ALL POSTS
Eight Artists Selected for 2021 Women at Sundance Adobe Fellowship
Sundance Institute has selected eight artists for the second annual Women at Sundance Adobe Fellowship. Variety confirms that Deborah Esquenazi (“Southwest of Salem”), McKenzie Chinn...
Audra McDonald Returning to Broadway with a New Play by Adrienne Kennedy
Audra McDonald is Broadway bound. The six-time Tony winner is returning to The Great Bright Way with “Ohio State Murders,” a new play by Adrienne Kennedy, per Variety. An exploration of the...
Lone Scherfig Teams Up with Bérénice Bejo for “The Movie Teller”
Lone Scherfig is teaming up with an Oscar-nominated actress on a love letter to cinema. Scherfig is set to direct “The Movie Teller,” the story of a mother and daughter whose love of...
November 2021 Television Preview
Even though the end of 2021 is near, it is just the beginning for shows premiering this November. This month offers us a range of programs, from comedies to intense dramas, to keep our attention as...
Rebecca Sugar and USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Among WIA Diversity Award Winners
The winners of the fifth annual Women in Animation Diversity Awards are “Steven Universe” creator Rebecca Sugar, the short film “All Those Sensations in My Belly,” and the USC...
Vanessa Lapa Talks “Speer Goes to Hollywood,” Her Cautionary Tale About Media’s Power to Manipulate
Vanessa Lapa is an Israeli Academy-winning director and producer. She launched her career as a journalist and produced and directed over 100 news reports for Israeli TV. In 2006 she founded Realworks...
November 2021 Film Preview
November promises to ring in the festive season with fervor and fanfare, with a list of highly anticipated releases hitting theaters and streaming platforms. The dynamic offerings this month include...
Sigourney Weaver-Starrer “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” Starts Filming for Amazon
We’re going to be seeing lots of Sigourney Weaver on the big screen in Pandora, but the “Avatar” actress also has a series on the way. The three-time Oscar nominee is starring in...
Gravitas Ventures Snags U.S. Rights to “Home,” Franka Potente’s Feature Directorial Debut
Best known for her breakthrough role in “Run Lola Run,” the “Bourne” franchise and, more recently, “Claws,” Franka Potente is making a name for herself behind the...
Mamie Lang Kirkland Doc “100 Years from Mississippi” Acquired by Virgil Films
Film audiences will soon get to learn about Mamie Lang Kirkland and her incredible life. According to Deadline, a documentary about the activist, directed by her son Tarabu Betserai Kirkland, has...
Trailer Watch: A Widow Finds Comfort in the Arms of Her Late Wife’s Best Friend in “My Fiona”
Jane (Jeanette Maus, “Your Sister’s Sister”) and Gemma (Corbin Reid, “How to Get Away with Murder”) are in mourning: both have lost the most important woman in their lives....
Outfest to Honor Marvel Studios Exec Victoria Alonso
Victoria Alonso is set to receive the Visionary Award at the 2021 Outfest Legacy Awards. Marvel Studios’ president of physical and post production, visual effects, and animation production...
Trailer Watch: Aida Rodriguez Has “Fighting Words” in HBO Max Stand-Up Special
“Too much truth for you tonight?” asks Aida Rodriguez in a new trailer for her first hourlong stand-up special. Directed by Nadia Hallgren (“Becoming”) and Kristian Mercado...
Pick of the Day: “Passing”
“Passing” is a complicated term. Whether it relates to race, gender, or sexual orientation, it connotes posing, pretending, striving to be something you’re not. On the other hand,...
Trailer Watch: Léa Seydoux Is a Superstar Journalist in “France”
Léa Seydoux is following up her supporting roles in “No Time to Die” and “The French Dispatch” by taking the lead in “France,” a dark comedy that sees her playing...
Quote of the Day: Gabrielle Union Calls Out Hollywood’s Fake Meritocracy in Book Foreword
Gabrielle Union has nearly 90 acting credits on IMDb. She has appeared on-screen since the mid-90s. She has had scene-stealing turns in cult classics and blockbusters alike, from “Bring It...
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicole Holofcener Reteaming for Comedy “Beth and Don”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicole Holofcener are teaming up on another comedy about relationships and the secrets that undermine them. The respective “Enough Said” star and writer-director...
“Happy Valley” Will Return for Third and Final Season
Our long-awaited reunion with Sergeant Catherine Cawood is almost upon us. A third and final season of “Happy Valley” has been confirmed after years of teasing from creator Sally...
UCLA Diversity Report: Pandemic Audiences Embracing TV Shows with Diverse Casts and Writers
The latest edition of UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report examined television viewing habits during the 2019-2020 season and found that pandemic audiences are connecting with shows featuring...
Trailer Watch: Sandra Bullock Fights for Her Sister & Redemption in Nora Fingscheidt’s “The Unforgivable”
“You’re going to pay for what you did,” Sandra Bullock is told in a new trailer for “The Unforgivable.” From director Nora Fingscheidt, the Netflix drama tells the story...
Tessa Thompson Is Developing an Adaptation of “Luster” at HBO
Tessa Thompson is working on another book adaptation. The “Westworld” actress, whose production company, Viva Maude, has a first-look deal at the sci-fi Western’s home, HBO (as well...
Exclusive: Chicken & Egg Pictures and Fork Films Select Participants for Inaugural Story Workshop
Chicken & Egg Pictures and Fork Films are joining forces on a new creative story workshop for documentarians. Women and Hollywood can exclusively reveal that the orgs have selected the...
IDA Documentary Awards Announces Shortlists, 52 Percent of Feature Directors Are Women
Awards season is heating up. Gotham Award and Critics Choice nominations dropped last week, more and more countries are submitting their picks in the International Oscar Feature race, and the...
AFI Establishes Halyna Hutchins Memorial Scholarship Fund, Donations Now Being Accepted
The American Film Institute (AFI) is pledging “to see that Halyna Hutchins will live on in the spirit of all who strive to see their dreams realized in stories well told.” The nonprofit...
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s “Clara Sola” Is Costa Rica’s International Oscar Pick
Costa Rica has high hopes for Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s debut feature. The country has chosen “Clara Sola” to represent it in the International Feature Oscar category at the 2022...
Women Make Up Majority of Sundance Institute’s Inaugural Producers Intensive Participants
Sundance Institute has announced the 10 fellows taking part in its inaugural Producers Intensive this month. The two-day program, which kicked off October 21, was designed as “a means of...
Trailer Watch: A College Student Unearths Family Secrets in Geeta Malik’s “India Sweets and Spices”
Alia (Sophia Ali, “The Wilds”) returns home from college and discovers there’s a lot about her mother she doesn’t know in “India Sweets and Spices.” A trailer for...
Octavia Spencer to Star in & EP “The Bobby Love Story” from Kerry Washington & Jenni Konner
Octavia Spencer is set to add to her eternally busy slate with new project “The Bobby Love Story,” a one-hour drama she will star in and executive produce, currently in development at FX....
Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna Reteam for Hulu Comedy “Badass (And Her Sister)”
Some positive news for “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” fans: the creative minds behind the beloved series, Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna, are reuniting with a new project currently in...
Pick of the Day: “Insecure”
“The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl” served as Issa Rae’s calling card in the industry, but it’s “Insecure” that launched her into another stratosphere. Now...
Indigeneity in All Its Complexity: Web Series and Podcast Picks
Representation of Indigenous people in mainstream media is undergoing a tectonic shift, from being perceived through the dominant lens of white settler society, which mostly oversimplifies and...
Teaser Watch: “Women of the Movement” Honors Mamie Till-Mobley
“What a fine young man you’re becoming,” Mamie Till-Mobley (Adrienne Warren, “Orange Is the New Black”) tells her son in “Women of the Movement,” ABC’s...
Trailer Watch: Selina Ringel Is a “Single Mother by Choice” in HBO Max Pic
A fictional feature that tracks star, co-writer, and producer Selina Ringel’s real-life pregnancy, “Single Mother by Choice” tells the story of an overachieving, workaholic Latinx...
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter” & Rebecca Hall’s “Passing” Lead Gotham Award Noms
The 2021 Gotham Award nominees have been announced, with Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” Rebecca Hall’s “Passing,” Shatara Michelle Ford’s...
Trailer Watch: Dawn Porter & Nicole Newnham Unpack Title IX’s Legacy with ESPN Docuseries “Fifty/50”
Although it tends to be associated with gender equality in sports, Title IX ensures equal treatment for women at any educational institution that receives federal funding. The landmark law will turn...
Jane Campion Will Receive the Director’s Tribute at 2021 Gotham Awards
Jane Campion is set to receive the Director’s Tribute at this year’s Gotham Awards ceremony, slated to take place November 29. Deadline broke the news. The first woman director to claim...
Trailer Watch: Rachel Boynton Explores How History Is Taught in “Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are)”
From three-time Emmy nominee Rachel Boynton, “Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are)” explores the legacy of a defining moment in American history. The documentary examines how the story...
Sundance Institute Introduces Intensive for Trans Artists of Color
Sundance Institute has selected six artists for its inaugural Trans Possibilities Intensive. Ava Davis, StormMiguel Florez, River Gallo, Carol Grant, Mitchell (MiSha) Owens, and Savannah Ward are...
Trailer Watch: Danis Goulet Uses Sci-Fi to Explore the Effects of Colonialism in “Night Raiders”
“As long as we have one piece of land, they will always come for us,” we’re told in a new trailer for “Night Raiders.” Set in 2043 in post-war North America, the...
Under the Radar: Rhiana Yazzie’s “A Winter Love” Showcases Inter-Tribal Romance & Celebrates Self-Love
From Sterlin Harjo’s “Reservation Dogs” on FX to Peacock’s “Rutherford Falls,” created by Sierra Teller Ornelas, Ed Helms, and Michael Schur, 2021 has offered audiences more Indigenous...
Mexico Adds Tatiana Huezo’s “Prayers for the Stolen” to Oscars’ International Feature Race
Mexico has once again chosen Tatiana Huezo to represent the country at the Oscars. The filmmaker’s follow-up to “Tempestad,” a doc that Mexico submitted for consideration in the...
Pick of the Day: “Found”
Like Amanda Lipitz’s first documentary, “Step,” a portrait of a girls’ step dance team during their senior year at a Baltimore high school that took home a Special Jury Award for...
Patricia Clarkson and Nathalie Emmanuel Will Star in Spy Series from Director Ruba Nadda
Patricia Clarkson is reuniting with her “Cairo Time” and “October Gale” director. She is set to topline “Gray,” a spy thriller series helmed by Ruba Nadda....
Nearly Half of DOC NYC’s 2021 Features Lineup Is Women-Directed
DOC NYC has announced the majority of its 2021 slate. Of 112 features set to screen, 54 are directed or co-directed by women, amounting to about 48 percent of the program. The “Short...
“To All the Boys” Spinoff Series “XO, Kitty” Picked Up by Netflix
Kitty Song Covey is stepping into the spotlight. Netflix has announced that Lara Jean’s little sister is getting her own series. Titled “XO, Kitty,” the spinoff is inspired by the...
Critics Choice Doc Award Nominees Include “Ascension,” “Becoming Cousteau,” & “The Rescue”
“Ascension” continues to ascend. Already the recipient of honors at Tribeca Film Festival and Hamptons International Film Festival, Jessica Kingdon’s exploration of the contemporary...
Trailer Watch: Elle Fanning Vows to Remake Russia in “The Great” Season 2
Convinced that “reason and compassion can win any argument better than violence,” Elle Fanning prepares to “remake Russia” in “The Great’s” sophomore season....
NewFest 2021 Women Directors: Meet Emily Branham – “Being BeBe: The BeBe Zahara Benet Documentary”
Emily Branham is a filmmaker captivated by artists, performance, and identity. She directs short documentaries for art and corporate organizations including Lincoln Center, AT&T, and JP Morgan,...
Raising Films Survey: Majority of Respondents Believe Caregiving Has Negatively Impacted Their Career
The U.K. film industry is not a welcoming place for parents and caregivers — an issue COVID-19 has only exacerbated. This is among the conclusions drawn from a recent survey conducted by...
Trailer Watch: Motherhood Threatens to Crush Olivia Colman in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter”
Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, and Jessie Buckley are mothers in crisis in “The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut. An adaptation of the Elena Ferrante novel, the...
Kamila Andini’s “Yuni” Named Indonesia’s Pick for Oscars’ International Feature Category
Indonesia is hoping to make Oscar history with “Yuni.” The country, which has yet to receive an Oscar nod in the International Feature category, is submitting Kamila Andini’s...