ALL POSTS
ArcLight Cinemas to Host Women in Entertainment Workshop Series
ArcLight Cinemas has announced line-up for the ArcLight Women in Entertainment Workshop Series. The event series is designed to “spark a more transparent and open dialogue” on opportunities for...
Tribeca 2016 Women Directors: Meet Liza Johnson — ‘Elvis & Nixon’
Liza Jonhnson is a writer and director whose feature films “Return” (2011) and “Hateship Loveship” (2013) have screened at the Cannes, Toronto, New York, Berlin and Rotterdam film festivals,...
Tribeca 2016 Women Directors: Meet Ferne Pearlstein — ‘The Last Laugh’
Ferne Pearlstein is is a prize-winning cinematographer, a feature film editor and a writer/director whose work has won numerous awards and been screened and broadcast around the world. In 2003...
Tribeca 2016 Women Directors: Meet Tracy Droz Tragos — ‘Abortion: Stories Women Tell’
Tracy Droz Tragos is an award-winning independent filmmaker. Tragos’ “Rich Hill” explored rural poverty through the intimate lens of vulnerable adolescents and their families struggling for a...
Tribeca 2016 Women Directors: Meet Kristi Jacobson — ‘Solitary’
Kristi Jacobson’s 2013 film “A Place at the Table” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film won the IDA’s prestigious Pare Lorentz Award and was nominated for Best Feature...
Pamela Romanowsky on the Past and the Mysteries of Our Minds in ‘The Adderall Diaries’
Pamela Romanowsky is a Brooklyn-based writer and director. She is an alumnus of The Sundance Institute’s Screenwriting, Directing, and Composition & Sound labs and the Creative Producing...
Tribeca 2016 Women Directors: Meet Deb Shoval — ‘AWOL’
Deb Shoval was raised by her Israeli father and American mother in a Pennsylvania coal town, where she now runs an organic vegetable farm. Shoval’s short film “AWOL” premiered at Sundance...
Tribeca 2016 Women Directors: Meet Amanda Micheli — ‘haveababy’
Amanda Micheli is an award-winning director and cinematographer. She earned an Oscar nomination for “La Corona,” which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival before airing on HBO. In 2004,...
Tribeca 2016 Preview: Films By and About Women to Catch At This Year’s Fest
The Tribeca Film Festival kicks off tomorrow. Only 33 percent of the films screening in the competition sections are directed by women. Still, the 15th edition of Tribeca features a significant...
‘Creed’ Star Tessa Thompson Joins ‘Thor: Ragnarok’
Now that we know that Natalie Portman won’t be reprising her role as Jane Foster in the third Thor film, set for July 2017, there’s another female lead taking her place in Asgard. According to...
10 Things We Learned About Karyn Kusama’s Tumultuous Career from Her BuzzFeed Profile
Filmmaker Karyn Kusama hit the scene at Sundance 2000 where she premiered her debut feature, “Girlfight,” before a crowd of thousands. The film, which starred a then-unknown Michelle Rodriguez...
Tribeca 2016 Women Directors: Meet Deborah S. Esquenazi — ‘Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four’
Deborah S. Esquenazi is an Austin-based documentary filmmaker, radio producer, instructor and journalist. Her work explores the intersections of mythology and justice, identity and power. Esquenazi...
‘Creed’ Star Tessa Thompson Joins ‘Thor: Ragnarok’
Now that we know that Natalie Portman won’t be reprising her role as Jane Foster in the third Thor film, set for July 2017, there’s another female lead taking her place in Asgard....
Liz Garbus on Her Mother Son Doc ‘Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper’
Liz Garbus’ films have been acclaimed worldwide and have garnered multiple Academy Award nominations and Emmy Award wins. Her previous film, “What Happened, Miss Simone?” was the Opening Night...
Karyn Kusama on the Power of Grief and Denial in the Dinner Party from Hell, ‘The Invitation’
Karyn Kusama wrote and directed her first feature film, “Girlfight,” in 1999. The film won the Director’s Prize and shared the Grand Jury Prize at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, the Grand...
Sarasota Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Deborah Kampmeier — ‘SPLit’
Deborah Kampmeier is an award-winning filmmaker and theater director. Kampmeier’s first feature film, “Virgin,” won several awards and was nominated for two 2004 Independent Spirit Awards. Her...
Trailer Watch: Animal Rights Evolve in Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker’s ‘Unlocking the Cage’
A trailer has arrived for “Unlocking the Cage,” Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker’s eye-opening Sundance animal rights doc. “When you imprison a chimpanzee, the chimpanzee understands that...
April 2016 Film Preview
There are plenty of opportunities to catch a female-centric and/or women-directed film in April. The month kicks off with “God’s Not Dead 2,” starring Melissa Joan Hart. The former teen witch...
Seeking Our Story: Personal Filmmaking with Allison Anders’ ‘Gas Food Lodging’
Allison Anders (b. 1954) began life in rural Kentucky. By age four her father abandoned the family and her mother packed up her five daughters to move to Los Angeles. After enduring abuse from a...
Trailer Watch: Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt Leave ‘Nothing Left Unsaid’
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has made a name for himself outside of his famous Vanderbilt family, but now his relationship with his socialite mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, is being explored in Liz...
Lake Bell To Write, Direct, Produce and Star in ‘What’s the Point?’
In a world… where female filmmakers can thrive, Lake Bell will emerge victorious. Bell will write, direct, produce and star in “What’s the Point? (And Other Fair Questions About Marriage).”...
Trailer Watch: ‘Love & Friendship’ Re-Teams ‘Disco’ Darlings Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny
Maybe this will be like “Last Days of Disco” but with corsets and manners?Chloe Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale have teamed up again with their “Disco” director Whit Stillman for “Love &...
Gwendoline Christie Joins Elisabeth Moss for Season 2 of Jane Campion’s ‘Top of the Lake’
The force is strong with “Game of Thrones” star Gwendoline Christie — and “Top of the Lake” fans. Hot off her big screen success with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Christie will...
Exclusive: Release Date Set for Maya Vitkova’s Debut ‘Viktoria’
Maya Vitkova’s 2014 Sundance hit “Viktoria” is finally hitting U.S. theaters and Women and Hollywood has the exclusive release date. The film will premiere in New York on April 29, distributed...
It Was a Great Weekend for Women at the Box Office
It was a good weekend for women at the specialty box office. The Helen Mirren thriller “Eye in the Sky” and Sally Field comedy “Hello, My Name is Doris” both performed well, according to...
IFC Films Picks Up Kelly Reichardt’s ‘Certain Women,’ Starring Michelle Williams
IFC Films has acquired the U.S. rights to Kelly Reichardt’s “Certain Women.” The star-studded drama premiered in January at Sundance to strong notices. Stage 6 Films scooped up the...
Celebrate International Women’s Day With Films By and About Women
Happy International Women’s Day from the Women and Hollywood team. In honor of the occasion, we’ve asked our interns to highlight some of their favorite movies by and about women. They’ve...
Listen: Women and Hollywood Podcast #24: ‘Trapped’ Director Dawn Porter
Women and Hollywood talked to director Dawn Porter about her timely, high-profile new documentary “Trapped.” The film takes its name from the hundreds of “TRAP” (targeted regulation of...
Mary Stuart Masterson Wants to Open A Movie Studio in Upstate NY
Mary Stuart Masterson plans to open a movie studio away from the bright lights of New York City and even further from Hollywood. The actress, producer, director and writer, best known for starring in...
Watch: John Oliver and ‘Trapped’ Set the Stage for Historic Supreme Court Case on Abortion
A recent episode of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” tackled insidious abortion laws and their devastating impact on women nationwide. In typical Oliver fashion, the segment was...
Guest Post: What I Learned Shadowing on ‘Homeland’
A year ago, I went to a “diversity” lunch at Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. I was hesitant to attend, because the overwhelming majority of those who currently fill this position are...
What You See Isn’t What You Get: February 2016’s VOD and Web Series Picks
February’s picks for VOD features and web series showcase new sides of seemingly familiar protagonists. In “The Skinny,” actress Jessie Kahnweiler plays a fictionalized version of herself to...
The 15 Best Quotes About Working in Hollywood as a Non-Straight White Male
Mindy Kaling, America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, directors Kimberly Peirce and Karyn Kusama and many, many others contributed to a fantastic NY Times feature published yesterday called “What It’s...
20 of Hollywood’s Biggest Male Stars Have Never Worked With a Female Director
Of the top 100 grossing leading men in Hollywood, 20 haven’t worked on a single film with a woman director, Cosmopolitan has revealed. The magazine compiled a list of the big screen’s A-list...
Ava DuVernay Signs On To Direct Disney’s ‘A Wrinkle in Time’
“Selma” director Ava DuVernay will helm Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” an adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved and bestselling 1963 fantasy novel of the same name. “Frozen”...
WMC Study: Women Get Fewer Than 1 in 5 Oscar Nominations in Non-Acting Categories
When the Oscars take place on Sunday, February 28, just 22% of the non-acting award hopefuls at Dolby Theatre will be female. Depressingly, that’s actually an above-average rate for women...
Elizabeth Wood’s ‘White Girl’ and Penny Lane’s ‘NUTS!’ Land at Streaming Sites
Two female-helmed features out of Sundance — Elizabeth Wood’s drug drama “White Girl” and Penny Lane’s animated medical documentary “NUTS!” — have found distribution....
What Happened After Swedish Theaters Introduced a Bechdel Rating for Its Movies?
This is the first of three dispatches from the 2016 Gothenburg International Film Festival. The Bechdel Test is a vastly imperfect tool for gauging a film’s feminism and gender progressivism. And...
Trailer Watch: Mirjana Karanovic Questions What It Means to Be ‘A Good Wife’ in Post-War Serbia
A trailer has been released for Serbian actress Mirjana Karanovic’s directorial debut, “A Good Wife.” Karanovic (“Grbavica”), who co-wrote the script, stars as Milena, a homemaker living in...
Full Frame to Honor Director/Cinematographer Kirsten Johnson With Award, Retrospective
Filmmaker Kirsten Johnson will be feted at the 2016 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Johnson will receive this year’s Tribute Award and have her 27-year career behind the camera showcased in...
Ava DuVernay Circling Sci-Fi Starring Lupita Nyong’o and Jennifer Lee-Scripted ‘A Wrinkle in Time’
Ava DuVernay is in seriously high demand. The “Selma” director is reportedly currently being courted to direct not one but two high-profile features. Deadline reports that DuVernay is expected...
Maggie Greenwald’s Interracial Romance ‘Sophie and the Rising Sun’ Secures Representation
Writer-director Maggie Greenwald’s “Sophie and the Rising Sun” will be represented by Entertainment One’s Seville International. The sales agent acquired the exclusive rights to all regions...
Guest Post: Hollywood Is Not Solely To Blame For Lack Of Diversity — Critics Are, Too
Lately, due to the #OscarsSoWhite,#OscarsSoMale and #AltOscarParty campaigns, a lot of attention is being paid to how The Academy, and Hollywood in a more general sense, fails to reward women and...
Dawn Porter’s Abortion Doc ‘Trapped’ Gets Distribution Deal
Dawn Porter’s “Trapped” has landed a distribution deal. Trilogy Films, Big Mouth Productions, Cedar Creek Productions and Chicken & Egg Pictures have announced a partnership with Ro*Co...
Ondi Timoner to Direct Biopic of Robert Mapplethorpe Starring Zosia Mamet and Matt Smith
Writer, producer, director and all-round Renaissance woman Ondi Timoner wil helm a biopic of American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Former “Doctor Who” star Matt Smith will take on the role...
Marty, Bobby and Me: An Excerpt from ‘KooKooLand,’ a New Memoir by Gloria Norris
This excerpt from my new book, “KooKooLand,” describes a time, in the fall of 1978, when I was an aspiring filmmaker in New York City. I’d spent the previous year working for no pay on a...
Clea Duvall’s Directorial Debut ‘The Intervention’ Acquired By Paramount
Clea Duvall first effort behind the camera has paid off in spades. The character actress’s directorial debut, “The Intervention,” has been sold for “just north of $2 million” at Sundance...
Kelly Reichardt Retrospective to Tour Europe
After her latest feature, “Certain Women,” gained unanimously rapturous reviews out of Sundance, Kelly Reichardt will have her filmography travel Europe in a career-long retrospective. The...
Chloë Sevigny’s Directorial Debut Headlines Refinery29 Female Filmmaker Short Film Series
Lifestyle website Refinery29 is putting female filmmakers in the spotlight with a series of short films. The appropriately named ShatterBox Anthology promises to showcase the work of an array of...
February 2016 Film Preview
February’s slate of female-centric and/or women-directed films begins with “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” — a fun spin on the Jane Austen classic that takes the Elizabeth Bennett’s...
Chloe Zhao’s ‘Songs My Brothers Taught Me’ Lands Distribution Deal With Kino Lorber
Writer-director Chloe Zhao’s festival gem “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” has been acquired by Kino Lorber. Made with a largely unprofessional Lakota Native American cast, the drama focuses on...