Women Directors
Trailer Watch: An Expectant Couple Faces a Difficult Decision in Leena Pendharkar’s “20 Weeks”
Most of the conversations surrounding abortion assume that women seek the medical procedure only when their pregnancies are unplanned. Leena Pendharkar’s new film, “20 Weeks,” focuses on...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Laura Green & Anna Moot-Levin— “The Providers”
Laura Green’s shorts have played at numerous festivals, including Palm Springs Shortfest, Aspen Shortsfest, Sarasota Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, and Outfest. Anna Moot-Levin’s...
BAMcinématek to Spotlight Women Filmmakers & Black Cinema in Upcoming Film Series
Brooklyn theater BAMcinématek is celebrating women directors and black cinema in two of its upcoming film series. The venue will host “New Voices in Black Cinema” April 26–29 as well as “A...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Monica Klemz — “A Singular Garden”
Monika Klemz has worked as first assistant director, researcher, producer, director, and screenwriter of fiction short films, documentaries, experimental film, and animation. Her debut documentary...
Trailer Watch: BFFs Reconnect to Tackle a Bucket List in Elissa Down’s “The Honor List”
A tragic death brings former BFFs back together in a new trailer for Elissa Down’s “The Honor List.” Piper (Meghan Rienks, “Freakish”), Sophie (Karrueche Tran, “Claws”), Isabella...
Kathryn Hahn and Nicole Holofcener Team Up for HBO Pilot “Mrs. Fletcher”
Kathryn Hahn has signed on to star in another small screen adaptation of a novel. The “I Love Dick” actress will topline half-hour comedy series “Mrs. Fletcher” for HBO, The Hollywood...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Chiara Campara— “Tempting Promises”
Chiara Campara’s documentary project “Photofinish” screened at Festival dei Popoli, Bergamo Film Meeting, Filmmaker Festival, and Milano Film Festival, and her doc “Sotterranea” screened...
Spring 2018 TV Preview: Shows Created By and About Women to Check Out
“Killing Eve”: Sophie Mutevelian Warmer weather, budding trees, blooming flowers — spring (fingers crossed) finally seems to be here. To make good news even better, it has arrived with a...
Octavia Spencer to Exec Produce Alethea Root’s Anti-Slavery Film “Mumbet”
Octavia Spencer is making good on her vow to produce stories that will “inspire and educate.” Variety confirms that the Oscar winner is executive producing the anti-slavery historical pic...
Full Frame 2018 Women Directors: Meet Veena Rao — “Rebuilding in Miniature”
Veena Rao’s work has been featured on The New York Times Op-Docs, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. A member of Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, her previous credits include “Mumbai...
IDA Announces Recipients of Inaugural Grants for Women Filmmakers of Color
Jacqueline Olive’s “Always in Season” and Loira Limbal’s “Through the Night” are the the inaugural recipients of the IDA Elevate Grant, a press release has announced. Awarded to emerging...
Isabelle Fuhrman to Topline Deborah Kampmeier Drama About a Predatory Producer
“Hunger Games” alumna Isabelle Fuhrman has signed on to star in “Tape,” a timely indie drama sure to be associated with the #MeToo movement. Written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier and...
Weekly Update for March 30: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Outside In” Films About Women Opening This Week Gemini “Gemini” A heinous crime tests the complex relationship between a tenacious personal assistant (Lola Kirke), and her Hollywood starlet...
Trailer Watch: The Hunters Become the Hunted in Coralie Fargeat’s “Revenge”
Described by writer-director Coralie Fargeat as “a revenge movie somewhere between ‘Kill Bill’ and Lara Croft,” “Revenge” sees a woman going on vacation to a remote desert villa with her...
Women Creators and Directors Making Strides on 2018–19 Pilot Season
This pilot season looks like it will be a historic one for women directors and creators. According to a report from Variety, “female creators and directors saw gains virtually across the board.”...
April 2018 Film Preview
“Disobedience” There’s no shortage of heavy-hitters when it comes to women filmmakers premiering films this month. From veteran auteurs like Claire Denis, Lucretia Martel, and Lynne Ramsay, to...
Shorts From Project HER Incubator Program Unveiled
A Snugglr and a prison guard are just a couple of the characters tackled by newly released shorts from Conde Nast Entertainment and Indigenous Media’s Project HER incubator program. Designed with...
Trailer Watch: Thailand’s Elephants Find Sanctuary in “Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story”
“You know, I start to think,” Asian elephant conservationist Lek Chailert ponders in the trailer for actress Ashley Bell’s (“Novitiate”) directorial debut. “If the planet don’t have...
“Andi Mack” Star Sofia Wylie to Make Film Debut in Louise Alston’s “Back of the Net”
Sofia Wylie is best known for her role as the confident and sporty best friend in Disney Channel’s “Andi Mack.” Now, Wylie is set to make her big screen debut in Louise Alston’s family...
Olivia Munn to Star in Justine Bateman’s Feature Directoral Debut “Violet”
Justine Bateman has had great directorial success with her short works. “Five Minutes” debuted at last year’s Toronto Film Festival and is an official selection at next month’s Tribeca Film...
Trailer Watch: Amandla Stenberg Fights for All of Us in “The Darkest Minds”
“We don’t have to stay in darkness,” a determined Ruby asserts in “The Darkest Minds’” trailer. “We’ve survived all of this.” Based on Alexandra Bracken’s best-selling novel,...
Join Women and Hollywood for a Special Screening of Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here”
“You Were Never Really Here”: Amazon Studios Women and Hollywood is working with Amazon Studios to help spread the word about the powerful new movie written and directed by Lynne Ramsay, “You...
Superheroines in the City: VOD and Web Series Picks
Our VOD and web series picks this month are city-set explorations of women fighting back. The VOD selections document the internal struggles of young women reconciling society’s expectations with...
Elissa Down’s “The Honor List” to Open 2018 Bentonville Film Fest
Director Elissa Down’s coming of age story, “The Honor List,” will open this year’s Bentonville Film Festival (BFF), according to The Hollywood Reporter. Additionally, “Back to the...
Augustine Frizzell to Direct and Co-Exec Produce HBO Pilot “Euphoria”
Following her success at this year’s Sundance and SXSW festivals, Augustine Frizzell has more than a few projects in the works. Now, the “Never Goin’ Back” helmer has signed on to direct and...
Liesl Tommy to Direct Lupita Nyong’o in “Born a Crime” Adaptation
“Queen Sugar” helmer Liesl Tommy is about to make her feature directorial debut. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the South African-born, Tony-nominated director has just signed on to the...
Cannes 2018: Filmmaker Ursula Meier Named President of Caméra D’Or Jury
The Cannes Film Festival has tapped “Sister” director Ursula Meier to lead its 2018 Caméra d’or Jury. According to a press release, Meier will serve as president and, alongside the six-member...
Phyllis Nagy to Write and Direct “The Vanished” for CJ Entertainment
Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Phyllis Nagy is best known for her adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s best-selling novel “Carol.” Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Nagy has signed...
Women Directing 32 Percent of 2018–19 Pilots
It’s official: the 2018–19 pilot season has been much more welcoming to women than 2017–18. According to Vulture, women are directing 24 of the 75 broadcast TV pilots this year, which amounts...
Nahnatchka Khan Directing Rom-Com for Netflix, Ali Wong and Randall Park to Star
“Fresh Off the Boat’s” Nahnatchka Khan, Ali Wong, and Randall Park are teaming up for a romantic comedy, Variety confirms. The ABC family comedy’s creator/showrunner, Khan, will direct Wong...
Weekly Update for March 23: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Unsane” Films About Women Opening This Week Unsane Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy) relocates from Boston to Pennsylvania to escape the man who’s been stalking her for the last two years. While...
Gay Conversion Drama “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” Acquired by FilmRise
Sundance winner “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” has found a home. FilmRise snagged North American rights to the Chloë Grace Moretz-starrer, Deadline reports. The LGBTQ coming-of-age drama...
Trailer Watch: A Pop Icon Takes Risks in “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami”
“The performer takes the risk,” says Grace Jones in a new trailer for “Bloodlight and Bami.” The pop diva explains, “It’s a lonely place — it’s a fascinating, lonely place.”...
Margot Robbie to Produce Female-Led Shakespearean Drama Series
Love William Shakespeare’s plays but wish characters like Lady Macbeth, Ophelia, and Goneril and Regan were more fully developed? Margot Robbie seems to be on the same page — the...
Exclusive: Hasidic Women Form NYC’s First All-Female Volunteer Ambulance Corps in “93Queen” Trailer
“In the Hasidic community there’s a huge divide between the genders,” explains Rachel “Ruchie” Freier in our exclusive trailer for “93Queen.” “I’m being told that it’s not right...
Susan Johnson’s Adaptation of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” Goes to Netflix
YA favorite “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is coming to Netflix. A press release announced that the streamer has acquired global rights to Susan Johnson’s adaptation of Jenny Han’s...
Alia Shawkat and Holliday Grainger to Topline Sophie Hyde’s “Animals”
“Animals” is inching closer towards the big screen. Alia Shawkat (“Search Party”) and Holliday Grainger (“Tulip Fever”) have been cast in Sophie Hyde’s adaptation of Emma Jane...
“Queen Sugar” Season 3 Will Be Directed Entirely by Women
“Queen Sugar” is sticking with its feminist hiring practices for its third season. The Root confirms that Season 3 of the Ava DuVernay’s OWN family drama will be directed entirely by women, as...
Rude Awakenings: Crowdfunding Picks
“Sirens” When life hands you lemons, go find a life coach who moonlights as a mermaid. Well, at least that’s the conceit of one of our latest crowdfunding picks. Mermaids aside, all of our...
Trailer Watch: Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon Are Hapless Agents in “The Spy Who Dumped Me”
Car chases through beautiful cities are a staple of the spy movie genre — but what if your getaway vehicle, the one thing between you and the bad guys, isn’t an automatic? That’s the...
Natalia Almada’s “Everything Else” Acquired by Cinema Tropical
Natalia Almada’s narrative debut has secured U.S. distribution. Cinema Tropical snagged the rights to “Everything Else,” a press release announced. After making its world premiere at the 2016...
Susan Sarandon and Edie Falco Starring in Maryam Keshavarz’s “Vulture Club”
Susan Sarandon is swapping Bette Davis’ Old Hollywood glamour for ER scrubs. The “Feud” actress is toplining “Vulture Club,” a film about a veteran nurse desperate to rescue her journalist...
Amy Poehler Is Making Her Feature Directorial Debut with “Wine Country”
Amy Poehler is directing her first movie and taking plenty of “SNL” friends along on the vino-filled journey. Variety reports that the “Parks and Recreation” alumna will helm, produce, and...
Hot Docs 2018 Program Is 50 Percent Women-Directed
North America’s largest documentary festival has announced its 2018 slate, and this year’s edition of Hot Docs marks a major milestone. Eighty-six of 171 features screening are directed or...
Women In Entertainment and TV Academy Foundation Team Up to Launch Women In Television Summit
Plans for the inaugural Women in Television Summit are underway. A partnership between Women in Entertainment (WIE) and the Television Academy Foundation, the initiative will “bring together...
Apply Now: NYWIFT’s Women’s Film Preservation Fund
Film preservationists, take note. New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) is helping keep the history of women’s cinema alive. Submissions are now open for NYWIFT Women’s Film...
Gurinder Chadha Gets Series Order from ITV
Gurinder Chadha has another period drama on the way. ITV ordered a six-part series from the “Viceroy’s House” writer-director and her Bend It TV. Set in Delhi on the cusp of the 19th century,...
Elisabeth Moss Joins Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish in Crime Drama “The Kitchen”
Andrea Berloff’s directorial debut just added even more star power. With Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish already on board, “The Kitchen” now counts Elisabeth Moss among its cast. The...
BAMcinématek Launches Lynne Ramsay Film Series
Brooklyn’s BAMcinématek is marking the occasion of Lynne Ramsay’s latest offering, “You Were Never Really Here.” The Cannes winner hits U.S. theaters April 6, but you can catch the film’s...
Mahalia Belo Will Helm Slavery Drama Series “The Long Song” for BBC
Up and coming director Mahalia Belo has booked her next gig. Deadline reports that the “Requiem” helmer has signed on to the BBC drama series “The Long Song.” Based on Andrea Levy’s...
Trailer Watch: Melissa McCarthy Forges Her Way into History in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Lee Israel is months behind on her rent, her cat is sick, and she’s been told no one is going to pay for her writing. Urged to “find another way to make a living,” the biographer and freelance...