#Venice
Venice 2020 Women Directors: Meet Celine Held – “Topside”
Celine Held is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker. She works as a co-writer and director with her partner Logan George. Their work as a team has premiered in competition at SXSW, Sundance Film Festival, and...
Venice Film Fest Hosts Gender Equality Seminar
Historically, Venice Film Festival has not seemed to give a shit about gender parity or inclusion. Artistic director Alberto Barbera has said he would rather quit than set gender quotas. In the wake...
Venice 2019 Women Directors: Meet Manele Labidi – “Arab Blues”
Manele Labidi is a French-Tunisian writer-director. She has written and directed different projects for theater, radio, and television. Her first short film, “A Room of My Own,” is a...
Venice 2019 Women Directors: Meet Marie Grahtø – “Psychosia”
Marie Grahtø graduated from the independent film school Super16 in 2014. She has travelled to festivals around the world with her short films “Daimi” (2012) and “Yolo”...
Trailer Watch: A Doctor Takes on Local Politics — and Sexism — in “The Perfect Candidate”
The protagonist of Haifaa Al-Mansour’s “The Perfect Candidate,” a young female doctor in Saudi Arabia, is getting fed up. She’s not receiving the funding she needs at her...
Venice 2019 Women Directors: Meet Mattie Do – “The Long Walk”
Mattie Do is Laos’ first, and only, female filmmaker. Her feature debut, “Chanthaly,” was the ninth feature film produced in the country since the 1975 revolution, the first Lao...
Venice 2019 Women Directors: Meet Shahad Ameen – “Scales”
Writer-director Shahad Ameen was born and raised in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Her short films include 2009’s “Our Own Musical” and 2011’s “Leila’s Window.” The...
Venice 2019 Women Directors: Meet Gitanjali Rao – “Bombay Rose”
A self-taught animator and filmmaker, Gitanjali Rao emerged into the international stage with her animated short “Printed Rainbow,” which premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2006....
Jennifer Kent’s “The Nightingale” Wins Two Awards at Venice
“The Nightingale” has taken home two awards from Venice Film Festival, where the revenge thriller recently made its world premiere. Set in 1825 Tasmania, Jennifer Kent’s second...
Director Jacques Audiard Speaks Out About Gender Inequality at Fests
French filmmaker Jacques Audiard is speaking out on behalf of his female peers. Rather than standing idly by as women fight for better representation at fests, the director is using his voice to add...
Venice 2018 Women Directors: Meet Nicole Palo – “Emma Peeters”
Nicole Palo’s credits include the 2005 short “Anna Doesn’t Know” and the 2008 feature “Get Born.” “Emma Peeters” will premiere at the 2018 Venice Film...
Venice 2018 Women Directors: Meet Elsa Amiel — “Pearl”
Elsa Amiel previously directed two short films, “Ailleurs seulement” and “Faccia d’Angelo.” “Pearl” is her feature debut. “Pearl” will premiere...
Venice 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Marx — “L’Enkas”
Sarah Marx previously directed “Fatum,” a 2012 short about about a man struggling to reintegrate into society after serving time in jail. She later shot a documentary in a prison in...
EWA Pens Open Letter to Venice Film Festival About Lack of Women Directors
European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA) has shared an open letter to Paolo Baratta, President of the Venice Biennale, about the lack of women-directed films screening in Venice International...
Salma Hayek to Be Honored with Franca Sozzani Award at Venice Film Fest
Salma Hayek is set to receive an award for her work on and off the screen. The Oscar-nominated actress will be honored with the Franca Sozzani Award at Venice International Film Festival, WWD...
Vanessa Redgrave to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Venice Film Fest
Vanessa Redgrave is set to receive a major honor from the Venice Film Festival. The British actress will be awarded with its Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, Variety confirms. In a statement...
Venice Critics’ Week Competition is Over 70 Percent Female-Helmed
For the second year in a row, a female director’s feature debut will open Venice Critics’ Week. The independently run Venice sidebar kicked off last year’s screenings with Alice Lowe’s...
Venice Critics’ Week Competition is Over 50 Percent Female-Helmed
“Pin Cushion”For the second year in a row, a female director’s feature debut will open Venice Critics’ Week. The independently run Venice sidebar kicked off last year’s screenings with...
Annette Bening Named President of Venice Film Fest Jury, Is the 4th Woman to Hold Position
Annette Bening is doing her herstory-making “20th Century Women” character proud: The actress has been named as the President of the 74th Venice Film Festival’s jury. According to Deadline,...
Ana Lily Amirpour’s “The Bad Batch” Acquired By Netflix Out of Venice
Ana Lily Amirpour’s “The Bad Batch” has been acquired by Netflix out of the Venice Film Festival, The Hollywood Reporter writes. The deal is for SVOD rights. Amirpour’s second feature after...
Trailer Watch: “My Art” Explores Life as a Female Artist at Age 65
Laurie Simmons might be extra famous for being Lena Dunham’s mom, but for decades she’s had a successful artistic career of her own. Now she’s returning to film in “My Art,” which follows...
“Nocturnal Animals”: First Reviews and Twitter Reactions (Updated)
Amy Adams was on double-duty this Venice as the female lead in both Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival” (see reviews and reactions here) and Tom Ford’s “Nocturnal Animals.” Her festival...
“Arrival” Festival Reviews and Twitter Reactions (Updated)
Starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, Denis Villeneuve’s brainy sci-fi thriller “Arrival” is receiving strong buzz after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Following “Sicario,”...
“La La Land” First Reviews and Twitter Reactions (Updated)
August 31 marked not only the end of an overly heated month (both on and off the web), but also the beginning of this year’s fall festival season. That’s right. It’s Venice (#Venezia73) time....
Trailer Watch: “Quit Staring At My Plate” Takes a Woman to Her Breaking Point
Croatian director Hana Jusic’s debut feature, “Quit Staring At My Plate,” will play in competition the Venice Days section of the Venice Film Festival. The new trailer for the film highlights...
Venice Days Lineup Highlights Female Directors
Venice Days, The Venice Film Festival’s independent arm modeled on Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, has unveiled their lineup for the 13th fest, which runs from August 31-September 10...