News
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Bornila Chatterjee — “The Hungry”
Bornila Chatterjee is a writer and filmmaker. Her feature film “Let’s Be Out, The Sun Is Shining” premiered at the 2012 New York Indian Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. Previous...
Quote of the Day: Swedish Film Institute CEO Anna Serner on the Bias Against Women Directors
Anna Serner has heard plenty of bullshit excuses defending the lack of women directors hired to direct high-profile, big-budget projects. This fact was made abundantly clear at a recent event at the...
Trailer Watch: “Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart” Celebrates Playwright & Activist Lorraine Hansberry
“It really doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about the oppressed or the oppressor — an oppressive society will dehumanize and degenerate everyone involved,” says Lorraine Hansberry...
Women to Direct Royal Shakespeare Company’s Entire Summer 2018 Season
On the heels of the announcement of London’s new, all-female acting company, Dangerous Space, and the Royal Court’s majority female season, we have some more positive theater news from the UK....
Trailer Watch: Sonia Lowman’s “Teach Us All” Investigates De-Segregation in Schools
“It’s not a story of progress. It’s a story of total inequality of schooling,” says one of the characters in Sonia Lowman’s “Teach Us All.” The upcoming documentary explores...
“Transparent” Gets a New Showrunner for Season 5
“Transparent” is getting a new showrunner. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming fifth season of the family dramedy will be run by Jill Gordon, whose credits include “Cupid,”...
Patty Jenkins Signs On to Direct “Wonder Woman” Sequel, Becomes Highest-Paid Female Filmmaker Ever
“Wonder Woman” helmer Patty Jenkins has made herstory yet again. Back in June she earned a place in the record books when the Gal Gadot-led superheroine film became the top-grossing live-action...
ABC Scores Modern “Pride and Prejudice” Drama Based on Curtis Sittenfeld’s “Eligible”
The Bennett sisters are making their way towards the small screen. Deadline reports that ABC has given a put pilot commitment to “Eligible,” a drama based on Curtis Sittenfeld’s 2016 novel...
Women-Helmed Films Set to Open and Close Busan International Film Fest
Female-directed films will open and close this year’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). ScreenDaily confirms that Shin Suwon’s “Glass Garden” will kick off the fest October 15, while...
Poland Chooses Agnieszka Holland’s “Spoor” as Foreign-Language Oscar Pick
Agnieszka Holland’s “Spoor” has been chosen as Poland’s candidate for best foreign-language film at the 2018 Oscars, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. Holland’s “In Darkness” received a...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kamila Andini — “The Seen and Unseen”
Kamila Andini made her feature debut with “The Mirror Never Lies,” which portrays the life of a sea wanderer in the Indonesian ocean. Previous short films include “Following Diana” and...
Eva Green to Star in Alice Winocour Astronaut Drama
Eva Green is heading to space. The “Penny Dreadful” alumna has signed on to star in Alice Winocour’s next feature, a bilingual action-drama that centers on an astronaut. According to The...
You’re Invited: Women and Hollywood’s 10th Anniversary Celebration in NYC
Women and Hollywood is celebrating its 10th anniversary this fall. And our first event, to be held in New York City, is fast approaching. As we honor a decade of educating, advocating, and agitating...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Mila Turajlic — “The Other Side of Everything”
Mila Turajlic is a documentary filmmaker from Belgrade, Serbia. Her 2010 directorial debut, “Cinema Komunisto,” premiered at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam and the Tribeca...
Laverne Cox to Star in Elizabeth Banks-Produced Psychic Drama Pilot for ABC
The woman behind “Orange Is the New Black’s” Sophia Burset has signed on to portray another — albeit very different — reformed criminal. Laverne Cox will star in “Spirited,” a...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Joan Chemla — “If You Saw His Heart”
Joan Chemla is a director who decided to dedicate herself to filmmaking after an initial stint in law. She has helmed three short films: “Mauvaise Route,” “Dr Nazi,” and “The Man with the...
Trailer Watch: A Young Drifter Rejects Society’s Rules in Nanfu Wang’s “I Am Another You”
A trailer has arrived for “I Am Another You,” Nanfu Wang’s award-winning follow-up to “Hooligan Sparrow.” The atmospheric spot clocks in at over two minutes but we don’t hear a single...
Alice Lowe to Write and Direct Metaphysical Rom-Com “Timestalker”
Alice Lowe is taking on another genre project. A press release has announced that the British writer-director-actress is following up “Prevenge,” a dark comedy about a mom-to-be on a killing...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ainsley Gardiner — “Waru”
Ainsley Gardiner is of Ngāti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Pikiao, and Whakatōhea descent. Gardiner previously produced the short films “Two Cars, One Night” and “Tama Tu,” written...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lisa Langseth — “Euphoria”
Lisa Langseth is a playwright and filmmaker from Stockholm. Her film credits include “Pure” and “Hotell,” both of which are toplined by “Euphoria” star Alicia Vikander. “Euphoria”...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Erika Cohn — “The Judge”
Erika Cohn is a director who has received numerous accolades for her work, including a Director’s Guild of America award for her film, “When the Voices Fade,” a narrative profile of the...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Elizaveta Stishova — “Suleiman Mountain”
Elizaveta Stishova is a Russian writer and director. Her previous short films include “Arta,” “The Hen,” “Watering,” and “The Seagull.” In 2014, Stishova participated in Berlinale...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Grady — “One of Us”
Rachel Grady is a filmmaker and co-owns New York’s Loki Films with Heidi Ewing. She and Ewing have have directed six feature-length films, including “Jesus Camp,” “The Boys of Baraka,”...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Anahí Berneri — “Alanis”
Anahí Berneri is an Argentinian film and theater director and scriptwriter. Previous feature films include “Un Año Sin Amor,” “Encarnación,” and “Por Tu Culpa.” She has been...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Violeta Ayala — “Cocaine Prison”
Violeta Ayala is an award-winning Indigenous filmmaker and writer from Bolivia. Her other credits include “The Flight,” “The Bolivian Case,” and “Stolen,” which has won numerous awards...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ingrid Veninger — “Porcupine Lake”
Ingrid Veninger is a writer, producer, and director whose work has premiered at numerous festivals around the world. Previous feature films include “He Hated Pigeons,” “I am a Good Person/I am...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Zaida Bergroth — “Miami”
Zaida Bergroth is a Finnish film director whose works has been screened at several prominent festivals, including TIFF, and have received awards at Pusan International Film Festival and Chicago...
Juliette Binoche to Star in Naomi Kawase’s Next Film “Vision”
Juliette Binoche has lined up her next project. The Oscar-winning actress will portray a journalist in “Vision,” from “Radiance” director Naomi Kawase, ScreenDaily confirms. Filming on the...
Submit Your Script to the 2018 Athena IRIS Screenwriting Lab
Are you a female-identifying screenwriter? Then we have some good news for you: Submissions for the 2018 Athena IRIS Screenwriting Lab are now open. The Lab, an intensive focused on script...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Valerie Faris — “Battle of the Sexes”
Valerie Faris and her husband, Jonathan Dayton, have co-directed music videos for R.E.M., The Smashing Pumpkins, Janet Jackson, Oasis, and many others in the 1990s and 2000s. Their previous film...
Trailer Watch: Three People Struggle to Leave Hasidic Judaism in Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady’s “One…
Trailer Watch: Three People Struggle to Leave Hasidic Judaism in Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady’s “One of Us” “One of Us” “I called my mom and I said, ‘Hey, Mom. Can I talk to...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kathleen Hepburn — “Never Steady, Never Still”
Kathleen Hepburn is a Vancouver born writer and director. “Never Steady, Never Still” is an expansion on a short with the same name, which was selected as one of TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten. She...
Gina Rodriguez Producing Two Immigration-Themed Series for CBS TV Studios
Looks like Gina Rodriguez is a multi-tasker on par with Jane Villanueva herself. Per Deadline, “Jane the Virgin” star Rodriguez is producing several projects for CBS TV Studios via her I Can...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Iram Haq — “What Will People Say”
Iram Haq is a Norwegian actress, writer, and director. Her directorial debut short, “Little Miss Eyeflap,” screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. Her feature film debut, “I Am...
Agnès Varda to Receive Honorary Oscar
Agnès Varda is receiving a much-deserved Academy Award. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced via press release that the prolific director will be presented with the Honorary...
Trailer Watch: There’s Something within “Thelma”
Thelma (Eili Harboe) has just left her religious family and small hometown to attend university in Oslo. It’s not long before she finds herself thrown by two unexpected and seemingly unrelated...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Molly McGlynn — “Mary Goes Round”
Molly McGlynn is a Canadian writer and director. Her previous short films include “I Am Not a Weird Person,” “Shoes,” and “3-Way (Not Calling).” “Mary Goes Round” is her first...
Hungary Chooses Ildikó Enyedi’s “On Body and Soul” as Foreign-Language Oscar Pick
Ildikó Enyedi’s “On Body and Soul” took home top honors at the Berlin Film Festival in February, and it could land an Oscar nomination in the coming months. The unconventional romantic drama...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kate Novack — “The Gospel According to André”
Kate Novack is a producer and director. Her credits include “Page One: Inside the New York Times,” “A Table in Heaven,” and “Eat This New York.” Novack’s first feature screenplay,...
New Research Disproves Three Myths About Female Directors
You know that only dudes go to the movies, right? That might sound ridiculous — because it is ridiculous and untrue — but that’s a sexist rule of thumb that studio execs still very...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Greta Gerwig — “Lady Bird”
Greta Gerwig’s acting credits include “Maggie’s Plan,” “Frances Ha,” and “Mistress America.” She co-wrote the latter two features, and alongside Joe Swanberg she co-directed the...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Albert — “Mademoiselle Paradis”
Barbara Albert is a director and writer whose short films have been introduced at festivals around the world. Her first feature film “Nordrand,” or “Northern Skirts,” premiered at Venice...
Kate Mara to Star in Drama Series Based on Nellie Bly’s “10 Days in a Mad-House”
Kate Mara has signed on to play another journalist. The “House of Cards” alumna will topline and executive produce a series based on Nellie Bly’s 1887 non-fiction book “10 Days in a...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sophie Fiennes — “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami”
Sophie Fiennes is a film director whose feature documentaries include her collaborations with the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, “The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema” and “The Pervert’s...
Charlotte Bruus Christensen Named Inaugural Recipient of Sue Gibson BSC, Cinematography Award
The National Film and Television School (NFTS) has announced that the inaugural winner of The Sue Gibson BSC, Cinematography Award. According to Women in Film and Television UK, Charlotte Bruus...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Aoife McArdle — “Kissing Candice”
Aoife McArdle was born in Northern Ireland. Her work as a music video director has earned her a nomination for Best Director at the 2014 UK Music Video Awards. “Kissing Candice” is her feature...
Screen Australia Funding Projects from Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Watts, Bruna Papandrea, & More
Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Watts, and producer Bruna Papandrea are teaming up on a new feature film. Screen Australia confirms that the three will produce “Penguin Bloom,” a family film in which...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Jenna Bass — “High Fantasy”
Jenna Bass is a director and writer whose work has premiered around the world, including Sundance, Berlinale, Göteborg, Busan, and Durban International Film Festivals, where she has been heralded...
Laura Dern on “Changing the Game for Actresses Over 40” and Equal Pay
Laura Dern is up for an Emmy for her role on “Big Little Lies,” and she’s loudly and proudly acknowledging the impact of the hit HBO series. “We’re changing the game for actresses over...
Trailer Watch: Saoirse Ronan Grows Up in Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird”
“I hate California. I want to go to the East Coast. I want to go to where culture is like New York,” says Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) in the first trailer for Greta...
Ana Urushadze’s “Scary Mother” Chosen as Georgia’s Foreign-Language Oscar Pick
Ana Urushadze’s award-winning directorial debut may be headed to the Academy Awards. “Scary Mother” has been chosen to represent Georgia in the best foreign-language film category at the 2018...