#Women Directors
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Camille Hardman – “Still Working 9 to 5”
Camille Hardman has produced documentaries and reality TV series in both her native Australia and Los Angeles. She started in TV in Sydney over 15 years ago, making animal and travel documentaries...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Julie Cohen and Betsy West – “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down”
Julie Cohen and Betsy West are Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning filmmakers who directed and produced the theatrical documentary “RBG.” Their film “Julia” was released...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Gretchen Stoeltje – “Shouting Down Midnight”
A Texas-based filmmaker, director Gretchen Stoeltje makes independent documentaries centering on women’s experiences. “Venom in a Jar, a Kiss From the Queen,” explores the role of...
Megan Park Teams Up with Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment for Next Feature, “My Old Ass”
Megan Park has lined up her follow-up to SXSW winner “The Fallout,” her directorial debut. The “Secret Life of the American Teenager” actress will tackle another coming-of-age...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Rosa Ruth Boesten – “Master of Light”
Born in Utrecht and based in Amsterdam, Rosa Ruth Boesten, made her first documentary about her grandmother, a single mother and struggling artist who made textile art. She studied directing of...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Allison Otto – “The Thief Collector”
Allison Otto is an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and visual journalist. Her documentary short “The Love Bugs” was awarded Best Short Documentary in the 42nd Annual...
Pick of the Day: “Turning Red”
A hilarious and moving tribute to the power of friendship, family, and self-acceptance, Domee Shi’s “Turning Red” is a delight from start to finish. Pixar’s latest tells the...
Patricia Rozema on Revisiting Her Queer Classic “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing”
Patricia Rozema’s first feature, “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing,” screened at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Prix de la Jeunesse, was runner-up for the...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Linda Goldstein Knowlton – “Split At The Root”
Linda Goldstein Knowlton is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, working in documentary, scripted feature films, and television. Her award-winning documentary “We Are The Radical Monarchs” ...
Trailer Watch: An Aspiring Pornstar Moves to LA in Ninja Thyberg’s “Pleasure”
“I love being in front of the camera. I love having people watch me,” says Sofia Kappel in a new trailer for “Pleasure.” Ninja Thyberg’s feature debut tells the story of...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Iliana Sosa – “What We Leave Behind”
Iliana Sosa is a documentary and narrative fiction filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. Her documentary short “An Uncertain Future,” co-directed with Chelsea Hernandez, premiered at the 2018...
Projects from Robin Roberts, Kristen Lappas, & More Added to ESPN’s Title IX Anniversary Programming
Fifty/50, ESPN’s previously-announced initiative celebrating Title IX’s 50th anniversary, has unveiled its current programming lineup. As we reported last fall, Dawn Porter (“John...
Trailer Watch: Mayim Bialik Makes Her Directorial Debut with Dianna Agron-Starrer “As They Made Us”
Mayim Bialik steps behind the camera in “As They Made Us.” Best known for her on-screen work in “The Big Bang Theory” and “Blossom,” the Emmy-nominated actress...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Vanessa Winter – “Deadstream”
Vanessa Winter is a Utah-based writer and director. Practical creature FX with absurd twists are the hallmarks of her and her collaborator and husband Joseph Winter’s viral horror shorts for...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Amy Bandlien Storkel – “The Pez Outlaw”
Amy Bandlien Storkel is a documentary filmmaker best known for co-producing “The Legend of Cocaine Island” (Netflix, 2019) and the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Alabama...
Trailer Watch: A Shut-In Moves Into a Haunted Apartment in Jennifer Reeder’s “Night’s End”
An anxious shut-in moves into a haunted apartment following a nervous breakdown in “Night’s End.” What sounds like a recipe for disaster proves to be just that. A trailer for...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Nyla Innuksuk – “Slash/Back”
Nyla Innuksuk is the founder of Mixtape VR, which produces film, virtual, and augmented reality content. A writer for Marvel Comics, Innuksuk co-created the character of Snowguard, a teenage...
Watch: The Women Behind “The Power of the Dog” Discuss the Evolution of the Film
Netflix has released a conversation with some of the women behind “The Power of the Dog” in honor of International Women’s Day. Moderated by Tamara Jenkins, a filmmaker whose...
Renée Zellweger Will Play a WASP Leader Fighting Hitler in Peacock’s “Avenger Field”
Renée Zellweger has another small screen project in the works. The two-time Oscar winner’s latest project, true crime series “The Thing About Pam,” premieres on NBC tonight, and...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Linda Yellen – “Chantilly Bridge”
Linda Yellen is an Emmy Award-winning director, writer, and producer. She has made over 27 productions for film and television, with premieres at Cannes, Sundance, and Toronto film festivals. Among...
SXSW 2022 Women Directors: Meet Daresha Kyi – “Mama Bears”
Daresha Kyi is an Emmy Award-winning director who also writes and produces film and television in Spanish and English. She made her feature doc directorial debut with “Chavela,” a...
Trailer Watch: Andrea Arnold Introduces Luma in “Cow”
A trailer has arrived for Andrea Arnold’s first documentary, “Cow,” an immersive portrait of a dairy cow named Luma. The film made its world premiere at last year’s edition of Cannes Film...
SXSW 2022 Preview: Inuit Girls Take On an Alien Invasion in the Arctic, Gabby Giffords Fights for Gun Control, & More
Kicking off March 11, SXSW will take place in-person for the first time since 2019. With a Feature Competition slate that is majority-women-directed, there are a bunch of films we’re looking...
Lydia Dean Pilcher Bringing Dawn Prince-Hughes’ Memoir “Songs of the Gorilla Nation” to the Screen
As a feature director, Lydia Dean Pilcher has showcased the true stories of women fighting for safer working conditions (“Radium Girls”) and serving as intelligence officers for Britain...
Under the Radar: Iliana Sosa’s “What We Leave Behind” Is an Intimate Portrait of a Family’s Loyal Patriarch
“Life’s catching up with me.” Shirtless and laid bare in a symbolic display of openness and vulnerability, Julián Moreno speaks to his granddaughter as they so often have for several years –...
Pick of the Day: “Lucy and Desi”
Long before she herself served as an inspiration for comedy fans on “SNL,” Amy Poehler grew up watching “I Love Lucy,” and in “Lucy and Desi,” the multi-hyphenate pays loving tribute...
Pick of the Day: “Fresh”
Your mileage may vary on “Fresh.” A rom-com-horror hybrid exploring the modern dynamics of power, dating, gender, and sex via a pretty twisted allegory, it’s sure to be polarizing...
Santa Barbara Film Fest 2022 Women Directors: Meet Nancy Svendsen – “Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest”
After two decades in leadership positions in various facets of the healthcare industry, Nancy Svendsen became an independent filmmaker based in Northern California, beginning with the short...
Isabel Castro’s Sundance Doc “Mija” Heads to Disney, FX Acquires Scripted Content Dev Rights
“Mija,” a music documentary from director Isabel Castro, has secured distribution and a potential narrative adaptation. Worldwide rights to the Sundance 2022 title have been nabbed by...
Trailer Watch: Erin Lee Carr Revisits the Submarine Murder in “Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall”
Erin Lee Carr is peeling back the layers of yet another jaw-dropping crime. With credits such as “At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal,” “I Love You, Now Die: The...
March 2022 Television Preview
From criminal masterminds and crime-solvers, to creative artists and competitive athletes, this Women’s History Month contains a strong slate of thought-provoking and downright shocking new...
Tiffany Johnson & Kiana Moore’s Fashion Fair Doc “The Beauty of Blackness” Lands at HBO Max
In honor of Women’s History Month, HBO Max has acquired a documentary tracing the creation, rise, and continued significance of Fashion Fair, the first cosmetics brand specifically designed for...
Trailer Watch: Regina Hall Is the “Master” of a College Haunted by Racism
“This school is unwilling to see itself for what it truly is,” we’re told in a new trailer for “Master.” Set at an elite New England university that’s nearly as...
Trailer Watch: Naomi Watts Risks Her Life to Save a Stranger’s in Małgorzata Szumowska’s “Infinite Storm”
Naomi Watts is battling the elements again. The two-time Oscar nominee scored one of her nods for “The Impossible,” a drama about a family fighting to survive the 2004 Indian Ocean...
Hollywood Critics Association Film Awards: “CODA” Wins Best Pic, “Power of the Dog’s” Jane Campion Ties for Best Director
“CODA” is gaining momentum leading up to film’s biggest night. Sian Heder’s sophomore feature took home the the top honor at the SAG Awards on Sunday, Outstanding Performance...
Exclusive: Amy Poehler Celebrates Female Friendship on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy and Desi” Clip
Amy Poehler makes her documentary directorial debut with “Lucy and Desi,” a tribute to the power couple behind “I Love Lucy,” Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The “Parks and...
Nana Mensah’s “Queen of Glory” Acquired by Film Movement
“Queen of Glory” has found a home. Film Movement landed U.S. rights to the dramedy, which marks the directorial debut of Nana Mensah, a multi-hyphenate best known for her acting roles on...
March 2022 Film Preview
Women’s History Month is chock-full of suspenseful thrillers and dark dramas featuring characters either seeking truth from others or harboring deep secrets of their own. We’ll be welcoming...
Freya Mavor Directing Anthology Film “Kink,” Thalissa Teixeira to Star in First Segment
Actress Freya Mavor (“The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun”) will explore the role sexuality plays in learning about oneself in her feature directorial debut. She is helming...
Ondi Timoner’s “Last Flight Home” Lands at MTV Documentary Films
“Last Flight Home” has landed at MTV Documentary Films. Ondi Timoner’s latest “had several bidders and the sale was highly competitive,” according to Variety. The doc...
Stephanie Laing on Channeling Grief and Loss into Art and Comedy in “Family Squares”
Stephanie Laing has eight Emmy nominations and two wins. She just directed all six episodes of the limited series “Mammals” for Amazon Studios. Laing launched her directing career on HBO’s...
Jazmin Jones Directing “Seeking Mavis Beacon” Doc, Neon Signs on as Producer
Since the ’80s, Mavis Beacon has helped millions of people learn how to type. She is one of the most prominent Black women in technology. But she isn’t real — or at least the woman...
Cannes Winner “Murina” Lands at Kino Lorber
“Murina” is headed stateside. A press release announced that Kino Lorber snagged North American rights to Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s coming-of-age story set on a Croatian island. The...
Cannabis Queens Doc “Lady Buds” Spawns Feature and Series Spinoffs
There’s plenty more of “Lady Buds” to harvest. CJ Russo’s 2021 documentary about a group of women struggling to save their cannabis businesses in the wake of...
“The Power of the Dog” Leads GALECA LGBTQ Critics’ Dorian Award Film Nominations
Dorian Award nominations are in, and “The Power of the Dog” is as strong as ever. Jane Campion’s queer Western set in 1920s Montana leads with nine nominations from The Society of...
Trailer Watch: Evan Rachel Wood Details Her Story of Abuse and Activism in “Phoenix Rising”
Known for her on-screen work in titles such as “Westworld,” “Across the Universe,” and “Thirteen,” Evan Rachel Wood takes audiences behind the scenes of her life...
Irish Film & TV Awards: Kate Dolan’s “You Are Not My Mother” Up for Best Film, Director, Script, & More
Nominations have been announced for this year’s edition of the Irish Film and TV Academy Awards (IFTAs), and Kate Dolan’s feature directorial debut is up for a slew of honors. A modern...
Pick of the Day: “Fannie Lou Hamer’s America”
For the most part, the documentary “Fannie Lou Hamer’s America” is made up of archival footage, photographs, and recordings. The few talking head interviews included were filmed decades...
Join the Girls Club for a Conversation with “Family Squares” Writer-Director Stephanie Laing
Writer, director, and producer Stephanie Laing will sit down with the Girls Club to talk about her new film, “Family Squares,” on Wednesday, February 23, at 4 p.m. EST. The virtual chat...
“The Power of the Dog” Leads Vancouver Film Critics Circle Nominations
“The Power of the Dog” is poised to collect even more honors. Jane Campion’s first feature in over a decade, a Western psychodrama about a dysfunctional family of ranchers, leads...
The Girls on Film Podcast Launches Girls on Film Awards
The Girls on Film Podcast is set to “reward excellence in the field of feminism, inclusion and diversity, female representation, and the female gaze” with its inaugural Girls on Film...