#Documentary
Sally Aitken’s Sundance Doc “Playing With Sharks” Lands at National Geographic
Sally Aitken’s tribute to a pioneering marine conservationist has found a home. National Geographic Documentary Films snagged worldwide rights to “Playing with Sharks,” a portrait...
PGA Awards Doc Nominees: “Time,” “Dick Johnson Is Dead,” and More
The Producers Guild of America has announced the seven titles nominated in the documentary motion picture category at the 2021 PGA Awards, and four of them are directed by women: “Dick Johnson...
Siân Heder’s “CODA” Becomes First Film to Sweep Top U.S. Dramatic Prizes at Sundance
“CODA” has made history yet again. After nabbing a record-breaking distribution deal with Apple, Siân Heder’s coming-of-age story about a teen girl who is also the only hearing...
Anthony Fauci Doc on the Way from Co-Director Janet Tobias, EP Liz Garbus, and National Geographic
Dr. Anthony Fauci, aka the person who helped America navigate the apocalyptic intersection of COVID-19 and Trump, is getting his own documentary. National Geographic Documentary Films announced the...
Trailer Watch: Billie Eilish Takes Fans Behind the Scenes in “The World’s a Little Blurry”
After taking home five Grammy Awards at the 2020 edition of music’s biggest night, Billie Eilish told the press room, “We made this album in a bedroom in our house that we grew up in, so...
Céline Cousteau on “Tribes on the Edge,” Her Doc About Indigenous Peoples Protecting Their Land and Lives
Céline Cousteau is a humanitarian and environmental activist working with a variety of media, ranging from documentaries to art, from consulting with corporations and foundations, to public...
Sundance Deal: Jamila Wignot’s Alvin Ailey Doc “Ailey” Goes to Neon
Jamila Wignot’s portrait of iconic dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey has found a home. Following its world premiere at Sundance this weekend, Neon acquired “Ailey,” a documentary...
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Debbie Lum – “Try Harder!”
Debbie Lum is an award-winning filmmaker whose projects give voice to the Asian American experience and other unsung stories. “Seeking Asian Female,” her feature-length directing debut,...
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt – “Cusp”
Parker Hill’s thesis film, “One Good Pitch,” premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Her short films “Homing In” and “Sanderson to Brackettville” have...
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Natalia Almada – “Users”
Natalia Almada is the recipient of the 2012 MacArthur Genius Award. Her directing credits include “Al Otro Lado” (2005 Tribeca Film Festival), “El General” (2009 Sundance Film...
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Marilyn Agrelo – “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street”
Marilyn Agrelo’s directorial debut, “Mad Hot Ballroom,” enjoyed a theatrical run of 24 weeks and became the 25th highest-grossing documentary film. A Broadway version is currently in...
Watch: News Anchors Downplay COVID-19 in Chilling Clip of Nanfu Wang’s “In the Same Breath”
“Eight people were punished for spreading rumors about an unknown pneumonia,” various anchors tell us over and over again, sharing a January 1, 2020 announcement from the Wuhan police....
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Betsy West and Julie Cohen – “My Name is Pauli Murray”
Betsy West is the Academy Award-nominated director and producer of “RBG” along with Julie Cohen. She is a 21-time Emmy Award winner for her work as an ABC News producer and executive...
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Rintu Thomas – “Writing with Fire”
Rintu Thomas is an independent documentary director-producer based in New Delhi, India. She is a 2018 Sundance Institute, Bertha Foundation Fellow, and a 2019 Sundance Stories of Change Fellow. A...
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Salomé Jashi – “Taming the Garden”
Salomé Jashi was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. Her documentary “The Dazzling Light of Sunset” was awarded the Main Prize at Visions du Réel’s Regard Neuf Competition as well as at ZagrebDox,...
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Jamila Wignot – “Ailey”
Jamila Wignot is a documentary filmmaker whose directing work includes the Peabody, Emmy, and NAACP award-winning series “The African-Americans: Many Rivers to Cross” (PBS), hosted by...
Trailer Watch: Deirdre Fishel’s New Doc Follows Four “Women in Blue”
The Minneapolis police department has repeatedly made national headlines since spring 2020, when George Floyd was murdered at the hands of law enforcement. Deirdre Fishel’s new documentary,...
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Maisie Crow – “At the Ready”
Maisie Crow is a documentary film director, cinematographer, and photographer. “Jackson,” Crow’s documentary exploring both sides of the reproductive health care debate in the Deep...
Sundance 2021 Women Directors: Meet Mariem Pérez Riera – “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It”
Mariem Pérez Riera’s first documentary, “Cuando lo pequeño se hace grande,” about the Puerto Ricans who fought against the U.S. Navy presence in the island of Vieques, was...
Sundance 2021 Preview: Tributes to Rita Moreno & Pauli Murray, a Queer Romance, “Passing,” & More
Newly reimagined thanks to COVID-19, this year’s edition of Sundance Film Festival is just around the corner. With nearly 50 percent of features directed or co-directed by women, there are...
Pick of the Day: “A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem”
Described by director Yu Gu as being at the “intersection of several worlds, including football, women’s rights, and labor rights,” “A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem” sees...
Stephanie Soechtig to Direct Food Safety Doc “Poisoned”
Stephanie Soechtig is uncovering more grim details about the food industry. She examined the effects of bottled water on climate change and pollution in 2009’s “Tapped” and the...
Trailer Watch: “Strip Down, Rise Up” Celebrates the Power of Pole Dance
“Pole can be so many things to so many different people,” we’re told in a new trailer for “Strip Down, Rise Up.” Michèle Ohayon’s vérité documentary follows...
IDA Documentary Awards: “Crip Camp,” “Time,” and More
“Crip Camp” took home the top honor at last night’s IDA Documentary Awards. Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrech’s loving tribute to a ramshackle summer camp for teenagers with...
Pick of the Day: “How It Feels To Be Free”
Black women have been the backbone of social justice movements throughout history. PBS’ new “American Masters” entry, “How It Feels To Be Free” tells the story of six of...
Trailer Watch: Elizabeth Lo Turns Her Camera on Istanbul’s Dogs in “Stray”
A trailer has arrived for “Stray,” Elizabeth Lo’s award-winning documentary about stray dogs in Istanbul. “Turkey has a no-kill, no-capture policy towards all its stray...
Mary McCartney to Direct Abbey Road Studios Doc “If These Walls Could Sing”
Mary McCartney is taking us behind the scenes of one of the world’s most iconic recording studios. Her upcoming doc, “If These Walls Could Sing,” will offer audiences unprecedented...
Trailer Watch: “A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem” Exposes Exploitation
Described by director Yu Gu as being at the “intersection of several worlds, including football, women’s rights, and labor rights,” “A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader...
Trailer Watch: Freida Lee Mock Revisits RBG’s Legacy in “Ruth: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words”
“I did very well in law school. It was not possible to do much better,” Ruth Bader Ginsburg reveals via archival footage in “Ruth: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words.”...
Sarah Jones to Direct Sex Industry Doc “Sell/Buy/Date,” EPs Include Meryl Streep & Laverne Cox
Tony-winner Sarah Jones is bringing her 2016 play “Sell/Buy/Date” to the screen — and is stepping behind the camera to do so. According to Deadline, Jones will make her feature...
Trailer Watch: “Star Trek’s” Nichelle Nichols Revisits Her History with NASA in “Woman in Motion”
“I said if they let me in the door I will open it so wide they will see the world,” says Nichelle Nichols in a new trailer for “Woman in Motion: Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek and the...
Trailer Watch: Children Navigate Death and Grief in SXSW Winner “Beautiful Something Left Behind”
With “Beautiful Something Left Behind,” director Katrine Philp wanted to explore grief from children’s perspective. “But it is not only a film about grief — it is a film...
Weekly Update for December 23: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Wonder Woman 1984 – Directed by Patty Jenkins; Written by Patty Jenkins, Geoff Johns, and Dave Callaham At long last, we’re being...
2020’s Best Documentaries By and About Women
Searing indictments of corrupt political systems, a trip down memory lane to a radical summer camp for teens with disabilities, an innovative tribute to the life and death of a man who is very much...
Weekly Update for December 18: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Ma Rainey knows her worth. As played by Viola Davis in the screen adaptation of August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s...
“A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem” Acquired by 1091 Pictures
We kicked off 2020 cheering on Gabi, Lexi, and La’Darius at Daytona’s NCA & NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship and we’ll ring in 2021 cheering on NFL cheerleaders...
Weekly Update for December 11: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD The Stand-In – Directed by Jamie Babbit “The Stand-In” A washed-up movie star, Candy (Drew Barrymore), busted for tax...
Pick of the Day: “Finding Yingying”
A loving portrait of a young woman robbed of her bright future, “Finding Yingying” also serves as an indictment of the true crime genre, which all too often treats victims of violent...
Pick of the Day: “Through the Night”
Described by director Loira Limbal as “a love letter to single mothers and caregivers,” “Through the Night” takes us inside a 24-hour daycare center in New Rochelle, NY. The...
Trailer Watch: Meryl Streep and Jennifer Trainer Explore What It Means to Be a “Museum Town”
Directed by former MASS MoCA director of development Jennifer Trainer and narrated by Meryl Streep, “Museum Town” explores how the largest museum for contemporary art in the world ended...
Jiayan “Jenny” Shi on Deviating from Traditional True Crime Docs with “Finding Yingying”
Jiayan “Jenny” Shi is a documentary filmmaker and video journalist who is passionate about social justice issues regarding people of color. She shoots, edits, and produces video stories...
Weekly Update for December 4: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Nomadland – Written and Directed by Chloé Zhao “Nomadland” is a marvel. A master class by rapidly ascending writer-director...
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Hosting, Producing Apple Docuseries Based on Their “Gutsy Women” Book
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton are bringing their “favorite stories of courage and resilience” to Apple TV+. The mother-daughter duo will host and executive produce a docuseries adaptation...
Dana Nachman on “Celebrating Everything Beautiful About Christmas” in USPS Doc “Dear Santa”
Dana Nachman is an award-winning filmmaker of both fiction and documentary films. The Walt Disney Company hired Nachman to remake her 2018 Slamdance festival documentary “Pick of the...
“Once Upon a Time in Venezuela’s” North American Streaming Rights Go to Topic
Topic has acquired North American streaming rights to “Once Upon a Time in Venezuela,” Venezuela’s submission for best international feature film at the 2021 Academy Awards. Variety...
Hannah Olson Discusses Family, History, Consent, and Her Directorial Debut “Baby God”
Hannah Olson has series produced PBS’ “Finding Your Roots” for the past two seasons. Prior to that, she produced a number of films for PBS including “American Experience”...
Weekly Update for November 25: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Happiest Season – Directed by Clea DuVall; Written by Clea DuVall and Mary Holland Hark! The Herald Drag Queens Sing: Clea DuVall’s...
Cinema Eye Honors Announces First Noms: “Hillary,” “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” and More
Cinema Eye Honors has announced its first wave of nominees. The awards, which recognize nonfiction and documentary filmmaking, will announce “higher-profile feature film nominations”...
IDA Documentary Award Nominations: “Crip Camp,” “Time,” & More
The International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced nominees for the 36th annual IDA Documentary Awards. Of 10 titles competing for Best Feature, three are directed or co-directed by women:...
“La Madrina: The [Savage] Life of Lorine Padilla” Wins DOC NYC’s Audience Award
“La Madrina: The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla” has been named the 2020 winner of DOC NYC’s Audience Award, which sees audiences casting votes for their favorite feature film. Directed...
Dawn Porter Receives Mind the Gap’s Documentarian of the Year Award
Mind the Gap, Mill Valley Film Festival’s (MVFF) gender equality initiative, has named Dawn Porter as Documentarian of the Year. According to a press release, the “Way I See It”...