Festivals
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Kate Novack — “The Gospel According to André”
Kate Novack is an Emmy-nominated producer and director of documentary films. She was a producer and writer on “Page One: Inside the New York Times,” which was nominated for two News &...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Katrina Costello — “The Silver Branch”
Katrina Costello co-founded Sea Fever Productions in 2006 along with her husband, Kevin O’Sullivan. The company is dedicated to producing natural history documentary films in Ireland. “The...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown— “United Skates”
Dyana Winkler is a director, producer, and film festival programmer whose narrative screenplay “Bell” was a participant in the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab and awarded a Sundance Sloan...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Laura Brownson — “The Rachel Divide”
Laura Brownson worked for nearly 15 years in narrative features and television before turning to documentary film. She is the co-director of the documentary “Lemon,” which won a Special Jury...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Paula Eiselt — “93Queen”
Paula Eiselt is an independent filmmaker. She is currently a POV/Wyncote Filmmaker Fellow and was a 2017 Sundance Creative Producing Summit Fellow and a 2016 IFP Lab fellow. “93Queen” is her...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Menzies — “Afghan Cycles”
Sarah Menzies’ documentary films have screened at Telluride Mountainfilm, Banff Mountain Film Festival, Port Townsend Film Festival, and many other festivals. She directed the documentary shorts...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Azadi Moghadam — “The Broker”
Azadi Moghadam was born in Tehran. She filmed her first documentary, “Kahrizak — Tajrish,” in 2015. She published Simia, a professional theater magazine, while she was a student in...
Wanuri Kahiu’s LGBTQ-Themed Cannes Film “Rafiki” Banned in Kenya
“Rafiki” will make history as the first Kenyan feature to premiere at Cannes Film Festival, but the lesbian romance has been banned in Kenya, where homosexuality is illegal. Variety confirms...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Lindsey Cordero — “I’m Leaving Now (Ya Me Voy)”
Lindsey Cordero is a Mexican filmmaker based in Brooklyn. She previously co-directed the TV documentary “Firmes, Mexicans in the Bronx” and produced “En el Séptimo Día.” “I’m Leaving...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Samara Grace Chadwick — “1999”
Samara Grace Chadwick has spent more than 15 years working in the field of documentary film throughout Europe and North and South America, primarily as a filmmaker, editor, and festival programmer....
Cannes Film Fest Teams Up with French Government for Sexual Harassment Hotline
Cannes Film Festival is taking steps to protect women at its 2018 edition with the help of the French government. According to Screen Daily, Cannes is organizing a hotline for survivors and...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Christina D. King and Elizabeth A. Castle — “Warrior Women”
Christina D. King is a member of the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma whose work across commercials, documentary, film, and television focuses on human rights issues, civic engagement through...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Irene Lusztig— “Yours in Sisterhood”
Irene Lusztig is a filmmaker whose work has been screened around the world, including at the Berlinale and MoMA, and on television in Europe, Taiwan, and the U.S. Her credits include her...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Laura Marie Wayne — “Love, Scott”
Laura Marie Wayne’s short films have been featured in festivals across Europe, North America, and the Caribbean. In 2015 her lyrical memoir film “Most of Us Don’t Live There” premiered in...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Yasemin Samdereli— “Night of All Nights”
While at the University of Television of Film in Munich, Yasemin Samdereli worked as Assistant Director on two of Jackie Chan’s features. She has also directed “Kismet” and “Almanya: Welcome...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Shameela Seedat — “Whispering Truth to Power”
Shameela Seedat is a human rights law specialist turned filmmaker from South Africa. Since she began documentary filmmaking, Seedat has been commissioned by various local and international...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Joannie Lafrenière — “Snowbirds”
Joannie Lafrenière is a photographer and director based in Montreal, Canada. Her credits include “The Woman Who Saw the Bear,” which has been shown in major festivals across Canada and...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Almudena Carracedo — “The Silence of Others”
Almudena Carracedo directed and produced her debut feature, the Emmy-winning documentary “Made in L.A.” She also directed the award-winning short “Welcome, A Docu-Journey of Impressions.”...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Beatrice Behn— “The Artist & the Pervert”
Beatrice Behn is Senior Film Critic and Editor-in-Chief of Kino-Zeit, the largest German language film magazine for arthouse and independent film. “The Artist & The Pervert” is her first...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Katja Fedulova — “Faith Hope Love”
Katja Fedulova has been working since 2004 as a freelancer, cinematographer, and director for advertising, documentary, and feature films. “Faith Hope Love” will premiere at the 2018 Hot Docs...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Elwira Niewiera — “The Prince and the Dybbuk”
Elwira Niewiera’s last feature documentary, “Domino Effect,” was shown at more than 50 festivals and received many awards. She is a member of the Polish Film Academy. “The Prince and the...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Shasha Nakhai — “Take Light”
Shasha Nakhai is a filmmaker based out of Toronto with Compy Films and Storyline Entertainment. Her award-winning films have screened at festivals and aired on TV worldwide. Her last film with...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Jessica Leski — “I Used to Be Normal”
Jessica Leski wrote, directed, and co-edited her first full-length documentary, “The Ball.” The film won a Hugo Television Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. Leski’s short films...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Assia Boundaoui — “The Feeling of Being Watched”
Assia Boundaoui is an Algerian-American journalist and filmmaker based in Chicago. She has reported for BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, VICE, and CNN and was the recipient of a first place Mark of Excellence...
You’re Invited: Women and Hollywood Is Hosting a Networking Event at Cannes
If you’re attending the Cannes Film Festival this year, definitely mark your calendar for Women and Hollywood’s Networking Event. Hosted by Founder/Publisher Melissa Silverstein in collaboration...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Nia DaCosta — “Little Woods”
Nia DaCosta has written and directed projects for stage, film, and new media platforms. “Little Woods” is her debut feature. “Little Woods” premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival on...
Cannes 2018: Agnès Varda Film to Screen in Classics Program, Cinéfondation Jury Is 60% Female
Cannes has announced another program for its 2018 edition. Featuring iconic movies and works from renowned filmmakers, the Cannes Classics category is a celebration of the history of film. The fest...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Andrea Nevins — “Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie”
Andrea Nevins is an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy award-winningdirector, producer, and writer. Her credits include “The Other F Word” and “Play it Forward” “Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Yolanda Ramke — “Cargo”
Yolanda Ramke is an award-winning screenwriter and director. In 2013, she wrote the short film “Cargo” and co-directed with Ben Howling. It garnered almost 14 million views on YouTube. She...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Liz Garbus — “The Fourth Estate”
Liz Garbus is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmaker whose film “What Happened, Miss Simone?” opened the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, received a Peabody Award, and was nominated for an...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Haifaa Al-Mansour — “Mary Shelley”
Haifaa Al-Mansour is the first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia, and is regarded as one of its most significant cinematic figures. The success of her 2005 documentary, “Women Without Shadows,”...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Susanna Nicchiarelli — “Nico, 1988”
Susanna Nicchiarelli has written and directed many short films, documentaries, and two features: “Cosmonaut,” winner of the Controcampo award at the Venice Film Festival, and “Discovery at...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Susanna White — “Woman Walks Ahead”
Susanna White is a BAFTA award winning director who began her career making documentaries such as “Tell Me the Truth About Love.” She made her feature narrative debut with “Nanny McPhee...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Madeleine Sackler— “It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It”
Madeleine Sackler is an Emmy-winning director and producer whose credits include “The Lottery,” “Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus,” and a second upcoming Tribeca...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Kate Davis — “Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland”
Kate Davis is an Emmy and Peabody-award winning filmmaker whose film “Southern Comfort” won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and First Prize at Hot Docs. Her other credits include “The...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Miller Costanzo — “All These Small Moments”
Filmmaker Melissa Miller Costanzo’s films have been featured in IFP Film Week and the American Black Film Festival. She previously directed the short film “The Busker,” produced projects such...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Haizlip— “Mr. SOUL!”
Melissa Haizlip is an award-winning filmmaker whose credits include the short film “You’re Dead to Me,” which she produced, and her directorial feature-length debut, “Mr. SOUL!” The latter...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Nancy Schwartzman — “Roll Red Roll”
Nancy Schwartzman is a documentary film director, producer, and media strategist who uses storytelling and technology to create safer communities for women and girls. She directed short doc “The...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Mitzi Peirone — “Braid”
A model, actress, and director, Mitzi Peirone’s directorial debut premiered at Art Basel in 2015. Her directing credits include the short films “Chaosmos” and “Vesperlings.” “Braid” is...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Eva Vives — “All About Nina”
Eva Vives won Best Short at the Sundance and Cannes in 2000 with “Five Feet High and Rising,” a short she cast, edited, and produced. She followed that up with a feature she co-wrote, “Raising...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Emma Forrest — “Untogether”
Emma Forrest is a columnist, novelist, screenwriter, and director. Her novels include “Namedropper,” “Thin Skin,” and “Cherries in the Snow,” and she penned the acclaimed memoir “Your...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Hagar Ben Asher — “Dead Women Walking”
Hagar Ben Asher is the writer-director of features “The Slut” and “The Burglar.” Her work has screened at festivals such as Cannes, Telluride, Rotterdam, Moscow, and Warsaw. Ben Asher has...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marilyn Ness — “Charm City”
Marilyn Ness is a two-time Emmy, Peabody, and DuPont winning filmmaker who has produced and directed documentary film and television for over 15 years. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts...
Sundance Film Fest: London 2018’s Feature Lineup Is 58 Percent Women-Directed
Some of the biggest hits out of Park City are heading to the UK. The program for Sundance Film Festival: London 2018 has been announced, and those who didn’t make it out to Utah in January will be...
Cannes Adds Titles to Competition, Ratio of Women Directors Worsens
The 2018 Cannes Film Festival bungled its chance to make its Competition lineup a bit more women-friendly. Per Variety, the fest added three titles to the program, none of which are from female...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marianna Palka — “Egg”
Marianna Palka is an actress and filmmaker from Glasgow, Scotland. Her film “Bitch” sold at Cannes after its 2017 Sundance premiere, and her film “Good Dick” was nominated for the Grand Jury...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Cynthia Lowen — “Netizens”
Cynthia Lowen is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and award-winning writer. She is the producer and writer of “Bully,” a 2011 feature documentary following five kids and families through “a year in...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Meredith Danluck — “State Like Sleep”
Meredith Danluck has exhibited at the Liverpool Biennial, Reina Sofia Museum, MoMA, PS1 Museum, and Venice Biennale. Her short films, feature documentaries, and experimental films have screened at a...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Karen Gillan — “The Party’s Just Beginning”
Karen Gillan is a Scottish filmmaker and actress. Her directing credits include shorts “Coward,” which screened at Edinburgh Film Festival, and “Conventional.” “Jumanji: Welcome to the...
Cate Blanchett-Led Cannes Jury Adds Kristen Stewart, Ava DuVernay, and More
Cannes’ Competition lineup remains sorely lacking in women-directed films, but the Jury ruling over the fest’s most high-profile program is decidedly more inclusive. As previously announced,...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Dava Whisenant — “Bathtubs Over Broadway”
Dava Whisenant is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker making her directorial debut with “Bathtubs Over Broadway.” She served as editor on docs “Two Trains Runnin’,” “Under the Electric Sky,”...