Women Directors
Trailer Watch: Rami Malek Is Split in Two in Sarah Adina Smith’s “Buster’s Mal Heart”
The newly released trailer for Sarah Adina Smith’s “Buster’s Mal Heart” goes to some heady and heavy places, but the spot kicks off with a hilarious interaction between a man and his boss....
Relaunched Quad Cinema to Host Lina Wertmüller Retrospective
Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmüller made history as the first woman to receive an Academy Award for Best Director back in 1977 for “Seven Beauties.” The trailblazer’s prolific career will be...
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...
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 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...
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...
Trailer Watch: Welcome to the Sanctuary of “Harlots”
Charlotte Wells (Jessica Brown Findlay, “Downton Abbey”) argues that love doesn’t exist for harlots in the trailer for the upcoming Hulu series. Love may be lacking, but sex, betrayal, power,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Teaser Watch: Elisabeth Moss’ Story Is Our Story in “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Some of the images in the latest “Handmaid’s Tale” teaser are shockingly familiar. Tagged “Her Story is Our Story,” the clip features glimpses of a protest — not unlike the Women’s...
Jill Soloway Producing Women’s Rodeo Drama for Amazon
Jill Soloway is teaming up with Amazon again. The “Transparent” creator will produce a limited series about a women’s rodeo alongside Andrea Sperling for Amazon’s streaming platform,...
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...
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...
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...
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....
Lean On Me: March VOD and Web Series Picks
“Brown Girls” It’s often said that friends are the family you choose for yourself. Well, this month’s VOD and web series choices showcase how women deal with both their biological and chosen...
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?...
Tina Mabry to Receive Outfest’s Fusion Achievement Award
“Mississippi Damned” writer-director Tina Mabry is the 2017 recipient of Outfest’s Fusion Achievement Award, a press release has announced. The filmmaker will receive the honor at the Fusion...
Quote of the Day: Julie Delpy on Why There Is No Female Counterpart to Kubrick
Opportunity is everything, to paraphrase Viola Davis’ 2015 Emmy speech. Based on MovieMaker’s interview with Julie Delpy, we’d say the “Lolo” director agrees. Speaking about her...
Tribeca 2017 Competition Lineup is Almost 40 Percent Women-Helmed
The Tribeca Film Festival has announced its 2017 lineup, and 12 of the 32 films screening in Competition sections are women-directed or co-directed, amounting to a respectable 38 percent. “As a...