Films
Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival Kicks Off March 23 with “The Drowning”
In LA next week and want to support films by and about women? Rather than checking out a single film at a multiplex, consider attending a female-led film fest. The 13th annual Los Angeles Women’s...
Viola Davis’ Production Company Raising Significant Cash
Viola Davis won an Oscar less than a month ago and is showing no signs of slowing down. The “Fences” actress is “embarking on an effort to raise $250,000,000 in a global expansion plan for the...
Enter Your Short Film to the Audience Awards’ Women’s Film Challenge
Attention, female filmmakers: Have you finished a short narrative film or documentary? Or is there a portion of your feature-length film or doc that you’re ready to share? If so, you should enter...
Trailer Watch: “Wonder Woman” Is the Fiercest Amazon Warrior
Want to know how Wonder Woman became Wonder Woman? A new trailer for the Gal Gadot-led superhero film offers some insight into the Amazon warrior’s epic origin story. “You will train her harder...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lysa Heslov — “Served Like a Girl”
Lysa Heslov is a director and producer who, along with her husband Grant Heslov, founded Children Mending Hearts, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering disadvantaged youth in the U.S....
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Natalia Leite — “M.F.A.”
Natalia Leite is a writer/director/actress, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Her feature film debut, “Bare,” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2015, starring Dianna Agron and Paz De La Huerta....
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Noël Wells — “Mr. Roosevelt”
Noël Wells is an actor, writer, and director based in LA. Her acting credits include “Happy Anniversary,” “F*cking People,” and “Master of None.” She is also currently developing a show...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Anna Koch — “Win by Fall”
Anna Koch studied directing at the German Film & Television Academy Berlin (dffb). Her short film credits include “Sisters” and “Fata Morgana.” “Win by Fall” is her first feature...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Jessica M. Thompson— “The Light of the Moon”
Jessica M. Thompson is an Emmy-nominated Australian filmmaker who lives in New York City. She’s made several award-winning short films alongside Carlo Velayo, including “Hike,” “Percepio,”...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Erin Lee Carr — “Mommy Dead and Dearest”
Erin Lee Carr is a New York-based filmmaker and writer. Her debut film, “Thought Crimes,” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and Hot Docs Film Festival in 2015. Variety named her as one of...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Emma Franz — “Bill Frisell, A Portrait”
Australian filmmaker Emma Franz began her professional creative life as a jazz singer and composer. Her first film, “Intangible Asset Number 82,” won Best Foreign Documentary at the Durban...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ana Asensio — “Most Beautiful Island”
Ana Asensio is an actress, writer, and director from Spain. “Most Beautiful Island” is her feature directorial debut. Asensio has also appeared in “Planta 25” and “Zenith.” “Most...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Katherine Fairfax Wright — “Behind the Curtain: Todrick Hall”
Katherine Fairfax Wright is the director, editor, and cinematographer of “Call Me Kuchu,” the story of the last year in the life of the first openly gay man in Uganda. Wright produced...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Renée Felice Smith— “The Relationtrip”
A New York native, Renée Felice Smith moved cross country for her role on CBS’ hit, “NCIS: Los Angeles.” Smith starred in and produced “Baby,” a short film that went to SXSW in 2015. She...
What Happened to the Women Directors in Hollywood?
What Happened to the Women Directors in Hollywood? Part 3: A New Generation of Women Behind the Camera, 1966–1983 by Carrie Rickey This five-part Truthdig series by Carrie Rickey is published in...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Magdalena Zyzak— “A Critically Endangered Species”
Magdalena Zyzak’s first feature film was “Redland,” a wilderness drama which was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. In 2013, she produced a second feature film directed by Asiel...
Canadian Film Industry Launches Two New Gender Parity Initiatives
Leading by example yet again, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and the National Film Board of Canada both announced new initiatives to support women in the entertainment industry. The...
Weekly Update for March 10: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Personal Shopper” Films About Women Opening This Week Personal Shopper Olivier Assayas, the internationally-acclaimed director of “Clouds of Sils Maria” and “Summer Hours,” returns with...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Valerie Weiss — “The Archer”
Valerie Weiss is an award-winning filmmaker and scientist. Her directing credits include “A Light Beneath Their Feet,” “Losing Control,” “Chicago Med,” and an upcoming episode of...
Quote of the Day: Brie Larson Talks Women Directors and Representation
“I love that we’re seeing stronger women on the screen — but I don’t think that’s the end of this conversation,” says Brie Larson in a new interview with BBC News. The Oscar-winning...
Trailer Watch: Charlize Theron is a Killer Queen in “Atomic Blonde”
Meet Lorraine Broughton, “an expert in escape and evasion,” and “proficient in intelligence collection and hand-to-hand combat.” But rather than focusing on what we’re told about MI6’s...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Laura E. Davis and Jessica Kaye — “Inheritance”
Laura E. Davis is a writer, director, and story consultant. Her previous credits include the award-winning feature “Thin Air,” a short film starring Sarita Choudhury (“Homeland”), and a...
Monumental Pictures Developing Movie About Roe v. Wade
With the demagogue-in-chief doing everything in his power to outlaw legal abortion, the public — and the elderly white men who are able to legislatively control women’s bodies — needs...
Kerry Washington to Produce Adaptation of Brit Bennett’s “The Mothers”
Kerry Washington is set to produce another mother-centric film through her Simpson Street production banner, The Hollywood Reporter writes. About a month after the “Scandal” star was first...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Jennifer Reeder— “Signature Move”
Jennifer Reeder constructs personal fiction films about relationships, trauma, and coping. Her award-winning narratives borrow from a range of forms including after school specials, amateur music...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Julia Halperin — “La Barracuda”
Julia Halperin previously produced, co-directed, and edited “Now, Forager,” which had its world premiere in 2012 at International Film Festival Rotterdam and its North American Premiere at New...
In Solidarity: Crowdfunding Picks
“Women’s March” On January 21, millions of women across the globe marched in response to the overwhelming oppression of the Trump administration. Its message is crucial: “Women’s Rights are...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Miao Wang — “Maineland”
Miao Wang an award-winning filmmaker who focuses on documentaries that inspire cultural understanding and a humanist perspective of the world. Her previous directing credits include “Beijing...
Gurinder Chadha Donates Her Working Archive to British Film Institute
Want to learn more about the creative process of an internationally renowned woman director with decades of experience? You’re in luck. Gurinder Chadha has donated her entire working archive to...
Guest Post: Five Tips to Break into a Career in Music Supervision
Guest Post by Laura Katz When I was a child, I met a woman sitting in a wheelchair in a hospital elevator with a nurse. The woman thought I looked a little sad (and I was, because I was a child...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Karen Skloss — “The Honor Farm”
Karen Skloss is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has been shown on HBO, at the MoMA, in wide theatrical release, and in film festivals internationally. She is also the drummer for the band...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Leandra Leal — “Divine Divas”
Leandra Leal is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning Brazilian actress who has acted in more than 25 feature films, 12 soap operas, and many plays. She was awarded Best Actress at the...
Exclusive: Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces 2017 Accelerator Lab Finalists
Chicken & Egg Pictures has announced the ten women-directed and co-directed projects selected to participate in their 2017 Accelerator Lab, a program designed to support first- and second-time...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kasia Rosłaniec— “Satan Said Dance”
Director and screenwriter Kasia Rosłaniec hails from Poland and studied at Warsaw Film School, where she completed the short film “Mall Girls” in 2006 as her thesis. “Mall Girls” received...
Trailer Watch: Scarlett Johansson and Kate McKinnon Redefine “Rough Night”
Old friends, shots, and recreational drug use seem like pretty great ingredients for a wild bachelorette party, but manslaughter? Not so much. A Red Band trailer has landed for Lucia Aniello’s...
We Are on Strike: A Day Without A Woman
Women and Hollywood is a woman-owned business. It is an initiative that supports women. Today we will be striking in solidarity with our sisters across the country and the world. We will not be...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Jennifer M. Kroot — “The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin”
Jennifer M. Kroot’s directorial credits include “To Be Takei” and “It Came From Kuchar.” She has received grants from the Andy Warhol Foundation, Creative Work Fund, Frameline, the Pacific...
SXSW 2017 Women Directors: Meet Chris Shellen — “Spettacolo”
Chris Shellen is a writer and filmmaker based in California. She produced the award-winning documentary “Marwencol” and co-authored the companion art book, “Welcome to Marwencol,” which was...
BFI Hosts F-Rated IMDb Hackathon to Highlight Women’s Representation in Film
Now this is a ratings system we can get behind. Originally created by Bath Film Festival director Holly Tarquini, an F-Rating indicates whether a film is directed by a woman, written by a woman, or...
Margot Robbie to Star in “Marian,” Based on Character from Robin Hood Folklore
Ready to see Margot Robbie kick some more ass? The “Suicide Squad” actress has signed on to star in “Marian” for Sony, Deadline reports. Plenty of movies have focused on Robin Hood, but...
Charlene Fisk and Carrie Schrader’s Golf Doc “The Founders” Finds Distribution
Not many stories have been told about women golfers which — considering the numbers on women’s representation in Hollywood, and women in sports in particular — is pretty much par for...
Piper Laurie to Be Honored with Special Event at Ojai Film Festival
The most terrifying mom in film history is getting much-deserved props. “Carrie” star Piper Laurie will be celebrated with a special event in her honor at the upcoming Ojai Film Festival, The...
Rebecca Thomas to Direct Adaptation of Cheryl Della Pietra’s “Gonzo Girl”
Rebecca Thomas just booked her next gig. The “Electrick Children” director is bringing Cheryl Della Pietra’s semi-autobiographical novel “Gonzo Girl” to the big screen, Deadline writes....
“One Day at a Time” Renewed for Season 2
The Alvarez family isn’t going anywhere, thankfully. Netflix has renewed “One Day at a Time” for a second season, Variety reports. The first season of the Sony Pictures TV family comedy...
What Happened to the Women Directors in Hollywood?
What Happened to the Women Directors in Hollywood? Part 2: The First Females to Crack the Directors Guild by Carrie Rickey This five-part Truthdig series by Carrie Rickey is published in...
Trailer Watch: A Romance Takes a Sinister Turn in Cate Shortland’s “Berlin Syndrome”
What begins as a picturesque romance quickly becomes a horrifying nightmare in Cate Shortland’s “Berlin Syndrome.” A newly released international trailer for the thriller introduces us to...
Ferne Pearlstein on Tackling Taboos in Comedy in “The Last Laugh”
Ferne Pearlstein is is a prize-winning cinematographer, a feature film editor, and a writer/director whose work has won numerous awards and been screened and broadcast around the world. In 2003...
Weekly Update for March 3: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Before I Fall” Films About Women Opening This Week Before I Fall — Directed by Ry-Russo Young; Written by Maria Maggenti What if you had only one day to change absolutely everything?...
Watch: Dr. Stacy Smith Gives TED Talk on Women’s Invisibility in Film
In her talk for TEDWomen 2016, Dr. Stacy L. Smith emphasizes how movies are much more than entertainment. “We can also be transported through storytelling [in film],” she observes....
Quote of the Day: Jessica Chastain Strives to Create More Inclusiveness and Empathy
Jessica Chastain has consistently used her platform to address Hollywood’s lack of inclusivity. Even while onstage accepting awards, the two-time Oscar nominee has spoken out about “the need to...
Emma Watson Made Belle More Feminist in Live-Action “Beauty and the Beast”
“I know what [Belle] meant to me as a young girl,” Emma Watson says in the new featurette for the upcoming live-action “Beauty and the Beast.” “When you love something that much, you...