#Documentary
Trailer Watch: Political Columnist Molly Ivins Speaks Out in Janice Engel’s “Raise Hell”
Magnolia Pictures has dropped a trailer for the upcoming doc “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins.” Janice Engel’s film honors the political columnist’s legacy and...
Michelle Esrick Doc “Cracked Up” to Be Released by Abramorama
Michelle Esrick’s “Cracked Up” is headed to theaters. Abramorama will release the Darrell Hammond documentary in NY on September 13 and in LA on September 20. A press release...
TIFF 2019 Announces Discovery Titles and Docs, Ellen Page and Barbara Kopple Among Directors
Ellen Page, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Barbara Kopple are just a few of the directors who will be screening films at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF 2019 has unveiled the...
Women and Hollywood’s Picks of the Week for August 8
Picks of the Week offers Women and Hollywood’s recommendations — women-driven and women-made movies, series, VOD releases, and more — and tells you why they are worth your time and money. One...
Under the Radar: Antonia Grace Glenn Explores American History Through “The Ito Sisters”
In the opening narration for the documentary “The Ito Sisters: An American Story,” director Antonia Grace Glenn states, “My family started recording interviews with my grandmother and her two...
Release Dates Set for “Sister Aimee” and Patricia Marcoccia’s Jordan Peterson Doc
Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann’s Sundance pic “Sister Aimee” and Patricia Marcoccia’s portrait of conservative academic/YouTuber Jordan Peterson have nabbed distribution and...
Trailer Watch: Best Friends Travel to Latin America for Medical Help in Netflix Doc “Léa & I”
In her Netflix documentary “Léa & I,” director Camille Shooshani introduces the audience to her best friend, Léa Moret. “She speaks five languages, cannot stop eating Haribo...
Rita Moreno Doc in the Works at PBS
Over five decades after co-starring in the original musical feature, Rita Moreno is currently filming Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story.” “Chamacas” director...
Trailer Watch: Linda Ronstadt Sings Her Way Into History in “The Sound of My Voice”
Linda Ronstadt has earned the admiration of millions of fans since she launched her career in the 1960s — Dolly Parton among them. “Linda could literally sing anything,” says Parton...
Women and Hollywood’s Picks of the Week for July 25
Picks of the Week offers Women and Hollywood’s recommendations — women-driven and women-made movies, series, VOD releases, and more — and tells you why they are worth your time and...
“Surviving Jeffrey Epstein” Docuseries & “Surviving R. Kelly” Follow-Up in Dev at Lifetime
Lifetime’s groundbreaking, Emmy-nominated docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly” provided survivors of the singer’s sexual abuse a prominent platform in which to share their stories...
Jane Goodall Doc in the Works at National Geographic
National Geographic has another Jane Goodall documentary on the way. The project comes on the heels of 2017’s “Jane,” National Geographic Documentary Films’ Emmy-winning and...
Trailer Watch: Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Speak Out in “Untouchable”
A new trailer for “Untouchable” kicks off with newscasters reporting on the growing number of women accusing movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and misconduct....
You Must Remember This: Crowdfunding Picks
History is important. Those that don’t remember this aren’t just doomed to repeat their mistakes, but could potentially destroy or lose something irreplaceable. The point of this round of...
Trailer Watch: “The Great Hack” Investigates How Data Is Being Weaponized
“Data rights should be considered fundamental rights,” says one of the characters in “The Great Hack.” Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer’s documentary explores the world of...
Trailer Watch: Liza Mandelup’s “Jawline” Documents a Teen’s Quest for Social Media Fame
“I’m not going to settle in this small, little town I live in,” 16-year-old Austyn Tester announces in the trailer for “Jawline.” “I got to go explore the world, I...
Trailer Watch: Progressive Politics Get Religious Leaders Labeled “American Heretics” in New Doc
“I came to build a liberal Protestant church in Oklahoma, but I made the mistake of using the word liberal. In Oklahoma you can be a Democrat or a Christian, but you can’t be both,”...
Cyntoia Brown Doc Acquired by Netflix
The fight for Cyntoia Brown’s clemency will be chronicled in an upcoming Netflix doc. The streamer just nabbed rights to a feature documentary about the prisoner’s experience in the...
Weekly Update for June 28: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Ophelia – Directed by Claire McCarthy; Written by Semi Chellas (Available on VOD July 2) Something is rotten in medieval-era Denmark, where political intrigue swirls...
Judith Helfand to Be Honored with San Francisco Jewish Film Fest’s Freedom of Expression Award
Documentary filmmaker and activist Judith Helfand is set to receive the Freedom of Expression Award at the 39th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF), a press release confirms. The award is...
51Fest Announces Inaugural Lineup: “After the Wedding,” “For Sama,” & More
Now here’s a fest that recognizes the existence of women directors and the importance of female-led stories. 51Fest, presented by Women in the World and IFC Center, has unveiled the lineup for...
National Geographic Doc “The Cave” to Spotlight Women-Run Underground Hospital in Syria
National Geographic will pay tribute to unsung heroes working tirelessly to save lives in war-torn Syria. A press release announced that its documentary unit will release “The Cave,”...
Guest Post: What I Learned From Revisiting My 1984 Documentary “Before Stonewall”
Guest Post by Greta Schiller “Before Stonewall” traces the making of America’s lesbian and gay community from the turn of the century to the Stonewall Riots. I never imagined the...
“Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins” Acquired by Magnolia
Janice Engel’s award-winning tribute to Molly Ivins has secured North American distribution. Deadline reports that Magnolia acquired rights to Sundance doc “Raise Hell: The Life &...
Trailer Watch: Shonda Rhimes, Geena Davis, & More Talk Gender Inequality in “This Changes Everything”
“The door has to be open. We just want inclusion,” says Meryl Streep in a new trailer for “This Changes Everything.” The documentary explores gender inequality in Hollywood,...
Ofra Bloch’s “Afterward” Lands at Abramorama
Abramorama has claimed North American theatrical rights to Ofra Bloch’s feature debut, “Afterward.” The doc examining the emotional and psychological wounds of victims and...
Trailer Watch: A Beekeeper’s Way of Life Is Upended in Sundance Winner “Honeyland”
“We only take half,” Hatidze Muratova, the last in a long line of Balkan beekeepers, explains to a young boy as she removes a honeycomb from a hive. “Half for them. Half for...
Trailer Watch: 16 Years After Losing an Arm, Surfer Bethany Hamilton Is Still “Unstoppable”
In 2003, 13-year-old competitive surfer Bethany Hamilton was attacked by a tiger shark. She lost her left arm but not her love of surfing. “It wasn’t like that passion had been taken...
Trailer Watch: Petra Costa Captures Brazil at “The Edge of Democracy”
“I fear our democracy was nothing but a short-lived dream,” says Petra Costa in a new trailer for “The Edge of Democracy.” The Sundance documentary explores the evolving...
Sundance London 2019 Women Directors: Meet Alison Klayman – “The Brink”
Alison Klayman’s directorial debut, “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry,” won a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Defiance at Sundance Film Festival and was shortlisted for the...
Trailer Watch: Nanfu Wang & Jialing Zhang Revisit China’s One Child Policy in “One Child Nation”
Born during the height of China’s controversial, headline-making attempt to address its population crisis, Nanfu Wang never gave much thought to the One Child Policy. That all changed when the...
Apply Now: Chicken & Egg Pictures’ 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab
If you’re a woman or nonbinary director working on your first or second nonfiction feature, this is for you. Chicken & Egg Pictures is now accepting applications for its 2020 (Egg)celerator...
Our Bodies, Our Choice: VOD and Web Series Picks
Reproductive rights are under attack across the country. And while women throughout Hollywood are making their own efforts to defend access to safe abortion nationwide, there is still work to be done...
Inside Out 2019 Women Directors: Meet Almerinda Travassos – “Dykes in the Streets”
Almerinda Travassos was born in Portugal and is now based in Canada. Her work primarily explores issues of history, memory, and family within the context of the Portuguese-born, Lesbian identity....
Jill Magid on Exploring Art, Accessibility, and Legacy in “The Proposal”
Jill Magid is an artist, writer, and filmmaker whose work includes performance art and large and small-scale installations. She has been commissioned to make work for the Whitney Museum of American...
Ursula Macfarlane’s Harvey Weinstein Doc “Untouchable” Acquired by Hulu
Ursula Macfarlane’s take on Harvey Weinstein, his power in Hollywood, and how he used said power to prey on and abuse women is heading to Hulu. The Hollywood Reporter confirms the streamer has...
Trailer Watch: Jennie Levingston’s Seminal LGBTQ Doc “Paris Is Burning” Returning to Theaters
Get ready to cross “into the looking glass,” as one character from “Paris Is Burning” teases. The groundbreaking doc about the New York City drag scene is coming back to...
AFI DOCS’ 2019 Slate Includes “Ruth – Justice Ginsburg In Her Own Words,” “American Factory,” & More
AFI DOCS has announced its 2019 slate. The festival will host 72 films from 17 countries, 48 percent of which are directed by women, according to a press release. This year’s Centerpiece...
Trailer Watch: “After Maria,” Three Puerto Rican Women Are Stuck Between Home & Homelessness
After the devastation Puerto Rico endured during Hurricane Maria, FEMA provided “transitional shelter assistance” to displaced people, and put them up in hotel rooms. Nadia...
Trailer Watch: Waad Al-Kateab Shares a Story of Family, Love, and War in “For Sama”
Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts’s “For Sama” sees Kateab shooting footage of the Syrian revolution and war while speaking directly to her young daughter, Sama, via narration....
Dawn Porter Directing Doc About Congressman & Civil Rights Leader John Lewis for CNN Films
Dawn Porter will reunite with Congressman John Lewis for her next project. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the “Trapped” filmmaker is directing a documentary about Lewis’ most recent...
Sheila Nevins Is Launching MTV’s Documentary Films Unit
MTV has pulled off a major coup: the company landed Sheila Nevins to launch their Documentary Films banner. Variety confirmed the news. The HBO alumna is set to “lead the charge on developing...
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & Rachel Lears May Reunite for Green New Deal Doc
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her “Knock Down the House” director, Rachel Lears, may be teaming up on another timely documentary. According to Axios, the pair are “in...
Submit Now: Firelight’s Documentary Lab for Filmmakers of Color
Jacqueline Olive’s exploration of lynching in the U.S., “Always in Season,” took home a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Moral Urgency at Sundance in January. The director...
Weekly Update for May 3: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Tell It to the Bees – Directed by Annabel Jankel; Written by Henrietta Ashworth and Jessica Ashworth (Also Available on VOD) “Tell It to the Bees” Dr. Jean...
Trailer Watch: An Iconic Filmmaker Fights for Māori Stories in ARRAY Doc “Merata”
As the first Māori woman to write and direct a feature film, Merata Mita focused on telling New Zealand’s indigenous peoples’ stories on the screen. But as her son Hepi Mita notes in the...
Hot Docs 2019 Women Directors: Meet Heddy Honigmann – “Buddy”
Heddy Honigmann is a director and writer who is best known for “Forever,” “The Underground Orchestra,” and “Metal and Melancholy.” “Buddy” premiered at...
Tribeca 2019 Awards: “House of Hummingbird” and “Scheme Birds” Land Top Honors
The winners of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival have been announced, and two of the fest’s three highest honors have gone to women-directed films. Bora Kim’s coming-of-age drama...
Jenna Ricker’s Doc About Motorsports Trailblazer Janet Guthrie to Air on ESPN’s “30 for 30”
Janet Guthrie made history in 1977 when, at the age of 39, the aerospace engineer became the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Jenna Ricker’s “Qualified” explores...
Hot Docs 2019 Women Directors: Meet Laurence Mathieu-Leger – “Willie”
Laurence Mathieu-Leger is an award-winning filmmaker, editor, and producer. She specializes in documentary projects and has done work for The Guardian, Reuters, La Presse, Cosmo, and the United...
Trailer Watch: Toni Morrison Reflects on the Power of Words in “The Pieces I Am”
“My grandfather bragged all the time that he had read the Bible, and it was illegal in his life to read. Ultimately, I knew that words had power,” says Toni Morrison in a new trailer for...