Films
Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2017 Lineup: 41% Women-Directed
The lineup for the 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival has been announced. According to a press release, the selected films will “serve as inspiration and motivation for the audience, from...
Crystal + Lucy Awards to Honor Elizabeth Banks, Tracee Ellis Ross, Mira Nair, & More
Former “Daily Show” correspondent Jessica Williams is set to host the 2017 Crystal + Lucy Awards. Elizabeth Banks, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Mira Nair are among the women being honored at the...
“Snatched” Writer Katie Dippold Talks Writing Roles for Women Over 40
Katie Dippold has been a screenwriter for about a decade. She made a splash with 2013’s “The Heat,” but became a household name last year with the premiere of “Ghostbusters” — the...
Apply Now for NYWIFT Fund for Women Filmmakers Grants
The New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) Fund for Women Filmmakers is now accepting submissions for its 2017 grants. According to a NYWIFT press release, female filmmakers are welcome to...
Playwright Katori Hall Named Artistic Director of Memphis’ Hattiloo Theater
“The Mountaintop” playwright Katori Hall will be the next artistic director of the Hattiloo Theater, the New York Times reports. Located in Hall’s hometown, Memphis, the Hattiloo is an...
Carol Morley to Direct Patricia Clarkson-Starrer “Out of Blue”
A neo-noir mystery toplined by Patricia Clarkson and helmed by Carol Morley? Count us in. A press release has announced that Clarkson will star in “Out of Blue,” Morley’s follow-up to 2014’s...
LA Film Fest Competition Lineup Announced: 46 Percent Women-Directed
The LA Film Festival (LAFF) has announced its 2017 competition lineups. “Our competitions reflect who Film Independent is as an organization,” emphasized LAFF Director Jennifer Cochis. “Within...
Paley Center to Celebrate Women in Media and Honor Carol Burnett
Women will be the main focus of the upcoming Paley Center Honors gala. According to Variety, the Paley Center will celebrate “the achievements of women in media” during its May 17 ceremony. The...
“Westworld” Co-Creator Lisa Joy Renews Overall Deal with Warner Bros. TV
Lisa Joy will continue doing business with Warner Bros. TV. The “Westworld” co-creator/co-showrunner/EP has extended her overall deal with the studio. Joy will stay on as co-showrunner of the...
Diane Lane to Star in Reed Morano’s Next Film
Hot off rave reviews for directing the first three episodes of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Reed Morano has announced her next project. A press release revealed that the Indie Spirit Award...
Trailer Watch: Kirsten Dunst Loses Touch with Reality in “Woodshock”
“Woodshock” “Remember when we used to play in the woods together? I got lost that one summer. When I turned around, you were gone,” Theresa (Kirsten Dunst) recalls in the newly released...
Julie Andrews to Be Honored at Hamptons Film Fest
Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is set to honor one of the most beloved actresses of all time. Whether you know her best as Mary Poppins or Maria von Trapp, chances are you’ve been...
Doc About “Muriel’s Wedding” Musical in the Works from Nel Minchin
Somebody break out the ABBA records. “Making Muriel,” a documentary following director P.J. Hogan as he adapts his beloved cult film “Muriel’s Wedding” into a musical, is headed our way....
Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces Participants of Diversity Fellows Initiative
Chicken & Egg Pictures has announced the newest participants of their Diversity Fellows Initiative. Now in its second year, the program supports non-fiction projects directed by women of color....
Spec Script About Underground Abortion Service Acquired by Amazon
Amazon could be bringing the story of underground abortion providers in Chicago to the cinema. Per Deadline, the studio has obtained “This Is Jane,” a spec screenplay by Dan Loflin...
Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz to Topline “The Widow”
Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz are joining forces. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actresses have signed on to star in “The Widow,” a thriller about a young woman (Moretz) who...
Trailer Watch: Final “Wonder Woman” Spot Follows the Rise of the Warrior
“Be careful of mankind, Diana,” Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) tells her daughter, a pint-sized Diana, Princess of Themyscira aka Wonder Woman. “They do not deserve you.” If the final...
Diane Keaton and Jacki Weaver to Star in Zara Hayes’ “Poms”
Diane Keaton and Jacki Weaver are forming a squad. Deadline reports that the pair have signed on to star in “Poms,” a comedy about women in a retirement community who start a cheerleading team....
Trailer Watch: “Rough Night” Tackles HPV and Human Friendipedes
FYI: “If you’ve had sex after the year 1991, then you do have HPV.” A new Red Band trailer has dropped for Lucia Aniello’s “Rough Night,” and it’s full of gems like this. The ensemble...
Weekly Update for May 5: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“3 Generations” Films About Women Opening This Week Tomorrow Ever After — Written and Directed by Ela Thier “Tomorrow Ever After” Shaina (writer-director Ela Thier) is a historian...
Charlize Theron’s “Tully” and Brie Larson’s “The Glass Castle” Receive Release Dates
Mark your calendars: release dates for the Charlize Theron-toplined “Tully” and the Brie Larson-starrer “The Glass Castle” have been announced. Variety writes that “Glass Castle,” an...
Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, and Candice Bergen to Star in “50 Shades”-Inspired “Book Club”
Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, and Candice Bergen are teaming up. The trio will star in “Book Club,” an indie comedy about lifelong friends in their 60s whose worlds are rocked by Anastasia Steele...
Agnès Varda Film Series to Screen at BAMcinématek
Now is your chance to catch up on — or revisit — the works of Agnès Varda. Brooklyn’s BAMcinématek has announced an upcoming six-film series celebrating the acclaimed auteur’s...
Yet Another Woman-Led Action Film Will Be Directed By a Man
“Peppermint” has found a director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the in-demand female-led action film will be helmed by Pierre Morel (“Taken”). Morel signed on to direct the revenge...
Teaser Watch: Lindsey Stirling Learns to Believe in Herself in “Brave Enough”
“Looking back over my life, I can’t believe everything that has happened to me,” says Lindsey Stirling in a newly released teaser for “Lindsey Stirling: Brave Enough.” The new documentary...
Refinery29 Unveils Its Female-First NewFronts Programming Slate
Rashida Jones (“Angie Tribeca”), Evan Rachel Wood (“Westworld”), Sasheer Zamata (“SNL”), Willow Smith (“True Jackson, VP”), and Zosia Mamet (“Girls”) are among Refinery29's...
Catherine Deneuve-Starrer “The Midwife” Acquired by Music Box Films
Music Box Films has snagged the U.S. rights to “The Midwife,” a French dramedy starring Catherine Frot ( “Marguerite”) and Catherine Deneuve (“Dancer in the Dark”). Variety broke...
Anthology of Trailblazing Women Directors’ Films to Be Released
Time to brush up on your film herstory. Flicker Alley and Blackhawk Films has announced the release of “Early Women Filmmakers: An International Anthology,” a collection of restored films from...
Trailer Watch: Women Rally Against an Extremist Rabbi in “The Women’s Balcony”
A U.S. trailer has arrived for “The Women’s Balcony,” a story of women fighting for justice in their place of worship. The dramedy centers on the aftermath of a bar mitzvah celebration that...
New Princess Diana Doc Coming to HBO
Twenty years ago, the world was rocked by the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales. HBO has acquired the U.S. rights to a new doc about the beloved royal icon produced by Oxford Film and...
“Ab Fab’s” Joanna Lumley to Receive the BAFTA Fellowship
Joanna Lumley is receiving the British Academy’s greatest honor. Variety reports that the “Absolutely Fabulous” star will be honored with the BAFTA Fellowship at the British Academy Television...
Melissa McCarthy to Star in R-Rated Puppet Comedy “The Happytime Murders”
Melissa McCarthy is about to kick some puppet ass. Deadline reports that the Oscar-nominated actress has signed on to star in and produce STXfilms’ “The Happytime Murders,” an R-rated puppet...
Trailer Watch: “Wonder Woman” Doesn’t Need to Be Saved
In a new TV spot for Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman,” Diana Prince (Gal Godot), aka the titular Amazonian superheroine, finds herself in a classic film scene. She’s walking in a creepy alley...
Dionne Warwick Doc in the Works
“I Say a Little Prayer,” “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” — these are the kinds of songs that inspire strangers to sing together, with or without alcohol. And these...
Kelly Carmichael to Head Production & Development for Jessica Chastain’s Freckle Films
Consider us pleasantly unsurprised. Jessica Chastain’s production company, Freckle Films, has hired a female president of production and development: former Weinstein Company and Miramax...
“Power” Showrunner Courtney Kemp Inks Multi-Year Deal with Starz and Lionsgate
More projects from Courtney Kemp could be coming our way. The “Power” creator and showrunner signed an exclusive multi-year overall deal with Starz and Lionsgate, Variety reports. This new pact...
Trailer Watch: A Ballerina Nears the End of Her Career in “Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan”
“I’ve always been extremely devoted to what I do,” says Wendy Whelan in a newly released trailer for an upcoming documentary centered on the acclaimed ballerina. Whelan joined the New York...
Hot Docs 2017 Women Directors: Meet Selma Vilhunen — “Hobbyhorse Revolution”
Selma Vilhunen is a director and screenwriter of both fiction and documentary films. She is also one of the co-founders of the production company Tuffi Films. Her fiction feature debut, “Little...
Infographic: What You Need to Know About Women in Hollywood in 2017
“Arrival” Sometimes when you’re having a conversation — let’s say about how women are treated in Hollywood — it can be hard to come up with anything but generalizations. Even...
Sally Potter’s “The Party” Gets UK Distribution
Sally Potter’s latest film has secured distribution in the UK. ScreenDaily reports that “The Party” has been acquired by Picturehouse Entertainment, with a planned fall release. The...
Hot Docs 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sofia Bohdanowicz — “Maison du bonheur”
Sofia Bohdanowicz is an experimental filmmaker from Toronto, Canada. Her most recent collection of shorts, “Last Poems,” explores the passing of her paternal grandmother through the poetry of...
Cherien Dabis to Helm Film About Flint Researcher Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha
You’re most likely familiar with the Flint, Michigan water crisis, but you may not know about Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician whose research concluded that a generation of Flint children...
Barbra Streisand Started Directing Because She “Couldn’t Be Heard”
Barbra Streisand didn’t mince words when Robert Rodriguez interviewed her at the Tribeca Film Festival this past weekend —of course, we wouldn’t have it any other way. The famously outspoken...
Guest Post: Producing Partners Discuss How Men Can Support Female Filmmakers
Guest Post by Ela Thier My new film, “Tomorrow Ever After,” got made because in addition to relying on women, I rely on the men I work with to act as my allies. I do it by offering information...
Hot Docs 2017 Women Directors: Meet Marie Clements— “The Road Forward”
Marie Clements (Métis/Dene) is an award-winning writer, director, and producer of film, television, radio, new media, and live performance. Her work as a filmmaker includes the 2015 docudrama...
“Toni Erdmann” Wins Big at German Film Awards
Nearly a year after its world premiere at Cannes, “Toni Erdmann” continues to make its mark around the globe. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Maren Ade’s dark comedy dominated the German...
Hot Docs 2017 Women Directors: Meet Tasha Hubbard — “Birth of a Family”
Tasha Hubbard is an award-winning filmmaker and an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan. Her previous documentary, “Two Worlds Collide,” won a Gemini and a Golden Sheaf Award in...
“Ingobernable” Renewed for Second Season
We haven’t seen the last of Emilia Urquiza. Netflix has renewed “Ingobernable” for a second season, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The Spanish-language political drama centers on the...
Hot Docs 2017 Women Directors: Meet Vaishali Sinha — “Ask the Sexpert”
Vaishali Sinha co-directed and produced the feature documentary “Made in India,” which focused on the personal stories behind the phenomenon of outsourcing surrogate mothers to India. The...
Weekly Update for April 28: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Below Her Mouth” Films About Women Opening This Week The Circle When Mae (Emma Watson) is hired to work for the world’s largest and most powerful tech and social media company, she sees it...
Cate Blanchett to Star in Stage Production of “All About Eve”
Cate Blanchett is stepping into Bette Davis’ shoes. The two-time Oscar winner will portray Margo Channing in a stage production of “All About Eve,” the New York Times reports. Adapted from...