ALL POSTS
Berlinale Will Sign the Gender Parity Pledge
The 2019 Berlin International Film Festival won’t kick off until next Thursday, February 7, but it’s already made history. Screen Daily confirms fest artistic director Dieter Kosslick...
Elizabeth Banks Set to Direct and Produce “The Grace Year” for Universal
In news that suggests Elizabeth Banks may be the owner of a time-turner, the prolific multi-hyphenate has added yet another project to her slate. She’s signed on to direct and produce...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Cristina Ibarra – “The Infiltrators”
Cristina Ibarra has been making award-winning films that explore the U.S.-Mexico border for the past 16 years. Her PBS-broadcast documentary “Las Marthas” premiered on “Independent...
Apply Now: “Women Writing Competition” with Year-Long Development Deal
Kyra Sedgwick’s Big Swing Productions is teaming up with SeriesFest to broaden opportunities for women writers with the “Women Writing Competition,” which is seeking new series and...
Chloë Grace Moretz to Topline Roseanne Liang Horror Pic “Shadow in the Cloud”
Roseanne Liang has lined up yet another project. Already attached to direct a feature version of her short “Do No Harm” as well as thriller “Fuse,” the Chinese-New Zealand...
Hannah Simone, Darlene Hunt, and More Land Pilot Orders
Three female-led comedies from women have received pilot orders in recent days. We’re one step closer to seeing Patricia Heaton-starrer “Carol’s Second Act,” an untitled...
Trailer Watch: Gina Torres Enters the World of Politics in “Suits” Spinoff “Pearson”
Gina Torres lost her passion for the law, and was disbarred, in “Suits,” but it looks like she’s found a new calling in the series’ upcoming spinoff. USA Network has dropped a...
Universal Is First Major Studio to Accept 4% Challenge
Universal Filmed Entertainment Group is following in the steps of Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Lopez, Lena Waithe, and many others. The Donna Langley-led company is the first major...
Heartland Film Fest Signs Gender Parity Pledge
More fests are showing support — and agreeing to do their part — in making the film industry more inclusive. Heartland Film Inc., the nonprofit organizer of the Heartland International...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Petra Costa – “The Edge of Democracy”
Petra Costa is a Brazilian filmmaker whose work encompasses both fiction and nonfiction. Her first film, “Elena,” premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Her...
Ava DuVernay’s Array Acquires Sundance Title “Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen”
Ava DuVernay made history at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival when she became the first Black woman to take home the Directing Award for U.S. Dramatic Film. She won the honor for “Middle of...
Lauren Greenfield Launches Girl Culture Films to Address Lack of Diversity Behind the Scenes in Advertising
Remember Always’ #LikeaGirl ad? Besides inducing tears around the world, the viral sensation won an Emmy, 14 Cannes Lions, and became part of the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection....
“Jagged Little Pill” Musical Going to Broadway
“Jagged Little Pill” is going to have a whole new life on Broadway. The American Repertory Theater musical, based on Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album of the same name, will be opening...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Nanfu Wang – “One Child Nation”
Nanfu Wang is an Emmy-nominated and Peabody-winning filmmaker based in New York City. Wang’s feature debut, “Hooligan Sparrow,” premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. It was...
You’re Invited: Join W&H at Berlinale 2019 for Talk About Women Creating Change in the Biz
If you’re attending the Berlin International Film Festival this year, then make sure to mark February 9 on your calendar. That day Women and Hollywood — along with Time’s Up,...
Robin Thede’s “Black Lady Sketch Show” Coming to HBO, Issa Rae Exec Producing
Robin Thede and Issa Rae are teaming up for a sketch comedy series that’s not dominated by white men. Titled “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” the upcoming half-hour HBO series will...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Cristina Gallego – “Birds of Passage”
Cristina Gallego is a producer, editor, and director. Through her production company Ciudad Lunar she produced “La Sombra del Caminante,” “The Wind Journeys,” and “Embrace of the...
Chinonye Chukwu to Direct Female-Led Black Panther Drama “A Taste of Power”
Chinonye Chukwu is having a dynamite week. She just premiered her latest film, “Clemency,” at Sundance over the weekend — where it received a standing ovation — and now word...
Apple Snags Global Rights to Minhal Baig’s Feature Debut “Hala”
“Hala” has found a home. Written and directed by Minhal Baig and based on her short of the same name, the coming-of-age story just premiered at Sundance. Apple scooped up worldwide rights...
CAA Supporting Rising TV Writers of Color with Showrunner Mentorship Program
Less than a year after creating a searchable database of TV writers of color, CAA is once again striving to make the television writing landscape — and the path to showrunning — more...
Level Forward Secures 50 Percent Stake in Career Site for Women in Show Biz
Level Forward, Abigail Disney’s startup studio, is investing in another company striving to support women in Hollywood. Per the Los Angeles Times, Level Forward has obtained a 50 percent stake...
Trailer Watch: A Doctor Goes to Sea and Finds a Moral Crisis in “Styx”
An E.R. doctor sets sail to a small island that promises wild, untouched nature and gets more than she bargained for in a trailer for “Styx.” Rieke’s (Susanne Wolff, “The...
Caroline Friend and Zenzele Niambi Ojore Named Horizon Award Winners at Sundance
Caroline Friend and Zenzele Niambi Ojore are the winners of the fifth annual Horizon Award, a press release announced. Their self-directed short films were chosen from over 400 submissions. Given in...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann – “Sister Aimee”
Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann are a married writing and directing duo. Their short films “The Mink Catcher” and “Canary” were screened at Telluride, SXSW, Palm Springs Shortsfest, and...
Gurinder Chadha’s “Blinded by the Light” Lands Biggest Deal of Sundance 2019
Gurinder Chadha and The Boss made magic. The British filmmaker’s tribute to Bruce Springsteen, fandom, and following your dreams is poised to secure the biggest deal out of Sundance 2019 so...
Julie Dash to Direct Angela Davis Biopic
One trailblazer is set to bring another’s life story to the big screen. Julie Dash, who made history as the first black female director to helm a feature with a theatrical release with...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Jacqueline Olive – “Always in Season”
Jacqueline Olive is an independent filmmaker and immersive media producer with more than a decade of experience in journalism and film. She co-directed and produced the award-winning short...
4% Challenge: Inclusion Initiative & Time’s Up Aim to Boost Number of Women Directing Top Films
Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, Brie Larson, Constance Wu, and many more have publicly vowed to announce a project with a woman director in the next 18 months. They’ve signed on to the 4%...
Mindy Kaling and Nisha Ganatra Score Record Deal for “Late Night” at Sundance
Mindy Kaling is making a major mark at Sundance 2019. The screenwriter, producer, and star of “Late Night” just landed a record deal for the comedy. Amazon Studios came out of an...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Bert & Bertie – “Troop Zero”
Bert & Bertie are a female writing-directing duo from London. Their combined backgrounds in photography and performance led them to filmmaking. Their credits include “Worm,”...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Anne Sewitsky – “Sonja – The White Swan”
Anne Sewitsky is a Norwegian-American filmmaker. Her debut film, “Happy Happy,” won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2011 and was Norway’s Academy Award entry the same year. Her next...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Sophie Hyde – “Animals”
Sophie Hyde’s debut fiction film “52 Tuesdays” won the directing award in the World Cinema Dramatic section at Sundance and the Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Janice Engel – “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins”
Janice Engel is an award-winning filmmaker and showrunner. Engel has made numerous documentaries, non-fiction television specials, and series including “Jackson Browne: Going Home,”...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Britt Poulton – “Them That Follow”
Britt Poulton is a writer and director. After studying International Relations at UC Berkeley, she left politics to pursue film and completed her MFA at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. She wrote...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Gurinder Chadha – “Blinded by the Light”
Gurinder Chadha’s award-winning films have earned over $300 million at the international box office. Her film credits include “Bhaji on the Beach,” “Bend It Like Beckham,” and...
Weekly Update for January 25: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Ánimas – Written and Directed by Laura Alvea and Jose F. Ortuño (Available on Netflix) When her best friend Abraham’s father is killed in a mysterious accident, a...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Minhal Baig – “Hala”
Minhal Baig is a writer and director. In 2017, she was chosen as a directing mentee for Ryan Murphy’s Half Foundation Directing Mentorship. Currently, she is a story editor on Netflix’s...
Trailer Watch: Join an All-Female Sailing Crew as They Race Around the World in “Maiden”
“For me, sailing is about freedom — freedom of everything. I was leaving everything behind,” says Tracy Edwards in a new trailer for “Maiden.” The documentary revisits...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Irene Taylor Brodsky – “Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements”
Irene Taylor Brodsky is an Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker. Her first feature film, “Hear and Now,” won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award in 2007 as well as a...
Study: Sundance Boasts Impressive Pipeline of Women & POC Directors, But Still Has Work to Do
Sundance 2019 is in full swing but the Sundance Institute isn’t resting on its laurels. Far from it. The org released a study with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, entitled...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Leah Jones – “Advocate”
Rachel Leah Jones is a critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker and producer whose work focuses on Israel and Palestine. Her directing credits include “500 Dunam on the Moon,”...
Sundance Pic “Hala” Adopted the Inclusion Rider
Written and directed by Minhal Baig, “Hala” is a coming-of-age story centering around a 17-year-old girl (Geraldine Viswanathan) raised in a conservative Muslim household. The film is...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Mirrah Foulkes – “Judy and Punch”
Mirrah Foulkes is an award-winning Australian actor, writer, and director. Foulkes has directed three short films: “Dumpy Goes to the Big Smoke,” “Florence Has Left The...
Inclusive Film Programming Collective Launches at Sundance
Sundance 2019 is off to a great start. According to a press release, the fest saw the introduction of the Programmers of Colour Collective (POC2), a group of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ film...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Lears – “Knock Down the House”
Rachel Lears is a director, writer, producer, and cinematographer. She is a 2013 Sundance Creative Producing Fellow and director of the Emmy-nominated documentary “The Hand That Feeds,” which was...
Trailer Watch: Patricia Clarkson Investigates a Murder, Time, & Space in “Out of Blue”
“Do you know your place in the universe?” A new trailer for “Out of Blue” doesn’t shy away from the big questions. Far from a typical police procedural, Carol...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Chinonye Chukwu – “Clemency”
Chinonye Chukwu is a filmmaker, educator, and social justice advocate. “Clemency” is her second feature film. The script was a 2017 Athena List winner for best feature script featuring a female...
Editor Thelma Schoonmaker to Receive Major Honor from BAFTA
A three-time Oscar winner, Thelma Schoonmaker is set to be recognized with another prestigious honor. The “Raging Bull” editor will receive a BAFTA Fellowship at the EE British Academy...
Joanna Hogg Lands Distribution for “The Souvenir – Part 2” Before “Part 1’s” Sundance Premiere
Another installment of “The Souvenir” is in the works. Ahead of the film’s world premiere at Sundance 2019, A24 has snagged North American rights for its sequel, Deadline confirms....
Chicken & Egg Award Winners and (Egg)celerator Lab Participants Announced
Chicken & Egg Pictures has confirmed the 2019 recipients of the Chicken & Egg Award (formerly the Breakthrough Filmmaker Award) and the selected titles for the (Egg)celerator Lab (formerly...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe – “Greener Grass”
Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe are an award-winning writing and directing team. DeBoer and Luebbe recently directed two episodes of TruTV’s “Adam Ruins Everything,” and in 2017, they sold a...