ALL POSTS
“The Hunting Ground,” “Meru,” “Something Better to Come” Nominated for PGA’s Top Doc Award
Two documentaries directed/co-directed by female filmmakers have been nominated for the Producers Guild of America’s nonfiction award. Hanna Polak’s “Something Better to Come,” a portrait...
Weekly Update for November 20: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 Three years have passed since Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) fired her first arrow in “The Hunger Games.” She...
Quote of the Day: Lou Diamond Phillips Feels “Incredibly Fortunate” to Work With Women Directors
Former “Numb3ers” and current “Longmire” star Lou Diamond Phillips has had great experiences working with women directors, and he recently shared some insight into why that’s the case with...
‘Mustang’ Director Deniz Gamze Ergüven on Creating a Sisterhood, Representing France at the Oscars
“Mustang” is both a powerful coming-of-age story and a touching tribute to sisterhood. The story follows five sisters in Turkey who cause a stir in their ultra-conservative village when...
Is This the End of the Model Gay Character?
Earlier this month, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Ron Nyswaner reignited a debate that has long been percolating in the LGBT community about our representation in media and entertainment. At the...
DOC NYC 2015 Women Directors: Meet Shannon Post — ‘Circle of Poison’
Shannon Post is a filmmaker, sociologist and food and garden educator based in Brooklyn. “Circle of Poison” is her first film. Post is also the co-founder of Player Piano Productions, a company...
DOC NYC 2015 Women Directors: Meet Nicole N. Horanyi — ‘Motley’s Law’
Acclaimed Danish filmmaker Nicole N. Horanyi has screened her award-winning documentary films around the world. “Motley’s Law” is her most recent collaboration with leading European film...
DOC NYC 2015 Women Directors: Meet Holly Morris — ‘The Babushkas of Chernobyl’
Holly Morris has written and directed several documentaries that explore the lives of courageous women: politicos, activists and artists making change in their home cultures. “The Babushkas of...
DOC NYC 2015 Women Directors: Meet Nicole Groton — ‘The Melting Family’
Nicole Groton started her career as Creative Executive at Intuition Productions, where she developed and produced new projects and served as field producer. Groton has worked for the president at...
DOC NYC 2015 Women Directors: Meet Meghan L. O’Hara — ‘The C Word’
As a producer, Meghan L. O’Hara’s credits include the award-winning features “Sicko,” “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Bowling For Columbine.” She began her career directing, writing and...
‘Song of Lahore’ Co-Directer Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on Pakistan’s Rich Music Scene and Culture
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the Oscar-winning co-director of 2012’s “Saving Face,” once again finds inspiration in her birth country, Pakistan, in “Song of Lahore.” This time around,...
“Song of Lahore” Co-Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on Pakistan’s Rich Music Scene and Culture
Interview by Becca Rose Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the Oscar-winning co-director of 2012’s “Saving Face,” once again finds inspiration in her birth country, Pakistan, in “Song of Lahore.”...
DOC NYC 2015 Women Directors: Meet Darcy Dennett — ‘The Champions’
Darcy Dennett has worked in photography, film and television for nearly twenty years. “The Champions” is her first documentary. In 2013, Dennett produced a segment in Nigeria for Oprah...
Kim Longinotto on Her Long Career and the Role of (Lack of) Confidence in Her Filmmaking
For over thirty years, Kim Longinotto has made acclaimed documentaries that have won awards from BAFTA, the Sundance Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival, among others....
DOC NYC 2015 Women Directors: Meet Emily Abt — ‘Daddy Don’t Go’
Filmmaker Emily Abt was one of Variety Magazine’s “Top 10 Directors to Watch” and has produced and directed documentaries for PBS, OWN, MTV, Showtime and the Sundance Channel. Abt earned her...
Guest Post: South African Filmmaker Sara Blecher on Her Afro-Hipster Coming-of-Age Tale ‘Ayanda’
a I’ve always wanted to make feature films. I feel that makingdocumentaries and TV dramas was a valuable way of learning to do this, as was beinga mother. Some people do make features without...
DOC NYC 2015 Women Directors: Meet June Cross — ‘Wilhemina’s War’
June Cross is a writer and documentary producer who covers the intersection of poverty, race and politics in the United States. She has been a Professor of Journalism at Columbia University’s...
5 Takeaways From the ACLU’s Melissa Goodman on the Gender-Discrimination Investigation
Melissa Goodman, the director of the LGBTQ, Gender & Reproductive Justice Project at the ACLU of Southern California, recently spoke with Variety about the dearth of opportunities for women...
DOC NYC 2015 Women Directors: Meet Alex Hammond — ‘Lucha Mexico’
Alex Hammond has worked in film and TV in New York City for over ten years. Her feature debut, “Strange Things,” premiered at MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight Film Festival and was featured on...
Weekly Update for November 6: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Miss You Already — Directed by Catherine Hardwicke; Written by Morwenna Banks — Women and Hollywood’s Pick of the Week In a year filled with great...
Confessions From Above the Celluloid Ceiling: The Truth About White Male Privilege
I don’t remember the first time I really thought about white male privilege, but in retrospect, one incident stands out. I was visiting a school where I was hoping to shoot a scene for a film....
November 2015 Film Preview
Awards season is getting closer, and so several of the much-talked-about contenders — many of them grand romantic dramas — will open in theaters this November. The always glorious Cate...
Jocelyn Moorhouse’s ‘The Dressmaker’ Leads Aussie Oscar Nominations
The nominations for the Aussie Oscars have been announced, and Jocelyn Moorhouse’s “The Dressmaker” is up for a whopping 12 awards. The revenge comedy-drama starring Kate Winslet as a...
Trailer Watch: Elizabeth Bennet Won’t Give Up Her Saber in ‘Pride & Prejudice & Zombies’
A new, full-length trailer has been released for the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling novel “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” This gory take on Jane Austen’s 19th-century romance...
Kate Winslet to Be Honored at the British Independent Film Awards
Kate Winslet is getting another award she can store in her bathroom. The “Steve Jobs” star is set to receive The Variety Award at the 2015 Moet British Independent Film Awards on December 6. The...
Women of ‘Wild’ to Reunite for HBO Series
The stars of last year’s “Wild,” Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, are collaborating with the author of the film’s source material, Cheryl Strayed, on a HBO series. Witherspoon, Dern,...
Watch: Chicken & Egg Pictures Celebrates 10 Years of Supporting Female Filmmakers
Since its founding in 2005, Chicken & Egg Pictures has awarded nearly $4 million in grants and offered 5,200 hours of mentorship to over 190 films. And now the only non-profit film fund...
Producer Mehret Mandefro on How Her Bride-Abduction Drama ‘Difret’ Shows that Change Can Happen
In “Difret,” 14-year-old Hirut (Tizita Hagere) is kidnapped while walking home from school and forced into marriage by an older man she doesn’t know — and who’s willing to do whatever...
Reed Morano on ‘Meadowland,’ Working with Olivia Wilde and Motherhood Discrimination
When cinematographer Reed Morano was invited to join the prestigious American Society of Cinematography (ASC) in 2013, she became their youngest-ever member. The revered director of photography...
Seeking Our Story: The Making of an Oscar Winner: Kathryn Bigelow and “Near Dark”
Kathryn Bigelowand female filmmakers in general had much to celebrate after the “Hurt Locker” director’s history-makingOscar win in 2010. But misperceptions — that Bigelow only makes...
A Scholar’s Reflections on Women Directors: Discrimination and Mentorship, Then and Now
October is WomenDirectors Month on Turner Classic Movies, and my stint as a co-host has been awonderful excuse to revisit over 100 years of women directors and their films. Forthe first 20+ years of...
5 Reasons to Watch ‘Suffragette’ This Weekend
The fight for women’s right to the ballot comes alive this weekend with the opening of “Suffragette,” starring Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Romola Garai, Anne-Marie Duff and Meryl...
Trailer Watch: Jennifer Lawrence is a Powerhouse in Sordid Tale of Millionaire Inventor ‘Joy’
A newly cut trailer has been released for Jennifer Lawrence’s upcoming vehicle “Joy,” her third collaboration with director David O. Russell. The spot begins with Joy (Lawrence) telling her...
Happy Lauren Graham Day! ‘Gilmore Girls’ Returns, as Does Graham’s Partnership With Mae Whitman
Lauren Graham has starred in two of the most beloved television series since the new millennium: the WB’s cult classic “Gilmore Girls” and NBC’s critically acclaimed “Parenthood.” Both...
Women Helmers Win 3 of 4 Awards at London Film Fest; Athina Rachel Tsangari Takes Best Film
“The programming team has declared this the year of the strong woman,” said festival director Clare Stewart back in September at the the launch of this year’s BFI London Film Festival. The...
Weekly Update for October 16: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Truth Cate Blanchett is at the peak of her talents as producer Mary Mapes, who, along with Robert Redford as Dan Rather, takes the fall for reporting on a false...
‘Room’ Author/Screenwriter Emma Donoghue on Her “Deeply Feminist” Film and Industry Sexism
The release of “Room” will likely spell the beginning of Brie Larson’s career as an A-list star. While Larson won great favor with critics for her heartbreaking portrayal of a group-home...
10 Women Directors Who Could Helm a ‘Star Wars’ Spin-Off
Producer Kathleen Kennedy, who’ll oversee the upcoming “Stars Wars” trilogy and standalone Han Solo film, is adamant that her version of a galaxy that originally only had just six women in it...
‘Room’ Author/Screenwriter Emma Donoghue on Her “Deeply Feminist” Film and Industry Sexism
The release of "Room" will likely spell the beginning of Brie Larson’s career as an A-list star. While Larson won great favor with critics for her heartbreaking portrayal of a...
Meryl Streep to Lead Berlinale Awards Team in Her First Festival Jury Role
Meryl Streep will serve as president of the awards jury at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival. It will be the three-time Oscar winner’s first time on a film-festival jury. Streep...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Chanya Button — ‘Burn Burn Burn’
Chanya Button made her start in the industry at an early age, working as an Assistant Director on the “Harry Potter” feature-film franchise. Button has since worked extensively across both the...
Quote of the Day: Mimi Leder: In Filmmaking, “It’s Mostly Males Hiring, and They Mostly Hire Males”
In 1998, “Deep Impact” left a serious impression at the box office, earning nearly $350 million dollars on an estimated $80 million budget. But we haven’t seen much of its director Mimi...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Natalie Cristiani — ‘Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta’
Natalie Cristiani graduated from Centro Sperimentale Di Cinematografia in Rome as a Film Editor in 2002. From 2002 she has worked as a film editor with various talented young directors, including...
The 3 Most WTF Excerpts from Quentin Tarantino’s Interview Diminishing Kathryn Bigelow & Ava DuVernay
Does Quentin Tarantino want to be taken seriously, or doesn’t he? Based on a new NY Times interview with novelist Bret Easton Ellis, the answer seems to be “as long as you work under the same...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Laura Bispuri — ‘Sworn Virgin’
Laura Bispuri’s 2010 short film “Passing Time” won Italy’s David di Donatello Award. “Sworn Virgin” is her first feature film. (Variety) “Sworn Virgin” will premiere at the 2015 BFI...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Miranda Pennell — ‘The Host’
Miranda Pennell originally trained in contemporary dance and later studied visual anthropology. Pennell’s video work until 2007 explored different forms of collective performance and has been...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Mabel Cheung — ‘A Tale of Three Cities’
Mabel Cheung is an award-winning director and producer. Her debut feature, “The Illegal Immigrant” (1985), won her the Best Director Prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards and a Special Jury Award...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli — ‘Frame by Frame’
Alexandria Bombach is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker who lives on the road. The founder of Red Reel, Bombach is known to sell all her belongings to tell a story she believes in. Mo Scarpelli is a...
‘Big Stone Gap’ Director Adriana Trigiani Discusses Her Novel’s 15-Year Road to the Big Screen
In “Big Stone Gap,” Ave Maria Mulligan (Ashley Judd), the town’s self-proclaimed spinster, has resigned herself to a quiet life of singlehood and being useful. She works in her family’s...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari — ‘The New Classmate’
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari spent 16 years in the advertising agency Leo Burnett telling stories for the biggest brands in India and South East Asia. “The New Classmate” is her first feature film....
‘Suffragette’ Screenwriter Abi Morgan on Feminism and the Challenges of Casting Men for the Women’s Rights Film
“Suffragette” screenwriter Abi Morgan was recently interviewed by Variety and touched on everything from female-driven narratives and the difficulty of casting men in supporting roles to the...