Meet Cecilia Aldarondo — “Memories of a Penitent Heart”
Cecilia Aldarondo holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and is an Assistant Professor of Film Studies at Skidmore College. She was the inaugural recipient of the Roberto Guerra Documentary...
Watch: Women and Hollywood at Cannes for Women in Motion Panel “Show Us the Money”
At the Cannes Film Festival last week, Women and Hollywood’s founder and publisher Melissa Silverstein sat down with Francine Raveney of the European Women’s Audiovisual Network and a Elsa...
Inside Out 2016 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Rotella — “Almost Adults”
Sarah Rotella directs short films, web series, and features. “Almost Adults” is her debut feature length film. Her directing efforts have garnered over 68 million YouTube views and her films...
The Orchard Acquires Julia Hart’s Directorial Debut “Miss Stevens”
The Orchard has acquired all North American rights to Julia Hart’s (screenwriter, “The Keeping Room”) directorial debut, “Miss Stevens,” Variety has reported. The film stars Lily Rabe...
Cannes’ Women Winners: Houda Benyamina, Andrea Arnold, Maren Ade, and More
“Divines” The Cannes Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend, and though we are still without a solo female winner for the Palme d’Or (Jane Campion won a shared Palme in 1993 for “The...
Cannes: Or Sinai’s “Anna” Awarded Cinefondation First Prize
Israeli director Or Sinai has been awarded the First Prize at Cannes in the Cinefondation section for “Anna.” Cinefondation is arguably the world’s most prestigious film competition for...
Quote of the Day: Pedro Almodóvar Says Hollywood Guilty of “Diobolical Sexism”
Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar has worked with many women throughout his eclectic career and made some of the most female-centric films coming out of Europe. Now at the Cannes Film Festival to...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Shirley Abraham — “The Cinema Travellers”
“The Cinema Travellers” is Shirley Abraham’s feature directorial debut. The documentary was co-directed by Amit Madheshiya. The film premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on...
UK Female-Centric Film Finance Initiative Launched at Cannes
A new film finance initiative aimed directly at female-centric films has just been launched at the Cannes Film Festival. As ScreenDaily reported, Boudica, which is supported by Women in Film &...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Houda Benyamina — “Divines”
After completing her diploma at ERAC (Acting School for the Cannes Region), Houda Benyamina gained training as a director through the 1000 Faces association, which she founded in 2006 as a way of...
Cannes and Women: Part One
Julia Roberts barefoot at Cannes: Wochit Entertainment/ YouTube It’s day six at the Cannes Film Festival and all three of the Competition films directed by women have premiered. Both Andrea...
Cannes Deals: Helen Mirren, Ellen Page, Elisabeth Moss, and More
The Cannes Film Festival kicked off on May 11, and each day brings word of new projects and acquisitions. Cannes isn’t just a forum to screen prestigious films — it’s an industry hub where...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Domenica Cameron-Scorsese — “Almost Paris”
Domenica Cameron-Scorsese is a Tribeca alum whose short films “Spanish Boots” and “Roots in Water” played the festival. Her first short, “A Little God,” won the Torchlight Short Film...
Cannes Contender “Toni Erdmann” Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics
One of the biggest hits at the Cannes Film Festival this year has just found U.S. distribution and seems on its way to becoming a serious contender for the Palme d’Or. Maren Ade’s “Toni...
Cannes 2016 Part 1: On the Ground at this Wack Job of a Festival
It’s really hard to describe Cannes. They screen the crème de la crème of films (according to the fest, anyway) but they also have a market with lowbrow fare like “Dudes and Dragons.” It is...
Alice Rohrwacher Named Film Society of Lincoln Center Filmmaker in Residence
Director Alice Rohrwacher has been named the fourth Film Society of Lincoln Center and Jaeger-LeCoultre filmmaker in residence, Variety has reported. The announcement was made at the Cannes Film...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Julia Ducournau — “Raw”
Julia Ducournau’s previous credits include “Mange,” a television movie made for Canal plus, and “Junior,” a short. According to her bio, each of her films has been about physical...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Shahrbanoo Sadat — “Wolf and Sheep”
Shahrbanoo Sadat is an Afghan screenwriter and director. Sadat’s first short fiction film, “Vice Versa One,” was selected at Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2011. In 2013, she launched her...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Stéphanie Di Giusto — “The Dancer”
Stéphanie Di Giusto co-wrote “The Dancer,” which marks her feature directorial debut. “The Dancer” will premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 13. W&H: Describe the film for...
Human Rights Watch Film Fest Lineup Over 50% Female-Directed
The lineup for the 2016 Human Rights Watch Film Festival has been revealed, and 10 of the 18 features being screened are directed or co-directed by women, amounting to 56 percent of the slate....
Cannes 2016: Jodie Foster Opens “Women in Motion” Program at Cannes
Jodie Foster will open the second “Women in Motion” program at the Cannes Film Festival, which begins today. Foster is at the festival promoting her film “Money Monster,” which is screening...
Cannes 2016: Sony Pictures Classics Acquires “Elle”
In some of the first news out of the Cannes Film Festival, which begins today, Sony Pictures Classics has bought the North American rights to Paul Verhoeven’s psychological thriller “Elle,”...
Abigail Breslin and Trudie Styler Honored By Greenwich International Film Festival
The Greenwich International Film Festival, which is set to run from June 9–12 this year, has announced their honorees for the 2nd annual Changemaker Gala, which will take place on Friday,...
Women Directors at Cannes 2016 #SeeHerNow
The Cannes Film Festival kicks off this week with the unfortunate choice of a Woody Allen film in the opening slot. As we continuously note, Cannes, like so many other top tier festivals, continues...
U.S. Film Fests Screen Three Times as Many Male-Directed Narratives As Female Ones
New research from Dr. Martha Lauzen reveals that high-profile U.S. film festivals screen more than three times as many narrative films directed by men than women. It’s well-known that female...
Cynthia Nixon to Receive Provincetown Film Festival Excellence in Acting Award
The Provincetown International Film Festival, which runs from June 15–19 this year, has announced today that Cynthia Nixon will be honored with the 2016 Excellence in Acting Award at this...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Marcie Hume — “Magicians: Life in the Impossible”
Marcie Hume began her documentary career in factual television in London. She has produced and directed a range of series for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel. Along...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Rama Thiaw — “The Revolution Won’t Be Televised”
Rama Thiaw is a writer, director, and producer at Boul Falle Images, a Senegalese film production company. Mauritanian and Senegalese, she grew up between Senegal and Europe. She has previously...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Helena Třeštíková— “Mallory”
Helena Třeštíková has directed forty films since graduating from Prague’s FAMU film school in 1974. Recently, Trestikova’s works have been the subject of retrospectives at several major...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Hélène Choquette — “A Dog’s Life”
Hélène Choquette has been dedicating herself to making documentaries on social and political issues since she made her debut as a camerawoman and photographer in 2001. She co-directed the...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Catalina Mesa — “Infinite Flight of Days”
Catalina Mesa grew up in Colombia. She went to Boston College and graduated with a degree in Management & Communications. She then worked in New York in a production company. From there she...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Laura Dunn— “The Seer”
Laura Dunn started making documentaries in response to her undergraduate experience at Yale University. Through a chronicle of labor strikes on campus, “The Subtext of a Yale Education” examines...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Hollie Fifer — “The Opposition”
Hollie Fifer’s documentaries are inspired by true life stories that are too bizarre and courageous to believe. Her first documentary was commissioned by Australian Volunteers International,...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Beth Murphy — “What Tomorrow Brings”
Beth Murphy is founder of Boston-based Principle Pictures and Director of GroundTruth Films. Her work as producer, director, journalist, writer, and photographer is focused on human rights,...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Trisha Ziff — “The Man Who Saw Too Much”
Trisha Ziff’s feature documentary credits include “Chevolution” and “The Mexican Suitcase.” Ziff’s “Pirate Copy; Pirate Stories” is a collection of three shorts following a road trip...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Zaynê Akyol— “Gulîstan, Land of Roses”
Zaynê Akyol is an award-winning filmmaker of Kurdish origin who was born in Turkey and raised in Quebec. Akyol won the René Malo Chair/National Film Board of Canada award for most promising...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Heidi Brandenburg — “When Two Worlds Collide”
Heidi Brandenburg co-founded Yachaywasi Films to explore social and environmental issues and challenge audiences to rethink preconceptions. Born in Paraguay and raised in Peru and Germany, she now...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Katja Gauriloff — “Kaisa’s Enchanted Forest”
Katja Gauriloff was born in Inari, Finland and is part of Lapland’s indigenous Sami Skolt tribe. Today she is a film director and co-owner of the Oktober Production Company. Her previous...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Francesca Scalisi— “Half-Life in Fukushima”
Francesca Scalisi is an Italian director and editor. She is a co-founder of “Dok Mobile,” a film production company based in Switzerland. In 2015, she directed and produced the short film,...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Alethea Arnaquq-Baril — “Angry Inuk”
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril is an Inuit filmmaker from the Canadian Arctic, where her production company, Unikkaat Studios, is based. For her award-winning APTN documentary “Tunniit: Retracing the Lines...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Susanne Regina Meures — “Raving Iran”
Susanne Regina Meures was born in west Germany. She studied photography and art history at The Courtauld in London and film at the Zurich University of the Arts. She worked for numerous print...