#Women Directors
Trailer Watch: A Widow Finds Comfort in the Arms of Her Late Wife’s Best Friend in “My Fiona”
Jane (Jeanette Maus, “Your Sister’s Sister”) and Gemma (Corbin Reid, “How to Get Away with Murder”) are in mourning: both have lost the most important woman in their lives....
Trailer Watch: Aida Rodriguez Has “Fighting Words” in HBO Max Stand-Up Special
“Too much truth for you tonight?” asks Aida Rodriguez in a new trailer for her first hourlong stand-up special. Directed by Nadia Hallgren (“Becoming”) and Kristian Mercado...
Pick of the Day: “Passing”
“Passing” is a complicated term. Whether it relates to race, gender, or sexual orientation, it connotes posing, pretending, striving to be something you’re not. On the other hand,...
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicole Holofcener Reteaming for Comedy “Beth and Don”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicole Holofcener are teaming up on another comedy about relationships and the secrets that undermine them. The respective “Enough Said” star and writer-director...
Trailer Watch: Sandra Bullock Fights for Her Sister & Redemption in Nora Fingscheidt’s “The Unforgivable”
“You’re going to pay for what you did,” Sandra Bullock is told in a new trailer for “The Unforgivable.” From director Nora Fingscheidt, the Netflix drama tells the story...
IDA Documentary Awards Announces Shortlists, 52 Percent of Feature Directors Are Women
Awards season is heating up. Gotham Award and Critics Choice nominations dropped last week, more and more countries are submitting their picks in the International Oscar Feature race, and the...
Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s “Clara Sola” Is Costa Rica’s International Oscar Pick
Costa Rica has high hopes for Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s debut feature. The country has chosen “Clara Sola” to represent it in the International Feature Oscar category at the 2022...
Trailer Watch: A College Student Unearths Family Secrets in Geeta Malik’s “India Sweets and Spices”
Alia (Sophia Ali, “The Wilds”) returns home from college and discovers there’s a lot about her mother she doesn’t know in “India Sweets and Spices.” A trailer for...
Indigeneity in All Its Complexity: Web Series and Podcast Picks
Representation of Indigenous people in mainstream media is undergoing a tectonic shift, from being perceived through the dominant lens of white settler society, which mostly oversimplifies and...
Teaser Watch: “Women of the Movement” Honors Mamie Till-Mobley
“What a fine young man you’re becoming,” Mamie Till-Mobley (Adrienne Warren, “Orange Is the New Black”) tells her son in “Women of the Movement,” ABC’s...
Trailer Watch: Selina Ringel Is a “Single Mother by Choice” in HBO Max Pic
A fictional feature that tracks star, co-writer, and producer Selina Ringel’s real-life pregnancy, “Single Mother by Choice” tells the story of an overachieving, workaholic Latinx...
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter” & Rebecca Hall’s “Passing” Lead Gotham Award Noms
The 2021 Gotham Award nominees have been announced, with Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” Rebecca Hall’s “Passing,” Shatara Michelle Ford’s...
Trailer Watch: Dawn Porter & Nicole Newnham Unpack Title IX’s Legacy with ESPN Docuseries “Fifty/50”
Although it tends to be associated with gender equality in sports, Title IX ensures equal treatment for women at any educational institution that receives federal funding. The landmark law will turn...
Jane Campion Will Receive the Director’s Tribute at 2021 Gotham Awards
Jane Campion is set to receive the Director’s Tribute at this year’s Gotham Awards ceremony, slated to take place November 29. Deadline broke the news. The first woman director to claim...
Trailer Watch: Rachel Boynton Explores How History Is Taught in “Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are)”
From three-time Emmy nominee Rachel Boynton, “Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are)” explores the legacy of a defining moment in American history. The documentary examines how the story...
Trailer Watch: Danis Goulet Uses Sci-Fi to Explore the Effects of Colonialism in “Night Raiders”
“As long as we have one piece of land, they will always come for us,” we’re told in a new trailer for “Night Raiders.” Set in 2043 in post-war North America, the...
Under the Radar: Rhiana Yazzie’s “A Winter Love” Showcases Inter-Tribal Romance & Celebrates Self-Love
From Sterlin Harjo’s “Reservation Dogs” on FX to Peacock’s “Rutherford Falls,” created by Sierra Teller Ornelas, Ed Helms, and Michael Schur, 2021 has offered audiences more Indigenous...
Mexico Adds Tatiana Huezo’s “Prayers for the Stolen” to Oscars’ International Feature Race
Mexico has once again chosen Tatiana Huezo to represent the country at the Oscars. The filmmaker’s follow-up to “Tempestad,” a doc that Mexico submitted for consideration in the...
Pick of the Day: “Found”
Like Amanda Lipitz’s first documentary, “Step,” a portrait of a girls’ step dance team during their senior year at a Baltimore high school that took home a Special Jury Award for...
Patricia Clarkson and Nathalie Emmanuel Will Star in Spy Series from Director Ruba Nadda
Patricia Clarkson is reuniting with her “Cairo Time” and “October Gale” director. She is set to topline “Gray,” a spy thriller series helmed by Ruba Nadda....
Nearly Half of DOC NYC’s 2021 Features Lineup Is Women-Directed
DOC NYC has announced the majority of its 2021 slate. Of 112 features set to screen, 54 are directed or co-directed by women, amounting to about 48 percent of the program. The “Short...
NewFest 2021 Women Directors: Meet Emily Branham – “Being BeBe: The BeBe Zahara Benet Documentary”
Emily Branham is a filmmaker captivated by artists, performance, and identity. She directs short documentaries for art and corporate organizations including Lincoln Center, AT&T, and JP Morgan,...
Trailer Watch: Motherhood Threatens to Crush Olivia Colman in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter”
Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, and Jessie Buckley are mothers in crisis in “The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut. An adaptation of the Elena Ferrante novel, the...
Kamila Andini’s “Yuni” Named Indonesia’s Pick for Oscars’ International Feature Category
Indonesia is hoping to make Oscar history with “Yuni.” The country, which has yet to receive an Oscar nod in the International Feature category, is submitting Kamila Andini’s...
Amanda Lipitz Talks “Found,” Her Doc About Biological Cousins Who Bond Over Their Adoptions
Amanda Lipitz is an award-winning producer, writer, and director. Her directorial debut and first feature-length documentary, “Step,” premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film...
“True Things,” “Costa Brava, Lebanon,” & “Becoming Cousteau” Among BFI London Film Fest Winners
Harry Wootliff landed “one of the biggest financial prizes in the UK independent film industry” at the BFI London Film Festival. The “True Things” helmer won the £50,000...
NewFest 2021 Women Directors: Meet Cristiane Oliveira – “The First Death of Joana”
Cristiane Oliveira is a Brazilian writer and director. Her debut feature, “Nalu on The Border” (“Mulher do Pai”), premiered internationally at the Berlinale 2017 and has...
Dayna Goldfine & Dan Geller’s “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song” Lands at Sony Pictures Classics
Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller’s tribute to the man born with the gift of a golden voice has found a home. Sony Pictures Classics acquired all rights in all media worldwide, excluding France and...
Pick of the Day: “Bergman Island”
“Do you think you can create a great body of work and raise a family at the same time?” asks Vicky Krieps in “Bergman Island.” Writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve identified this...
Pick of the Day: “Introducing, Selma Blair”
Selma Blair holds no illusions about her place in Hollywood. Whether it’s “Cruel Intentions,” “Legally Blonde,” or “Hellboy,” she’s best known standing...
Trailer Watch: Halle Berry Steps Into the Ring and Makes Her Directorial Debut with “Bruised”
Halle Berry is offered a second chance in “Bruised,” the Oscar-winning actress’ feature directorial debut. The pic tells the story of Jackie Justice (Berry), a disgraced MMA fighter...
North Macedonia Selects Dina Duma’s “Sisterhood” for Oscars’ International Feature Category
North Macedonia has chosen “Sisterhood” to represent it in the 2022 Oscars’ International Feature race. From writer-director Dina Duma, the drama tells the story of inseparable...
Trailer Watch: Sexism & Disappointing Men Stand in the Way of Lorenza Izzo’s Dreams in “Women Is Losers”
“Your time is worth half of a man’s” the protagonist of “Women Is Losers” is told in in a new trailer for the film. That, of course, is outrageous, but it’s also...
Toni Collette and Catherine Hardwicke Reunite for “Mafia Mamma”
Toni Collette and Catherine Hardwicke are following up their last collaboration, 2015 tearjerker “Miss You Already,” with a comedy. The pair are reuniting for “Mafia Mamma,”...
Trailer Watch: Teenage Girls Are On the “Cusp” in Sundance Doc
“I don’t know how to describe me. I’m not an adult, but I’m not a kid anymore,” says one of the teens at the center of “Cusp.” From Parker Hill and Isabel...
Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” Is France’s Pick for Oscars’ International Feature Category
“Titane” is eyeing a trip to the Oscars. Julia Ducournau’s history-making sophomore feature has been named France’s submission to the best international film category for the 2022...
Phenomenal’s Meena Harris & More to Appear in Women in STEM Short Doc from Reese Witherspoon
A new short documentary about women trailblazers in STEM is on the way. Set to stream on-demand in January, “In Her Element” focuses on “female pioneers using technology to advance...
Joni Mitchell Doc “50 Years of Blue” Heads to Marketplace, Teresa Griffiths Directs
eOne has kicked off global sales (excluding the U.K.) for the BBC Two feature doc “Joni Mitchell: 50 Years of Blue,” Deadline reports. A look at Mitchell’s creative process for what...
Hamptons Film Fest Winners: “Murina,” “Ascension,” and More
“Murina” and “Ascension” scored top honors out of the 2021 Hamptons International Film Festival. Already winners in the festival circuit, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s...
Sophie Hyde’s Emma Thompson-Starrer “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” Acquired by Lionsgate UK
Sophie Hyde and Emma Thompson’s collaboration has found a UK home. A press release announced that Thompson-led comedy-drama “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” Hyde’s third...
Tackling Trauma: Crowdfunding Picks
Rarely does a day pass when the life of a woman is not affected by the haunting of the trinity — that of assault, abuse, and trauma. No matter which rung of the social ladder one stands at, the...
Pick of the Day: “The Rescue”
E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin are back with another crowd-pleasing, jaw-dropping look at a death-defying mission. They’re following up their Oscar-winning portrait of rock climber Alex...
Pick of the Day: “Prism”
A prism can be a lens, a way of seeing. In the figurative sense, it can be a tool that refracts and deconstructs ideas. In the literal sense, it breaks down white light into a rainbow. A prism is not...
Pick of the Day: “Delphine’s Prayers”
Similar to her previous two features as a solo director, “Chez Jolie Coiffure” and “The Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman,” Rosine Mbakam’s latest doc gives an...
Axelle Carolyn on Exploring Themes of Aging in Gothic Creature Feature “The Manor”
Axelle Carolyn has directed episodes of FX’s “American Horror Story” and Netflix’s “The Haunting of Bly Manor.” Her other credits include Shudder’s “Creepshow,”...
Unjoo Moon to Direct Adaptation of YA Novel “Frankly in Love”
From the origin story of a feminist anthem to a faux high school romance, Unjoo Moon has lined up her follow-up to 2019 Helen Reddy biopic “I Am Woman.” She’s been tapped to helm...
“Better Things” Ending with Season 5
All good things must come to an end: “Better Things” is wrapping up its critically acclaimed, award-winning run. Pamela Adlon, the FX comedy’s co-creator, writer, director,...
Trailer Watch: Jessica Kingdon Explores China’s Industrial Supply Chain in “Ascension”
Shot in 51 locations across China, “Ascension” explores the country’s industrial supply chain. Director Jessica Kingdon described the doc to us as “an image-driven essay film...
Maria Finitzo’s Exploration of Women’s Sexuality “The Dilemma of Desire” Secured by Utopia
Described by director Maria Finitzo as “a film about power, and how power is easily taken when the truth is replaced with a lie,” “The Dilemma of Desire” “talks about...
Trailer Watch: Kate Siegel Can’t Wake Up in “Hypnotic”
Kate Siegel is following up “The Haunting of Hill House,” “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” and “Midnight Mass” by tackling the horror genre in another medium. She...
This Year’s Winner of Venice’s Golden Lion, Audrey Diwan’s “Happening,” Acquired by IFC Films
The winner of Venice Film Festival’s top honor is coming stateside. A press release announced that IFC acquired U.S. rights to Audrey Diwan’s “Happening”...