#Women Directors
Maya Da-Rin’s “The Fever” Acquired by KimStim
Maya Da-Rin’s feature debut has secured distribution. Variety reports that KimStim snagged North American rights to “The Fever.” Co-written by Da-Rin, “The Fever” follows...
Trailer Watch: A Teen Grieves the Loss of Her BFF & Lives Out Their Shared Dreams in “The Never List”
An overachieving highschooler struggling to come to terms with her best friend’s death finds a creative way to honor her in “The Never List.” When they were kids, Eva (Fivel...
Radha Blank to Receive Sundance Institute’s 2020 Vanguard Award
Time for RadhaMUSPrime to start penning a celebratory rap. The Sundance Institute has named Radha Blank, the writer, director, and star of “The 40-Year-Old Version,” as the recipient of...
Trailer Watch: “Audrey” Pays Tribute to Audrey Hepburn
A new trailer for “Audrey” suggests that there was a “real” side to the Audrey Hepburn “that people didn’t know.” Described as both...
Rewriting Heroes: Crowdfunding Picks
Everybody thinks they could use a hero now and again. However, the enshrined out-of-this-world idol dreamed up to cure all that ails often fizzles away in the face of reality. Super humans...
Trailer Watch: Jillian Bell Makes Isla Fisher Believe in Magic in Sharon Maguire’s “Godmothered”
“I’m going to prove that people still need fairy godmothers,” Jillian Bell vows in a new trailer for “Godmothered.” The Disney+ comedy sees the “Bill & Ted...
Angelina Jolie Will Direct Biopic About War Photographer Don McCullin
Angelina Jolie has lined up her next project. The Oscar-winning actress, whose last directorial effort, Khmer Rouge drama “First They Killed My Father,” received a Golden Globe nod, will...
Rose Byrne Toplining & Producing Musical from All-Women Creative Team, with Music by Dolly Parton
For her next project, Rose Byrne will collaborate with an all-women creative team, mark the debut film from her production company, Dollhouse Pictures, and pay tribute to an icon and real-life hero....
DOC NYC Announces Jury Awards, “Landfall” Wins Viewfinders Grand Jury Prize
DOC NYC has announced the winners of its 2020 Jury Awards. “Landfall,” Cecilia Aldarondo’s portrait of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, took home the Viewfinders Grand...
Trailer Watch: Malcolm X Celebrates Alongside Muhammad Ali in Regina King’s “One Night in Miami
Inspired by true events, “One Night in Miami” takes place on February 25, 1964: the night Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, was named the new World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. A...
Pick of the Day: “Born to Be”
Although it covers a very different topic, “Born to Be” reminds me of another doc that came out this year, “Aggie.” Like the latter’s protagonist, Agnes Gund,...
Trailer Watch: Alicia Silverstone Is the “Sister of the Groom” and Makes a Mess of His Wedding
Alicia Silverstone makes someone else’s big day all about her in a new trailer for “Sister of the Groom.” The comedy sees the “Clueless” star playing Audrey, a woman...
Lynne Ramsay to Direct Stephen King Adaptation “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon”
Lynne Ramsay is following up her violent vigilante thriller “You Were Never Really Here” with another disturbing story. She’s signed on to direct Village Roadshow’s...
Trailer Watch: A Tragic Accident Leaves Sienna Miller Reconsidering Her Relationship in “Wander Darkly”
“What do you think happens when you die? What if it’s some extension or manifestation of your fears?” a woman asks her husband after her own death. The trailer for Tara...
Trailer Watch: A Woman Receives a Not-So Indecent Proposal in “Getting to Know You”
Abby (Natasha Little) gets the opportunity to have a little fun at the nondescript hotel she’s staying in for the night: a stranger requests she pose as his wife when he discovers the woman...
Israel Adds “Asia” to Oscars’ International Feature Race
Shira Haas is starring in another awards contender. The “Unorthodox” breakout leads “Asia,” a drama that has been named as Israel’s pick for Best International Film at...
Trailer Watch: “Through the Night” Goes Inside a 24-Hour Daycare Center
A trailer has arrived for “Thorough the Night,” Loira Limbal’s cinema verité portrait of a 24-hour daycare center. “I see a lot of parents come in and break down. They...
Kirsten Johnson’s “Dick Johnson Is Dead” Wins Big at Critics Choice Doc Awards
“Dick Johnson Is Dead’s” Oscars chances are very much alive. The documentary just won big at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, which are considered among the most accurate...
Athina Rachel Tsangari to Take On Scapegoating with Her Next Film “Harvest”
Athina Rachel Tsangari has explored the complexities of modern masculinity and three-way relationships with “Chevalier” and “Trigonometry,” respectively. Next, she’ll...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Katrine Philp – “Beautiful Something Left Behind”
Katrine Philp’s first film, “Book of Miri,” was awarded the President’s Award at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, nominated at IDFA, and won the European Young CIVIS...
Weekly Update for November 13: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Dirty God – Directed by Sacha Polak; Written by Sacha Polak and Susanne Farrell “Dirty God” takes on the nexus of gendered...
Sacha Polak on Confronting Feelings of External Beauty Versus Internal Dignity in “Dirty God”
Interview by Gabriela Rico Sacha Polak is an award-winning director and screenwriter. Her feature films “Hemel” and “Zurich” were both screened ata range of international film festivals....
Deborah Shaffer on Honoring a Trailblazing Artist in “Queen of Hearts: Audrey Flack”
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Deborah Shaffer began making social issue documentaries as a member of the Newsreel collective in the ‘70s. She co-founded Pandora Films, one of the first woman’s...
Lesli Linka Glatter Will Direct “Ashley’s War” Adaptation
Lesli Linka Glatter is shifting her focus from a troubled CIA agent to a team of women soldiers on the special operations battlefield. The “Homeland” director has been tapped to direct...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Rosalynde LeBlanc – “Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters”
Rosalynde LeBlanc has spent over 20 years in dance as a performer, choreographer, and educator. She was a member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance...
Pick of the Day: “Dirty God”
Sacha Polak’s BIFA-nominated drama “Dirty God” takes on the nexus of gendered violence and sexual objectification through the portrait of one young woman. Jade (newcomer Vicky...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Lauren DeFilippo and Katherine Gorringe – “Red Heaven”
Katherine Gorringe is a documentary director and editor whose work has been featured at numerous festivals including SXSW, CPH:DOX, and Lunafest. Her most recent editing work includes the...
“Hope” Named as Norway’s Pick for Oscars’ International Film Race
“Hope” is eyeing a trip to the Oscars. Norway has selected Maria Sødahl’s drama as its submission to the Best International Film category at the 2021 Academy Awards. The Norwegian Film...
Join the Girls Club for a Conversation with the Creators of “Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult”
Cecilia Peck and Inbal Lessner, creators of the Starz docuseries “Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult,” will join the Girls Club for a conversation on Tuesday, November 17, at 3 p.m. EST. The...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Cheryl Dunn – “Moments Like This Never Last”
Cheryl Dunn is a New York City-based documentary filmmaker and photographer. Since the late 1980s she has spent a large part of her career documenting city streets and the people who strive to leave...
“Novitiate” Director Maggie Betts Lines Up Two New Films
Maggie Betts is set to portray a reproductive rights activist and a bankrupt funeral home owner with her next directing gigs. The “Novitiate” director is set to helm a dramatic thriller...
Gotham Awards Nominations: All Five Best Feature Nods Go to Women-Directed Pics
All too often awards shows forget that women directors exist. The 2020 IFP Gotham Awards is putting them front and center. Nominations for the 30th annual installment of the ceremony have been...
Danai Gurira, Cherien Dabis, and Stephanie Allain Team Up for “The Fighting Shirley Chisholm”
No stranger to kicking ass in the Marvel universe and on “The Walking Dead,” Danai Gurira is set to portray a real-life hero. The Hollywood Reporter confirms she will topline “The...
Something Sour, Something Sweet: VOD and Podcast Picks
Something sour in the water and environmental injustice, sexuality and stolen strap-ons, and some sweet, rom-com levity round out this set of women-created VOD and podcast picks. Set in the rural,...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Petra Epperlein – “The Meaning of Hitler”
Petra Epperlein makes documentaries with her husband Michael Tucker. Epperlein was born in Karl Marx City, GDR, and began her professional life as an architect. Her credits include “The Last...
Pick of the Day: “Coded Bias”
With “Coded Bias,” Shalini Kantayya wanted to explore “the dark underbelly of big tech.” She was following the lead of Joy Buolamwini, an MIT media lab researcher who...
Patricia Vidal Delgado’s “La Leyenda Negra” Acquired by HBO
“La Leyenda Negra” is heading to HBO. A press release confirmed that the cabler acquired North American rights to Patricia Vidal Delgado’s story of a teen immigrant making her way...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Raquel Cepeda – “La Madrina: The [Savage] Life of Lorine Padilla”
Raquel Cepeda’s features include “Bling: A Planet Rock,” about American hip-hop’s obsession with blinging and how that intersected itself into the decade-long blood...
Garrett Bradley, Regina K. Scully, and Maria Ressa to Be Honored at IDA Documentary Awards
Filmmaker Garrett Bradley, producer Regina K. Scully, and intrepid journalist and “A Thousand Cuts” subject Maria Ressa are set to be recognized by the International Documentary...
Trailer Watch: Kate Winslet and Ashley Avis Bring “Black Beauty” to Life Once More
“They say horses pick you,” we learn in the trailer for the latest remake of “Black Beauty,” from writer-director Ashley Avis. That certainly is the case with the titular...
Oge Egbuonu’s “(In)Visible Portraits” Lands at OWN
“(In)Visible Portraits” is coming to OWN. The Oprah Winfrey Network has acquired rights to Oge Egbuonu’s celebration of Black women “sharing their stories of struggle,...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Marianne Hougen-Moraga – “Songs of Repression”
Marianne Hougen-Moraga has directed a number of short documentaries including “Returned” (2011), which premiered at CPH:DOX, and “Sea of Sorrow – Sea of Hope” (2017), which...
Cathy Brady’s “Wildfire” Secures UK Distribution
Cathy Brady’s feature directorial debut has landed UK distribution. According to Screen Daily, Modern Films secured UK and Ireland rights to the award-winning Irish drama that’s screened at...
Trailer Watch: Kristen Stewart Leads “Happiest Season,” Clea DuVall’s Lesbian Rom-Com
Kristen Stewart is in love and she wants everyone to know it. A new trailer for Clea DuVall’s “Happiest Season” sees the “Twilight” alumna ditching Edward Cullen for a...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Abigail Child – “Origin of the Species”
Abigail Child has been at the forefront of experimental writing and media since the 1980s, having completed more than 50 film/video works and installations, and written six books. Her most recent...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Elizabeth Lo – “Stray”
Elizabeth Lo is an award-winning filmmaker who was named one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine. Her shorts include “Hotel 22,” “Bisonhead,” and...
Trailer Watch: “Chasing Childhood” Explores How U.S. Kids Are Missing Out
“Childhood today is full of stuff that kids have to accomplish,” we’re told in a new trailer for “Chasing Childhood.” Directed by Margaret Munzer Loeb and Eden Wurmfeld,...
DOC NYC 2020 Women Directors: Meet Loira Limbal – “Through the Night”
Loira Limbal is an Afro-Dominican filmmaker and DJ based in the Bronx. She is the Senior Vice President of Programs at Firelight Media, an organization that provides mentorship, funding, and industry...
Weekly Update for November 6: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Opening
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD Proxima – Directed by Alice Winocour; Written by Alice Winocour and Jean-Stéphane Bron “Proxima” charts a different kind of...
Louise Linton’s “Me You Madness” Acquired by STX
Louise Linton’s feature directorial debut has found a home. According to The Hollywood Reporter, STX acquired U.S. rights to “Me You Madness,” and Highland will shop the...
Pick of the Day: “Proxima”
“Proxima” charts a different kind of hero’s journey. The astronaut drama is decidedly more grounded than what we’ve come to expect from stories about space exploration. From...