Women Directors
Two Films by Madeline Anderson to Screen at American Black Film Festival
Two short documentaries from the history-making director, producer, reporter, and writer Madeline Anderson will be shown at this year’s American Black Film Festival (ABFF). According to Shadow and...
Weekly Update for June 9: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Megan Leavey” Films About Women Opening This Week Megan Leavey — Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite; Co-Written by Pamela Gray and Annie Mumolo “Megan Leavey” is both a story of war...
Human Rights Watch FF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Katia Maguire and April Hayes — “Home Truth”
Katia Maguire is a director and producer of documentary films. She recently produced two projects for PBS, a film about the lives of three witnesses to the US-Mexico “war on drugs,” and a series...
Release Date Set for Angela Robinson’s “Professor Marston & The Wonder Women”
Another story about Diana, Princess of Themyscira is coming our way. Deadline reports that Annapurna’s “Professor Marston & The Wonder Women” will be released October 27. The film is based...
Trailer Watch: Jenny Slate Deals with Family Drama in Gillian Robespierre’s “Landline”
“I’m flailing. I’m just trying to figure out if the life I picked for myself is even the one I want,” admits Dana (Jenny Slate) in a newly released trailer for Gillian Robespierre’s...
Human Rights Watch FF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Pamela Yates — “The Resistance Saga”
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...
Film Society of Lincoln Center to Host Jane Campion Retrospective
The Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) has unveiled its schedule of programs and festivals this summer and fall, and a retrospective of director, writer, and showrunner Jane Campion is among the...
Trailer Watch: Naomi Watts Can’t Control Her Impulses in “Gypsy”
“I used to believe that people determine their own lives. Yet there’s one force more powerful than free will — our desires,” says Naomi Watts in a new trailer for “Gypsy.” The...
Guest Post: I Used an All-Female Crew to Shoot My Movie and Was Called Sexist
Guest Post by Rainy Kerwin Being on set of “The Wedding Invitation” with my all-female crew was the greatest experience of my life. Nope, we didn’t get into catfights. Nope, no one was...
Human Rights Watch FF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander — “Muhi – Generally…
Human Rights Watch FF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander — “Muhi – Generally Temporary” “Muhi – Generally Temporary” is Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander’s...
Pamela Yates’ “500 Years” Acquired by Paladin
The third and final installment of Pamela Yates’ “The Resistance Saga” is headed to theaters. Paladin has snagged the U.S. theatrical rights to “500 Years.” According to Variety, the...
Zoe Lister-Jones on Hiring an All-Female Crew for Her Directorial Debut “Band Aid”
Zoe Lister-Jones is an actress, writer, and producer. And now she’s a director. “Band Aid,” her directorial debut, is a terrific story about a couple who decide to turn their epic fights into...
Freeform Orders “Misfits” Reboot Pilot From Diane Ruggiero-Wright
We’re one step closer to getting an American version of “Misfits.” Freeform has given a pilot order to a sci-fi drama inspired by the cult British series, Deadline reports. The project hails...
Cross-Post: Parents in the Palais: An Open Letter to the Cannes Film Festival
The following has been reposted from agnès films with the authors’ permission. In response to reports of mistreatment from mothers and parents at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, agnès films’...
Patty Jenkins Is Not Attached to the “Wonder Woman” Sequel
With “Wonder Woman’s” box office numbers, 93 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and an “A” CinemaScore, you’d think Warner Bros. would be doing everything in their power to lock down...
Sundance’s Pocket-Sized London Fest Lacks Women Directors But Screens Solid Female-Led Films
The fifth edition of Sundance: London came to a close this weekend. The festival, which cherry-picks a handful of films screened at its American parent festival each year to show across the pond,...
Karen Gillan to Receive Rising Star Award at the Maui Film Festival
Former “Doctor Who” companion Karen Gillan is set to receive the Rising Star Award at the 2017 Maui Film Festival, Variety reports. Since her days on the beloved BBC time-traveling series the...
Idina Menzel to Lead Reading of “Jagged Little Pill” Musical
Idina Menzel is switching from “Let It Go” to “You Oughta Know.” Per The Hollywood Reporter, the Tony and Obie Award-winning actress will lead a reading of “Jagged Little Pill,” Diablo...
Trailer Watch: Holly Hunter Deals with Trauma and Betrayal in “Strange Weather”
A woman searches for answers after her son’s death in a newly released trailer for Katherine Dieckmann’s “Strange Weather.” Darcy’s (Holly Hunter) son killed himself seven years ago, but...
Web Series “Brown Girls” Is Coming to HBO
Like “Broad City,” “High Maintenance,” and “Insecure” before it, the web series “Brown Girls” is making its way to TV. According to ELLE, “Brown Girls” director Samantha Bailey...
“Wonder Woman” Director Patty Jenkins Makes History
By now you know that “Wonder Woman” kicked ass at the box office. But here’s the cherry on top of the sundae: “Wonder Woman” helmer Patty Jenkins now holds the record for highest domestic...
“Wonder Woman” Takes Flight at the Box Office
“Wonder Woman” and her Lasso of Truth are lighting up the box office. The New York Times writes that the superhero movie and its director, Patty Jenkins, “just broke Hollywood’s superhero...
“Letters from Baghdad” Directors on Spy, Explorer, and Political Powerhouse Gertrude Bell
Interview by Kate Gardner Sabine Krayenbühl is an award-winning editor with over 20 theatrical documentaries and narrative features to her credit. Her work includes Oscar and Independent Spirit...
“Women Who Kill” and “Woman on Fire” Acquired by FilmRise
FilmRise has acquired two female-led films directed by women in the span of a couple of days. Variety reports that the Brooklyn-based company has secured worldwide VOD and digital rights to Ingrid...
Weekly Update for June 2: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Wonder Woman” Films About Women Opening This Week Wonder Woman — Directed by Patty Jenkins Today the first female superhero movie directed by a woman arrives on the big screen. Gal Gadot...
Interview: Theater Director Rebecca Taichman on Her First Broadway Show “Indecent”
Rebecca Taichman: rebeccataichman.com A fixture of Off-Broadway and regional theater spaces, Rebecca Taichman has been at the helm of many productions including “Familiar,” “Stage Kiss,”...
All-Female Shakespeare Stage Trilogy to Receive UK Theatrical Release
Filmed versions of Phyllida Lloyd’s all-women productions of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” “Henry IV,” and “The Tempest” are receiving theatrical releases in the UK. According to...
June 2017 Film Preview
“Wonder Woman” It’s June, but there’s no gloom here! The moment we’ve been waiting (literally years) for is here. Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” starts the month off with a bang,...
Rachel Perkins’ Toni Collette-Starrer “Jasper Jones” Acquired by Film Movement
Film Movement has snagged all U.S. rights to Rachel Perkins’ “Jasper Jones,” an Australian coming-of-age drama toplined by Toni Collette. The film is based on a 2009 novel of the same name...
Rising Up: June’s VOD and Web Series Picks
“I Am Jane Doe” The release of “Wonder Woman” has Women and Hollywood reflecting on women who aren’t afraid to take charge of their situations. This month’s VOD and web series picks...
Jessica M. Thompson’s SXSW Winner “The Light of the Moon” Acquired by Imagination Worldwide
Imagination Worldwide (IWW) has nabbed the worldwide distribution rights to Jessica M. Thompson’s “The Light of the Moon,” a press release has announced. The SXSW winner chronicles the...
New Doc About Pregnancy and Immigration in Trump’s America Available to Stream for Free
As part of their “100 Days” initiative, Field of Vision and Firelight Media have released “An Uncertain Future,” a press release announced. Chelsea Hernandez and Iliana Sosa’s short...
Netflix Nabs Rights to Olivia Milch’s Lucy Hale-Starrer “Dude”
“Pretty Little Liars’” famous time jump took its high school protagonists five years into the future, but the show’s star, Lucy Hale, is set to return to high school one last time. She and...
“Wonder Woman” Helps Take a Piece Out of the Glass Ceiling for Women in Film
I’ve been tracking women working in Hollywood and the global film industry for ten years now. Way back when I first started writing for this blog having a woman direct a female-led superhero movie...
Trailer Watch: “Birthright” Documents the Real-Life “Handmaid’s Tale”
Civia Tamarkin’s upcoming documentary “Birthright: A War Story” depicts the so-called pro-life campaign for what it really is: an assault on women’s reproductive choices. For many...
Fighting to Be Heard: Crowdfunding Picks
Even as women fight for their own spaces in Hollywood, it’s important to remember the kinds of stories about women that are typically told. Many of Hollywood’s female-centered stories focus on...
Quote of the Day: Patty Jenkins on the Pressure and Responsibility of Directing “Wonder Woman”
“I can’t take on the history of 50 percent of the population just because I’m a woman,” Patty Jenkins told The Hollywood Reporter in an in-depth interview published earlier today. The...
Maggie Gyllenhaal to Star in Sara Colangelo’s “The Kindergarten Teacher”
Maggie Gyllenhaal is stepping into the classroom. The Oscar-nominated actress has signed on to topline “The Kindergarten Teacher,” a film based on a critically acclaimed 2014 Israeli drama of...
Ramona S. Diaz’s Sundance Winner “Motherland” Acquired by FilmRise
An intimate look into one of the world’s biggest and busiest maternity hospitals is coming to theaters. A press release announced that FilmRise has acquired North American distribution rights to...
STXfilms to Release Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein’s Amy Schumer-Starrer “I Feel Pretty”
STXfilms has snagged distribution rights to the Amy Schumer-led comedy “I Feel Pretty,” Variety reports. The project marks the directorial debut of “How to Be Single” and “He’s Just Not...
Trailer Watch: New “Rough Night” Clip Flashes Back to the Ladies’ College Days
Lucia Aniello’s “Rough Night” is darker than your average R-rated comedy. What begins as a bachelorette party reuniting a group of friends (Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell,...
Karlovy Vary Competition Lineups Announced, Program Is 26% Women-Directed
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has announced its 2017 competition lineups. Of 35 films screening in competition programs, nine are directed or co-directed by women, amounting to 26...
Cannes Interview: “I Am Not a Witch” Writer-Director Rungano Nyoni Talks Misogyny, Witches, and…
Cannes Interview: “I Am Not a Witch” Writer-Director Rungano Nyoni Talks Misogyny, Witches, and Shooting in Zambia “I Am Not a Witch” is one of the most original films about feminism I have...
Stage Musical Based on Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” to Bow in May 2018
Alanis Morissette’s breakout album “Jagged Little Pill” is set to reach a whole new generation. The 1995 album serves as the basis of an upcoming stage musical of the same name, debuting at...
Cannes 2017: Nicole Kidman, Sofia Coppola, & More Take Home Awards
Cannes 2017 has come to a close and, happily, honored several female directors, writers, and performers. While the 70th edition of the fest has been consistently marked with sexism onscreen and off,...
Applications Open for the Canadian Academy’s Apprenticeship for Women Directors
Canada-based directors, this one’s for you: applications are now open for the Canadian Academy’s Apprenticeship for Women Directors. The program will offer intensive professional development for...
Quote of the Day: “Wonder Woman” Director Patty Jenkins on the Sexist Trickle-Down Effect in Film
Women don’t like superhero movies. That myth was one of the biggest obstacles Patty Jenkins faced as she directed the much-anticipated “Wonder Woman,” out June 2. In an interview with The...
Guest Post: Cannes Can’t Seem to Figure Out How to Accommodate Working Moms
Guest Post by Nanna Frank Rasmussen Working mothers are not very welcome at the Cannes Film Festival, it seems. This year at least two mothers attending the fest have spoken out about the major...
Weekly Update for May 26: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Berlin Syndrome” Films About Women Opening This Week Berlin Syndrome — Directed by Cate Shortland While holidaying in Berlin, Australian photojournalist Clare (Teresa Palmer) meets...
Women-Only “Wonder Woman” Screenings Sell Out and Overcome Trolls
“Wonder Woman”: Warner Bros. Despite garden-variety protests from dudes on the internet, two women-only screenings of “Wonder Woman” at the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Austin have sold out....
Summer 2017 Film Preview
“Girls Trip” By Joseph Allen and Kelsey Moore If the movies are any indication, then we are in for one hot yet refreshing summer. Some of the season’s biggest and action-filled flicks feature...