#movies
“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...
“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...
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...
NFMLA Will Spotlight Female-Directed Films to Celebrate Women’s History Month
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles’ (NFMLA) Monthly Film Festival for March will recognize women’s stories. The org announced that on March 16, in honor of Women’s History Month, it will...
Marianna Palka’s “Egg” Among Women in the Arts & Media Coalition’s Collaboration Awardees
The Women in the Arts & Media Coalition has named the honorees of its 2019 Collaboration Awards. Set to be held March 30 — Support Women Artists Now Day — at New York...
Weekly Update for March 1: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Greta No good deed goes unpunished in “Greta.” The campy thriller sees Chloë Grace Moretz playing Frances, a kind young woman new to New York City. One fateful day...
Exclusive: An Eco-Activist Faces a Huge Decision in “Woman at War” Clip
Halla (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) has wanted to be a mother for a long time. The protagonist of “Woman at War” applied for adoption years ago and — while waiting and wondering if...
March 2019 Film Preview
March is Women’s History Month! There are lots of ways to celebrate — learning about important women in history, honoring your favorite women leaders and artists, and, of course,...
Priya Swaminathan and Tonia Davis Named Co-Heads of Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions
Another reason to get excited about Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company: it will be run by women. According to Deadline, producers and film execs Priya Swaminathan and...
BAM to Host Claire Denis Retrospective
BAM will close out Women’s History Month with a celebration of César-nominated filmmaker Claire Denis. According to a press release, the Brooklyn venue will host “Strange Desire: The...
Guest Post: What “Roma” Gets Right About Motherhood
Guest Post by Cristina Escobar “Roma” became the first film from Mexico to win the “foreign” language category at the Oscars on Sunday, and also nabbed best director and cinematography...
2019 Indie Spirit Awards: Glenn Close, Regina King, & More Win Big and Celebrate Women
The Film Independent Spirit Awards were held this past Saturday, and the ceremony was memorable not just because of the nominees and winners but because of the honorees’ celebration of women in...
Weekly Update for February 22: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Firebrand – Written and Directed by Aruna Raje (Available on Netflix) “Firebrand” follows the life of a successful lawyer who herself is a sexual assault victim...
Guest Post: The Enduring Legacy of Joan Micklin Silver’s “Between the Lines”
Guest Post by Maya Montañez Smukler Joan Micklin Silver’s 1977 film “Between the Lines” captures a precious moment when 1960s social idealism struggled against 1970s careerist...
Trailer Watch: Elisabeth Moss Is a Self-Destructive Rock Star in “Her Smell”
Becky Something is, by her own admission, a persona and not a person, a user, and a deadbeat. A trailer has arrived for “Her Smell,” and it sees the punk rock superstar, played by...
2019 Diversity Report: Women & POC Make Progress But Are Still Largely Underrepresented
UCLA’s College of Social Sciences has released its latest Diversity Report. Once again, the study reveals women and people of color are making strides on both sides of the camera, but overall,...
Study: 31 Percent of 2018’s Top-Grossing Films Featured a Female Protagonist
“2018 may be remembered as the year in which things were not quite as they appeared for female characters,” Dr. Martha Lauzen said of her analysis of women’s representation in last...
Trailer Watch: HBO Doc “The Inventor” Exposes Elizabeth Holmes’ Fake Medical Revolution
Elizabeth Holmes’ dream is that “less people have to say goodbye too soon to people they love.” She reveals this aspiration in the new trailer for “The Inventor: Out for Blood...
Weekly Update for February 15: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING The Breaker Upperers – Written and Directed by Jackie van Beek and Madeleine Sami (Available on Netflix) Fifteen years ago, Mel (Madeleine Sami) and Jen (Jackie van...
Award-Winning Sundance Docs From Liza Mandelup and Tamara Kotevska Secure Distribution
Two more women-directed Sundance pics have found homes. Liza Mandelup’s “Jawline” and Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s “Honeyland” have nabbed...
Berlinale 2019 Women Directors: Meet Prune Nourry – “Serendipity”
Prune Nourry is a multi-disciplinary artist interested in science and anthropology. She combines sculpture, installation, performance, video, and photography in her work. Nourry has gained...
Research: 2018 Marked Major Improvement for On-Screen Inclusion in Top Films
Finally, some encouraging stats for women and people of color in film. After concluding, in an earlier 2019 report, that the number of women directors hadn’t budged in 12 years, Dr. Stacy L....
Weekly Update for February 8: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING What Men Want – Written by Tina Gordon Chism, Alex Gregory, and Peter Huyck Inspired by the Nancy Meyers hit romantic comedy “What Women Want,” this film follows...
“Black-ish’s” Marsai Martin Signs First-Look Deal with Universal
It’s starting to look like Marsai Martin may be a mogul in the making. Best known for playing Diane, AKA Dolly, on “Black-ish,” the actress is set to co-star with...
Trailer Watch: Yara Shahidi Only Has One Day for Love in “The Sun Is Also a Star”
“This is my home. New York is my home,” Jamaica-born Natasha Kingsley (Yara Shahidi) pleads in the trailer for “The Sun Is Also a Star.” But it doesn’t matter:...
Weekly Update for February 1: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Miss Bala – Directed by Catherine Hardwicke “Miss Bala”: Columbia Pictures Gloria (Gina Rodriguez) finds a power she never knew she had when she is drawn...
February 2019 Film Preview
From rom-coms to slashers to dramas, moviegoers have plenty of options when it comes to films made by and about women this February. The month kicks off with the February 1 release of Catherine...
Women Directing 40 Percent of Upcoming Disney Films, CEO Announces
Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Robert Iger made an exciting announcement via Twitter while addressing the 4% Challenge, the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Time’s Up campaign...
Berlinale Will Sign the Gender Parity Pledge
The 2019 Berlin International Film Festival won’t kick off until next Thursday, February 7, but it’s already made history. Screen Daily confirms fest artistic director Dieter Kosslick...
Universal Is First Major Studio to Accept 4% Challenge
Universal Filmed Entertainment Group is following in the steps of Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Lopez, Lena Waithe, and many others. The Donna Langley-led company is the first major...
Weekly Update for January 25: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Ánimas – Written and Directed by Laura Alvea and Jose F. Ortuño (Available on Netflix) When her best friend Abraham’s father is killed in a mysterious accident, a...
Study: Sundance Boasts Impressive Pipeline of Women & POC Directors, But Still Has Work to Do
Sundance 2019 is in full swing but the Sundance Institute isn’t resting on its laurels. Far from it. The org released a study with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, entitled...
Glasgow Film Fest 2019: Over Half of the Films Up For the Audience Award Are Women-Directed
The Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) has announced its 2019 lineup and — in news that’s most welcome considering the Oscars failed to nominate a woman director again — most of the films...
“Mystic Pizza” Musical in the Works from Melissa Etheridge
Good news, ’80s movie fans and lovers of esoteric “30 Rock” references: a “Mystic Pizza” musical is on the way. According to Deadline, Melissa Etheridge will be writing...
Exclusive: Women Take the Lead in Trailer for the 2019 Athena Film Festival
“The key to success is to look into the future and visualize what you want to become,” says Geena Davis in an exclusive new trailer for the 2019 Athena Film Festival. The actress and...
Oscar Noms 2019: Another All-Male Directing Category
The 2019 Oscar nominations have been announced, and we can still count every woman who has ever been nominated for Best Director on one hand: Lina Wertmüller, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Kathryn...
Sundance 2019 Preview: Films About Late Night Writers, Cliques, Toni Morrison, and More
Sundance 2019 begins this Thursday, January 24, and will be screening plenty of buzzy women-driven and women made films. As always, Women and Hollywood has put together some of the festival...
Trailer Watch: A Stepmother Crosses the Line in Sundance Pic “Queen of Hearts”
Sundance drama “Queen of Hearts” sees Anne (Trine Dyrholm), a happy lawyer, wife, and mother, upending her life and entering into an affair — with her husband’s troubled son,...
Guest Post: Why My Sisters and I Shared Our Story of Childhood Sex Abuse in a Documentary
Guest Post by Desirae Brown In the fall of 2007 we were at the peak of our careers. All five of us, including our brothers Gregory and Ryan, had attended Juilliard, capturing the attention of The New...
Weekly Update for January 18: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Adult Life Skills – Written and Directed by Rachel Tunnard (Also Available on VOD) Anna (Jodie Whittaker) is stuck: she’s approaching 30, living like a hermit in her...
Trailer Watch: A Super-Powered Gugu Mbatha-Raw Can’t Save the World in “Fast Color”
Julia Hart’s new film sees Gugu Mbatha-Raw playing a woman with superhuman capabilities without superhuman ambitions. As someone in “Fast Color’s” trailer phrases...
Doc About Hollywood Gender Discrimination “This Changes Everything” Secures Release
“This Changes Everything,” a documentary investigating Hollywood’s decades of discrimination against women on and off-screen, has nabbed distribution. According to a press...
Vicky Jewson on Telling the Story of a Female Bodyguard in Noomi Rapace-Starrer “Close”
Vicky Jewson began her career at age 16, directing several short films. She founded her production company, Jewson Film, at age 18. Jewson made her feature directorial debut with the 2006’s...
WIF LA Names 2018 Film Finishing Fund Recipients
Women In Film, Los Angeles (WIF LA) has awarded its 33rd annual Film Finishing Fund to nine projects about and/or made by women, a press release announced. The Fund provides cash grants and in-kind...
Berlinale 2019: 41% of Films Eligible for Top Honors in Competition Are Women-Directed
The Berlin International Film Festival has finalized its 2019 Competition. Of the 23 films selected, eight are helmed by women, or about 35 percent. That figure is more than double last year’s...
Box Office Report: “On the Basis of Sex” Hits $10.6M, “Beale Street” $7.7M, & More
Ruth Bader Ginsburg continues to rule at the box office. Last year Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s doc about the Supreme Court Justice, “RBG,” became one of the highest-grossing...
Weekly Update for January 11: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Touch Me Not – Written and Directed by Adina Pintilie (Opens in NY) On the fluid border between reality and fiction, “Touch Me Not” follows the emotional journeys...
NYC’s Film Forum to Host Tribute to Elaine May
New York City cinema Film Forum will pay special tribute to actress-comedian-filmmaker Elaine May during its upcoming “FAR-OUT IN THE 70s: A New Wave of Comedy, 1969-1979” film series....
“Captain Marvel” Pre-Sales Among Top Three in MCU History
Carol Danvers has made history yet again — and we still have another two months before her film opens. According to Deadline, “Captain Marvel,” the Marvel Cinematic...
Athena Fest 2019: “Fast Color,” “Knock Down the House,” & More to Screen
If you’re frustrated by awards season’s exclusion of women filmmakers and their stories, or if you’re encouraged by the growing number of film festivals committing to gender parity,...
Trailer Watch: Issa Rae Helps Regina Hall Through a Cursed Situation in “Little”
Jordan Sanders (Regina Hall) is the boss from hell in the new trailer for “Little” — but she gets her comeuppance. After years of bullying her assistant, terrorizing her staff, and...