#Documentary
Guest Post: How 2020 Changed Our Distribution Plans for Our Doc About Lesbian Icon Franco Stevens
By Jen Rainin and Rivkah Beth Medow Shivering at 4 a.m. in an empty drive-in theater parking lot was not how we expected to spend the day before our film “Ahead of the Curve’s” world...
Trailer Watch: An Iranian Activist and Human Rights Lawyer Refuses to Be Silenced in “Nasrin”
A new documentary is paying tribute to Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent human rights lawyer described as “one of the bravest voices in Iran.” Known for taking on cases other lawyers are too...
Trailer Watch: “Totally Under Control” Exposes the United States’ Mishandling of COVID-19
The new trailer for “Totally Under Control” sees clips of the world’s most famous COVID-19 patient stressing that the pandemic is NBD. “It’s, uh, gonna be just...
Premiere Dates Set for Alexandra Pelosi’s “American Selfie” and Tania Cypriano’s “Born to Be”
Documentaries from Alexandra Pelosi and Tania Cypriano have both scored distribution. The former, “American Selfie: One Nation Shoots Itself,” premieres October 23 on Showtime. The latter,...
Weekly Update for October 2: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Once Upon a River – Written and Directed by Haroula Rose “Once Upon a River” Based on the best-selling novel by Bonnie Jo...
Pick of the Day: “Dick Johnson Is Dead”
“Dick Johnson Is Dead” sees a filmmaker struggling to come to terms with her father’s mortality the best way she knows how: by making a movie. “Just the idea that I might ever lose this...
Pick of the Day: “The Great American Lie”
Burnt out educators, activists fighting for minimum wage in the restaurant industry, unemployed factory workers voting against their own best interests, single parents holding down four jobs to get...
Trailer Watch: Gretchen Sorin and Ric Burns Explore What “Driving While Black” Means in America
Driving, mobility, travel — these are essential elements of the American identity. But they’re also ones that have historically been denied to Black Americans. “What it means to be...
Doc About Human Rights Activist Nasrin Sotoudeh Acquired by Virgil Films, Olivia Colman Narrates
Audiences will soon have the chance to learn more about Nasrin Sotoudeh and the #FreeNasrin movement. “Nasrin,” a documentary following the Iranian lawyer, human rights activist, and...
Billie Eilish Doc “The World’s a Little Blurry” in the Works at Apple
After dominating the charts Billie Eilish is ready to dominate the box office. The five-time Grammy winner has a documentary in the works. “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” will...
Weekly Update for September 25: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD The Glorias – Directed by Julie Taymor; Written by Julie Taymor and Sarah Ruhl Journalist, fighter, and feminist Gloria Steinem is an...
Linda Ronstadt Doc “Linda and The Mockingbirds” Gets a Release Date
Another Linda Ronstadt doc is on the way. Following on the heels of 2019’s “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice,” “Linda and The Mockingbirds” will focus on a...
Trailer Watch: From #MeToo to BLM, Women Are “Not Done” Fighting for Change in MAKERS’ New Doc
“There are some people who think that we are post-civil rights, we are post-feminism, and therefore we’re post-intersectional,” an interviewee says in a new documentary about the...
New RBG Doc from Freida Lee Mock Screening for Potential Buyers, Eyeing Pre-Election Release
In the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death — and ahead of the fight to fill her seat and the upcoming presidential election — we all could really use some good news at the...
Weekly Update for September 18: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
“Black Lives Matter” FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD All In: The Fight for Democracy (Documentary) – Directed by Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés In anticipation...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Aisling Chin-Yee – “No Ordinary Man”
Aisling Chin-Yee is an award-winning producer, writer, and director based in Montreal, Canada and Los Angeles, California. She made her feature directorial debut with 2019’s “The Rest of...
ESPN Films Has Doc About WNBA Star Maya Moore, Her Fight to Free Jonathan Irons in the Works
A documentary about WNBA player Maya Moore and her fight to free Jonathan Irons, a man wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for burglary and assault, is on the way. ESPN Films, in partnership with...
Exclusive: Motorcycle Champ Ana Carrasco Gets Personal in “Ride Your Dream” Clip
With her 2018 World Supersport 300 Championship victory, motorcyclist Ana Carrasco not only became the first woman to win in the Superbikes WorldSPP300 category, she became the first woman to win a...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Mayye Zayed – “Lift Like a Girl”
Mayye Zayed is an Egyptian filmmaker, director, producer, director of photography, and editor, and the founder of Cléo Media. She is the recipient of Film Independent’s Global Media Makers...
Dana Nachman’s “Dear Santa” Acquired by IFC Films
Dana Nachman’s got another crowd-pleaser on the way. The director is following up “Pick of the Litter,” her 2018 doc about puppies training to become guide dogs for the blind, with...
Trailer Watch: Kirsten Johnson Stages Her Father’s Death in “Dick Johnson Is Dead”
“Dick Johnson Is Dead” sees a filmmaker struggling to come to terms with her father’s mortality. “Just the idea that I might ever lose this man is too much to bear,”...
Hannah Rosenzweig & Wendy Sachs on “Surge” & Why We Should Tell (Many) Stories About Women in Politics
Hannah Rosenzweig is a documentary film director and long-time producer. She is the founder and president of Intention Media Inc. Since serving as Hillary Clinton’s personal videographer for...
Trailer Watch: “Lift Like a Girl” Celebrates Female Weightlifters
“You’ll face obstacles. It’s a long journey,” 14-year-old Zebiba is warned in a trailer for “Lift Like a Girl.” The aspiring athlete is being trained by Captain...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Sonia Kennebeck – “Enemies of the State”
Sonia Kennebeck is an independent documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist with 17 years of directing and producing experience. Her first feature-length film, “National Bird,”...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Stacey Lee – “Underplayed”
Stacey Lee’s work focuses on humanity, music, and movement. Her documentary short “Live Fast Draw Yung” premiered at Tribeca in 2015, winning awards in Atlanta and Tacoma. She was...
Weekly Update for September 11: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD I Am Woman – Directed by Unjoo Moon; Written by Emma Jensen In 1966, single mother Helen Reddy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) leaves her old life...
Trailer Watch: “I Am Greta” Follows Greta Thunberg’s Epic Journey
“For many years, people refused to listen to me,” says Greta Thunberg in a new trailer for “I Am Greta.” The spot kicks off with footage of Thunberg’s one-person school...
Exclusive: Girls and Women Celebrate Their Passion for Aviation in “Fly Like a Girl” Trailer
“Girls make better pilots than boys because we’re way smarter. No offense,” says one of the young characters featured in “Fly Like a Girl.” Our exclusive trailer for...
Trailer Watch: CJ Crim Celebrates Women, Activism, and Social Justice in “Resisterhood”
People of color, immigrants, LGTBQ folks, women — life in America has become very frightening for all of these groups and more since Trump’s election nearly four years ago. But, in spite...
Trailer Watch: Jennifer Siebel Newsom Exposes “The Great American Lie” in Her New Doc
For too many people, the American Dream — the idea that, in the U.S., you can start with nothing but achieve anything — isn’t just a fantasy, but a complete hoax. Jennifer Siebel...
Trailer Watch: “Billie” Promises to Celebrate “The Real Billie Holiday”
“Everybody professed to know her — they knew nothing about her,” an interviewee explains in a new trailer for “Billie,” an upcoming documentary that offers audiences the...
TIFF 2020 Preview: Frances McDormand Hits the Road, Female DJs Get Their Due, & More
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) hasn’t gone entirely digital this year, but the fest has adapted to life in a COVID-19 world. Set to take place September 10-19, the 45th edition...
Trailer Watch: Sabrina Van Tassel Unearths a Miscarriage of Justice in “The State of Texas vs. Melissa”
For 11 years, Melissa Lucio has been on death row: she was convicted for the murder of her two-year-old daughter, who died of blunt head trauma. But, according to Sabrina Van Tassel’s new...
Weekly Update for September 4: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Mulan – Directed by Niki Caro; Written by Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin, Amanda Silver, and Rick Jaffa Acclaimed filmmaker Niki Caro...
Trailer Watch: Maya Newell’s “In My Blood It Runs” Chronicles an Aboriginal Boy’s School and Home Lives
In the trailer for “In My Blood It Runs,” an Aboriginal woman discusses her concerns about her children. “Dujuan is the one I worry about the most,” she says....
Jasmila Žbanić Announces New Projects Ahead of Venice Premiere of Her Latest, “Quo Vadis, Aida?”
“Quo Vadis, Aida?,” Jasmila Žbanić’s portrait of a U.N. translator trying to seek shelter during the Bosnian War’s Srebrenica massacre, is making its world premiere at Venice...
Sabaah Folayan, Débora Souza Silva, Rachel Lears, & More Receive Gucci Tribeca Doc Fund Grants
Eleven feature-length non-fiction projects have been awarded Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund grants — and eight of them are helmed by women. A press released announced that the fund, from...
Trailer Watch: “Underplayed” Celebrates Female DJs, Past and Present
“I never had seen a female DJ at the clubs. Ever,” says DJ Duffey in a trailer for “Underplayed.” As electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani explains, women have been involved...
Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s “The Great American Lie” Acquired by Vertical Entertainment
Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s third feature documentary has secured distribution. Deadline reports Vertical Entertainment acquired North American rights to “The Great American Lie.” The...
Weekly Update for August 28: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Driven to Abstraction (Documentary) – Directed by Daria Price “Driven to Abstraction” unravels a mutating tale of self-delusion,...
Trailer Watch: “Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President” Brings Americans Together Through Music
“I think music is the best proof that people have one thing in common no matter where they live, no matter what language they speak,” says Jimmy Carter in a new trailer for “Jimmy...
Soleil Moon Frye’s “Kid 90” Doc Lands at Hulu
Soleil Moon Frye is set to deliver a blast from the past. The author, filmmaker, and actress best known for playing the the titular lead of NBC’s “Punky Brewster” has secured U.S....
Trailer Watch: “Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles” Brings History to Life at the Met
After making his mark on the culinary world with restaurants and best-selling cookbooks, Yotam Ottolenghi was looking for his next challenge. He found it when the Metropolitan Museum of Art called....
Join the Girls Club for a Conversation with “Desert One” Director Barbara Kopple
The Girls Club will welcome Barbara Kopple for its next live conversation. The discussion will take place Wednesday, August 26, at 4 p.m. EST. The two-time Academy Award-winning and nine-time...
Amy Poehler Will Tell Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s Story in Her Doc Feature Directorial Debut
Amy Poehler will focus on fellow female comedy legend in her first documentary feature. According to Deadline, the “Parks and Rec” and “SNL” alumna will direct a documentary...
Cara Delevingne Will Explore Gender and Sexuality in Hulu/BBC Three Docuseries
Cara Delevingne has appeared in genre projects (“Suicide Squad,” “Carnival Row”), gritty dramas (“Her Smell”), and YA novel adaptations (“Paper Towns”)...
Weekly Update for August 21: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Lingua Franca – Written and Directed by Isabel Sandoval After securing a job as a live-in caregiver for Olga (Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman in...
Trailer Watch: Fox Rich Fights for Her Husband’s Freedom in Garrett Bradley’s “Time”
Throughout the new trailer for “Time,” Garrett Bradley’s Sundance award-winning documentary, Fox Rich tries to get an update on a ruling concerning her husband, Rob. He’s...
Documenting Care: Crowdfunding Picks
Current overlapping cultural, political, and economic realities seem to necessitate additional doses of care-taking and truth-telling as we navigate, and in some cases, resist, creating a new normal....
Hannah Rosenzweig and Wendy Sachs’ “Surge” Will Premiere on Showtime’s SHOxBET Channel
Another documentary centering women in politics is on the way. On the heels of Hillary Bachelder’s “Represent” opening and the trailer for Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés’ “All...
Exclusive: A Feminist Porn Director and Actress Speaks Out in This Red Band Clip of “Morgana”
A 50-year-old woman reflects on her evolving relationship with her body in our exclusive red band clip of “Morgana.” The doc sees its central character’s life take an unexpected...