Women Directors
“Black-ish’s” Marsai Martin to Star in and Exec Produce Tina Gordon Comedy
Thirteen-year-old “Black-ish” star Marsai Martin just lined up her first producing credit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress has signed on to star in and exec produce...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Crystal Moselle — “Skate Kitchen”
Crystal Moselle is best known for her Sundance Grand Jury Prize award-winning documentary “The Wolfpack.” She served as producer on “Excavating Taylor Mead,” and in the last decade she has...
Pam MacKinnon Will Head San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater
Broadway director Pam MacKinnon will soon be making her way to the West Coast. The New York Times confirms that the “Parisian Woman” helmer will succeed Carey Perloff as American Conservatory...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Susan Lacy — “Jane Fonda in Five Acts”
Susan Lacy has received multiple Emmy and PGA Awards. She created PBS’ “American Masters.” Her directing credits include “Spielberg,” “Judy Garland: By Myself,” and “Joni Mitchell: A...
“Conviction” Co-Creator Liz Friedlander Directing ABC Crime Dramedy Pilot
Liz Friedlander is the first hourlong directing hire of the 2018–19 season. Deadline writes that the “Conviction” co-creator will helm and EP the pilot of ABC’s straight-to-series crime...
Trailer Watch: A Brooklyn Musician Moves Back to the Midwest in LAFF Winner “Becks”
“Thanks for coming out. Now I know how Beyoncé feels. Beyoncé still lives with her mom, right?” a musician asks her very modestly sized audience in a new trailer for “Becks.” Becks (Lena...
Sundance Deals: Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s “RBG” Gets Distribution
“Colette” and Debra Granik’s “Leave No Trace” are in good company. Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary “RBG” is one of the latest flicks to get a deal at...
Apply Now: Disney and Nissan Launch Search for Next Visionary Director
Ava DuVernay just accepted the PGA’s Visionary Award, and now she’s playing a role in a nationwide search to find the next visionary filmmaker. Timed to coincide with the release of DuVernay’s...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Narcissister — “Narcissister Organ Player”
Narcissister is a Brooklyn-based artist and performer who works at the intersection of dance, art, and activism in a range of media including video art and experimental music. She won Best Use of a...
Guest Post: Why I Stepped in Front of the Camera for My Short About Grief and Aging
Guest Post by Susan Bay Nimoy In 1979 I was one of six women in the Directors Guild of America that confronted the male-run Hollywood machine by demanding more directing opportunities for women....
Yara Shahidi, Gillian Jacobs, Jessica Sanders, & More to Direct Season 2 of “Shatterbox Anthology”
Details about Season 2 of “Shatterbox Anthology” have emerged. A press release has announced the directors participating in this run of Refinery29’s women-directed short film series. The...
Melissa McCarthy, Dee Rees, and Nancy Meyers Directing Oscar Shorts for Walmart
What a difference a year makes. After hiring all male directors for its Oscar shorts project in 2017, Walmart has brought on all women to direct its 2018 campaign. Melissa McCarthy, Dee Rees...
Oscar Noms: Greta Gerwig Up for Best Director, “Mudbound’s” Dee Rees & Rachel Morrison Make History
Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson is moving up from her high school production of “Merrily We Roll Along” all the way to the Academy Awards. Oscar nominations are in, and Greta Gerwig’s...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Stephanie Soechtig — “The Devil We Know”
Stephanie Soechtig is an award-winning writer, producer, and documentary film director. Her films “Fed up” and “Under the Gun” were previously nominated for Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize....
Benita Ozoude and Giselle Bonilla Named Horizon Award Winners at Sundance
The Horizon Awards were given out this Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival. A press release announced Benita Ozoude and Giselle Bonilla as this year’s recipients. The pair were presented the...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Amy Adrion — “Half the Picture”
Amy Adrion is a graduate of the MFA film directing program at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her prior credits include “Shoegazer,” “The Home of Split Pea Soup,” and “Sucks...
Trailer Watch: Oprah Offers Words of Wisdom in “A Wrinkle in Time”
When Oprah Winfrey talks, everybody listens. The mogul and recent Cecil B. DeMille Award winner has a lot to say in the new trailer for Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” The big-budget...
Sundance Deals: Keira Knightley-Starrer “Colette” and Debra Granik’s “Leave No Trace” Score Deals
Sundance kicked off a few days ago and the business side of the Park City fest is just heating up. The largest indie fest in the U.S. is hosting the world premieres of 100 films, many of which are...
Veena Sud Reuniting with Mireille Enos for New Feature
“The Killing’s” creator and leading lady are re-teaming for a new project. Mireille Enos is starring in “Between the Earth and the Sky,” a family drama from Veena Sud. Deadline reports...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Anouk Whissell — “Summer of ’84”
Anouk Whissell is a Montreal-based filmmaker and animator. Made with her filmmaker collaborators François Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissel, Anouk Whissell’s debut feature, “Turbo Kid,” premiered...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Amy Scott — “Hal”
Amy Scott is a director and editor. A former media producer for the University of Chicago, she has been editing social-issue documentaries for over 15 years. “Hal” is her feature directorial...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Bernadett Tuza-Ritter— “A Woman Captured”
Bernadett Tuza-Ritter is a Hungarian independent film director and editor. Her 2013 film “Cinetrain — Russian Winter” won the audience award at Vision du Reel documentary festival. “A...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Ísold Uggadóttir — “And Breathe Normally”
Ísold Uggadóttir is an award-winning director from Iceland whose short films have screened at over 100 festivals including Telluride, Sundance, and New Directors / New Films at MoMA, and the Film...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Josephine Decker — “Madeline’s Madeline”
Josephine Decker is part of Time Warner’s 150 incubator, Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Lab, and one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” Her previous works have...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Augustine Frizzell — “Never Goin’ Back”
Augustine Frizzell is the director of “I Was A Teenage Girl” and “Minor Setback,” both of which premiered at SXSW and screened at many other festivals worldwide. “Never Goin’ Back” is...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Elizabeth Chomko — “What They Had”
Elizabeth Chomko is an American film director, screenwriter, playwright and actress. She is an alum of the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters and Composers Labs, and in 2015 won an Academy Nicholl...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Valeria Bertuccelli— “The Queen of Fear”
Valeria Bertuccelli is an Argentine actress who has spent the last 20 years acting for television and film. Her past credits include films that have screened at film festivals all over the world,...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Heather Lenz — “Kusama — Infinity”
Writer, director, and producer Heather Lenz has worked on film and television projects in various roles including as a researcher on programs for The History Channel and Food Network. She was also...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sandi Tan — “Shirkers”
Sandi Tan is a Singaporean-born, California-based novelist and filmmaker. Her short films have played at over 100 film festivals including the New York Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand International...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Cristina Costantini — “Science Fair”
Christina Costantini has reported and produced for the New Haven Independent, The Huffington Post, ABC News, Univision, and Fusion. Her first TV documentary, which looked at sex trafficking in...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Reed Morano — “I Think We’re Alone Now”
Reed Morano won the 2017 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for “The Handmaid’s Tale.” She earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for cinematography in her...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Mor Loushy — “The Oslo Diaries”
Mor Loushy is an award-winning Israeli director. Her debut film, “Israel Ltd,” premiered at IDFA and was broadcast worldwide. Her latest documentary, “Censored Voices,” won an Ophir Award...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Betsy West and Julie Cohen — “RBG”
Betsy West is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, journalist, and educator. A 20-year veteran executive with stints at ABC and CBS, she has produced the news programs “Nightline,” “60 Minutes,” and...
Weekly Update for January 19: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Forever My Girl” Films About Women Opening This Week Mary and the Witch’s Flower — Co-Written by Riko Sakaguchi “Mary and the Witch’s Flower” Mary (Ruby Barnhill) is a plain,...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Isabella Eklöf — “Holiday”
A Swedish native, Isabella Eklöf has directed 11 short films, several of which have been screened on the international film festival circuit. In 2012 she received Bisballeprisen, a prestigious...
Agnès Varda Has a New Doc in the Works
One of the most influential filmmakers in French cinema is set to share her “own vision of art” with the world. Variety reports that Agnès Varda is working on a new, as-yet untitled documentary...
Trailer Watch: Meet the New Class of Acid-Tongued Teens in “Heathers” TV Reboot
“Heathers” is back and nastier than ever. A red-band trailer has dropped for Paramount Network’s reboot of the beloved 1988 dark comedy, and the mean clique at the center of the story looks...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Lorna Tucker — “Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist”
Lorna Tucker cut her teeth working behind the camera creating tour videos and music promos before moving onto directing documentaries, writing scripts, and creating more experimental video art...
Julie Dash and Nina Menkes Named First Recipients of Eos World Fund for Women Directors
Director and producer Gwen Wynne (“Wild About Harry”) is set to unveil a new funding initiative for female filmmakers. A press release announced that she’s launching the Eos World Fund at...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Alexandria Bombach — “On Her Shoulders”
Alexandria Bombach is an award-winning filmmaker from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She founded her production company, Red Reel, in 2009. Bombach directed and produced the Emmy Award-winning series...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Christina Choe — “Nancy”
Christina Choe — recipient of an HBOAccess Directing Fellowship and a MacDowell Colony artist residency — is a writer and director whose short films have screened at Telluride Film...
Barbara Kopple Will Receive Hot Docs’ 2018 Outstanding Achievement Award
Documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple is truly a force to be reckoned with. She has received not one but two Academy Awards atop a bevy of other honors. Now, Kopple will receive the Outstanding...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Alexandra Shiva — “This Is Home”
Alexandra Shiva is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. She won a Peabody Award for her film “How to Dance in Ohio,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015 and aired on HBO to...
“Yours in Sisterhood” Doc Brings ’70s Era Ms. Magazine Letters to Life
A lot has changed since Ms. magazine launched in 1971 — and a lot hasn’t. This ironic truth is something Irene Lusztig explores in her performative documentary, “Yours in Sisterhood.”...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sara Colangelo — “The Kindergarten Teacher”
Sara Colangelo is a New York-based writer and director whose short films have screened at festivals around the world, including Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW. Colangelo’s debut feature, “Little...
American Society of Cinematographers to Honor Angelina Jolie
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) will honor Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie with the ASC Board of Governors Award at this year’s ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievements, Variety...
Lea Thompson’s Feature Directorial Debut “Year of Spectacular Men” Acquired by MarVista
“Back to the Future’s” Lea Thompson has made her way to the director’s chair. Her directorial debut, “The Year of Spectacular Men,” premiered at last year’s LA Film Fest. According to...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Coralie Fargeat — “Revenge”
Coralie Fargeat began her career as an assistant director on American productions in her native France. Her debut short film “The Telegram” won 13 awards at multiple film festivals, and her...
Guest Post: Why I Made a #MeToo PSA With a Team of Survivors
Guest Post by Summera Howell In recent months outcries of “me too” have rocked Hollywood, politics, and America. As woman after woman has come forth, each voice has strengthened the roar. A...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Cathy Yan — “Dead Pigs”
Cathy Yan is a filmmaker whose work has been recognized by the Sundance New Voices Lab and IFP Film Week. Yan’s comedic series “According to My Mother” won Best Drama Pilot at the New York...
Sundance 2018 Women Directors: Meet Jordana Spiro — “Night Comes On”
Jordana Spiro is a director, writer, and actor currently starring in the Netflix drama “Ozark.” She has directed three short films including “Skin,” which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film...