#Coming Of Age
Pick of the Day: “Catherine Called Birdy”
“You have wings. You must learn how to harness them,” the 14-year-old protagonist of “Catherine Called Birdy” is advised midway through the Medieval coming-of-age pic....
Pick of the Day: “Girl Picture”
I wish I had come of age in the world of “Girl Picture.” Alli Haapasalo’s Sundance award winner follows three 17- or 18-year-old young women as they begin to figure out who they are...
Trailer Watch: Tween Girls Come of Age and Find a Dead Body in “Summering”
Four tweens make a pact to solve a mystery in “Summering,” a coming-of-age story that’s reminiscent of “Stand By Me.” This time around, the friends at the center of the...
Pick of the Day: “Murina”
When we spoke to Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović about her feature directorial debut during its run at Cannes last year, she told us, “It was important for me to portray both the [evolution] and...
July 2022 Film Preview
The Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade is a brutal reminder that the rights of freedom and bodily autonomy are never truly won and that the fight for basic human rights remains ongoing....
Tribeca 2022 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Elizabeth Mintz – “Good Girl Jane”
Sarah Elizabeth Mintz is a writer-director working in New York and Los Angeles. She received her BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she completed her thesis film...
Theresa Ikoko & Lisa Holdsworth’s Coming-of-Age Series “Dance School” Commissioned by Channel 4
The U.K.’s Channel 4 has commissioned an eight-part coming-of-age drama series — working title “Dance School” — from Theresa Ikoko (“Rocks”) and Lisa...
April 2022 Film Preview
As we slip into springtime in the Northern Hemisphere, we witness the world around us transforming. It’s a time of metamorphosis, and April’s film slate is full of titles engaging with...
Trailer Watch: A Teenage Delinquent Finds Magic in Kate Tsang’s “Marvelous and the Black Hole”
Kate Tsang’s coming-of-age comedy “Marvelous and the Black Hole,” has another magic trick up its sleeve: a charming trailer, just released. Written and directed by Tsang, the film...
Sundance 2022 Women Directors: Meet Jamie Dack – “Palm Trees and Power Lines”
Jamie Dack is a filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. Her short film “Palm Trees and Power Lines” premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival as a Cinéfondation selection. Her debut feature...
Sundance 2022 Women Directors: Meet Hanna Bergholm – “Hatching”
Hanna Bergholm is a Finnish film director who has helmed several internationally-awarded short films and TV drama series. Her latest short horror film, “Puppet Master,” was selected to...
Sundance 2022 Women Directors: Meet Alli Haapasalo – “Girl Picture”
Alli Haapasalo is a Finnish director and writer with passion for telling strong female-driven stories. Haapasalo’s feature debut, 2016’s “Love and Fury,” followed a writer finding...
Sundance 2022 Women Directors: Meet Carlota Pereda – “Piggy”
Carlota Pereda is a film and series director from Madrid. Pereda started her career in television and was nominated for the Television Academy’s Iris Award for “Águila Roja”...
October 2021 Television Preview
From narratives of independent women striving to find a foothold for themselves to coming-of-age narratives, fall TV has much to offer. Kicking off the month is Molly Smith Metzler’s “Maid”...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Darin J. Sallam – “Farha”
Darin J. Sallam is a Jordanian writer and director who has five award winning short films including “Still Alive,” “The Dark Outside,” and “The Parrot,” all of...
Cannes 2021 Women Directors: Meet Sandrine Kiberlain – “A Radiant Girl”
Sandrine Kiberlain is a French actress and singer. She received the César for Best Actress for her role in “9-Month Stretch.” The short film “Smile” was her first film as a director....
Trailer Watch: Jessica Barden Joins a Scrap Metal Crew to Pay for College in Nicole Riegel’s “Holler”
Jessica Barden finds herself torn between her dreams, family, loyalty, and the law in “Holler,” Nicole Riegel’s feature debut. Set in southern Ohio, the drama tells the story of...
Rites and Wrongs of Passage: Crowdfunding Picks
Growing up, teenage life on the big screen was often too good – or too terrible – to be true. Like those as-seen-on-TV gimmicks, the selling point is enticing enough for you to buy in, but the...
SXSW 2021 Women Directors: Mei Makino – “Inbetween Girl”
For three years, Mei Makino taught filmmaking to youth in the Austin area, inspiring her to tell honest stories about kids and teens. She’s written and directed short films that have played at The...
Portraits of Metamorphosis: Crowdfunding Picks
By Kara Headley and Vicki A. Lee This week’s crowdfunding picks are a patchwork quilt of womanhood and girlhood, a vibrant assemblage of characters who are either coming of age or undergoing...
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Kate Tsang – “Marvelous and the Black Hole”
Kate Tsang is an artist, filmmaker, and Emmy-nominated writer. Tsang’s award-winning shorts have been watched by millions online and broadcast nationally on PBS. Her most notable works are...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Suzanne Lindon – “Spring Blossom”
Suzanne Lindon is a French director, writer, and actor. “Spring Blossom” is her first film. “Spring Blossom” will screen at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, which is taking place...
Finding Her Place: VOD and Web Series Picks
Whether it’s an understated coming-of-age portrayal of a biracial teenage girl beginning to recognize how her race and class impact how society treats her and others like her (“Miriam Lies”); a...
Binge Worthy: Crowdfunding Picks
Sometimes there’s no better way to decompress from a long day or a stressful week than watching an episode of your favorite show. Or four. Or 10. There’s no shame in a good binge-watching...
Cannes 2019 Women Directors: Meet Sofía Quirós – “Ceniza Negra”
Sofía Quirós is a director and writer. Her short film “Selva” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Critic’s Week in 2017. Since then, it has screened in more than 40 cities around the world...
Tribeca 2019 Women Directors: Meet Bora Kim – “House of Hummingbird”
Bora Kim is a Korean filmmaker with an MFA in film directing from Columbia. Her debut feature, “House of Hummingbird,” won the Grand Prix for Best Feature Film at the 69th Berlin International...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Vekarić – “Aleksi”
Barbara Vekarić is a director and producer. She directed the travelogue documentary series “Couchsurfer Girl” and the children’s television show “Space Lab.” Vekarić...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Britt Poulton – “Them That Follow”
Britt Poulton is a writer and director. After studying International Relations at UC Berkeley, she left politics to pursue film and completed her MFA at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. She wrote...
Sundance 2019 Women Directors: Meet Martha Stephens – “To the Stars”
Martha Stephens is a writer and director. Her micro-budget feature films “Passenger Pigeons” and “Pilgrim Song” premiered at the SXSW Film Festival. She co-wrote and co-directed “Land...
Growing Pains: Crowdfunding Picks
Flip through one of your old photo albums. How does it feel? Regardless of the time period you are looking back on, you’re probably experiencing a fairly strong emotional response. Maybe it’s...
Summer 2018 Film Preview
By Beandrea July and Sophie Willard This summer’s movie slate boasts an impressive array of female-led and woman-helmed films, from reboots to period pieces, and coming-of-age tales to...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Albert — “Mademoiselle Paradis”
Barbara Albert is a director and writer whose short films have been introduced at festivals around the world. Her first feature film “Nordrand,” or “Northern Skirts,” premiered at Venice...
Susan Johnson Talks “Carrie Pilby” and Finding Funding for the Female-Led Film
Susan Johnson is an Independent Spirit Award winning filmmaker. “Carrie Pilby” marks her feature directorial debut. After a successful career as a music video director, Johnson has produced 10...
“Carrie Pilby” Gets a Release Date
If you enjoyed Bel Powley’s performance in Marielle Heller’s “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” you’ll definitely want to check out “Carrie Pilby,” a coming-of-age story that sees Powley...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Helene Hegemann — “Axolotl Overkill”
Helene Hegemann is a German writer and director. She has written two novels, including the German bestseller “Axolotl Roadkill.” Hegemann has directed award-winning work in film, theater, and...
TIFF 2016 Women Directors: Meet Susan Johnson — “Carrie Pilby”
Susan Johnson is an Independent Spirit Award winning filmmaker. “Carrie Pilby” marks her feature directorial debut. After a successful career as a music video director, Johnson has produced 10...
“I Dream Too Much” Writer-Director Katie Cokinos on Her Bright and Uplifting Coming-of-Age Story
Katie Cokinos began her film career in the late 1980s working at Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP) in Houston, where she co-produced Eagle Pennell’s “Heart Full of Soul” in 1989. She...
The Horror of Coming-of-Age: Subverting the Teen Girl Experience in Film
Growing up can be a bit of a bloodbath for everyone, regardless of gender. And when it comes to how the actual gory details of the process are portrayed on film, young female characters don’t...