Interviews
“Their Finest” Director Lone Scherfig on Making Meaningful Films
Most audiences were introduced to Lone Scherfig’s work with the 2009 Oscar-nominated Carey Mulligan-starrer “An Education,” but the Danish writer and director has been working since the...
Gemma Arterton Talks Sexism and Likability in “Their Finest”
“Their Finest” sees Gemma Arterton playing Catrin, a young woman hired to write lines for women in British war propaganda movies. It’s a movie within a movie dealing with gender roles in the...
Susan Johnson Talks “Carrie Pilby” and Finding Funding for the Female-Led Film
Susan Johnson is an Independent Spirit Award winning filmmaker. “Carrie Pilby” marks her feature directorial debut. After a successful career as a music video director, Johnson has produced 10...
A Conversation with “The Zookeeper’s Wife” Author Diane Ackerman
Diane Ackerman is best known for her more recent books “A Natural History of the Senses” and “The Human Age: The World Shaped By Us.” However, “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” a story about a...
Listen: Podcast with “Harlots” Producer Alison Owen
“Harlots” premieres today on Hulu. I had a conversation with producer Alison Owen about the brothel drama, set in London during the 18th century. In this podcast, we talk about her foray into...
A Conversation with “The Zookeeper’s Wife” Director Niki Caro
We have been anxiously awaiting “The Zookeeper’s Wife” ever since Jessica Chastain’s 2015 guest feature for The Hollywood Reporter. Long before its release, Niki Caro’s film was labeled a...
Jessica Chastain and Niki Caro on “The Zookeeper’s Wife” and the Importance of Recognizing Women in…
Jessica Chastain and Niki Caro on “The Zookeeper’s Wife” and the Importance of Recognizing Women in History “The Zookeeper’s Wife” “The Zookeeper’s Wife” tells the powerful story...
“A Woman, a Part” Director Elisabeth Subrin on Making a Movie About a Woman Over 40
Elisabeth Subrin’s critically acclaimed films and video art have screened widely internationally, including at The New York Film Festival, The Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Vienna...
Julie Andrews Returns to TV to Teach Kids the Value of Arts Education in “Julie’s Greenroom”
Julie Andrews is coming back to TV to teach kids the value of arts education with Netflix’s “Julie’s Greenroom” set to launch on March 17. The series showcases the impact the arts can have...
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 Ovidie— “Pornocracy”
Ovidie is an author and film director. Her explicitly feminist films like “Pulsion” and “Le baiser” depict an ethical and realistic take on sexuality. Today Ovidie is a journalist, blogger,...
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 Mónica Álvarez Franco — “The Cloud Forest”
After studying AV Media in Mexico and receiving a Master’s Degree in Creative Documentary in Madrid, Spain, Mónica Álvarez Franco wrote and directed several short documentaries. Her short...
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 Ceylan Özgün Özçelik — “Inflame”
Born in Turkey, Ceylan Özgün Özçelik is a writer, director, producer, and editor. Özçelik produced, wrote, and hosted “En Heyecanlı Yeri,” a TV show about cinema that aired for almost 10...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Alankrita Shrivastava on the Censorship of Her Film “Lipstick Under My Burkha”
Alankrita Shrivastava’s “Lipstick Under My Burkha” is an award-winning film about women reclaiming their freedom through small acts of resistance. Unfortunately, as Deadline details, India’s...
So Yong Kim on the Blurred Lines Between Friendship and Romance in “Lovesong”
So Yong Kim is an award-winning Korean-American independent filmmaker. In 2006 Kim received the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for her debut feature, “In Between Days.” Her...
Berlinale 2017 Women Directors: Meet Tala Hadid — “House in the Fields”
Tala Hadid is a writer, director, and photographer. Her first film,“Sacred Poet,” centered on Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. She’s directed several short films, including “Tes...
Berlinale 2017 Women Directors: Meet Jackie Van Beek — “The Inland Road”
Jackie Van Beek is a New Zealand writer, director, and actor with a background in devised theater. She has made seven short films that have played at numerous festivals including Berlin, London,...
Berlinale 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rubika Shah — “White Riot: London”
Rubika Shah is a director, writer, and journalist. She has directed a number of documentary shorts for the BBC which explore the works of Spike Lee, Gore Vidal, and others. Her documentary short...
Berlinale 2017 Women Directors: Meet Teona Strugar Mitevska — “When the Day Had No Name”
Teona Strugar Mitevska is an award-winning writer and director. Her previous credits include “The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears,” “I Am from Titov Veles,” and “Veta.” “When the Day...
“I Am Jane Doe” Director Mary Mazzio on the Terrifying Scope of Child Sex Trafficking
Mary Mazzio is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, Olympic athlete, and former law firm partner. She is the Founder and CEO of 50 Eggs, Inc., an independent film production company. Her credits...
Berlinale 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ildikó Enyedi— “On Body and Soul”
Ildikó Enyedi began her career as a concept and media artist as part of the art group Indigo and the Balázs Béla Studio. Her first film, “My Twentieth Century,” won the Cannes Camera d’Or...
Berlinale 2017 Women Directors: Meet Daniela Thomas — “Vazante”
Daniela Thomas writes and directs films and plays, creates opera and theater sets, designs exhibitions, and creates installations. She is based in São Paulo but her work has been seen, exhibited,...
Berlinale 2017 Women Directors: Meet Laura Schroeder — “Barrage”
Laura Schroeder was born in Luxembourg. Her works have screened at festivals worldwide. After several self-produced films, she wrote and directed the short films “Senteurs” and “Double...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Zoe Lister-Jones — “Band Aid”
Zoe Lister-Jones is an actor, director, writer, and producer who is currently starring in CBS’ “Life in Pieces.” She recently co-starred in “Confirmation” for HBO. As a...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Kopple — “This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous”
Barbara Kopple is a two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker. A director and producer of narrative films and documentaries, her two most recent projects are the documentaries “Miss Sharon...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Pamela Yates — “500 Years”
Pamela Yates is a co-founder and current creative director of Skylight, a media company dedicated to creating feature length documentary films and digital media tools that advance awareness of human...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Jennifer Brea — “Unrest”
Jennifer Brea is a filmmaker, writer, and data wrangler. She earned her AB in Politics from Princeton University, and is a TED Fellow. Prior, she was a freelance journalist in China and East and...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sydney Freeland — “Deidra & Laney Rob a Train”
Sydney Freeland is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker. Her debut feature, “Drunktown’s Finest,” premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and went on to receive the Jury Prize at LA Outfest and a...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Marti Noxon — “To the Bone”
Marti Noxon is the creator and executive producer of Bravo’s first scripted drama series, “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce,” and the co-creator and executive producer of the acclaimed Lifetime...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Amanda Kernell — “Sami Blood”
Amanda Kernell has directed a number of shorts, including “Stoerre Vaerie,” or, “Northern Great Mountain,” which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and won the Best Swedish Short...