Documentary, Festivals, News, Women Directors

SXSW Lineup Announced: 5 of 20 Films in Competition Directed By Women; DuVernay To Give Keynote

Few of South by Southwest 2015’s highest-profile films will be directed by women.

The Austin festival, which will take place on March 13–21, will showcase only two narrative features in competition directed by women (Hannah Fidell’s 6 Years and Alison Bagnall’s Funny Bunny) out of total of 10. The documentary feature competition scene is only a little better, with 3 out of 10 titles helmed by female directors (Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli’s Frame by Frame, Samatha Futerman’s co-directed Twinsters, and Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti’s A Woman Like Me).

This means that, overall, 5 out of 20, or 25%, of the films in competition are directed by women.

On a brighter note, there’s still plenty to look forward to in Austin. The festival will include a “works in progress” showing of one of our most eagerly awaited films of the year, Trainwreck, which Amy Schumer penned and stars in. Fellow funny lady Melissa McCarthy will be in attendance for the gala premiere of Spy, her latest venture with writer-director Paul Feig, who previously directed her in The Heat and Bridesmaids (and will pair up with McCarthy for a fourth time for the Ghostbusters reboot).

Other screenings of women-directed include Jamie Babbit’s Fresno, Shannon Sun-Higginson’s GTFO: Get The F% Out, Laura Gabbert’s City of Gold, Jessica Edwards’ Mavis!, and Lina Mannheimer’s The Ceremony. The Episodics screening section will include TBS’s Angie Tribeca, starring Rashida Jones and co-created by Nancy Carell.

Keynote speakers for the festival include Ava DuVernay (Selma) and Gina Prince-Bythewood (Beyond the Lights, The Secret Life of Bees).

Here is the trailer for Mavis!, the first documentary to focus on Mavis Staples, whose music helped propel the civil rights movement.

[via Variety]


Liliana Cavani to Receive Venice Film Fest’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement

Liliana Cavani is set to receive a major honor at the 80th edition of Venice Film Festival. The Italian filmmaker will be awarded a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement, per Deadline. Counting...

Eva Longoria’s “Flamin’ Hot” Wins SXSW Audience Award

Eva Longoria’s narrative feature debut set SXSW ablaze. The fest has announced its Audience Award winners, and “Flamin’ Hot” took home the honor in the Headliners slate. The...

Athena Film Festival Unveils Winners and Finalists for the Athena List

The Athena Film Festival (AFF)  has announced the winners and finalists for the 2023 Athena List, the fest’s selection of the best unproduced screenplays highlighting female...

Posts Search

Publishing Dates
Start date
- select start date -
End date
- select end date -
Category
News
Films
Interviews
Features
Trailers
Festivals
Television
RESET