ALL POSTS
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Anne Èmond — ‘Our Loved Ones’
Anne Èmond is a Montreal-based filmmaker. She has written and directed many short films, including “Naissances” and “Sophie Lavoie.” Her first feature, “Nuit #1,” earned Émond the...
New ‘Mary Poppins’ Movie Being Developed By Disney
Mary Poppins is set to teach a whole new generation of children the power of imagination. Disney is reportedly developing a “Mary Poppins” sequel (of sorts), set about 20 years after the...
Trailer Watch: Misty Copeland Dances into the History Books in ‘A Ballerina’s Tale’
The trailer for the Misty Copeland doc “A Ballerina’s Tale” begins with a voiceover from its subject, Misty Copeland. “I’m a black dancer,” she says. “That’s who I am. It’s so much...
Study: More Women TV Creators and EPs Mean More Women Leads, Writers, Directors, Editors
If you want more women in TV, you gotta start at the top. That’s the main conclusion reached by a new study looking at the employment figures of who writes, produces and appears on television....
Jessica Chastain to Fight for Gun Control in Redemptive Drama ‘Miss Sloane’
Jessica Chastain will star in the gun-control drama “Miss Sloane,” about a successful lobbyist who gives up her career in exchange for pursuing stricter and safer gun legislation. The title was...
Frances McDormand to Play Mother Battling Racist Police After Her Child’s Murder
Frances McDormand has a promising new gig. The Oscar winner will star in an upcoming film dealing with murder, racial tension and police brutality that’s provisionally titled “Three Billboards...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors — Meet Fabienne Berthaud — ‘Sky’
Fabienne Berthaud was born in Gap, France, and is an actor, photographer, novelist and filmmaker. She co-directed the short “Noël en famille.” Her debut feature, “Frankie,” played at TIFF...
Natalie Portman Criticizes Stereotypical Female Characters at TIFF
“Black Swan” star Natalie Portman criticized the lazy tropes Hollywood screenwriters use to define female characters during a candid interview at a TIFF fundraising gala last week. The...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Anna Boden — ‘Mississippi Grind’
Anna Boden was born in Berkeley, California. She co-directed with Ryan Fleck the short “Have You Seen This Man” and the documentary “Young Rebels” and co-wrote the feature “Half Nelson.”...
Ava DuVernay-Backed ‘Mississippi’ Drama Finally Makes It To Netflix: September VOD Picks
Our top VOD recommendation for this week is “Mississippi Damned,” an intense social drama that has been supported by “Selma” director Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY and now available on Netflix. If...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Elisabeth Scharang — ‘Jack’
Elisabeth Scharang was born in Austria. She worked as a journalist and radio broadcaster before directing the documentaries “Normale Zeiten,” “Octopusalarm,” “My Dear Republic” and...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Jennifer Peedom — ‘Sherpa’
Jennifer Peedom is an Australian documentary filmmaker based in Sydney. Her television credits include high-altitude direction and cinematography on the Discovery Channel’s “Everest: Beyond the...
The Ms. Factor Toolkit: The Power of Female Driven Content Released
I am incredibly proud to share with everyone the Ms. Factor Toolkit: The Power of Female Driven Content. This project has been a long time coming. It is a partnership between Women and Hollywood and...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Gillian Armstrong — ‘Women He’s Undressed’
Gilliam Armstrong was born in Melbourne and studied filmmaking at Swinburne Art School and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. Her films include “My Brilliant Career,”...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Sue Brooks — ‘Looking For Grace’
Sue Brooks is an Australian independent filmmaker. She directed and co-produced “Japanese Story,” which won the International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI award, as well as 29...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Louise Osmond — ‘Dark Horse’
Louise Osmond is a British documentary filmmaker. Educated at Oxford, she worked as a journalist and editor before directing features, including “Deep Water,” “Blitz: London’s Firestorm,”...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Anne Sewitsky — ‘Homesick’
Anne Sewitsky studied at the Norwegian Film School and has directed episodes of the series “Himmelbla,” “Norwegian Cozy” and “Helt perfekt.” Her debut feature, “Happy, Happy,”...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Katherine Monk — ‘Rock the Box’
Katherine Monk is a film critic and writer based in Vancouver, Canada. Formally the national movie critic for Postmedia News, Monk is a regular contributor to CBC Radio, Global Television and Corus...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Lucile Hadžihalilovic — ‘Evolution’
Lucile Hadžihalilovic was born in Lyons, France, and studied filmmaking at the Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques in Paris. She has worked as an editor, frequently collaborating with...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Jocelyn Moorhouse — ‘The Dressmaker’
Jocelyn Moorhouse was born in Melbourne, Australia, and graduated from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. She has previously directed the features “Proof,” “How to Make an...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Danae Elon — ‘P.S. Jerusalem’
Upon graduating from high school, Danae Elon spent two years in compulsory military service as a non-commissioned officer to the United Nation forces in the area. At age 21, Elon left Israel to...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Meghna Gulzar — ‘Guilty’
Meghna Gulzar is a Mumbai-based film writer and director. She began her career as chief assistant director to Saeed Akhtar Mirza on the National Award-winning Hindi feature film “Naseem” before...
Weekly Update for September 11: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This WeekBreathe — Written and Directed by Mélanie Laurent With her second feature, actress-turned-director Melanie Laurent has made one of the best movies of the...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Lorene Scafaria — ‘The Meddler’
Lorene Scafaria was born in New Jersey. She is a writer, actor, director and recording artist. She wrote the screenplay for “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” directed episodes of “New...
Women Driving Social Change: September 2015’s Crowdfunding Picks
This week’s crowdfunding picks are bound together by the focus that each project gives to human welfare, subversive countercultures and the fight for women’s rights. “The Seeds of Vandana...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Catherine Corsini — ‘Summertime’
Catherine Corsini grew up in Seineet-Marne, France. She moved to Paris to pursue acting before becoming a filmmaker. Her numerous features as writer-director include “Poker,” “Les Amoureux,”...
‘The Mindy Project’ Returns!
Lately I’ve had this lingering sense of something missing in my life. Anticipating the end of summer, perhaps? Nope: It was the lack of Mindy Kaling, soon to be doubly remedied with the premiere...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Hermon Hailay — ‘Price of Love’
Hermon Hailay is an independent filmmaker. She was born in Mekele, Ethiopia, and is now based in Addis Ababa. Her credits include the features “Balaguru,” “Yaltasebew” and “Price of...
Saying Goodbye to ‘Mamma Mia!,’ a Musical That Was Far More than “Fluff”
Themusical “Mamma Mia!,” which closes on Broadway this Saturday after 14 years, is considered the equivalent of what the literary and film industries refer to as “chick lit” and a “chick...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Maris Curran — ‘Five Nights in Maine’
Maris Curran received a B.A. from Smith College and an M.F.A. from the Art Institute of Chicago. She directed the short “Margarita.” “Five Nights in Maine” is her first feature. (Press...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Alexandra-Therese Keining — ‘Girls Lost’
Alexandra-Therese Keining was born in Lomma, Sweden, and is based in Stockholm. A writer, director and novelist, her feature films are “Hot Dog” and “Kiss Me,” which was a Breakthrough...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Mai Masri — ‘3000 Nights’
Mai Masri is a Palestinian director who studied film at University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University. Her features include “Under the Rubble” and “Wild Flowers: Women...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Catherine Hardwicke — ‘Miss You Already’
Catherine Hardwicke was born in McAllen, Texas. She worked as a production designer on numerous films, including “Tank Girl,” “Three Kings” and “Laurel Canyon.” Her previous directing...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Leena Yadav — ‘Parched’
Leena Yadav was born in Mhow, India. She began her career as an editor on commercials and an assistant director for television. She made her directorial debut with “Shabd,” followed by “Teen...
The ‘Carol’ Trailer and the Unbearable Lightness of Anticipation
That rush of attraction. The exhilaration of discovery. The ache of longing. The shock of falling in love with a movie trailer. The first full-length trailers for the lesbian drama “Carol” were...
TIFF 2015 Preview: Under the Radar Films By and About Women You Shouldn’t Miss
This year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is filled with bona fide stars of the screen and filmmaking worlds. With performances by Julianne Moore (“Freeheld,”...
Ava DuVernay to Expand Her Distribution Company Under New Name
Ava DuVernay knows that films by women and minority filmmakers don’t just need to be made, but also seen. To increase distribution for works by under-represented directors, DuVernay is expanding...
Quote of the Day: Nancy Meyers on Sexism in Hollywood
There is a long (not yet online) interview in NY Magazine with Nancy Meyers. A lot of it focuses on gender and Hollywood. The reality is Nancy was really one of two women (the other being Nora...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Sanna Lenken — ‘My Skinny Sister’
Sanna Lenken was born in Gothenberg, Sweden, and studied directing at the Dramatiska Institutet in Stockholm. She has directed two seasons of the series “Double Life” and the short film...
Baseball Drama About Professional Baseball’s (Fictional) First Female Pitcher Finds Home Base at Fox
A new baseball drama centered on a young female pitcher has landed at Fox. The series, created by Dan Fogelman (“The Neighbors”) and Rick Singer (“American Dad!”), received a put pilot...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Patricia Rozema — ‘Into the Forest’
Canadian filmmaker Patricia Rozema’s first feature, “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing,” won the Prix de la Jeunesse and was runner-up for the Camera d’Or at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival....
Study: 16.3% of European Theatrical Releases Directed by Women
The numbers for women in the American film industry are dire: Female filmmakers made less than 5% of studio pictures and just 10% of indie features from 2009–13. Things are a bit better for...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Mina Shum — ‘Ninth Floor’
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Canada, Mina Shum is an independent filmmaker and artist. “Ninth Floor” is her first feature documentary. Her first feature, “Double Happiness” (1994),...
TIFF’s Cameron Bailey and Kerri Craddock Discuss Female Filmmakers and Best Bets at the Fest
As Women and Hollywood gets ready to hit the ground in Toronto to watch movies, attend parties and participate on panels, we asked TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey, and Director of Festival...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Geeta Gandbhir and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy — ‘A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers’
Telluride: 4 Female-Centric Films About to Make a Splash This Awards Season
We need no reminders that the 2014–15 awards season didn’t fareparticularly well for women in front of or behind the camera. Among the eightBest Picture Oscar nominees, none were about a woman,...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Eva Husson — ‘Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story)’
Eva Husson was born and raised in France, where she received her M.A. in English literature from the Sorbonne before pursuing a M.F.A. at the American Film Institute. She directed the short “Hope...
TIFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Caroline Monnet — ‘Mobilize’
Caroline Monnet is a multidisciplinary artist who has exhibited in Canada and internationally at venues such as the Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), the Museum of...
Quote of the Day: Lina Wertmuller Explains Why Female Filmmakers are Ignored During Awards Season
In 1977, Lina Wertmuller became the first woman to ever be nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards. It’s been nearly two decades since the “Seven Beauties” helmer was recognized with...
Sally Field, Miriam Colón, Meredith Monk, Others to Receive White House’s National Medals of Arts
The White House will bestow National Medals of Arts to actresses Sally Field and Miriam Colón, singer Meredith Monk, visual artist Ann Hamilton and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, among...
Sight & Sound’s October ’15 Issue ‘The Female Gaze’ Spotlights Women Directors Throughout History
A couple of months back, the BBC released a list of the top 100 American films ever made, in which 98% of the titles were directed solely by men. This glaring omission of female filmmakers didn’t...