Films
Exclusive: Hasidic Women Form NYC’s First All-Female Volunteer Ambulance Corps in “93Queen” Trailer
“In the Hasidic community there’s a huge divide between the genders,” explains Rachel “Ruchie” Freier in our exclusive trailer for “93Queen.” “I’m being told that it’s not right...
Melina Kanakaredes to Co-Write and Produce Pic About Death Studies Pioneer Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the award-winning psychiatrist behind the seminal book “On Death and Dying” and coiner of the five stages of grief, is getting her own film. Deadline reports that...
Books, Films, News, Television
Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough Teaming Up for Noir Thriller “The Earthquake Bird”
Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough are heading to Japan. The new Lara Croft and the “American Honey” actress are in talks to topline Netflix noir thriller “The Earthquake Bird,” based on...
Susan Johnson’s Adaptation of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” Goes to Netflix
YA favorite “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is coming to Netflix. A press release announced that the streamer has acquired global rights to Susan Johnson’s adaptation of Jenny Han’s...
Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth Are Re-Teaming for “Men in Black” Spinoff — Let’s Talk About Pay
“Thor: Ragnarok” co-stars Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth are reuniting for another big budget project. Thompson is in talks to join Hemsworth in Sony’s “Men in Black” spinoff, Variety...
Rude Awakenings: Crowdfunding Picks
“Sirens” When life hands you lemons, go find a life coach who moonlights as a mermaid. Well, at least that’s the conceit of one of our latest crowdfunding picks. Mermaids aside, all of our...
Trailer Watch: Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon Are Hapless Agents in “The Spy Who Dumped Me”
Car chases through beautiful cities are a staple of the spy movie genre — but what if your getaway vehicle, the one thing between you and the bad guys, isn’t an automatic? That’s the...
Natalia Almada’s “Everything Else” Acquired by Cinema Tropical
Natalia Almada’s narrative debut has secured U.S. distribution. Cinema Tropical snagged the rights to “Everything Else,” a press release announced. After making its world premiere at the 2016...
Trailer Watch: Women Run Things “As Good As Any Man” in WWI Drama “The Guardians”
France, 1915. Hortense (Nathalie Baye) is trying to keep the family farm going as her sons fight in The Great War. “I stopped reading the papers,” she tells them in a letter. “The war scares...
Susan Sarandon and Edie Falco Starring in Maryam Keshavarz’s “Vulture Club”
Susan Sarandon is swapping Bette Davis’ Old Hollywood glamour for ER scrubs. The “Feud” actress is toplining “Vulture Club,” a film about a veteran nurse desperate to rescue her journalist...
Amy Poehler Is Making Her Feature Directorial Debut with “Wine Country”
Amy Poehler is directing her first movie and taking plenty of “SNL” friends along on the vino-filled journey. Variety reports that the “Parks and Recreation” alumna will helm, produce, and...
Hot Docs 2018 Program Is 50 Percent Women-Directed
North America’s largest documentary festival has announced its 2018 slate, and this year’s edition of Hot Docs marks a major milestone. Eighty-six of 171 features screening are directed or...
Apply Now: NYWIFT’s Women’s Film Preservation Fund
Film preservationists, take note. New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) is helping keep the history of women’s cinema alive. Submissions are now open for NYWIFT Women’s Film...
Check Out the Inclusion Rider Template
Interested in adopting the inclusion rider but unsure how to go about it? USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative is here for you. The organization has released an inclusion rider template online....
Cynthia Nixon Is Running for New York State Governor
Cynthia Nixon is looking to make the jump from the screen to political office. The “Sex and the City” alumna has thrown her hat in the race for New York Governor, and will face off against...
Elisabeth Moss Joins Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish in Crime Drama “The Kitchen”
Andrea Berloff’s directorial debut just added even more star power. With Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish already on board, “The Kitchen” now counts Elisabeth Moss among its cast. The...
BAMcinématek Launches Lynne Ramsay Film Series
Brooklyn’s BAMcinématek is marking the occasion of Lynne Ramsay’s latest offering, “You Were Never Really Here.” The Cannes winner hits U.S. theaters April 6, but you can catch the film’s...
Trailer Watch: Melissa McCarthy Forges Her Way into History in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Lee Israel is months behind on her rent, her cat is sick, and she’s been told no one is going to pay for her writing. Urged to “find another way to make a living,” the biographer and freelance...
Trailer Watch: Bel Powley Is Held Captive in Creature Feature “Wildling”
Bel Powley wakes up in a hospital room in a new trailer for “Wildling.” The werewolf thriller sees the “Diary of a Teenage Girl” star playing Anna, a teen who has been raised in isolation...
Biopic About First Woman to Win Workplace Harassment Suit in the Works
Sandra Bundy, the first woman to win a workplace sexual harassment lawsuit in the historic Bundy v. Jackson, is getting her own film. Deadline reports that Adaptive Studios and EnLight Productions...
Films, Music, News, Television
Queen Latifah and Toni Braxton Ink Production Deals With Lifetime
Lifetime is making it official with two of its frequent collaborators, Queen Latifah and Toni Braxton. Variety confirms that both multi-hyphenates have signed major production deals with the...
Weekly Update for March 16: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Tomb Raider” Films About Women Opening This Week Tomb Raider — Co-Written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander) is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric...
Guest Post: How Starting a Film Festival Helped Expand My Social Awareness
Guest Post by Nora Armani Awareness is the first step towards reclaiming our rights as women. So long as we are unaware that we are experiencing inequality, and so long as we accept the status quo...
Ava DuVernay Is Directing Adaptation of DC Comics’ “The New Gods”
Ava DuVernay has another big budget adaptation on the way. The “Wrinkle in Time” director is taking DC Comics’ “The New Gods” to the big screen, Deadline reports. The pic will mark the...
Quote of the Day: Zoey Deutch on the Lack of Complex Film Roles for Women
In her new movie, “Flower,” Zoey Deutch portrays an opportunistic, morally ambiguous teen who turns to vigilantism to take down a sex offender. Deutch’s Erica isn’t the usual teen...
2018 Full Frame Doc Film Fest’s Main Lineup Is Nearly 50 Percent Women-Directed
The schedule for the 2018 Full Frame Doc Film Fest is in and the subject of its opening night film, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, would be very proud of its representation of women. Women directed or...
Amma Asante Will Helm Cold War Biopic “The Billion Dollar Spy”
2018 Athena Film Festival honoree Amma Asante has booked her next gig. She will direct the big screen adaptation of David E. Hoffman’s true crime thriller “The Billion Dollar Spy” for Walden...
Miranda July Has a New Film On the Way
Miranda July is stepping behind the camera again. The award-winning writer-director is set to kick off production on her third feature, a press release has announced. Currently untitled, the heist...
Trailer Watch: A Volleyball Team Overcomes Tragedy and Defies Odds in “The Miracle Season”
“A lot of people are going to see this movie and think that a lot of it was dramatized for the sake of making a movie — and none of it is,” says Erin Moriarty in the final trailer for...
Abi Morgan to Adapt Psychological Thriller “Tangerine”
Abi Morgan is set to tell another female-led story. Deadline reports that the Emmy winner is following up women’s rights drama “Suffragette” with an adaptation of “Tangerine,” an upcoming...
Trailer Watch: Melissa Benoist Helps Defend the Homefront in Jennifer Morrison’s “Sun Dogs”
In the wake of 9/11 Ned Chipley (Michael Angarano, “The Knick”) wants nothing more than to be a hero. “I put on 15 pounds of muscle mass,” he announces when he tries to join the marines....
AmDoc, Pinewood Atlanta Launch Kickstarter Campaigns to Support Rising Filmmakers
American Documentary (AmDoc) and Pinewood Atlanta Studios have both started Kickstarter funds for up and coming filmmakers. Per Variety, AmDoc is teaming up with the Knight Foundation to support...
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Shana Feste — “Boundaries”
Shana Feste was nominated for a Humanitas Prize for her first feature, “The Greatest,” which she both wrote and directed. She also wrote and directed Gwyneth Paltrow-starrer...
Trailer Watch: Elsie Fisher Will Break Your Heart in “Eighth Grade”
A trailer has dropped for Sundance favorite “Eighth Grade,” an exploration of adolescence in the age of social media. Thirteen year-old Kayla (Elsie Fisher) wants more confidence and more...
Madonna to Direct Adaptation of Ballerina Michaela Deprince’s Memoir
Madonna is set to return to the director’s chair. The Golden Globe winner will direct an adaptation of Michaela Deprince’s 2016 memoir “Taking Flight” for MGM, a press release has announced....
New Review Aggregate of Female Critics Launches at SXSW
According to a 2016 report from The Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, women comprise just 27 percent of top critics on Rotten Tomatoes and men 73 percent of these individuals....
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marja-Lewis Ryan — “6 Balloons”
Marja-Lewis Ryan wrote, produced, and starred in the indie feature “The Four-Faced Liar.” In TV, she is slated to create the new “The L Word” series for Showtime, and a one-hour untitled...
Trailer Watch: Tessa Thompson and Melissa Leo Hit the Road in Laurie Collyer’s “Furlough”
“For the next 36 hours I own you,” Tessa Thompson tells Melissa Leo in a new trailer for “Furlough.” The dramedy sees the “Thor: Ragnarok” actress playing a rookie inmate tasked with...
Paul Feig, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck Latest to Adopt Inclusion Rider
Paul Feig, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck are following in Brie Larson and Michael B. Jordan’s footsteps and committing to the inclusion rider. Feig announced that his production company, Feigco...
Films from Ava DuVernay, Amma Asante, and Julie Dash to Screen at Ebertfest
Three trailblazing directors are set to attend Ebertfest 2018. Ava DuVernay, Amma Asante, and Julie Dash will be screening films at the fest, a press release has announced. Co-founded by and hosted...
Producer Lisa Marie Russo to Run New BFI Doc Society Fund
Lisa Marie Russo is heading to Doc Society (formerly BRITDOC). The “Deep Blue Sea” producer will lead the new BFI Doc Society Fund, a £1M-per-year (about $1.4M USD) endowment supporting...
“Maudie” and “Alias Grace” Win Big at 2018 Canadian Screen Awards
Women dominated Sunday night’s Canadian Screen Awards. Not only did female-led projects “Maudie,” “Alias Grace,” “Anne With an E,” and “Baroness von Sketch Show” sweep the major...
Trailer Watch: A Girl Steps into the Wrestling Ring to Win Her Father Over in “First Match”
“Put her in her place,” a teenage boy is told by a teammate just before facing off against a girl on a wrestling mat. It’s not long before she has her opponent pinned and his sexist...
Lily James-Starrer “Guernsey” and Augustine Frizzell’s “Never Goin’ Back” Get Distribution
Lily James-led period piece “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” and Augustine Frizzell’s coming-of-age pic “Never Goin’ Back” have both found homes. “Guernsey” will...
Alfre Woodard to Play a Prison Warden in “Clemency” From Chinonye Chukwu
Alfre Woodard’s recent roles have seen her playing the President of the United States and a comic book villain, and now she’s set to take on the role of a prison warden. The Emmy and Golden...
Trailer Watch: Rebecca Miller Explores Her Father’s Life and Work in “Arthur Miller: Writer”
An award-winning filmmaker offers a nuanced portrait of one of the most celebrated playwrights of all-time — who also happens to be her father — in “Arthur Miller: Writer.” Directed...
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Jenn Wexler — “The Ranger”
Jenn Wexler is a writer-director and a producer for NYC’s Glass Eye Pix. Her producing credits include “Darling,” “Like Me,” and “Most Beautiful Island.” “The Ranger” is her...
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Jenny Murray — “¡Las Sandinistas!”
Jenny Murray is the director of two short films and multiple social satire comedy videos. Her most recent short narrative film was selected to screen at Anthology Film Archives in New Filmmakers New...
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sasha Waters Freyer — “Garry Winogrand: All Things Are…
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sasha Waters Freyer — “Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable” Trained in photography and the documentary tradition, Sasha Waters Freyer fuses...
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Stacy Cochran — “Write When You Get Work”
Stacy Cochran made her debut with “My New Gun,” starring Diane Lane; it premiered in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature....
SXSW 2018 Women Directors: Meet Miranda Bailey— “You Can Choose Your Family”
An actor, director, distributor, and producer, Miranda Bailey makes independent films through her company Cold Iron Pictures. Her directing credits include “The Pathological Optimist” and...