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Apply Now: Wavelength Productions’ WAVE Grant for First-Time Women Filmmakers of Color
Wavelength Productions, the company that brought us Rachel Lears’ feminist political doc “Knock Down the House,” has announced a grant supporting first-time female filmmakers of...
“Hava, Maryam, Ayesha” and “Debut” Join the International Feature Film Oscar Race
Two more women-directed titles just entered the International Feature Film Oscar race. A press release announced that Afghanistan submitted Sahraa Karimi’s “Hava, Maryam, Ayesha”...
NYFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Ivy Meeropol – “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn”
Ivy Meeropol’s documentary feature debut was “Heir to an Execution,” which premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. It was followed by two short...
“Free Solo” Directors Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin Ink First-Look Deal with Nat Geo
Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin have picked up an Oscar, a BAFTA, and an Emmy for “Free Solo,” their doc about Alex Honnold’s quest to become the first person to free solo climb El...
May el-Toukhy’s “Queen of Hearts” Is Denmark’s Pick for International Feature Film Oscar
More great news for May el-Toukhy. Less than a week ago she signed on to helm “The Lioness,” a biopic about “Out of Africa” writer Karen Blixen, and now word comes that she’s...
Sigourney Weaver and Maya Forbes Team Up for Adaptation of “The Good House”
Maya Forbes and Sigourney Weaver are joining forces to bring “The Good House” to the big screen. The former will direct the latter in Amblin Partners’ adaptation of Ann...
Canada Submits Sophie Deraspe’s “Antigone” for the International Feature Film Oscar
“Antigone” just made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it claimed the Best Canadian Feature Film prize. Now it could be headed to the Oscars. A press...
May el-Toukhy Will Direct Isak Dinesen Biopic “The Lioness”
Earlier this year, news broke that a biopic about “Out of Africa” writer Karen Blixen, who published under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen, was in the works. Now the project has lined up a...
Weekly Update for September 20: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Always in Season (Documentary) – Directed by Jacqueline Olive Claudia Lacy wants answers. When her 17-year-old son, Lennon, was found hanging from a swing set in...
Trailer Watch: Alfre Woodard Is a Prison Warden with a Heavy Conscience in “Clemency”
“You can’t understand. You can’t know what it’s like. I am alone,” says Alfre Woodard in a new trailer for “Clemency.” The Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning...
New Film Series From Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Will Screen Works by Agnès Varda, Euzhan Palcy, & More
ARRAY Alliance, Ava DuVernay’s nonprofit film collective, has been releasing films about and by women and people of color since 2010 — Heidi Saman’s “Namour,” Lisa France’s...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Shonali Bose – “The Sky Is Pink”
Shonali Bose’s 2005 feature film debut, “Amu,” won several awards, including the FIPRESCI by the International Federation of Film Critics, as well as two Indian National Awards for...
Trailer Watch: A Mother Demands Justice in Lynching Doc “Always in Season”
“If you knew in your heart and in your mind that someone took your child’s life, how far would you go to get to the truth?” asks Claudia Lacy in a new trailer for “Always in...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Alma Har’el – “Honey Boy”
Alma Har’el is a film and music video director, best known for her documentaries “Love True” and “Bombay Beach,” the latter of which was awarded the top prize at the 2011 Tribeca Film...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Kasi Lemmons – “Harriet”
Kasi Lemmons is an award-winning director, writer, actress, and professor. Her acclaimed 1997 feature directorial debut, “Eve’s Bayou,” received the Independent Spirit Award for Best First...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Lauren Greenfield – “The Kingmaker”
For the last 25 years, Lauren Greenfield has made documentaries about consumerism, youth culture, and gender. Her feature film credits include “Thin,” “The Queen of...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Kopple – “Desert One”
Barbara Kopple’s “Harlan County, USA” and “American Dream” both went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In addition to documentaries, she has also...
Weekly Update for September 6: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (Documentary) At the height of unprecedented success, Linda Ronstadt, a restless and adventurous artist, turned away from pop music to...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Eva Mulvad – “Love Child”
Eva Mulvad had her international breakthrough in 2006, with the release of documentary “Enemies of Happiness,” which followed a female politician in Afghanistan. The film won the World...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Marielle Heller – “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Marielle Heller’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” was nominated for three Academy Awards in 2019. Heller’s 2015 directorial debut, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” won...
TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Gabriela Cowperthwaite – “The Friend”
Gabriela Cowperthwaite is a Brazilian American filmmaker who rose to prominence with the release of her 2013 film “Blackfish,” which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated...
Venice Film Fest Hosts Gender Equality Seminar
Historically, Venice Film Festival has not seemed to give a shit about gender parity or inclusion. Artistic director Alberto Barbera has said he would rather quit than set gender quotas. In the wake...
Weekly Update for August 30: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Official Secrets – Written by Sara Bernstein, Gregory Bernstein, and Gavin Hood Based on world-shaking true events, “Official Secrets” tells the gripping...
All 10 of the 2019 WBTVG Directors’ Workshop Grads Have Booked Directing Gigs
The seventh annual Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) Directors’ Workshop is boasting a 100 percent job-placement rate. According to a press release, all 10 Class of 2019 graduates have secured...
September 2019 Film Preview
By Jenna Dorsi and Camryn Garrett September is an exciting month for films from women with different stories, backgrounds, and experiences. From crowd-pleasers about women turning the tables on...
Ava DuVernay to Be Honored with PEN America’s Voice of Influence Award
A well-deserved honor is coming Ava DuVernay’s way. The Emmy-nominated “When They See Us” creator is set to receive Pen America’s Voice of Influence Award. Deadline broke the...
Latina Characters Missing from 70 of 2018’s Top 100 Films, Study Finds
New research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative — in partnership with the National Association of Latino Independent Producers and Wise Entertainment — has...
Trailer Watch: Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe Find the Horror in Suburbia in “Greener Grass”
“On the surface, ‘Greener Grass’ is a comedy satirizing suburbia, but to us it’s a horror movie,” writer-directors Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe told Women and Hollywood...
Trailer Watch: “Sister Aimee” Is an Evangelist With a Hell of a Story to Tell
“I’m just an entertainer, that’s all,” says Aimee Semple McPherson (Anna Margaret Hollyman, “20 Weeks”) in a new trailer for “Sister Aimee.” “I...
Weekly Update for August 16: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Where’d You Go, Bernadette – Written by Holly Gent, Richard Linklater, and Vince Palmo Based on the beloved novel by Maria Semple, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette”...
Crystal Moselle & Lesley Arfin’s “Skate Kitchen”-Inspired Comedy Receives Series Order at HBO
An all-girl skateboarding crew is coming to HBO. The Hollywood Reporter confirms the network ordered Crystal Moselle and Lesley Arfin’s “Betty,” inspired by the former’s 2018...
Trailer Watch: Ohio and China Find Conflict and Community in “American Factory”
When a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in economically depressed Dayton, Ohio, its residents are promised communal growth, jobs, and a future for their children. As the trailer for Julia...
Awkwafina to Star in Legendary’s “The Last Adventure of Constance Verity”
Since her breakout performance in “Crazy Rich Asians,” Awkwafina has been adding projects to her slate left and right. Deadline reports that the coveted star has just signed on to yet...
Guest Post: How I’m Honoring Women in Space — and Music — at the Hollywood Bowl
Guest Post by Penka Kouneva On August 15, Los Angeles Philharmonic will present a concert titled “America in Space” at the Hollywood Bowl. This one-night-only event will celebrate the...
Trailer Watch: Irene Taylor Brodsky Explores Music and Silence in “Moonlight Sonata”
“Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements” tells the story of a deaf boy growing up with a passion for Beethoven’s famous sonata, written the same year the composer was...
Trailer Watch: Political Columnist Molly Ivins Speaks Out in Janice Engel’s “Raise Hell”
Magnolia Pictures has dropped a trailer for the upcoming doc “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins.” Janice Engel’s film honors the political columnist’s legacy and...
Trailer Watch: Alma Har’el’s “Honey Boy” Details Shia LaBeouf’s Early Life and Adulthood
Award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el’s debut narrative feature, “Honey Boy,” hits theaters November 8. The biopic won the Special Jury Prize – Dramatic at the 2019...
Release Dates Set for “Sister Aimee” and Patricia Marcoccia’s Jordan Peterson Doc
Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann’s Sundance pic “Sister Aimee” and Patricia Marcoccia’s portrait of conservative academic/YouTuber Jordan Peterson have nabbed distribution and...
“She’s Gotta Have It’s” Radha Blank Making Her Feature Directorial Debut, Lena Waithe Producing
Playwright and “She’s Gotta Have It” writer-producer Radha Blank is making her first film. According to Variety, she is writing, directing, and toplining “The 40-Year-Old...
Weekly Update for August 2: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING The Nightingale – Written and Directed by Jennifer Kent “The Nightingale” is Jennifer Kent’s follow-up to her 2014 horror hit “The Babadook.”...
Trailer Watch: Hannah Pearl Utt Uncovers Family Secrets in Her Comedy “Before You Know It”
In “Before You Know It,” Hannah Pearl Utt stars as stage manager Rachel Gurner, who still lives with her quirky family of artists — aspiring actress sister, playwright father, and...
August 2019 Film Preview
By Jenna Dorsi and Camryn Garrett While the season may be winding down, there are still plenty of films about or made by women to check out this summer. This August offers a wide selection of...
Weekly Update for July 26: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Share – Written and Directed by Pippa Bianco (Premieres July 27 on HBO) “Share,” written and directed by Pippa Bianco, feels in some ways like a horror...
Women and Hollywood’s Picks of the Week for July 25
Picks of the Week offers Women and Hollywood’s recommendations — women-driven and women-made movies, series, VOD releases, and more — and tells you why they are worth your time and...
TIFF’s 2019 Gala Lineup Is 50 Percent Women-Directed
The Toronto International Film Festival has started unrolling its 2019 lineup. The fest’s Galas slate is composed of 18 titles, nine of which are directed or co-directed by women — a...
Weekly Update for July 19: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Varda by Agnès (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Agnès Varda (Opens in the UK) Whether in front of the camera or behind it, Agnès Varda was a visual...
Celine Held and Logan George Make Feature Debut with “Topside”
Celine Held and Logan George have a new project on the way. The “Caroline” collaborators and spouses just shot their feature debut, “Topside.” A press release announced the...
Amazon Studios Nabs “Selah and the Spades” and Will Develop Original Series
“Selah and the Spades” was one of our most anticipated titles of Sundance this year. The teen drama received strong reviews out of the fest — with a 100 percent “Fresh”...
Trailer Watch: Emma Roberts Finds the Darkness in “Paradise Hills”
Emma Roberts is sent to an isolated island in a new trailer for “Paradise Hills.” Told she’s “in paradise” and convinced otherwise, Uma (Roberts) is terrified when she...
“The Farewell” Edges Out “Avengers: Endgame” For This Year’s Biggest Theater Average
Awkwafina is giving Iron Man, Thor, and Black Widow some competition. Even an NYC blackout couldn’t keep the “Crazy Rich Asians” breakout from making a major dent at the box office....
Festival Interviews with Women Directors
Back to Resources » Women and Hollywood interviews women directors screening films at festivals about their work, their inspiration, their experiences, and more. AFI Docs AFI Fest American Black...