#Women Directors
Tribeca 2020 Women Directors: Meet Sabrina Doyle – “Lorelei”
Sabrina Doyle is a British writer and director based in Los Angeles and London. The AFI alumna’s directing has been supported by Women in Film LA, the Chimaera Project, Google, Panavision, the...
Rory Kennedy and Rachel Dretzin Both Working on Docs About Boeing 737 Max Disasters
Rory Kennedy and Rachel Dretzin will both be investigating the Boeing 737 Max crashes that took place in October 2018 and March 2019 in upcoming projects. Each filmmaker is working on her own...
Trailer Watch: Michelle Obama Reflects on Her Past, Present, and Future in “Becoming”
“I am from the south side of Chicago. That tells you as much about me as you need to know,” says Michelle Obama in a new trailer for Nadia Hallgren’s “Becoming.” The...
Tribeca 2020 Women Directors: Meet Anna Kerrigan – “Cowboys”
Anna Kerrigan is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker with a background in independent film, digital storytelling, and theater. “Hot Seat,” which she wrote and directed, premiered at Sundance in...
“Insecure” Renewed for Season 5
This calls for a celebratory mirror rap. HBO has renewed “Insecure” for a fifth season, Variety confirms. Co-created by and starring Issa Rae and partially based on her web series...
Unconventional Self-Discovery: VOD and Web Series Picks
Understanding yourself rarely comes easy. Finding out who you are — from which labels you prefer to use, to your relationship to sexuality, and your bodily autonomy — takes time, and discoveries...
Weekly Update for May 1: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
Due to the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent restrictions, Women and Hollywood is shifting its focus to online content. We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. (Please keep in mind that...
Trailer Watch: “I Was Lorena Bobbitt” Sees a Survivor of Domestic Violence Telling Her Story
Lorena Bobbitt tells her own story in “I Was Lorena Bobbitt,” a “Ripped from the Headlines” Lifetime pic directed by Danishka Esterhazy and written by Barbara Nance. A trailer...
Pick of the Day: “The Half of It”
I remember going to see Alice Wu’s directorial debut, “Saving Face” — probably at the Angelika in NYC. It was the first movie I saw with queer Asian women. It was a great jolt....
Cristina Ibarra on Making a New Kind of Immigration Narrative in “The Infiltrators”
Cristina Ibarra has been making award-winning films that explore the U.S.-Mexico border for the past 16 years. Her PBS-broadcast documentary “Las Marthas” premiered on “Independent Lens” in...
Pick of the Day: “Betty”
Impossibly cool while remaining relatable, the young women at the center of “Betty” are amazing athletes and seem like they’d make equally amazing company. An adaptation of Crystal...
Tribeca 2020 Women Directors: Meet Michèle Stephenson – “Stateless”
As co-founder of Rada Studio, Michèle Stephenson pulls from her Panamanian and Haitian roots and experience as a human rights attorney to tell provocative stories that speak to personal and systemic...
Shahad Ameen’s “Scales” Heads to Variance Films
“Scales” is headed stateside. A press release announced that Variance Films acquired North American theatrical rights to Shahad Ameen’s feature directorial debut, a feminist parable...
The Director & Stars of “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” Consider the Film a Classical Hero’s Journey
For her third feature, Eliza Hittman took on the painful, infuriating realities of seeking a legal abortion in the United States. “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” tells the story of Autumn, a...
“Bull” Director Annie Silverstein on Rodeo Culture and the Realities of On-Set Childcare
Interview by Becca Harrison Annie Silverstein won the Cinéfondation jury prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for “Skunk,” a short about a 14-year-old girl whose pit bull is stolen by an...
Tribeca Film Festival 2020 Award Winners: Alice Wu’s “The Half of It,” Shira Haas, & More
Despite being rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tribeca Film Festival has opted to announce the winners of this year’s edition. Originally set to take place April 15-26, the fest...
May 2020 Film Preview
This May offers a wide selection of women-made and centric films of all genres to check out on VOD and streaming platforms. Starting off the month is “The Half of It,” which hits Netflix...
Romola Garai’s “Amulet” Lands at Magnet Releasing
Romola Garai’s feature directorial debut has secured distribution. Variety reports that Magnolia Pictures’ Magnet Releasing scored North American rights to “Amulet,” with plans to...
Pick of the Day: “Normal People”
An adaptation of Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel, “Normal People” tells the story of an on again/off-again couple in Ireland who keep finding their way back to one another. At...
“We Are the Radical Monarchs” Will Kick Off New “POV” Season, Which Is 80 Percent Women-Directed
America’s longest-running documentary series, “POV,” will return for its 33rd season on PBS July 20. Featuring nearly 80 percent women-directed titles and more than two thirds by...
Tribeca 2020 Women Directors: Meet Dea Gjinovci – “Wake Up on Mars”
Dea Gjinovci is a Swiss-Albanian director and producer. She is a 2019 Sundance Talent Forum alum and 2019 Film Independent Fellow. Her award-winning documentary short “Sans le Kosovo”...
Barbara Kopple’s “Desert One” Acquired by Greenwich International
The story behind Operation Eagle Claw, a top-secret military rescue attempt orchestrated by President Carter, is coming to the big screen. Greenwich Entertainment has acquired Barbara Kopple’s...
Tribeca 2020 Women Directors: Meet Kristine Stolakis – “Pray Away”
Kristine Stolakis is a director whose films explore power, politics, and prejudice — and the way they unfold in real people’s lives. Stolakis’ directorial debut, “The Typist,”...
Watch: First Look at Michelle Obama Netflix Doc “Becoming”
“Becoming” sees former First Lady Michelle Obama figuring out who she is — and who she wants to be — following eight years served in the White House alongside her husband,...
Breaking Barriers: Crowdfunding Picks
We all eventually face barriers of some kind. These barriers can be personal or professional, and often concern both ourselves and the families and communities we come from. Our latest crowdfunding...
These Projects Have Been Affected by Coronavirus. Here’s How You Can Help. (Volume V)
It seems like every day brings more cancellations, closings, and upsetting news. The coronavirus is affecting the whole world, not least of all the artists and creators who are trying to bring their...
Nora Fingscheidt’s “System Crasher” Dominates German Film Awards
“System Crasher” stole the show at the 2020 German Film Awards. Nora Fingscheidt’s feature debut snagged eight Lolas, including best birector and best feature. This year’s...
Tribeca 2020 Women Directors: Meet Jessica Earnshaw – “Jacinta”
Jessica Earnshaw is a documentary photographer and filmmaker whose work focuses on criminal justice and healthcare. In 2015, she received the Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation Fellowship and Grant to...
Weekly Update for April 24: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
Due to the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent restrictions, Women and Hollywood is shifting its focus to online content. We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. (Please keep in mind that...
Trailer Watch: Mo Scarpelli Explores Where “Fear and Love Collide” in “El Father Plays Himself”
Mo Scarpelli turns her camera on a fellow filmmaker in “El Father Plays Himself.” Her latest documentary tells the story of Jorge Thielen Armand, a Venezuelan director who is making a...
Trailer Watch: Comedians Pay Tribute to Their Moms in “Call Your Mother”
“You think you got your sense of humor all by yourself? Uh-uh, you know where that comes from,” Tig Notaro says in the trailer for “Call Your Mother.” The documentary special...
BFI Player Launches New Collection of Films Exploring Female Desire On Screen
Seeking to “flip the switch on a century of the male gaze and find space for women’s own lust and sexual expression in film,” the BFI is launching a new collection of films on BFI...
Tribeca 2020 Women Directors: Meet Brea Grant – “12 Hour Shift”
Brea Grant is a multi-hyphenate from Texas best known for acting in “Heroes” and “Dexter” and for writing and directing the apocalyptic feature “Best Friends...
Pick of the Day: “To the Stars”
Women and Hollywood has temporarily suspended our recommendations newsletter. We’ll be sharing some of the week’s highlights in TV, VOD, and streaming via blog posts. When we spoke to Martha...
Nancy Kelly on the Re-Release of “Thousand Pieces of Gold” and the Drama’s Continued Relevance
Nancy Kelly is a self-taught filmmaker who, having fallen in love with filmmaking, quit her job and moved from Massachusetts to the high desert on the California/Nevada border in the 1980s. Though...
Stella Meghie in Negotiations to Direct Whitney Houston Biopic
Two Whitney Houston documentaries have been released within the last four years, and now a biopic of the iconic singer is in the works. “The Photograph’s” Stella Meghie is in...
“Russian Doll” Co-Creator Leslye Headland Has a “Star Wars” Series in the Works at Disney+
After exploring a glitch in the time-space continuum in “Russian Doll,” an unexpected romance between a serial cheater and a womanizer in “Sleeping with Other People,” and the...
Pick of the Day: “Marcy Learns Something New”
Women and Hollywood has temporarily suspended our recommendations newsletter. We’ll be sharing some of the week’s highlights in TV, VOD, and streaming via blog posts. In “Marcy Learns...
Pick of the Day: “Circus of Books”
Women and Hollywood has temporarily suspended our recommendations newsletter. We’ll be sharing some of the week’s highlights in TV, VOD, and streaming via blog posts. Described as “the center...
Jessica Swale’s “Summerland” Goes to IFC Films, Gemma Arterton and Gugu Mbatha-Raw Star
Jessica Swale’s feature directorial debut has secured distribution. IFC Films snagged U.S. rights to “Summerland,” a period drama led by Gemma Arterton and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, The...
Petra Costa Is Making a Doc About Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Petra Costa will follow up “The Edge of Democracy,” her Oscar-nominated documentary exploring the evolving political landscape of Brazil, with a project focused on life during the...
“Unorthodox” Director Maria Schrader Talks Portraying Satmar Judaism and Berlin’s Complex History
Maria Schrader’s latest project is “Unorthodox,” the critically acclaimed Netflix miniseries based on Deborah Feldman’s memoir of the same name. The German multi-hyphenate...
“Circus of Books” Director Rachel Mason on Making a Doc About Her Parents’ Iconic LGBTQ Bookstore
Rachel Mason is a Los Angeles-based artist and director. Working across mediums as a songwriter, performer, sculptor, and multi-media artist, Mason’s work has appeared in shows at museums and...
Trailer Watch: Nancy Kelly’s Feminist Western “Thousand Pieces of Gold” Gets a 4K Restoration
In honor of its new 4K restoration, “Thousand Pieces of Gold,” Nancy Kelly’s 1990 feminist Western, is coming to virtual theaters. According to a press release, the Rosalind...
Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s Julia Child Doc Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics
Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s Julia Child documentary has found a home. The worldwide rights to “Julia” (working title), excluding domestic television, have been acquired by Sony...
Weekly Update for April 17: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films You Can Watch from Home
Due to the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent restrictions, Women and Hollywood is shifting its focus to online content. We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. (Please keep in mind that...
Trailer Watch: Women of Color Are Pushing American Politics Forward in “And She Could Be Next”
“People aspiring to be leaders in this country, they need to go through women of color because we’re making our voices known,” a character in “And She Could Be Next”...
Kasi Lemmons Will Write and Direct Adaptation of Maaza Mengiste’s “The Shadow King”
Kasi Lemmons will follow up “Harriet,” her biopic of abolitionist and civil rights activist Harriet Tubman, by paying tribute to other brave and rebellious women. She’s signed on to...
Reed Morano in Talks to Direct Jennifer Lopez Drug Lord Pic “The Godmother”
Jennifer Lopez is teaming up with another female director. The multi-hyphenate scored her biggest live-action opening of all-time and career-best reviews in Lorene Scafaria’s...
Halina Dyrschka Gives a Brilliant Unknown Artist Her Due with “Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint”
Halina Dyrschka is a director and producer. After studying acting, classical singing, and film production, she founded the company Ambrosia Film. The first film she directed, the short...
Pick of the Day: “Selah and The Spades”
Women and Hollywood has temporarily suspended our recommendations newsletter. We’ll be sharing some of the week’s highlights in TV, VOD, and streaming via blog posts. Meet your new favorite...