ALL POSTS
Weekly Update for June 3: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Dear followers: Welcome to the Women and Hollywood Weekly Update. Each week we will be sharing with you films by and about women that are opening around the U.S. We’ll also include information...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Finell — “Sensitivity Training”
Melissa Finell is an award-winning director and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. “Sensitivity Training” is her first feature film. Her script for the film won an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Finell — “Sensivity Training”
“Sensitivity Training”Melissa Finell is an award-winning director and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. “Sensitivity Training” is her first feature film. Her script for the film won an...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Eve Marson — “Dr. Feelgood”
Eve Marson is a Harvard graduate, born and raised in New York City. She was the lead producer on the feature documentary “Fed Up,” an exposé of the food industry with journalist Katie Couric...
Effie Brown on “Project Greenlight,” Inclusiveness, and Loving Comic Book Films
You’d have to have been living under a rock for the past year to not know about the whole Effie Brown, Matt Damon, “Project Greenlight,” “Did he really say that? Oh god he did,” debacle....
Alicia Slimmer on Bad Dog Actors and Her Kick-Ass Retro Soundtrack in “Creedmoria”
Alicia Slimmer has worked on many independent films as an actor, assistant director, set dresser, and producer. “Creedmoria” is her debut feature film. It took home the juried prize of Best...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Tracy Wares — “Political Animals”
Tracy Wares has made documentaries on five continents. She’s worked on projects such as “Bomb It,” “Gay Republicans,” and “Smokin’ Fish.” Wares’ work has aired on ABC, PBS,...
Jojo Moyes on Creating “Me Before You” From Book to Film
Author Jojo Moyes penned the screenplay for the upcoming film “Me Before You,” which opens June 3, a love story about two very different characters who should have never met, but do due to very...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Amber Tamblyn — “Paint It Black”
Amber Tamblyn is a writer, director, and actress from Los Angeles. She has received an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Independent Spirit Award nomination for her work in television and film. Her acting...
LA Film Fest 2016 Women Directors: Meet Maria Govan — “Play the Devil”
Maria Govan is a self-taught filmmaker from the island of New Providence in the Bahamas. After working on sets in Hollywood, she returned home and began making small guerilla-style local...
“Me Before You” Director Thea Sharrock on Choosing Emilia Clarke and Her Film Debut
“Me Before You” is Thea Sharrock’s film directorial debut. Plucked from the London theater scene, she was brought in to direct one of the most popular novels in the world; one that has spent...
Women and Hollywood’s #WFW Partners With Women in Film and The Director List for #AskHerFilm
We are incredibly excited to announce that, starting next week, we will be joining forces with Women In Film and The Director List for our #WFW feature. We absolutely love what Women in Film and...
Inside Out 2016 Women Directors: Meet Carly Usdin — “Suicide Kale”
Carly Usdin spent several years with Viacom Media Networks. During that time she created award-winning promo campaigns for shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and produced an on-air music series...
Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson” Acquired by Janus Films
Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson” has been acquired by Janus Films after a successful run on the festival circuit. The distributor picked up all North American rights to the documentary, which...
Inside Out 2016 Women Directors: Meet Cecilia Aldarondo — “Memories of a Penitent Heart”
Cecilia Aldarondo holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and is an Assistant Professor of Film Studies at Skidmore College. She was the inaugural recipient of the Roberto Guerra Documentary...
Inside Out 2016 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Rotella — “Almost Adults”
Sarah Rotella directs short films, web series, and features. “Almost Adults” is her debut feature length film. Her directing efforts have garnered over 68 million YouTube views and her films...
Seeking Our Story: Growing Up with Catherine Hardwicke’s “Thirteen”
“Thirteen” Guest Post by Angela Trott Catherine Hardwick will be appearing in person at this event, see details below. Catherine Hardwicke (b. 1955) grew up in McAllen, Texas on the border...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Shirley Abraham — “The Cinema Travellers”
“The Cinema Travellers” is Shirley Abraham’s feature directorial debut. The documentary was co-directed by Amit Madheshiya. The film premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on...
Kerry Washington, Julianna Margulies, Sarah Paulson, and More Women of TV Talk Sexism on THR’s…
Kerry Washington, Julianna Margulies, Sarah Paulson, and More Women of TV Talk Sexism on THR’s Roundtable The Actress Roundtable: The Hollywood Reporter The Hollywood Reporter has put together...
Chloë Sevigny Was Sexually Harassed During Auditions
It seems no woman is immune from sexual harassment, especially in the film industry. At the Cannes Film Festival this week, Chloë Sevigny, who is at the fest with a short film she directed called...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Houda Benyamina — “Divines”
After completing her diploma at ERAC (Acting School for the Cannes Region), Houda Benyamina gained training as a director through the 1000 Faces association, which she founded in 2006 as a way of...
Cannes and Women: Part One
Julia Roberts barefoot at Cannes: Wochit Entertainment/ YouTube It’s day six at the Cannes Film Festival and all three of the Competition films directed by women have premiered. Both Andrea...
Nancy Drew Dropped from CBS for Being “Too Female” and More Pilot News
Next week’s “upfront” presentations in New York are where TV networks will hype their upcoming schedules to advertisers. As a result, a lot of big television decisions are being made. Many...
Cannes Deals: Helen Mirren, Ellen Page, Elisabeth Moss, and More
The Cannes Film Festival kicked off on May 11, and each day brings word of new projects and acquisitions. Cannes isn’t just a forum to screen prestigious films — it’s an industry hub where...
Cannes 2016 Part 1: On the Ground at this Wack Job of a Festival
It’s really hard to describe Cannes. They screen the crème de la crème of films (according to the fest, anyway) but they also have a market with lowbrow fare like “Dudes and Dragons.” It is...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Shahrbanoo Sadat — “Wolf and Sheep”
Shahrbanoo Sadat is an Afghan screenwriter and director. Sadat’s first short fiction film, “Vice Versa One,” was selected at Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2011. In 2013, she launched her...
Oscar Winner Brenda Chapman to Make Live-Action Directing Debut
The Oscar-winning co-director of “Brave” is entering the world of live-action filmmaking. Brenda Chapman’s first foray outside of animation will be “Come Away,” a prequel to two animated...
Cannes 2016 Women Directors: Meet Stéphanie Di Giusto — “The Dancer”
Stéphanie Di Giusto co-wrote “The Dancer,” which marks her feature directorial debut. “The Dancer” will premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 13. W&H: Describe the film for...
Maria Bamford Finally Explodes in “Lady Dynamite”
As far as I can tell, the only lyric in the opening theme to Maria Bamford’s gloriously surreal new Netflix show is “I’m a pterodactyl!” Except in the pilot, when it’s “Have you ever...
Natalie Johns on Her Inspiring Skateboarding Doc “I Am Thalente”
Natalie Johns was born in Zimbabwe, grew up in South Africa, and moved to London in 1997 to begin a career specializing in live entertainment television and documentary film. In 2013, she moved to...
Why Research on Women Filmmakers Matters To Us All
When I was an undergraduate, I wanted to be a filmmaker. I wrote an essay declaring I would be a woman director, who made films about women, with all-women crews. Today, I am an Associate Professor...
Jodie Foster Gets a Star on the Walk of Fame, Talks Her Directing Style
Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “I grew up blocks from Hollywood Boulevard and would cross it every single day of my life,” said...
“The Birth of the Pill” Coming to TV
Reproductive health in the U.S. has never been short of drama. Now a new event series will tell the story of the capsule that’s changed the lives and bedrooms of millions nationally and...
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin on Hollywood After 50 and “Grace and Frankie” Season 2
“Grace and Frankie”: Netflix Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s resumes are long and illustrious, and of course include “9 to 5,” the popular feminist tale they made together in the 70s. Both are...
5 Reasons to Check Out Chelsea Handler’s New Gig on Netflix
On May 11, the deeply snarky Chelsea Handler comes back with a new talk show — the first for Netflix, premiering at 12:01 a.m. This means she’s officially back in the late-night club where,...
Female Cinematographers Band Together to Form CINEMATOGRAPHERS XX
Female cinematographers are banding together to form a new, supportive group called CINEMATOGRAPHERS XX, which will “help the crews behind the camera be more reflective of the stories they create,...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Marcie Hume — “Magicians: Life in the Impossible”
Marcie Hume began her documentary career in factual television in London. She has produced and directed a range of series for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel. Along...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Rama Thiaw — “The Revolution Won’t Be Televised”
Rama Thiaw is a writer, director, and producer at Boul Falle Images, a Senegalese film production company. Mauritanian and Senegalese, she grew up between Senegal and Europe. She has previously...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Helena Třeštíková— “Mallory”
Helena Třeštíková has directed forty films since graduating from Prague’s FAMU film school in 1974. Recently, Trestikova’s works have been the subject of retrospectives at several major...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Hélène Choquette — “A Dog’s Life”
Hélène Choquette has been dedicating herself to making documentaries on social and political issues since she made her debut as a camerawoman and photographer in 2001. She co-directed the...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Laura Dunn— “The Seer”
Laura Dunn started making documentaries in response to her undergraduate experience at Yale University. Through a chronicle of labor strikes on campus, “The Subtext of a Yale Education” examines...
May 2016 Film Preview
“Gayby Baby” There’s an array of choices to support female-centric and/or women-directed films in May. The month kicks off with “Gayby Baby,” a documentary that explores the increased...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Trisha Ziff — “The Man Who Saw Too Much”
Trisha Ziff’s feature documentary credits include “Chevolution” and “The Mexican Suitcase.” Ziff’s “Pirate Copy; Pirate Stories” is a collection of three shorts following a road trip...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Heidi Brandenburg — “When Two Worlds Collide”
Heidi Brandenburg co-founded Yachaywasi Films to explore social and environmental issues and challenge audiences to rethink preconceptions. Born in Paraguay and raised in Peru and Germany, she now...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Anjali Nayar — “Gun Runners”
Anjali Nayar’s award-winning filmmaking and journalism work has explored myriad topics, ranging from climate change to political activism to pop culture. In her fractionally fictional documentary,...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors — Meet Monika Grassl — “Girls Don’t Fly”
Monika Grassl was born in in Vienna, Austria. In 2006 she wrote an analysis about Austrian documentary filmmaking for the Vienna Film Fund. She also created monthly portraits about unusual people...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Alethea Arnaquq-Baril — “Angry Inuk”
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril is an Inuit filmmaker from the Canadian Arctic, where her production company, Unikkaat Studios, is based. For her award-winning APTN documentary “Tunniit: Retracing the Lines...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Susanne Regina Meures — “Raving Iran”
Susanne Regina Meures was born in west Germany. She studied photography and art history at The Courtauld in London and film at the Zurich University of the Arts. She worked for numerous print...
Hot Docs 2016 Women Directors: Meet Tal Barda — “The Wonderful Kingdom of Papa Alaev”
Tal Barda is a graduate of Tel Aviv University’s Film and Television Department. She is also a graduate of Le Mirail University in France. Her directing and producing credits include “A...
Julie Dash’s Landmark Film “Daughters of the Dust” Restored for Re-release
Cohen Media Group has announced that their branch Cohen Film Collection has acquired rights to and will release a new restoration of Julie Dash’s landmark film “Daughters of the Dust.” They...
“Viktoria” Director Maya Viktova on the Difficult Journey To Make Her Directorial Debut
Maya Viktova is a writer-director and producer. In 2008, she executive produced Kamen Kalev’s debut feature “Eastern Plays,” which premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 2009 and...