#Women Directors
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Martha Shane – “Narrowsburg”
Martha Shane is an Emmy-award-winning documentary filmmaker whose credits include “After Tiller” and “Picture Character.” The former won the Emmy for Best...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Shani Rozanes – “Golda”
Shani Rozanes is an Israeli journalist, writer, and filmmaker living in Berlin. A former news editor in leading Israeli media outlets, she currently works at Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Deia Schlosberg – “The Story of Plastic”
Deia Schlosberg made national news in October 2016 when she was arrested and charged with 45 years’ worth of felonies for filming the #ShutItDown pipeline protest in North Dakota. She produced...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Geeta Gandbhir – “Hungry to Learn”
Geeta Gandbhir is an award-winning director, producer, and editor. As director, she won Best Documentary at the News and Doc Emmys for HBO’s “I Am Evidence,” and Best Government and...
Women and Hollywood’s Picks of the Week for November 7
Picks of the Week offers Women and Hollywood’s top recommendations — women-driven and women-made movies, series, VOD releases, and more — and tells you why they are worth your time and...
Class Is Now in Session: Crowdfunding Picks
A person’s moral center starts developing at a young age, and continues to grow throughout their life — something we’re exploring in this month’s round of crowdfunding selections....
Haifaa Al Mansour to Direct Stephanie Shirley Biopic “Let It Go”
Haifaa Al Mansour is set to direct another biopic about a trailblazing woman. Deadline reports that the “Mary Shelley” helmer has signed on to step behind the camera for “Let It...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Cara Jones – “Blessed Child”
Cara Jones is an Emmy Award winning journalist who founded the production company Storytellers for Good. Her short films include “Surfing Possibility,” “Mama Hope,” and...
Trailer Watch: A New Doc Explores Whether “To Kid or Not To Kid”
“Why can’t we talk about not having children?” director Maxine Trump asks in a new trailer for “To Kid or Not To Kid.” The documentary explores the cultural pressure and...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Beth B – “Lydia Lunch – The War is Never Over”
Beth B is a writer, director, and producer of feature-length documentary and narrative films, as well as experimental shorts. Her films have been shown at, and acquired by, the Whitney Museum of...
Nahnatchka Khan Will Explore the World of Cruise Entertainment with “Showboat”
Nahnatchka Khan is steering the “Showboat.” According to Deadline, the “Fresh Off the Boat” creator and “Always Be My Maybe” director will helm the feature comedy...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Katie Green and Carlye Rubin – “1275 Days”
Katie Green and Carlye Rubin have directed three feature documentaries together: “The (Dead Mothers) Club,” “The Family I Had,” and “1275 Days.” Together, the pair...
Trailer Watch: A Pakistani-American Teen Seeks Understanding in “Hala”
“I am of two parts divided,” says Geraldine Viswanathan in a new trailer for “Hala.” The coming-of-age drama sees the “Blockers” actress playing Hala, a Muslim...
Jessica Chastain to Star in and Produce Lucía Puenzo’s “Losing Clementine”
Jessica Chastain just took on Pennywise the clown in “It Chapter Two” and the X-Men in “Dark Phoenix,” but she’ll do battle with herself in a new feature. The two-time...
Kay Cannon Is Directing a Biopic About Improv Legends Charna Halpern and Del Close
Kay Cannon is having quite the year. Since April, the “Pitch Perfect” screenwriter and “Blockers” helmer has signed on to direct three feature films: a reimagining of...
Sandra Bullock Will Topline and Produce Nora Fingscheidt’s “Unforgiven” Netflix Adaptation
Sandra Bullock has another woman-directed Netflix pic on the way. The Oscar winner will follow up her role in Susanne Bier’s smash hit “Bird Box,” which she also exec produced, with...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Jo Ardinger – “Personhood”
Jo Ardinger is an award-winning editor working on documentary and narrative film projects. Her editing credits include the documentary short “Beyond The Visible: The Story of the Very Large...
Trailer Watch: A Crisis Brings Women Together in “The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open”
Two Indigenous women living vastly different lives cross paths in a new trailer for “The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open.” Written and directed by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Abby Ginzberg – “Waging Change”
Abby Ginzberg has been making documentaries about race and social justice for over 30 years. Her directing credits include “And Then They Came for Us,” which won a Silver Gravel Award,...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Karen Bernstein – “i’m gonna make you love me”
Karen Bernstein has numerous producing credits to her name in the field of documentary film, has directed a number of TV documentary episodes, and is the co-director of “Richard Linklater: Dream Is...
Trailer Watch: Elsa and Anna Travel Beyond Arendelle in “Frozen 2”
A newly released TV spot for “Frozen” sees Olaf (Josh Gad) wondering if being put into mortal danger is “going to be a regular thing.” Based on the footage, the answer is yes:...
DOC NYC 2019 Women Directors: Meet Nicole Costa – “The Journey of Monalisa”
Chilean actress, filmmaker, and producer Nicole Costa is the director of the short film “Chilean for Beginners” (2010), and the video art piece “Wireless Transmission” (2016) in...
Weekly Update for November 1: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Harriet – Directed by Kasi Lemmons; Written by Kasi Lemmons and Gregory Allen Howard I seriously can’t believe that it has taken this long to tell the story of...
“The Woman Who Loves Giraffes” Lands Distribution
“The Woman Who Loves Giraffes” is heading to theaters. Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber snagged U.S. rights to Alison Reid’s documentary about Canadian zoologist,...
Trailer Watch: A Photographer Recalls “Shooting the Mafia” in Kim Longinotto Doc
Sicilian photographer Letizia Battaglia became the first woman photographer in Italy to work for a daily paper when she was hired in the ’70s. Three days after she started, she saw her first...
Elaine May to Be Honored by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is paying tribute to the work of actress, filmmaker, and comedy icon Elaine May. According to Deadline, the two-time Oscar nominee will receive...
Trailer Watch: Issa Rae Digs into Family History and Falls in Love in “The Photograph”
“My mother wasn’t very good at love,” says Issa Rae in the first trailer for “The Photograph.” “What if I’m just like her? How are you supposed to know if...
Trailer Watch: “Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops” Preach and Practice Empathy
“No one calls us to give us good news. They call us because something bad is happening so they’re in a crisis,” a voiceover explains in a new trailer for Jenifer McShane’s...
November 2019 Film Preview
Awards season kicks into high gear this November. A host of films by and about women — prestigious biographical films, Oscar hopefuls, and blockbusters alike — are set to premiere. One...
Women and Hollywood’s Picks of the Week for October 31
Picks of the Week offers Women and Hollywood’s top recommendations — women-driven and women-made movies, series, VOD releases, and more — and tells you why they are worth your time and...
Under the Radar: “Scattered Night” Delicately Handles Divorce from the Adolescent Perspective
Possibly emblematic of changing societal attitudes, “Scattered Night” — directed by Lee Jihyoung and Kim Sol, and written by the former — is one of several recent festival films from...
Quote of the Day: Mati Diop Hopes Making History with “Atlantics” Inspires Others
With “Atlantics,” a supernatural star-crossed love story told against the backdrop of the migration crisis, Mati Diop became the first black woman director to screen a feature film in...
British Independent Film Award Nominations: “The Souvenir,” “For Sama,” & More
Nominations for the 2019 British Independent Film Awards have been unveiled. Set to take place December 1, this year’s ceremony will celebrate a number of women-directed titles, with Joanna...
AFI Fest Announces 2019 Lineup, Features 51 Percent Women-Directed Films
The American Film Institute (AFI)’s complete 2019 festival program is in, and overall, 51 percent of the titles set to screen are women-directed. AFI Fest previously announced its Special Galas...
Toronto’s Female Eye Film Festival to Honor Mina Shum, Includes 75+ Films By Women
The 17th annual Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF) kicks off in just over a week. Featuring more than 75 films directed by women, this year’s edition of the fest will open with Heather...
Sundance Institute Selects 2020 Momentum Fellows, Announces Inaugural Launch Grant Fund Recipients
Sundance Institute has chosen eight underrepresented filmmakers for its second Momentum Fellowship, and four women filmmakers for its inaugural Launch Grant Fund, a press release has announced. The...
Participants Announced for Tribeca’s Fifth Through Her Lens Program
Tribeca Film Festival and Chanel have selected five female filmmaking duos for the fifth Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program. A press release announced the participants....
Trailer Watch: A Plant Breeder Gets in Over Her Head in “Little Joe”
A plant breeder must reckon with her dangerous creation in a new trailer for Jessica Hausner’s “Little Joe.” Alice (Emily Beecham, “Daphne”) has admirable aims —...
Rachel Weisz Will Play Elizabeth Taylor in Bert & Bertie’s Next Pic
Rachel Weisz is set to play a fellow Oscar-winning actress. She’s signed on to topline an Elizabeth Taylor biopic with Bert & Bertie attached to direct. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the...
IDFA 2019 Lineup Marks Highest Percentage of Women Directors in Fest’s History
The International Documentary Festival Amsterdam’s (IDFA) 2019 program marks “the highest percentage of female filmmakers in the event’s 31-year history: 64% of competition titles and...
Weekly Update for October 25: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Paradise Hills – Directed by Alice Waddington (Available on VOD November 1) On an isolated island, Uma (Emma Roberts) wakes up to find herself at Paradise Hills, a...
Kitty Green’s “The Assistant” Lands at Bleecker Street, Will Open in January
Kitty Green’s portrait of an aspiring filmmaker working for a powerful, abusive media mogul is hitting theaters this winter. Deadline reports that Bleecker Street has acquired U.S. rights to...
Trailer Watch: Zoe Kazan Relies on “The Kindness of Strangers” in Lone Scherfig’s Latest
“I want you to be worldly,” Zoe Kazan tells her kids in a new trailer for “The Kindness of Strangers.” Lone Scherfig’s latest sees “The Deuce” actress...
Gotham Awards Nominations: “The Farewell,” “Hustlers,” & More
Nominations for the 29th Gotham Awards have been announced, and if they’re any indication of what’s to come this awards season, Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” is off to a...
Tig Notaro & Stephanie Allynne to Direct Feature Inspired by “Ellen” Head Writer Lauren Pomerantz
“One Mississippi” collaborators Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allyne will bring “Ellen” head writer Lauren Pomerantz’s story to the big screen. The married couple are making...
Women and Hollywood’s Picks of the Week for October 24
Picks of the Week offers Women and Hollywood’s top recommendations — women-driven and women-made movies, series, VOD releases, and more — and tells you why they are worth your time and...
WIA to Honor Netflix Animation Exec Melissa Cobb and Filmmaker Brenda Lopez
Netflix VP of Original Animation Melissa Cobb and filmmaker and artist Brenda Lopez are among the honorees at this year’s WIA Diversity Awards. WIA (Women in Animation) President Marge Dean...
Rory Kennedy’s Next Doc Will Tackle a Little-Known 1939 Refugee Crisis
Rory Kennedy is revisiting the past to provide timely commentary on the present in a new documentary. The Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning director of “Last Days in Vietnam” will helm an...
“The Nightingale” Tops Nominations for the Australian Academy Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) has announced its 2019 nominations, and “The Nightingale” leads the pack. Jennifer Kent’s revenge thriller scored...
IDA Documentary Awards Announces 2019 Noms, Women Dominate Best Director Race
Nominations for the 35th Annual IDA Documentary Awards have been announced, and films helmed by women dominate. Of 10 Best Feature nominees, six are directed or co-directed by women. Titles in the...
Apply Now: NBC’s Female Forward and Emerging Director Programs
If you’re a woman, person of color, or non-binary individual looking to take the next step in your directing career, this is for you. Submissions are now open for NBC’s Female Forward and...