ALL POSTS
Judy Blume Doc on the Way from Amazon and Imagine Docs
Judy Blume has shaped generations of readers with classics like “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” “Forever,” and “Tiger Eyes.” With a slew of adaptations...
Trailer Watch: Life Gets a Little More Complicated for Jessie and Tom in “Starstruck” Season 2
“Starstruck” is back — and Jessie (Rose Matafeo) and Tom (Nikesh Patel) are back together. A trailer has dropped for Season 2 of the HBO Max rom-com series, created and co-written...
Seeking Truth Through Self-Acceptance: Crowdfunding Picks
Documentary filmmakers are constantly on a journey – a journey to find the next compelling story and remarkable characters, a journey to find the truth in humanity, and, perhaps the most...
Exclusive: Sadie Hernandez Talks Access to Health Care & Wendy Davis’ Influence in “Shouting Down Midnight” Clip
Described by director Gretchen Stoeltje as “both a cautionary tale and a rallying cry,” “Shouting Down Midnight” highlights some of the brave women in Texas who have fought...
Study: Women Made Up 34% of Speaking Roles in 2021’s Top Films, Majority of Those Characters Were White
Earlier this week, we reported on a study from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative that delved into the number of women and people of color serving as leads and co-leads in...
Teaser Watch: Maika Monroe Can’t Escape Prying Eyes in Chloe Okuno’s “Watcher”
Maika Monroe is being haunted by another unseen threat. The “It Follows” breakout stars in “Watcher,” a psychological thriller about a woman who is being stalked. A newly...
Trailer Watch: Ava DuVernay Celebrates Cinema with HBO Max’s “One Perfect Shot”
“Twenty-four frames per second — that’s the standard frame rate for cinematic storytelling. Over 100,000 frames come together to create magic. What if we could step into a single...
Scripts About Riot Grrrls, LGBTQ+ Divorce, & Women Filmmakers Selected for 2022 Athena Writers Lab
This year, the Athena Writers Lab is offering virtual mentorship, networking opportunities, and peer-to-peer review sessions to the scribes of an adventure pic about an all-women expedition across...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Jessica Edwards – “Skate Dreams”
Jessica Edwards launched Film First in 2010 to produce documentary shorts and feature-length work. Her award-winning debut short, “Seltzer Works,” premiered at SXSW and was broadcast on...
Marlee Matlin Will Make Directorial Debut with an Episode of Fox’s “Accused”
Weeks after landing the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture alongside her “CODA” co-stars, Marlee Matlin is stepping behind the camera. She’s set to...
Leya Hale on Tackling the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Epidemic in “Bring Her Home”
Leya Hale comes from the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota and Diné Nations. She is a producer for Twin Cities PBS and is best known for her first feature documentary, “The People’s...
Trailer Watch: Iman Vellani’s Dreams Come True in “Ms. Marvel”
“I always thought I wanted this kind of life, but I never imagined any of this,” says Iman Vellani in a new trailer for “Ms. Marvel.” The Canadian actress is making her...
“Abbott Elementary” Renewed For Season 2
“Abbott Elementary,” Quinta Brunson’s tribute to overworked and underfunded public school teachers, has been renewed for a second season by ABC. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the...
Pick of the Day: “Phoenix Rising”
During the rise of #MeToo in 2017, “Westworld” actress Evan Rachel Wood spoke out about being raped and abused. She reiterated those claims the following year in testimony before Congress...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Vasilisa Kuzmina – “Nika”
Born in Moscow, Vasilisa Kuzmina is a young Russian filmmaker and scriptwriter. After getting a B.F.A. in acting at the Moscow Drama School, Kuzmina debuted as a film director with the web series...
Gillian Robespierre & Mathilde Dratwa Team Up with Julianne Nicholson for “Separation Anxiety” Series
“Obvious Child” writer-director Gillian Robespierre and playwright Mathilde Dratwa have signed on to executive produce and write “Separation Anxiety,” a limited series based...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Zara Katz and Lisa Riordan Seville – “A Woman on the Outside”
Zara Katz is currently Photography Director at NBC News Digital and has worked for editorial outlets including The New York Times, Time magazine, and The New Yorker. She was senior photo producer on...
“The Power of the Dog” and “CODA” Land Major Honors at the BAFTA Awards
“The Power of the Dog” continues to dominate awards season. Jane Campion’s Western about Montana ranchers was named best film at last night’s BAFTA Awards. Campion also landed...
Jane Campion and Maggie Gyllenhaal Make History at DGA Awards
Jane Campion made history at Saturday night’s DGA Awards, becoming the third woman ever to take home the night’s top honor, the Theatrical Feature Film award. Recognized for her first...
Number of Women & POC Leads/Co-Leads Held Steady in Top Films of 2021, According to New Research
The good news: judging from last year’s box office reports, the number of female and people of color leads/co-leads in popular films hasn’t really decreased during the pandemic. The bad...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Gracie Otto – “Seriously Red”
Gracie Otto is currently set-up director on the Netflix Original series “Heartbreak High” and is set to direct the feminist-noir comedy drama “Deadloch” for Amazon Studios....
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Camille Hardman – “Still Working 9 to 5”
Camille Hardman has produced documentaries and reality TV series in both her native Australia and Los Angeles. She started in TV in Sydney over 15 years ago, making animal and travel documentaries...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Julie Cohen and Betsy West – “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down”
Julie Cohen and Betsy West are Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning filmmakers who directed and produced the theatrical documentary “RBG.” Their film “Julia” was released...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Gretchen Stoeltje – “Shouting Down Midnight”
A Texas-based filmmaker, director Gretchen Stoeltje makes independent documentaries centering on women’s experiences. “Venom in a Jar, a Kiss From the Queen,” explores the role of...
Megan Park Teams Up with Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment for Next Feature, “My Old Ass”
Megan Park has lined up her follow-up to SXSW winner “The Fallout,” her directorial debut. The “Secret Life of the American Teenager” actress will tackle another coming-of-age...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Rosa Ruth Boesten – “Master of Light”
Born in Utrecht and based in Amsterdam, Rosa Ruth Boesten, made her first documentary about her grandmother, a single mother and struggling artist who made textile art. She studied directing of...
An Opinion of Our Own: Web Series Picks
In a media landscape that can feel impossible to get a handle on, with new releases daily across numerous platforms, the role of the critic has never been more vital for individual viewers. When...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Allison Otto – “The Thief Collector”
Allison Otto is an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and visual journalist. Her documentary short “The Love Bugs” was awarded Best Short Documentary in the 42nd Annual...
Pick of the Day: “Turning Red”
A hilarious and moving tribute to the power of friendship, family, and self-acceptance, Domee Shi’s “Turning Red” is a delight from start to finish. Pixar’s latest tells the...
Teaser Watch: Anne Lister and Ann Walker Embark on Married Life in “Gentleman Jack” Season 2
When we last saw Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) and Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle) — at the end of “Gentleman Jack’s” first season, nearly three years ago — they had just taken...
Patricia Rozema on Revisiting Her Queer Classic “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing”
Patricia Rozema’s first feature, “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing,” screened at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Prix de la Jeunesse, was runner-up for the...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Linda Goldstein Knowlton – “Split At The Root”
Linda Goldstein Knowlton is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, working in documentary, scripted feature films, and television. Her award-winning documentary “We Are The Radical Monarchs” ...
Ida Rodriguez Joglar Receives Athena Film Fest’s Breakthrough Award for First Feature “Kili Big”
Gearing up for its live and virtual launch tomorrow, March 11, the 2022 edition of Athena Film Festival (AFF) has unveiled its awardees and grant recipients. Ida Rodriguez Joglar, Kelsie Mason Ramos,...
Trailer Watch: An Aspiring Pornstar Moves to LA in Ninja Thyberg’s “Pleasure”
“I love being in front of the camera. I love having people watch me,” says Sofia Kappel in a new trailer for “Pleasure.” Ninja Thyberg’s feature debut tells the story of...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Iliana Sosa – “What We Leave Behind”
Iliana Sosa is a documentary and narrative fiction filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. Her documentary short “An Uncertain Future,” co-directed with Chelsea Hernandez, premiered at the 2018...
Projects from Robin Roberts, Kristen Lappas, & More Added to ESPN’s Title IX Anniversary Programming
Fifty/50, ESPN’s previously-announced initiative celebrating Title IX’s 50th anniversary, has unveiled its current programming lineup. As we reported last fall, Dawn Porter (“John...
Trailer Watch: Mayim Bialik Makes Her Directorial Debut with Dianna Agron-Starrer “As They Made Us”
Mayim Bialik steps behind the camera in “As They Made Us.” Best known for her on-screen work in “The Big Bang Theory” and “Blossom,” the Emmy-nominated actress...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Vanessa Winter – “Deadstream”
Vanessa Winter is a Utah-based writer and director. Practical creature FX with absurd twists are the hallmarks of her and her collaborator and husband Joseph Winter’s viral horror shorts for...
Amanda Kloots Memoir “Live Your Life” Coming to the Screen
Amanda Kloots’ life story is coming to the big screen. She’s teaming up with Di Novi Pictures producers Denise Di Novi and Margaret French Isaac on a film adaptation of her memoir,...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Amy Bandlien Storkel – “The Pez Outlaw”
Amy Bandlien Storkel is a documentary filmmaker best known for co-producing “The Legend of Cocaine Island” (Netflix, 2019) and the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Alabama...
Trailer Watch: A Shut-In Moves Into a Haunted Apartment in Jennifer Reeder’s “Night’s End”
An anxious shut-in moves into a haunted apartment following a nervous breakdown in “Night’s End.” What sounds like a recipe for disaster proves to be just that. A trailer for...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Nyla Innuksuk – “Slash/Back”
Nyla Innuksuk is the founder of Mixtape VR, which produces film, virtual, and augmented reality content. A writer for Marvel Comics, Innuksuk co-created the character of Snowguard, a teenage...
Watch: The Women Behind “The Power of the Dog” Discuss the Evolution of the Film
Netflix has released a conversation with some of the women behind “The Power of the Dog” in honor of International Women’s Day. Moderated by Tamara Jenkins, a filmmaker whose...
Renée Zellweger Will Play a WASP Leader Fighting Hitler in Peacock’s “Avenger Field”
Renée Zellweger has another small screen project in the works. The two-time Oscar winner’s latest project, true crime series “The Thing About Pam,” premieres on NBC tonight, and...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Linda Yellen – “Chantilly Bridge”
Linda Yellen is an Emmy Award-winning director, writer, and producer. She has made over 27 productions for film and television, with premieres at Cannes, Sundance, and Toronto film festivals. Among...
Shonda Rhimes’ Next Netflix Show Will Be White House Murder Mystery “The Residence”
Having explored the sexcapades of Regency England and the scams and lies of Anna Delvey, Shonda Rhimes is turning her attention to foul play at the White House. The woman behind “Bridgerton” and...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Daresha Kyi – “Mama Bears”
Daresha Kyi is an Emmy Award-winning director who also writes and produces film and television in Spanish and English. She made her feature doc directorial debut with “Chavela,” a...
Trailer Watch: Andrea Arnold Introduces Luma in “Cow”
A trailer has arrived for Andrea Arnold’s first documentary, “Cow,” an immersive portrait of a dairy cow named Luma. The film made its world premiere at last year’s edition of Cannes Film...
SXSW 2022 Preview: Inuit Girls Take On an Alien Invasion in the Arctic, Gabby Giffords Fights for Gun Control, & More
Kicking off March 11, SXSW will take place in-person for the first time since 2019. With a Feature Competition slate that is majority-women-directed, there are a bunch of films we’re looking...
Lydia Dean Pilcher Bringing Dawn Prince-Hughes’ Memoir “Songs of the Gorilla Nation” to the Screen
As a feature director, Lydia Dean Pilcher has showcased the true stories of women fighting for safer working conditions (“Radium Girls”) and serving as intelligence officers for Britain...
Under the Radar: Iliana Sosa’s “What We Leave Behind” Is an Intimate Portrait of a Family’s Loyal Patriarch
“Life’s catching up with me.” Shirtless and laid bare in a symbolic display of openness and vulnerability, Julián Moreno speaks to his granddaughter as they so often have for several years –...