#Women Directors
SFIFF Announces 2019 Lineup: “Booksmart,” “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City,” & More
You’ll have another chance to catch SXSW breakout “Booksmart” before it hits cinemas May 24. Olivia Wilde’s feature debut about overachieving, college-bound BFFs determined to...
Jennifer Phang to Direct Adaptation of YA Novel “The Naming Girl”
Jennifer Phang is bringing “The Naming Girl” to the screen. Her Good Neighbors Media banner has snagged film and television rights to Todd Mitchell’s upcoming YA novel, Deadline...
Tracy Oliver Inks First-Look Deal with Topic Studios
Tracy Oliver’s empire is growing. The multi-hyphenate has signed a first-look deal with Topic Studios, a press release announced. The pact goes into effect April 1. Oliver broke out with...
Liza Weil Joins the Cast of Lissette Feliciano’s Feature Debut “Women Is Losers”
“How to Get Away with Murder” actress Liza Weil has been added to the cast of feminist indie pic “Women Is Losers,” The Hollywood Reporter confirms. As previously announced,...
Nataki Garrett Becomes Oregon Shakespeare Fest’s First Artistic Director of Color
Nataki Garrett has held a variety of posts throughout her 20-plus-year career in theater — director, playwright, producer, administrator, educator — and has worked at organizations such...
Lucy Liu Is Developing an Anthology Series About Women Heroes
Women are all too often written out of history, but Lucy Liu is looking to bring their remarkable achievements to the limelight. The “Elementary” star is developing a scripted anthology...
Trailer Watch: “Girls of the Sun” Go to War with Extremists
Based on a true story, “Girls of the Sun” centers on an all-female Kurdish battalion that takes on ISIS. “In one night, one single night, over 7,000 women were captured and kept as...
Director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre Talks About Her New Film “The Mustang”
To achieve a sense of realism in “The Mustang,” Laure de Clermont-Tonnere spent five years researching the U.S. prison system and animal therapy. Her new film focuses on an inmate, played by...
Hot Docs Announces Full Lineup, Tasha Hubbard’s “nîpawistamâsowin” to Open the Fest
Hot Docs has unveiled the full lineup for its 2019 edition and it’s set to be an exciting one for women filmmakers. According to a press release, the festival will present 234 films and...
Trailer Watch: Sally Wainwright Tells Anne Lister’s Trailblazing Story in HBO’s “Gentleman Jack”
We hear just as much about Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) as we hear from her in a new trailer for “Gentleman Jack,” an upcoming HBO series. “However far away my sister goes, however...
Issa Rae to Topline Stella Meghie’s “The Photograph”
Issa Rae and Stella Meghie are set to collaborate for a third time. The former will star in the latter’s next film, “The Photograph.” Variety confirmed the news. Written and...
Under the Radar: “Circle of Steel” Is a Tender Portrait of Existential Crisis
Wendy Fong (Chantelle Han) is a young chemical engineer trapped inside a monotonous and ethically fraught existence. When she describes her tedious daily routine to a friend over drinks, her friend...
Andrea Riseborough Will Star in Zeina Durra Romance “Luxor”
Zeina Durra is heading to Egypt for her next film. The “The Imperialists Are Still Alive!” filmmaker is directing “Luxor,” a romance set in the titular city starring Andrea...
Trailer Watch: A Park Guide Embarks on a Deadly Mission in “Body at Brighton Rock”
A park guide gets in way over her head in a new trailer for “Body at Brighton Rock.” A part-time summer employee at a mountainous state park, Wendy (Karina Fontes) spends her days...
SXSW Audience Award Winners Include “For Sama” & “Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins”
The 2019 edition of the SXSW Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend, and now the fest has announced this year’s Audience Award winners. Taking home the honor in the Documentary Feature...
Nelly Kaplan Will Be Honored with Film Retrospective at NYC’s Quad Cinema
Nelly Kaplan will soon receive her very first New York retrospective. NYC’s Quad Cinema announced it will be hosting “Wild Things: The Ferocious Films of Nelly Kaplan” from April...
Weekly Update for March 15: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase – Directed by Katt Shea; Written by Nina Fiore and John Herrera After the death of his wife, Carson Drew decides to leave Chicago...
“Queen Sugar’s” Fourth Season Gets a Premiere Date, Directors Announced
The triumphs and tragedies of the Bordelons will continue to unfold on OWN beginning June 12. Mark your calendars: that’s when the Ava DuVernay-created family drama returns for its fourth...
Trailer Watch: Taylor Schilling Parties with Juggalos in “Family”
“Orange Is the New Black’s” Taylor Schilling leaves prison behind but not her superiority complex in Laura Steinel’s “Family.” A trailer for the comedy has dropped,...
Women-Directed Docs Dominate PBS’ “POV” This Season
The films comprising the upcoming 32nd season of PBS’ “POV” have been revealed. Of 15 features announced, nine are directed or co-directed by women. A 16th film will be added to the...
Trailer Watch: Audiences Reflect on “Thelma & Louise’s” Legacy in New Doc
“It all started 25 years ago when I saw ‘Thelma & Louise.’ I couldn’t help but wonder how other viewers were reacting,” says director Jennifer Townsend in a trailer...
Anne Fontaine’s Isabelle Huppert-Starrer “White As Snow” Lands at Cohen Media
Anne Fontaine’s contemporary re-telling of “Snow White” has found a home. Cohen Media has acquired U.S. rights to the feminist fable ahead of its premiere at Tribeca Film Festival...
Guest Post: How Censorship Made Me a Filmmaker
Guest Post by Shakti Bhagchandani When I was in the seventh grade, my English Literature class was assigned Alexandre Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo.” On our first day of studying...
Trailer Watch: Sex Workers Receive Support in the Courtroom in “Blowin’ Up”
“No one in here wants to see you in jail,” a lawyer tells her client in “Blowin’ Up” — and that truly does appear to be the case. Stephanie Wang-Breal’s...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Brett Story – “The Hottest August”
Brett Story is an award-winning nonfiction filmmaker. Her 2016 feature documentary “The Prison in Twelve Landscapes” won the Special Jury Prize at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary...
Trailer Watch: Mary Harron Tells the Manson Girls’ Stories in “Charlie Says”
“I know everyone thinks we’re these scary creatures who committed these horrible crimes, but we did what we had to do,” says one of the so-called “Manson Girls” in a new...
Hot Docs Adds “One Child Nation,” “I Love You, Now Die,” & More to Special Presentations Lineup
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival has added more titles to its Special Presentations lineup, described as “a high-profile collection of world and international premieres, award...
Anna D. Shapiro to Direct “The Devil Wears Prada” Broadway Musical
Miranda Priestly’s legendary barbs are coming to the stage. Already a best-selling novel and blockbuster film, “The Devil Wears Prada” is headed to Broadway, and Anna D. Shapiro...
SXSW 2019 Awards: “For Sama” and “Alice” Win Top Prizes
Women directed 60 percent of the films screening in Competition at SXSW, and lo and behold, they dominated the awards. Women-helmed pics took home the Feature Film Grand Jury Awards in the Narrative...
Trailer Watch: Steve Bannon Will Do Anything to Win in Alison Klayman’s “The Brink”
According to Steve Bannon, he’s the one responsible for Donald Trump being named the 45th President of the United States. “If I had not come in as CEO of the campaign Trump would not have...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Pollyanna McIntosh – “Darlin'”
Pollyanna McIntosh is an actress, writer, and director. Her acting credits include “The Walking Dead” and “The Last Tycoon.” “Darlin’” is her directorial debut. “Darlin’”...
Number of Women Directors in France Is Increasing, Study Finds
“Captain Marvel’s” record-breaking debut was in good company on International Women’s Day. March 8 also saw the publication of a new study concluding that the number of women...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Miia Tervo – “Aurora”
Miia Tervo is an award-winning director whose credits include “The Seal,” “The Little Snow Animal,” and “Clumsy Little Acts of Tenderness.” “Aurora” is...
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival to Open with “American Factory”
Sundance winner “American Factory” is slated to open the 22nd annual edition of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. A look inside what happened when a Chinese billionaire opened a...
Callie Khouri to Direct Lifetime’s “Patsy & Loretta,” Megan Hilty and Jessie Mueller Star
“Nashville” creator Callie Khouri is returning with another story set in the world of country music. She’s been hired by Lifetime to helm “Patsy & Loretta,” an...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Anna Odell – “X&Y”
Anna Odell is a Swedish conceptual artist and film director. In her 2013 feature debut “The Reunion,” she reenacted a 20-year class reunion, exploring tensions between victims, bullies,...
SXSW Women Directors: Meet Julie Smith Clem – “It Started As A Joke”
Julie Smith Clem is the co-founder of Pretty Good Friends, a comedy production company. She’s produced shows for Comedy Central and Science Channel, co-created the Peabody Award-winning video...
Trailer Watch: BFFs Let Loose in Olivia Wilde’s “Booksmart”
Perfectly timed to coincide with the film’s stellar reviews out of SXSW, a red band trailer for “Booksmart” has dropped. Olivia Wilde’s feature directorial debut tells the...
“Captain Marvel” Soars at the Box Office, Breaks Records
Sexist trolls couldn’t stop Carol Danvers from dominating the box office. Brie Larson-starrer “Captain Marvel” landed the biggest worldwide opening of all time for a female-led...
Trailer Watch: Alice Guy-Blaché Doc “Be Natural” Tells the Story of the First Female Filmmaker
#TimesUp on Alice Guy-Blaché’s contributions to cinema being overlooked, underestimated, and forgotten. “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché” tells the story of the first...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Waad Al-Kateab – “For Sama”
Waad Al-Kateab is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. She became a citizen journalist in 2011, after protests broke out across Syria against the Assad regime, and in January 2016 she...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Hilary Brougher – “South Mountain”
Hilary Brougher is a writer and director. Her credits include “The Sticky Fingers of Time” and “Stephanie Daley.” The latter won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Jenifer McShane – “Ernie & Joe”
Jenifer McShane is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her credits include “A Leap of Faith” and “Mothers of Bedford.” “Ernie & Joe” will premiere at the 2019 SXSW Film...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Erin Derham – “Stuffed”
Erin Derham is an award-winning film director who began her career editing and directing for PBS. Her films include “Buskin’ Blues,” a music documentary exploring the secretive lives of...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Sandy K. Boone – “J.R. ‘Bob’ Dobbs and The Church of the SubGenius”
Sandy K. Boone is a director and producer. She began making films in the 1980s with her late husband, filmmaker David Boone. She served as associate producer on “Richard Linklater: Dream is...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Jennifer Trainer – “Museum Town”
Jennifer Trainer is an award-winning journalist and author of 19 books that have been translated into ten languages. She wrote the first story about Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art for The...
SXSW Women Directors: Meet Marlén Viñayo – “Cachada: The Opportunity”
Marlén Viñayo is a TV and film director, producer, and documentary screenwriter based in El Salvador. She has worked for PBS Frontline, BBC News, and CCTV Americas Now, among others. In...
SXSW 2019 Women Directors: Meet Catalina Arroyave – “Days of the Whale”
Catalina Arroyave was born in Medellín, Colombia. In 2010 she co-funded Rara, an-art house producing company based in Medellín. She has worked as an assistant director and teacher for several...
Weekly Update for March 8: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Captain Marvel – Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck; Written by Anna Boden, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and Ryan Fleck The highly anticipated first Marvel movie with...
Focusing on Family: Crowdfunding Picks
The family unit is one of the foundational aspects of our society, so it’s no surprise that familial relationships are constantly explored in movies, books, and television. In some cases, family...
Isabel Coixet Writing and Directing Her First TV Series
Isabel Coixet fans and food lovers, rejoice. The “Bookshop” and “Elegy” filmmaker is writing and directing a TV show about a couple who meet via an app for foodies. The HBO...