#Festivals
Berlinale 2023 Women Directors: Meet Emily Atef – “Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything”
Emily Atef is a French-Iranian filmmaker who was born in Berlin. She studied directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). Her first feature film, “Molly’s...
Berlinale 2023 Women Directors: Meet Malika Musayeva – “The Cage is Looking for a Bird”
Malika Musayeva was born in Grozny, Chechen Republic. During the Second Chehen War in 1999, she fled the Chechen Republic. During her studies at Russia’s Kabardino-Balkarian State University...
Berlinale 2023 Women Directors: Meet Frauke Finsterwalder – “Sisi & I”
Frauke Finsterwalder was born in Hamburg and studied film directing at HFF Munich. She previously worked at theaters and as a journalist. Her debut feature film, “Finsterworld,” received...
Sundance 2023 Women Directors: Meet Sierra Urich – “Joonam”
Sierra Urich rew up in a small town nestled in the foothills of Vermont’s Green Mountains. Raised by her Persian mother and American-born father, she grew up speaking English, never learning her...
Sundance 2023 Women Directors: Meet Rebecca Landsberry-Baker – “Bad Press”
Rebecca Landsberry-Baker is a Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program grantee, Ford Foundation JustFilms grantee, and a 2022 NBC Original Voices Fellow. She is a 2022 Gotham Documentary Feature...
Sundance 2023 Women Directors: Meet Amanda Kim – “Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV”
Amanda Kim is a Korean American director and producer. A former creative director at Vice Media, she led U.S. video direction for i-D, Creators, and Garage magazine. Kim also worked on Viceland,...
Sundance 2023 Women Directors: Meet Alejandra Vasquez – “Going Varsity in Mariachi”
Alejandra Vasquez is a Mexican-American filmmaker and producer. Raised in rural Texas, she tells stories about the lives of immigrants and activists, typically from rural communities similar to her...
Sundance 2023 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Lambert – “Sometimes I Think About Dying”
Rachel Lambert is a writer-director whose debut feature, “In the Radiant City,” premiered at rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival. She received her BFA from Boston...
Alice Diop’s “Saint Omer” Snags Top Honor At Palm Springs Film Festival
Alice Diop’s feature debut continues to rack up accolades. “Saint Omer” has been voted Best Picture at the 34th edition of Palm Springs International Film Festival, Deadline...
DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Marusya Syroechkovskaya – “How to Save a Dead Friend”
Marusya Syroechkovskaya is a Moscow-born award-winning filmmaker and visual artist who had to flee Russia in March 2022 as the crackdown on opposition voices increased. Her student short film,...
DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Dawn Porter – “Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net”
Dawn Porter is an award-winning writer and producer. Her work has been featured on HBO, Netflix, CNN, PBS, MSNBC, MTV Films, and other platforms. Porter’s 2016 film “Trapped,” which explores...
DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Marianela Maldonado – “Children of Las Brisas”
Director and writer Marianela Maldonado has helmed several short fiction films including “The Look of Happiness” and “Breaking Out,” both of which premiered at Cannes Film Festival. She has...
DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Alexis Neophytides – “Dear Thirteen”
Alexis Neophytides is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and educator based in New York City. Her work centers around community and how we find meaning in people and place. She is the co-creator,...
DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Karen Cho – “Big Fight in Little Chinatown”
Karen Cho (曹嘉伦) is a Chinese-Canadian filmmaker known for her socio-political documentaries that explore themes of identity, immigration, and social justice. Her first film, “In The Shadow Of...
DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Tal Inbar – “Closed Circuit”
Tal Inbar is an independent filmmaker based in Tel-Aviv, Israel. During her studies, Inbar directed “The Home Front,” a short documentary about the Sarona terror attack, for which she won first...
DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Christine Yoo – “26.2 to Life”
Christine Yoo is a director, producer, writer, a volunteer at San Quentin State Prison, and co-founder of the San Quentin Film Festival. As a producer she has worked on non-fiction series for...
DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Sharon “Rocky” Roggio – “1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture”
Sharon “Rocky” Roggio has been honing her expertise in film and television producing for two decades and has worked on award-winning films and series, including “House of Cards,” “Parks and...
DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Elwira Niewiera – “The Hamlet Syndrome”
Elwira Niewiera is a Polish director and screenwriter of documentary films such as “Domino Effect” and “The Prince and the Dybbuk.” In her artistic work, she focuses primarily on political,...
DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Fatimah Dadzie – “Fati’s Choice”
As a filmmaker, Fatimah Dadzie’s forte is in telling compelling stories about marginalized groups. She previously directed “success stories,” about the reproductive health of adolescent girls....
NYFF 2022 Preview: NYT Reporters Expose a Predator, A Grieving Mother Turns to Activism, & More
The 60th edition of New York Film Festival is upon us. Kicking off today and running through October 16, this year’s program boasts the world premiere of buzzy titles such as Maria...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Chandler Levack – “I Like Movies”
Chandler Levack grew up in Burlington, Ontario, and lives in Toronto where she studied cinema at the University of Toronto and screenwriting at the Canadian Film Centre. She has directed numerous...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Rima Das – “Tora’s Husband”
Rima Das is a filmmaker from India known for making indigenous and realistic stories that explore complicated relationships, finding purpose, coming of age and life amidst nature. Her films...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Luis De Filippis – “Something You Said Last Night”
Luis De Filippis is a Canadian-Italian filmmaker whose work has played at festivals such as TIFF, Rotterdam, and Sundance, where her most recent work, “For Nonna Anna,” received a Special...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Gabriela Cowperthwaite – “The Grab”
Gabriela Cowperthwaite has been directing both documentaries and narrative films for over 20 years. She directed the 2013 documentary “Blackfish,” which amassed over 100 million viewers...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Lindsay MacKay – “The Swearing Jar”
Lindsay MacKay is a writer and director. MacKay is a graduate of the York University Film program and went on to get her Masters in Directing from the AFI Conservatory. Her debut feature, “Wet...
TIFF 2022 Directors: Meet Joseph Amenta – “Soft”
Joseph Amenta was born in Toronto and has an honors degree in film studies from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). They have directed the short films “Cherry...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Angela Wanjiku Wamai – “Shimoni” (“The Pit”)
Angela Wanjiku Wamai works as a film editor in Nairobi, Kenya. She was recently awarded best film editor by the Women in Film Awards – Kenya. In 2018 she wrote “I Had to Bury...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Carmen Jaquier – “Thunder”
Swiss film director Carmen Jaquier graduated from the Cantonal School of Art in Lausanne (ECAL) in 2011. Her graduation film, “The Girls’ Gravere,” went on to receive the Pardino...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Marie Kreutzer – “Corsage”
Marie Kreutzer has had a hand in many Austrian film productions. Her first feature film, “The Fatherless”(“Die Vaterlosen”) (2011), has been shown and awarded at numerous...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Jub Clerc – “Sweet As”
Jub Clerc is a Nyul Nyul/Yawuru woman from the Kimberley in Western Austrlia. Clerc spent many years in theatre before moving into film and television, working on multiple award-winning productions....
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Frances O’Connor -“Emily”
Frances O’Connor is an Australian-English actress living in London who is best known for her film roles in “Mansfield Park” and “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Her TV...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Liliane Mutti – “Miúcha, The Voice of Bossa Nova”
Born in Salvador, Brazil, Liliane Mutti is the founder of the Ciné Nova Bossa Association in Paris. She produces and directs films with strong political engagement, such as “Ecocide,”...
Laura Poitras’ “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” & Alice Diop’s “Saint Omer” Take Top Prizes at Venice
For the third consecutive year, Venice Film Festival has awarded its top prize, the Golden Lion, to a film by a woman director. Following in the footsteps of Chloé Zhao in 2020...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Sophie Kargman – “Susie Searches”
Sophie Kargman is a director, writer, producer, and actor based in Los Angeles. Her short film “Query,” which she also co-wrote and produced, had its world premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Tamana Ayazi – “In Her Hands”
Tamana Ayazi is a filmmaker and journalist from Afghanistan. She has a background in business, sports, and activism. She is a NatGeo explorer who uses storytelling as a tool to advocate for equality...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Amy Redford – “Roost”
Amy Redford’s career in the creative arts spans over three decades as a director, producer, and actor in film, television, music videos, and theater. “The Guitar” marked her directorial...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Bess Wohl – “Baby Ruby”
Bess Wohl is a writer, director, and playwright. In theater, her play “Grand Horizons” was nominated for a Tony Award. In film and television she has developed projects with Amazon, HBO,...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Aitch Alberto – “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe”
Aitch Alberto is a writer and director born and raised in Miami, Florida. She is a Sundance Episodic Lab fellow, the recipient of a Skowhegan Artist Residency, a Yaddo fellowship, and a Latino...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Stephanie Johnes – “Maya and the Wave”
Stephanie Johnes is a director, producer, and documentary filmmaker who gravitates toward stories of underdogs and dreamers. Her directorial debut, “Doubletime,” premiered at SXSW and Tribeca and...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Maggie Levin and Vanessa Winter – “V/H/S/99”
Maggie Levin is a filmmaker with rock ‘n’ roll roots. She served as second unit director and credit designer for Universal’s “The Black Phone,” in theaters now....
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Mary Nighy – “Alice, Darling”
Mary Nighy is a UK-based director who has directed episodes of “Industry,” a new series for HBO and Bad Wolf, and “Traces,” a new series for Red Productions. Nighy was the...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Lauren DeFilippo – “Free Money”
Lauren DeFilippo is a documentary filmmaker based in New York City. She most recently produced “Ailey” (Sundance 2021), an acclaimed feature documentary that was released in theaters...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Vera Drew – “The People’s Joker”
Vera Drew (she/her) is an accomplished LGBTQ+ director and editor who has worked in TV and film for nearly a decade. She recently directed Season 12 of Tim Heidecker’s “On Cinema at...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Selcen Ergun – “Snow and the Bear” (“Kar ve Ayı”)
Selcen Ergun is a director and screenwriter from Turkey. She began her career as an assistant director, working on many national and international productions. Her short films...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Malou Reymann – “Unruly”
Malou Reymann is a director and screenwriter who graduated from the National Film and Television School in England. Her debut feature, “A Perfectly Normal Family,” which premiered at...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: V.T. Nayani – “This Place”
V.T. Nayani is a director, producer, and writer. She is a recipient of the UN Women Yvonne M. Hebert Award for filmmakers and photographers. Most recently, she completed her residency in the...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Sinéad O’Shea – “Pray for Our Sinners”
Sinéad O’Shea is an award-winning filmmaker and writer. Her first feature documentary, “A Mother Brings her Son to be Shot,” premiered at CPH:DOX 2018 where it was nominated for a...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Meet Laura Baumeister – “Daughter of Rage”
Laura Baumeister was born and raised in Nicaragua and trained at Mexico’s Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica. A sociologist as well as a filmmaker, Baumeister has directed the...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Alice Winocour – “Paris Memories”
Alice Winocour directed her first feature film in 2011, “Augustine.” It was selected for Cannes’ Critics Week and nominated for a César Award for the Best First Film. Her second...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Nisha Pahuja – “To Kill a Tiger”
Nisha Pahuja is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker based in Toronto and Bombay. Her credits include the critically-acclaimed “Diamond Road,” “Bollywood Bound,” and “The World...
TIFF 2022 Women Directors: Carolina Markowicz – “Charcoal”
Carolina Markowicz is a screenwriter and director based in São Paulo, Brazil. Her short films have won many international awards and have played in more than 200 festivals worldwide including TIFF,...