#Women Directors
Claudia Llosa to Direct “Distancia De Rescate” for Netflix
Claudia Llosa to set to make history. Again. She’s been tapped to become the first Peruvian filmmaker to direct a Netflix film, Deadline reports. Best known as the helmer of “The Milk of...
Sally Potter in Production on Her Next Film, Cast Includes Elle Fanning, Salma Hayek, Laura Linney
Sally Potter is re-teaming with Elle Fanning on her next pic. The “Ginger & Rosa” collaborators are in production on an as-yet untitled feature. Currently filming in Spain, the drama...
Constance Wu in Negotiations to Topline a Rom-Com
Constance Wu may be starring in another romantic comedy. The “Crazy Rich Asians” star is in negotiations to topline an untitled pic for Screen Gems, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. Also...
Sight & Sound’s 2018 Critics Poll Includes 10 Women-Directed Pics
The results are in for Sight & Sound’s 2018 Critics Poll. The anticipated poll sees critics, programmers, and academics from around the world voting for their favorite films of the year....
Jodie Foster Will Star in and Direct English-Language Remake of Iceland’s “Woman at War”
Jodie Foster is going to war. Deadline reports the Oscar winner will topline and direct a remake of “Woman at War,” Iceland’s submission for 2019’s Best Foreign Language Film...
Sophia Takal Is the First Woman to Direct a Blumhouse Original
Blumhouse finally managed to locate and hire a female director. Several weeks after Jason Blum’s unfortunate remarks that he’d really like to work with women directors, but there’s...
Exclusive: Roberta Grossman’s WWII Resistance Doc “Who Will Write Our History” Secures Release
“Who Will Write Our History,” Roberta Grossman’s chronicle of a lesser known form of WWII-era resistance, will have a theatrical run, Women and Hollywood has learned exclusively....
Sudabeh Mortezai’s “Joy” Wins Best Film at Marrakech Fest
Sudabeh Mortezai has nabbed another festival prize for her second feature, “Joy.” Less than two months after it took BFI London Film Festival’s top prize, Variety confirms the sex...
Priyanka Chopra-Led Family Drama from Shonali Bose Is in Production
Priyanka Chopra is taking on a true story for her next project. According to Variety, the “Quantico” actress will star in Shonali Bose’s “The Sky Is Pink.” Currently in...
History as Herstory: Crowdfunding Picks
Many of us were told the story of the pilgrims and Native Americans and their shared cooperation, which ultimately led to the holiday tradition of Thanksgiving, only to grow up and find out that the...
Weekly Update for December 7: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Mary Queen of Scots – Directed by Josie Rourke It’s a little crazy to say Mary, Queen of Scots is the perfect role for Saoirse Ronan because I am certain that...
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Rungano Nyoni, & Jameela Jamil Among UK’s WFTV Award Winners
“Fleabag” and “Killing Eve” creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, “I Am Not a Witch” filmmaker Rungano Nyoni, activist and “The Good Place” actress Jameela...
“Dumplin'” Director Anne Fletcher on Why She Wants Audiences to Feel “Unique and Special”
Danielle Macdonald, who we were introduced to in “Patticake$,” takes on the lead in “Dumplin’,” a story about a teen girl who enters her mother’s (Jennifer...
Sophie Brooks to Direct Adaptation of “You Me Everything” For Lionsgate
Sophie Brooks is shifting her gaze from Brooklyn to the French countryside. The filmmaker will follow up her feature debut, New York-set “The Boy Downstairs,” with an adaptation...
BIFA and Tribeca Winner “Adult Life Skills” Gets U.S. Release Date
“Adult Life Skills” is finally hitting theaters stateside. The British comedy is being released by Screen Media in theaters and On Demand in the U.S. January 18, 2019. Written and...
Inaugural Class for NBC’s Alternative Directors Program Is All-Female
NBC has announced the inaugural class for their Alternative Directors Program, and all seven participants are women. The first directing pipeline program for unscripted shows, the initiative...
Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir” Lands at A24, Tilda Swinton Stars
Announced as part of Sundance 2019’s lineup last week, Tilda Swinton-starrer “The Souvenir” has found a home. A24 snagged North American rights to Joanna Hogg’s romantic drama...
Lone Scherfig Drama “The Kindness of Strangers” to Open 2019 Berlin Film Festival
Lone Scherfig will have the honor of kicking off the 2019 Berlin Film Festival. The award-winning Danish writer-director will open the 69th edition of the fest with the premiere of her latest pic,...
Trailer Watch: A Family Falls Apart in Melissa Miller Costanzo’s “All These Small Moments”
“Relationships are complicated,” a mother tells her son in a new trailer for Melissa Miller Costanzo’s “All These Small Moments.” Carla (Molly Ringwald,...
Trailer Watch: Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie Battle for Power in “Mary Queen of Scots”
“Your beauty, your bravery, your gifts are your downfall,” Margot Robbie warns Saoirse Ronan in a new trailer for “Mary Queen of Scots.” Set in the 16th century, the...
Guest Post: Why the History of Women’s Filmmaking Is Important Now
Guest Post by Shelley Stamp “Why haven’t I heard about this history?!” That’s what people ask when I tell them about the “Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers” collection I curated for...
Sundance 2019: Over 50% of Shorts, Episodic Content, & Special Events Are Women Directed or Created
Sundance 2019 is shaping up to be quite the gender-balanced film festival. Not only do women represent 42 percent of the competition film directors, the fest has just announced the lineups for its...
Trailer Watch: Brie Larson Is a Noble Warrior Hero in “Captain Marvel”
Marvel universe fixture Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) provides a helpful primer on the two alien races at war in a new trailer for “Captain Marvel.” “Skrulls are the bad...
“Capernaum” Director Nadine Labaki Discusses the Film’s Chaos and Empathy
Interview by Zoë Elton Lebanese filmmaker-actor Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum” (“Chaos”) represents a bold departure from her earlier work, such as “Caramel,”...
December 2018 Film Preview
By Antora Majumdar and Keno Katsuda If you’re hoping to hit the multiplex over the holidays, December’s film releases do not disappoint. With plenty of pics driven by complex female...
Debra Granik on “Leave No Trace” and How “The Script Interrogates You”
Interview by Zoë Elton Debra Granik’s “Leave No Trace” traverses the lives of a father and daughter who have been living off the grid for years in the woods outside Portland....
Turin Film Festival Commits to Gender Parity Pledge
Another fest has signed the 5050×2020 charter for gender parity and inclusion. Italy’s Turin Film Festival, also known as Torino Film Festival, is following in the footsteps of Cannes,...
Lynne Ramsay Is Writing an “Epic” Environmental Horror Feature
It seems we won’t have to wait long for Lynne Ramsay’s next offering. She’s already written over 100 pages of a new screenplay, her follow-up to this year’s awards contender...
Weekly Update for November 30: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Clara’s Ghost – Written and Directed by Bridey Elliott (Opens December 6) (Available on VOD December 7) Set over the course of a single evening in the Reynolds...
Awkwafina Receives Series Order From Comedy Central
Awkwafina’s meteoric rise continues. This year has seen the YouTube sensation star in “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Ocean’s Eight.” She also hosted “Saturday...
Apply Now: Shondaland and SeriesFest Women Directing Mentorship
Shonda Rhimes is a long-time supporter of women directors. Just look at the credits on her series. “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away with...
Under the Radar: Aube Giroux’s “Modified” Is a Personal, Political Exploration of Food Policy
By Antora Majumdar and Keno Katsuda “If you add water to a food product, you must add ‘water’ to the food label. But if you add insecticide [to food] through genetic engineering, you...
Trailer Watch: Katherine Waterston Investigates a Mysterious Death in “State Like Sleep”
“Peel back a layer and no one’s who they seem to be,” Michael Shannon says in the trailer for “State Like Sleep.” That’s what protagonist Katherine (Katherine...
Viola Davis to Topline and Produce Shirley Chisholm Biopic, Maggie Betts Directing
Viola Davis has lined up her first project under her recent Amazon deal. The Oscar winner will portray the titular pioneering politician in “The Fighting Shirley Chisholm,” Deadline...
Women Represent 42 Percent of Sundance 2019 Competition Directors
If you’re planning to attend the Sundance Film Festival in January, there will be plenty of women-directed films to check out. The fest has announced its 2019 feature lineup, and 42 percent of...
Trailer Watch: The Woods Are a Crazy Place in Thriller “Rust Creek”
A college student (Hermione Corfield, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”) has car trouble on her way to a job interview in a trailer for Jen McGowan’s “Rust Creek.” Already the...
Women Make Up Over 50 Percent of Variety’s Annual Directors to Watch List
Women dominate Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch list for 2019. Women represent 60 percent of slots on the annual ranking, which recognizes up-and-coming filmmaking talent. Olivia Wilde...
Domee Shi, First Woman to Direct Pixar Short, Will Helm Feature Debut
Domee Shi made history this year by becoming the first woman to direct a Pixar short, “Bao.” Now she’s set to pivot to feature filmmaking. As Deadline reports, Shi is attached to...
Nia DaCosta to Direct “Candyman” Sequel
Nia DaCosta is following up modern-day Western “Little Woods” with a horror pic. The writer-director has signed on to helm a “spiritual sequel” to “Candyman,”...
Kristen Stewart to Topline Clea DuVall Rom-Com “Happiest Season”
Clea DuVall’s next film has found its star. Kristen Stewart is in talks to join the TriStar Pictures LGBTQ romantic comedy, Deadline reports. “The Happiest Season” marks...
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” Sequel in Development
Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky’s love story is just beginning. Variety has confirmed that Netflix and Paramount’s Awesomeness Films are in discussions on a sequel for “To All the Boys...
Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing Lisa France Documentary “Roll With Me”
ARRAY has lined up its latest film release. Ava DuVernay’s independent distribution company will be screening “Roll With Me,” Lisa France’s doc about recovering addict and...
Emily Dickinson Comedy “Wild Nights with Emily” Acquired by Greenwich
Molly Shannon-starrer “Wild Nights with Emily” has secured distribution, Deadline confirms. The comedy inspired by Emily Dickinson landed at Greenwich Entertainment with plans for a...
2018 Gotham Awards: Wins for Chloé Zhao’s “The Rider,” “Killing Eve,” Elsie Fisher, & More
Women were among the big winners at last night’s IFP Gotham Awards. Not only did Chloé Zhao’s Western, “The Rider,” take home the top prize, but women-driven and -created...
Trailer Watch: Patty Jenkins Digs Into the Black Dahlia Murder in “I Am the Night”
“All my life people have looked at me,” Fauna Hodel (India Eisley, “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”) writes in “I Am the Night.” “I just want to...
Weekly Update for November 21: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING The Favourite – Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (Opens in NY and LA November 23) Set in the early 18th century, we take a closer look at the reign of Queen...
Reclaiming Our Experiences, Telling Our Stories: Crowdfunding Picks
When you take in the news today, what do you notice? Stories about women experiencing sexual assault, online harassment, body shaming, criticism for being too loud or not enough. Our culture is...
Catherine Hardwicke on “Twilight’s” 10th Anniversary and Breaking Down Stereotypes
It’s been a decade since Bella and Edward’s love story galvanized audiences comprised mostly of women and teen girls. “Twilight’s” box office success helped prove the...
Quote of the Day: Nicole Kidman on Hollywood’s “Long Road” to Equality
Nicole Kidman has kept good on a commitment she made publicly: to work with at least one female director every 18 months. “I’ve actually so far exceeded it,” she tells Variety in a...
Gloria Ui Young Kim Filming Feature Debut, Mother-Daughter Drama “Queen of the Morning Calm”
Award-winning director Gloria Ui Young Kim has kicked off filming on her feature debut. A mother-daughter drama, “Queen of the Morning Calm” stars Tina Jung (“Kim’s...
Jasmin Mozaffari’s “Firecrackers” Goes to Good Deed Entertainment
“Firecrackers” will be set off in U.S. theaters. Jasmin Mozaffari’s feature debut has secured distribution stateside from Good Deed Entertainment, Deadline confirms. The female-led...