#Films
Trailer Watch: 20 Years Later, Survivors Share Their Stories in “We Are Columbine”
April 20 will mark the 20th anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. Even though two decades have passed since Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 12...
Weekly Update for March 29: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Slut in a Good Way – Directed by Sophie Lorain; Written by Catherine Léger One tipsy evening, Charlotte (Marguerite Bouchard), the recently heartbroken, Megan (Romane...
April 2019 Film Preview
After an exciting Women’s History Month, complete with the groundbreaking release of Marvel’s first superheroine film, April will continue the momentum with a slew of women-centric and...
Trailer Watch: Aviva Kempner Tells the Story of Moe Berg, “The Spy Behind Home Plate”
Moe Berg was a man of many masks. The MLB catcher “loved being a mystery” and “was a loner who wanted to experience the world,” we’re told in a new trailer for...
Trailer Watch: Dora the Explorer Heads to High School and “The Lost City of Gold”
Dora the Explorer, the adventure-loving protagonist of the beloved animated children’s show, has had her fair share of dangerous encounters. But she might face her scariest foe yet in...
Quote of the Day: Amy Poehler On Why We Need More Stories About Women in Their 40s and 50s
Amy Poehler’s feature directorial debut, Netflix comedy “Wine Country,” not only reunites her with fellow “SNL” alumnae and friends such as Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph,...
Weekly Update for March 22: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Out of Blue – Written and Directed by Carol Morley (Also Available on VOD) “Out of Blue” “Out of Blue,” written and directed by Carol Morley,...
SFIFF Announces 2019 Lineup: “Booksmart,” “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City,” & More
You’ll have another chance to catch SXSW breakout “Booksmart” before it hits cinemas May 24. Olivia Wilde’s feature debut about overachieving, college-bound BFFs determined to...
Director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre Talks About Her New Film “The Mustang”
To achieve a sense of realism in “The Mustang,” Laure de Clermont-Tonnere spent five years researching the U.S. prison system and animal therapy. Her new film focuses on an inmate, played by...
Hot Docs Announces Full Lineup, Tasha Hubbard’s “nîpawistamâsowin” to Open the Fest
Hot Docs has unveiled the full lineup for its 2019 edition and it’s set to be an exciting one for women filmmakers. According to a press release, the festival will present 234 films and...
Under the Radar: “Circle of Steel” Is a Tender Portrait of Existential Crisis
Wendy Fong (Chantelle Han) is a young chemical engineer trapped inside a monotonous and ethically fraught existence. When she describes her tedious daily routine to a friend over drinks, her friend...
Nelly Kaplan Will Be Honored with Film Retrospective at NYC’s Quad Cinema
Nelly Kaplan will soon receive her very first New York retrospective. NYC’s Quad Cinema announced it will be hosting “Wild Things: The Ferocious Films of Nelly Kaplan” from April...
Weekly Update for March 15: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase – Directed by Katt Shea; Written by Nina Fiore and John Herrera After the death of his wife, Carson Drew decides to leave Chicago...
Trailer Watch: Sex Workers Receive Support in the Courtroom in “Blowin’ Up”
“No one in here wants to see you in jail,” a lawyer tells her client in “Blowin’ Up” — and that truly does appear to be the case. Stephanie Wang-Breal’s...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Brett Story – “The Hottest August”
Brett Story is an award-winning nonfiction filmmaker. Her 2016 feature documentary “The Prison in Twelve Landscapes” won the Special Jury Prize at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Julia Parnell – “The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps”
Julia Parnell is an award-winning producer and documentary director from New Zealand. Her work has been chosen for festivals in New Zealand and Australia such as DocEdge, NZIFF and MIFF, as well as...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Pollyanna McIntosh – “Darlin'”
Pollyanna McIntosh is an actress, writer, and director. Her acting credits include “The Walking Dead” and “The Last Tycoon.” “Darlin’” is her directorial debut. “Darlin’”...
Number of Women Directors in France Is Increasing, Study Finds
“Captain Marvel’s” record-breaking debut was in good company on International Women’s Day. March 8 also saw the publication of a new study concluding that the number of women...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Miia Tervo – “Aurora”
Miia Tervo is an award-winning director whose credits include “The Seal,” “The Little Snow Animal,” and “Clumsy Little Acts of Tenderness.” “Aurora” is...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Anna Odell – “X&Y”
Anna Odell is a Swedish conceptual artist and film director. In her 2013 feature debut “The Reunion,” she reenacted a 20-year class reunion, exploring tensions between victims, bullies,...
SXSW Women Directors: Meet Julie Smith Clem – “It Started As A Joke”
Julie Smith Clem is the co-founder of Pretty Good Friends, a comedy production company. She’s produced shows for Comedy Central and Science Channel, co-created the Peabody Award-winning video...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Waad Al-Kateab – “For Sama”
Waad Al-Kateab is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. She became a citizen journalist in 2011, after protests broke out across Syria against the Assad regime, and in January 2016 she...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Hilary Brougher – “South Mountain”
Hilary Brougher is a writer and director. Her credits include “The Sticky Fingers of Time” and “Stephanie Daley.” The latter won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Jenifer McShane – “Ernie & Joe”
Jenifer McShane is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her credits include “A Leap of Faith” and “Mothers of Bedford.” “Ernie & Joe” will premiere at the 2019 SXSW Film...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Sandy K. Boone – “J.R. ‘Bob’ Dobbs and The Church of the SubGenius”
Sandy K. Boone is a director and producer. She began making films in the 1980s with her late husband, filmmaker David Boone. She served as associate producer on “Richard Linklater: Dream is...
SXSW Women Directors: Meet Marlén Viñayo – “Cachada: The Opportunity”
Marlén Viñayo is a TV and film director, producer, and documentary screenwriter based in El Salvador. She has worked for PBS Frontline, BBC News, and CCTV Americas Now, among others. In...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Catalina Arroyave – “Days of the Whale”
Catalina Arroyave was born in Medellín, Colombia. In 2010 she co-funded Rara, an-art house producing company based in Medellín. She has worked as an assistant director and teacher for several...
Weekly Update for March 8: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Captain Marvel – Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck; Written by Anna Boden, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and Ryan Fleck The highly anticipated first Marvel movie with...
Focusing on Family: Crowdfunding Picks
The family unit is one of the foundational aspects of our society, so it’s no surprise that familial relationships are constantly explored in movies, books, and television. In some cases, family...
SXSW Women Directors: Meet Erin Lee Carr: “I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter”
Erin Lee Carr is a writer, director, and producer. She recently directed an episode of Netflix’s “Dirty Money,” an investigation into price gouging tactics revolutionized by pharma...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Linda Goldstein Knowlton – “We Are The Radical Monarchs”
Linda Goldstein Knowlton is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker working in documentary and scripted feature films as well as television. She executive produced “Dream, Girl” and “Whale Rider.”...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Chelsea Hernandez – “Building the American Dream”
Chelsea Hernandez is a Mexican-American filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. She is an eight-time Emmy winning director, producer, and editor for her work on the PBS documentary series “Arts in...
Trailer Watch: Molly Shannon’s Emily Dickinson Is More Than a Recluse in “Wild Nights with Emily”
“Too much has been made of late of Emily Dickinson’s famous reclusivity,” the narrator of “Wild Nights with Emily” declares in the film’s new trailer. “Let...
SXSW Women Directors: Meet Rebecca Stern – “Well Groomed”
Rebecca Stern is a director, writer, and producer. She started out in documentary filmmaking as the production coordinator of the Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning documentary “Cartel...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Jenna Ricker – “Qualified”
Jenna Ricker is a producer and director. In 2007, she wrote, directed, and produced her first feature film, “Ben’s Plan,” a coming-of-age drama made on a micro-budget, which was...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Elizabeth Carroll – “Nothing Fancy: Diana Kennedy”
Elizabeth Carroll is a director and producer. In 2013, she founded Honeywater Films to produce stories about food. She has directed video content for The New York Times. “Nothing Fancy: Diana...
SXSW 2019 Preview: Olivia Wilde’s Directorial Debut, a Portrait of Life in Syria, & More
Sixty percent of films screening in Competition categories at this year’s edition of the SXSW Film Festival are women-directed or co-directed. With no shortage of films by and about women in...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Vekarić – “Aleksi”
Barbara Vekarić is a director and producer. She directed the travelogue documentary series “Couchsurfer Girl” and the children’s television show “Space Lab.” Vekarić...
“A Wrinkle in Time,” “Widows,” “Hate U Give,” and More Receive ReFrame Stamp
Time to plan a feminist movie night. ReFame, a coalition working to advance women’s representation on and off-screen, has awarded its gender equality stamp to 20 of the top-grossing films of...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Patricia Ortega – “Being Impossible”
Patricia Ortega is a director, screenwriter, and producer. She made her feature directorial debut with 2013’s “El Regreso.” “Being Impossible” is her second...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Kestrin Pantera – “Mother’s Little Helpers”
Kestrin Pantera is an actress, writer, and director. She made her feature debut with 2014’s “Let’s Ruin It with Babies,” and has since directed TV series such as “Bad Parent...
“Honor Diaries” Producer Paula Kweskin Fighting for Women’s Rights with New Film Fest
Filmmaker and human rights attorney Paula Kweskin responded to the censorship of her film “Honor Diaries,” a doc about gendered “honor violence,” by starting the Censored...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Emily Ting – “Go Back to China”
Emily Ting is a film writer, director, and producer. Her first narrative feature, “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong,” premiered at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival, and was later screened at over...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Tracey Frazier – “Becoming Leslie”
Tracy Frazier first became involved in film production working as an assistant director on the feature film “Jumping Off Bridges.” Frazier went on to produce two short films,...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Numa Perrier – “Jezebel”
Numa Perrier is an actress, writer, producer, and director. She is the co-founder of Black&Sexy TV, a production company and streaming platform for television and film projects created by Black...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Amy C. Elliott – “Salvage”
Amy Elliott is a photographer and documentary filmmaker. She has been shooting motion and still editorial assignments for 20 years. Her previous features include 2014’s “Wicker...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet the Team Behind “Vai”
Becs Arahanga’s 2016 short film, “Laundry,” screened at the New Zealand International Film Festival. She recently completed filming on her next project, “Hinekura.” Amberley Jo...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Karen Maine – “Yes, God, Yes”
Karen Maine wrote and directed the 2017 short “Yes, God, Yes,” which premiered as a Vimeo Staff Pick and received 2.9 million views. It won Best Short at the St. Louis International Film...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Magdalena Zyzak – “The Wall of Mexico”
Magdalena Zyzak is a writer, producer, and director. She co-wrote and produced “Redland,” which was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. In 2016, she teamed up with Zachary Cotler to direct...
New App Lets Users Rate a Film Based on Its Feminism (or Lack Thereof)
Do you think movies should be evaluated by their portrayal of women? What about their depictions of race or class? Whether they are intersectional? Well, now there’s an app for that. World...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Elizabeth Sankey – “Romantic Comedy”
Elizabeth Sankey is an English writer, musician, and actor. As a cultural commentator, she has written for The Guardian, NME, Vice, and McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern. With her band, Summer Camp,...