#Belle 2
Book Excerpt: The Future of Feminist Film
The following is excerpted from Sophie Mayer’s “Political Animals: The New Feminist Cinema,” published in December 2015. Just over a year ago, the 2014 European Film Awards might have thought...
Amma Asante on Channeling the Warrior Queen to Make ‘Belle’
In the midst of the 2015 Berlinale, Amma Asante gave the closing speech at an International Women’s Film Festival Network (IWFFN) event on February 12. The director was candid about the...
Quote of the Day: A.O. Scott on the Diminishment of Films About Women
Movies about women make 20% more money than movies about men, but female protagonists continue to disappear from the big screen. Gender in the larger Oscar conversation has largely focused on the...
The Best Films About Women in 2014
Women and Hollywood’s end-of-year coverage includes our “Best Women-Directed Documentaries of 2014 (That We Managed to See),” “Best Women-Directed Films of 2014,” and “Best TV Shows and...
‘Belle’ Director Amma Asante: “No Industry Can Remain Sustainable Without New and Diverse Life Blood”
Despite a BAFTA win for her directorial debut (A Way of Life), it took nearly a decade for Amma Asante to make her sophomore picture (Belle). Asante was clearly speaking from first-hand experience...
Only 2 of the 25 Top-Earning Indies This Year Directed by Women
Things are supposed to be easier for female narrative directors in the indie world, but that just often isn’t the case. Peter Knegt published a list of the 25 top-earning indie productions of the...
Trailer Watch: Gugu Mbatha-Raw is a Troubled Pop Star in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Beyond the Lights
After starring in Amma Asante’s Austenesque romance Belle, Gugu Mbatha-Raw will next be seen as a troubled pop star in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Beyond the Lights. At the Los Angeles Film...
Guest Post: What We Can Learn About Women in Hollywood from Amma Asante’s Belle
Have you seen the extraordinary new film Belle? Amma Asante’s latest project is not just a great work, but a testament tothe equal ability of women to direct great films. In fact, Belle...
Belle Director Amma Asante on Challenging Stereotypes About Black Directors
There’s nothing quite like Belle on the contemporary film scene — a luxurious period film and a sweet, gentle romance that wears its keenly insightful politics on its silk sleeves. Belle is...
Belle Director Amma Asante Explains Why She Wanted Tell a Jane Austen Story With a Black Protagonist
There’s nothing quite like Belle on the contemporary film scene — a luxurious period film and a sweet, gentle romance that wears its keenly insightful politics on its silk sleeves. Belle is...
Women and Hollywood Summer 2014 Preview
Mark Wahlberg gave us all something to laugh about when he declared the Transformers movies to be “the most iconic franchise in movie history” at this year’s Cinema Con, the annual convention...
Athena FF: Amma Asante’s Belle Revisits Jane Austen Through Black POV
“This is the story of a woman who is loved.” Those are the words black British director Amma Asante used to describe her marvelous sophomore feature Belle at the Athena Film Festival this past...
Amma Asante, Rebecca Miller Announce New Projects
Great news: two female filmmakers have announced new projects. Buoyed by positive reviews of her upcoming film Belle, British director Amma Asante has signed on to direct the studio thriller...
Women-Directed Films in 2014 Will Be Few and Far Between (Updated)
Movie-lovers interested in films by women directors won’t have much reason to go to the mutliplex this year. In 2013, only three films from female filmmakers — Frozen, Carrie, and Black...
Trailer Watch: Belle — Directed by Amma Asante
Amma Asante’s Belle premiered last month at TIFF. The film tells the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) the bi-racial, illegitimate daughter of a Royal Navy admiral in the 18th...