ALL POSTS
Summer 2017 Film Preview
“Girls Trip” By Joseph Allen and Kelsey Moore If the movies are any indication, then we are in for one hot yet refreshing summer. Some of the season’s biggest and action-filled flicks feature...
Cannes Update: Chloé Zhao’s “The Rider” Snagged by Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the North American rights to Chloé Zhao’s “The Rider,” a press release has announced. The company will also distribute the cowboy drama in Latin America,...
Cannes Interview: Kristen Stewart Explains Why Directing Shouldn’t Be About Correcting
Kristen Stewart is crafting a great career for herself. She shot to international stardom in “Twilight,” but it’s what she’s done after the vampire romance franchise that really makes her...
Guest Post: Why My New Film “AWOL” Is More Than a Love Story
Guest Post by Deb Shoval “AWOL” was a long time coming, the kind of fabled first feature film journey that humbles, challenges, and educates — the kind of experience one hopes to...
Cannes 2017 Women Directors: Meet Bonni Cohen — “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power”
Bonni Cohen is an award-winning producer and director. She co-directed “Audrie & Daisy,” which premiered in competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and was picked up as a Netflix...
Cannes 2017 Women Directors: Meet Chloé Zhao — “The Rider”
Chloé Zhao is an award-winning director and producer. Her first feature-length doc, 2015’s “Songs My Brother Taught Me,” was nominated for the Golden Camera Award at Cannes, the Grand Jury...
Trailer Watch: An Aspiring Rapper Makes a Name for Herself in “Patti Cake$”
A trailer has finally landed for one of Sundance 2017’s biggest hits, “Patti Cake$.” The spot kicks off by giving the drama’s protagonist an amazing introduction: “Bow down, the Queen is...
“Wakefield” Writer-Director Robin Swicord on How She Got the Movie Made and Breaking into Directing
Robin Swicord’s many writing credits span from ’90s family favorite “Matilda” to Oscar-nominated drama “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” She made her directorial feature debut with...
Cannes 2017 Women Directors: Meet Marcela Said — “Los Perros”
Marcela Said has worked in both documentary and feature films. Her debut feature, “The Summer of Flying Fish,” premiered at the Director’s Fortnight in 2013. She wrote “Los Perros” at the...
New Research Shows Number of Women-Directed Films Screening at Fests Hasn’t Improved
If you attend a high-profile U.S. film festival, you are three times as likely to see a feature film directed by a man as you are to see one directed by a woman. And you are twice as likely to catch...
Trailer Watch: Zoe Lister-Jones and Adam Pally Turn Their Fights into Music in “Band Aid”
“Band Aid” “What if we turned all our fights into songs? Let’s start a band,” says Anna (Zoe Lister-Jones) in a new trailer for “Band Aid.” The comedy centers on a married couple who...
Dee Rees Working on a Horror Film About a Lesbian Couple in a Small Town
Dee Rees’ next project will be a horror film exploring domestic life, race, sexuality, and small town America. Originally reported by the New York Times, the Tracking Board and Shadow and Act have...
Frankie Shaw’s “SMILF” Gets Picked Up by Showtime
Showtime has given a series order to Frankie Shaw’s “SMILF,” The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The former “Mr. Robot” actress is wearing many hats on the semi-autobiographical 10-episode...
Bette Gordon Talks Recognizing the Evil Within Ourselves in “The Drowning”
Bette Gordon’s films have been screened theatrically in the U.S. and abroad, as well as in all the major film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and Sundance. Her films are in the...
Trailer Watch: Nicole Kidman Joins Elisabeth Moss in “Top of the Lake” Season 2
A trailer has finally landed for the highly anticipated sophomore season of Jane Campion’s “Top of the Lake,” and it looks like the newest installment of the murder mystery will just be as...
Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2017 Lineup: 41% Women-Directed
The lineup for the 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival has been announced. According to a press release, the selected films will “serve as inspiration and motivation for the audience, from...
Playwright Katori Hall Named Artistic Director of Memphis’ Hattiloo Theater
“The Mountaintop” playwright Katori Hall will be the next artistic director of the Hattiloo Theater, the New York Times reports. Located in Hall’s hometown, Memphis, the Hattiloo is an...
Spec Script About Underground Abortion Service Acquired by Amazon
Amazon could be bringing the story of underground abortion providers in Chicago to the cinema. Per Deadline, the studio has obtained “This Is Jane,” a spec screenplay by Dan Loflin...
May 2017 Film Preview
“Snatched” Women directors are set to dominate screens this May. Everything from luxurious Paris vacations to time travel to narratives about grief and regret are represented in this month’s...
Trailer Watch: Netflix Docuseries “The Keepers” Investigates a Nun’s Murder
Love “Making a Murderer” and other docuseries that tackle mysterious crimes from a fresh perspective? You’re going to want to watch a newly released trailer for “The Keepers.” Netflix’s...
Tribeca 2017 Women Directors: Meet Julia Solomonoff — “Nobody’s Watching”
Julia Solomonoff is an Argentine director based in New York City. As both a director and producer, she has played a key role in the revitalization of Latin American cinema and her films have been...
Weekly Update for April 21: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Unforgettable” Films About Women Opening This Week Unforgettable — Directed by Denise Di Novi; Co-Written by Christina Hodson Katherine Heigl stars as Tessa Connover, who is barely coping...
Tribeca 2017 Women Directors: Meet Smriti Mundhra and Sarita Khurana— “A Suitable Girl”
Smriti Mundhra has been working in the film and television industry for over ten years. With partner Ben Rekhi, she produced “Bomb the System,” a 2004 Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best...
Trailer Watch: Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza are Raunchy Nuns in “The Little Hours”
Nuns are usually depicted as stern, stoic, and cloistered away from the debauchery of the wider world. A NSFW trailer has landed for “The Little Hours,” and never before have we seen the likes...
“13th,” “Trapped,” & More Women-Directed Docs Win Peabody Awards
Twelve documentaries are being honored by the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, and seven of them are women-directed or co-directed. 2016 was an amazing year for documentaries, and this stellar...
Tribeca 2017 Women Directors: Meet Liz W. Garcia — “One Percent More Humid”
Liz W. Garcia’s directorial debut, “The Lifeguard,” starring Kristen Bell, premiered in competition at Sundance in 2013. She is currently writing “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 3” for...
Marielle Heller to Receive Inaugural Moms-in-Film Award
Moms-in-Film (MiF), an organization for working parents in film and TV, is celebrating its first anniversary by honoring “Diary of a Teenage Girl” writer-director Marielle Heller. Heller will...
Tribeca 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Israel — “Keep the Change”
Rachel Israel has directed short films that have screened worldwide. “Keep the Change” marks her feature debut. She is an adjunct professor at RISD. “Keep the Change” will premiere at the...
Trailer Watch: Salma Hayek Goes to the Dinner Party from Hell in “Beatriz at Dinner”
A trailer has landed for Salma Hayek-starrer “Beatriz at Dinner,” and the spot is full of cringe-inducing moments. “This woman is a saint. It’s like birds fly out of the sky and land on her...
Doc About Workers’ Rights Activist Dolores Huerta Acquired by PBS
Dolores Huerta will hopefully soon be a household name. A documentary about the workers’ rights activist, “Dolores,” was acquired by PBS and is set to screen theatrically this fall. According...
Quote of the Day: “Good Girls Revolt’s” Genevieve Angelson on Equal Pay
In an article for Elle, “Good Girls Revolt” alumna Genevieve Angelson writes about an aspect of the gender pay gap that doesn’t get much attention: There is a stigma surrounding any and all...
Teaser Watch: Aubrey Plaza Is an Instagram Stalker in “Ingrid Goes West”
If you find yourself rolling your eyes at social media stars, Instagram platitudes, and hashtags being affixed to every other word online, “Ingrid Goes West” may just be the dark comedy for you....
Kelly Ripa Developing “Geek Girl Rising” as Scripted TV Series for ABC
Kelly Ripa is bringing women in tech to the small screen. The “Live! with Kelly” host and her husband, Mark Consuelos, will develop the upcoming book “Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood...
Guest Post: What Inspired Me to Make a Film About Retirees
Guest Post by Rosemary Rodriguez There’s an abundance of turmoil, fear, anger, and hatred expressed through images that come at us 24/7 through social media, TV, and movies. As a society, we are...
Guest Post: How One Non-Profit Changed The Game For Parents At SXSW
Guest Post By Christy Lamb and Mathilde Dratwa INT. BEDROOM — VERY EARLY MORNING Actress and director Foster Wilson has just found out that a film she worked on, “The Archer,” will be...
Guest Post: Supporting Women’s Voices in Independent Film
Guest Post by Jere Rae-Mansfield As a distributor of independent feature films for over 30 years, I have enjoyed watching women unite and rise to prominence in the film industry. Not only the titans...
Susan Johnson Talks “Carrie Pilby” and Finding Funding for the Female-Led Film
Susan Johnson is an Independent Spirit Award winning filmmaker. “Carrie Pilby” marks her feature directorial debut. After a successful career as a music video director, Johnson has produced 10...
Lois Smith-Starrer “Marjorie Prime” Acquired by FilmRise
FilmRise has acquired U.S. distributions rights to Lois Smith and Jon Hamm’s holographic love story “Marjorie Prime,” Deadline reports. Directed by Michael Almereyda (“Hamlet”), the sci-fi...
What Happened to the Women Directors in Hollywood? Part 5: 2000–2017
Mira Nair and Ava DuVernay: Wikimedia Commons/IndiaFM/Bollywoodhungama/usbotschaftberlin by Carrie Rickey This five-part Truthdig series by Carrie Rickey is published in partnership with Women and...
Plays from Lucy Kirkwood and Anna Ziegler to Run at Manhattan Theater Club
Manhattan Theater Club is bringing two women-written plays to Broadway. Per The New York Times, Lucy Kirkwood’s “The Children” and Anna Ziegler’s “Actually” will run during the upcoming...
Trailer Watch: Kitty Green Returns to the Scene of the Crime in “Casting JonBenet”
The 1996 murder of six-year-old American beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey made international headlines, but the horrifying crime undoubtedly made the most lasting mark in Boulder, Colorado, where...
Trailer Watch: Tracy Droz Tragos Gives Women a Platform in “Abortion: Stories Women Tell”
“People telling their stories is so important because we keep those things locked inside of ourselves and they kill us,” says one of the characters in a new trailer for “Abortion: Stories...
Carey Mulligan to Star in BBC Miniseries Directed by S.J. Clarkson
Carey Mulligan is teaming up with another woman director. Two months after her latest film, Dee Rees’ “Mudbound,” premiered at Sundance comes word that the Oscar nominee will star in...
“A Woman, a Part” Director Elisabeth Subrin on Making a Movie About a Woman Over 40
Elisabeth Subrin’s critically acclaimed films and video art have screened widely internationally, including at The New York Film Festival, The Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Vienna...
Firelight Media Launches Impact Producer Fellowship & Names Inaugural Honorees
Firelight Media has introduced the Impact Producer Fellowship and announced the initiative’s inaugural participants, Shadow and Act reports. “The first-ever training program dedicated to...
Hot Docs Special Presentations Lineup: Dance Teams, Indigenous Musicians, & Animal Rights Activists
Hot Docs has announced the lineup for their Special Presentations program. Nine of 26 films are directed or co-directed by women, amounting to about 35 percent of the high-profile slate. According...
Trailer Watch: Melissa Leo Is an Atheist with a Cause in “Most Hated Woman in America”
Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins — these are the names most closely associated with atheism in the United States. But this wasn’t always the case. It was in fact a woman who...
“Somersault” Director Cate Shortland Has a Miniseries in the Works
Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland is returning to the small screen. The “Somersault” and “Lore” director is working on an eight-part miniseries for Matchbox Pictures, The Playlist reports....
Zoe Lister-Jones’ “Band Aid” Gets a Release Date
Dysfunctional bands are usually notorious for their diva antics, exploitation of adoring fans, and drug addictions — not passive-aggressive discussions about personal hygiene and doing the...
Sarasota Film Festival to Open and Close with Women-Directed Films
This year’s Sarasota Film Festival will feature women-directed films on Opening and Closing Night. According to a press statement from the festival, Rory Kennedy’s “Take Every Wave: The Life...
Enter Your Short Film to the Audience Awards’ Women’s Film Challenge
Attention, female filmmakers: Have you finished a short narrative film or documentary? Or is there a portion of your feature-length film or doc that you’re ready to share? If so, you should enter...