Television
HBO has announced its documentary lineup for the second half of 2018, and seven of the 12 films are women-directed or co-directed. Among the first to air will be “Jane Fonda in Five...
Features
How do we react in the face of adversity or tragedy? Specifically, how do our identities and backgrounds shape the means by which we grow from these experiences? These are the questions our latest...
Guest Posts
Guest Post by Joanna Bowers I moved to Hong Kong from Los Angeles in 2011 and quickly realized that I couldn’t have chosen two cities more different than one another. Leaving the sprawling,...
Trailers
“You want to hear my story? I’m going to show you my story,” says M.I.A. in the first trailer for “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.” The Sundance-winning doc features...
Films
Former Academy prez Cheryl Boone Isaacs and music legend Quincy Jones are teaming up to share an important part of Hollywood history. The two are working on “American Film: The Black...
According to her son Hepi, the late filmmaker Merata Mita once said, “What you see when you look at an archival film are resurrections taking place.” She explained, “A past life...
A bonafide hustler continues to make her name. Fans of M.I.A. will be treated to a never-before-seen look into the life and career of the Oscar- and Grammy-nominated musician thanks...
“The Cove” made a major splash upon its 2009 release. The animal rights documentary won an Academy Award, took in over a million dollars at the box office, and sparked an international...
Debra Granik’s latest film hit theaters just a couple of weeks ago, but the Oscar-nominated writer-director is already in post-production on her next project. The “Leave No Trace”...
Tiler Peck sets out to prove that “ballet isn’t just pink tights and a tutu” in an upcoming Hulu documentary. “Ballet Now” sees New York City Ballet’s Prima Ballerina...
A doc about New York City’s “patron saint of transformation and inclusion” is heading to theaters. The Orchard has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “Susanne Bartsch: On...
Tonya Harding’s story is coming back to the big screen. Neon snagged three Oscar nods for “I, Tonya” this year, and is looking to capitalize on the success of the Margot...
By Beandrea July and Sophie Willard While the summer is often associated with big budget films, like the “Mamma Mia!” sequel (July 20), this July is defying expectations by releasing a...
It won’t be long before audiences are introduced to the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in the United States. Abramorama has acquired U.S. and Canadian theatrical rights to...
Cher, Isabella Rossellini, and Naomi Campbell are just a few of those singing the praises of Kevyn Aucoin in a new trailer for a doc about the iconic makeup artist. Described as the “sweetest,...
Queen Latifah is pivoting from one “Girls Trip” to another. The multi-hyphenate is executive producing a documentary series following female comedians and their globe-trotting adventures....
News
Businesswoman Laurene Powell Jobs is using her fortune to produce and finance documentary filmmaking. According to Bloomberg, the world’s sixth-richest woman is backing a documentary studio...
Awards
The Jewish Film Institute (JFI) will present Liz Garbus with the 2018 Freedom of Expression Award. The Academy Award-nominated documentarian is set to accept the prize at the 38th San Francisco...
Laverne Cox made history last year when she became the first transgender actress cast as a series regular on a broadcast show, CBS’ legal drama “Doubt.” It was a major feat for...
Women in charge. Women leading their communities. Women joining together to share power and resources with other women. Whether in real life or fiction, our current political and cultural moment has...
Festivals
Female-led films swept the awards at this year’s edition of Sundance Film Festival: London. Coming-of-age comedy “Eighth Grade” scored the Audience Favourite Award and female...
Vivienne Westwood is credited with bringing punk and new wave clothes to the mainstream, but the British designer wasn’t always celebrated for her innovations. “When she started, people...
Elizabeth Taylor’s life story is coming to the small screen. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot has a docuseries about the silver screen titan in development, Deadline confirms. The series is...
Celebrated science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin left behind an extraordinary legacy when she died earlier this year. As the trailer for the upcoming doc “Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin”...
Interviews
Lauren Greenfield is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and photographer. “The Queen of Versailles” won her the Best Documentary Director Award at Sundance Film Festival. She made her...
Best known for kicking ass in the courtroom, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is proving to be a major force at the box office as well. Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s new documentary about the iconic Justice of...
By Beandrea July and Sophie Willard As highlighted in our Summer 2018 Film Preview, this summer is set to impress with its varied range of female-led and woman-helmed films, and that all kicks off...
Under the Radar is Women and Hollywood’s newest feature. Published monthly, the post offers a chance for us to highlight works by and/or about women that haven’t received big releases or...
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...
Pleas to #MuteRKelly are being heard. It looks like we’re about to hear much less of the singer’s music and much more about his decades of alleged abuse. Lifetime already announced that...
Whether it’s an inescapable reality of everyday life, or catalyzed by a change in our circumstances, we’ve all faced adversity. For many, multiple systems of oppression intersect to pose...
“You know, the number one rule of political or watchdog reporting is, ‘follow the money,'” journalist John Adams says in the trailer for “Dark Money.” The reporter, who...
Whitney Houston is probably best known for her public persona: the passionate, bubbly, and crazy talented performing artist and actress. But as the new trailer for documentary “Whitney”...
In news that seems inevitable if delayed, “Serial” is getting a TV follow-up. HBO and Sky have partnered to continue the true crime story with “The Case Against Adnan Syed,”...
Another trailblazing female tennis player is having her story told on the big screen. Following in the footsteps of 2017 Billie Jean King biopic “Battle of the Sexes” is a doc about...
Guest Post by Rachel Shuman I make a living as a professional editor, working mostly on documentary films. I find the process of editing so engaging and creative that even when I don’t love the...
Usually, it’s easier and quicker to name the films that aren’t directed by men screening at a festival because there are so few of them — but that’s not the case with Human...
Gilda Radner’s story is coming to the big screen. Magnolia Pictures nabbed North American rights to “Love, Gilda” and is planning a theatrical release for later this year, Deadline...
Meredith Vieira is stepping up for women directors. The TV anchor and journalist has introduced a new initiative for female filmmakers seeking funding for documentary films and series, The Hollywood...
Tina Turner is one of the best-selling artists of all time, but The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll has never been the subject of a feature-length documentary — until now. Variety reports...
Documentary, Festivals
Cannes, this is how it’s done: projects from female filmmakers are set to kick off and conclude both AFI DOCS and Provincetown International Film Festival. AFI DOCS, a documentary fest in the...
As women, we know that we exist in multitudes, yet the representations that we see of ourselves in the media barely scratch the surface of our lived experiences. For so long, narratives about people...
Originally used by social activist and community organizer Tarana Burke, the term “me too” has become prolific in recent months, following the many exposés of sexual abuse allegations made...
The Investigate Fund, a New York-based award-winning nonprofit journalism organization, has unveiled the winners of its inaugural documentary film contest. Directors Lyric R. Cabral...
Oscar-nominated director Liz Garbus is one of the most celebrated American documentary filmmakers working today. Her films have been acclaimed worldwide and have garnered multiple Academy...
Penny Lane was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s "25 New Faces of Independent Film" in 2012. Her debut feature-length documentary, "Our Nixon," world-premiered at International...
Nanfu Wang is an independent filmmaker based in New York City. Wang was born in a remote farming village in Jiangxi Province, China. Realizing that she wanted to help tell the stories of people who...
January hasn’t been a great — or even remotely good — month for films by and about women in theaters, as our January Film Preview proves. But tomorrow marks the beginning of the...
Marcie Begleiter’s directorial debut, a documentary about sculptor Eva Hess, has been acquired. Zeitgeist Films will distribute "Eva Hesse." The film chronicles...
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