#Women Directors
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Nino Zhvania – “Parade”
Nino Zhvania graduated from the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in 2011. Her previous work includes shorts “Excuse Me, My Friend” and “My Friend Iliko.” “Parade” is her first...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Ritu Sarin – “The Sweet Requiem”
Ritu Sarin was born in New Delhi, and completed her MFA in Film and Video at California College of the Arts. She has directed several films with Tenzing Sonam, including “Dreaming Lhasa,”...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Darlene Naponse – “Falls Around Her”
Darlene Naponse is an Anishinaabe Kwe from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, Northern Ontario. She is a writer, film director, and a video artist. Her previous feature, “Every Emotion Costs,”...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Lila Avilés – “The Chambermaid”
After her start as a theater actress, Lila Avilés moved into directing. Her work as a theater director includes “Gardenia Club,” “Microdermoabrasión,” “Antígona,” and “The...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Bai Xue – “The Crossing”
Bai Xue was born in China and obtained her MFA from the Beijing Film Academy. After competing in the CFDG China Youth Film Director Support Program, she made “The Crossing,” her first...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Alejandra Márquez Abella – “The Good Girls”
Alejandra Márquez Abella’s made her feature debut with 2015’s “Semana Santa.” Her other credits include shorts “5 Memories” and “Perra,” as well as the documentary...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Annabel Jankel – “Tell It to the Bees”
Annabel Jankel was born in London and began her career directing music videos for artists such as Talking Heads, Miles Davis, and Elvis Costello. Along with her partner, Rocky Morton, Jankel directed...
TIFF Becomes Latest Fest to Sign the Gender Parity Pledge
Women and Hollywood — alongside 5050×2020, Le Deuxieme Regard, and TIME’S UP — is excited to report that the Toronto International Film Festival has signed the Gender Parity Pledge....
Weekly Update for September 7: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING I Am Not a Witch – Written and Directed by Rungano Nyoni (Opens in NY; Opens in LA September 14) When eight-year-old Shula (Maggie Mulubwa) turns up alone and...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Laura Luchetti — “Twin Flower”
Laura Luchetti has directed short films, music videos, commercials, documentaries, and theater productions. Her first feature, “Febbre da Fieno,” has been featured at many international...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Genevieve Nnaji — “Lionheart”
Genevieve Nnaji has been a prominent fixture in the Nigerian film industry for over 20 years, primarily as an actor. Her contributions to filmmaking have received several awards and nominations over...
Awards Roundup: TIFF to Honor Claire Denis, BAFTA Cate Blanchett
Claire Denis’ and Cate Blanchett’s awards shelves are about to become a bit more crowded. Cannes prize-winning director Denis will be presented with the fifth annual Roger Ebert Golden...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Shannon Service – “Ghost Fleet”
Shannon Service is an independent reporter and filmmaker whose work has appeared in The New York Times, the BBC, and The Guardian. She primarily focuses on crimes at sea, but her stories covered...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Naziha Arebi — “Freedom Fields”
Naziha Arebi has made short films shown worldwide, completed a series of educational shorts on Libyan reconciliation, and directed a short doc about the assassinated Libyan activist Salwa...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian — “Fig Tree”
Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian was born in Awash, Ethiopia. She has directed the short films “Transitions” and “Facing the Wall.” “Fig Tree” is her feature directorial...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Victoria Stone — “The Elephant Queen”
Director Victoria Stone has worked in Africa for over 30 years telling wildlife stories that have been shown in more than 140 countries with audiences in excess of 600 million. Her previous film,...
Fall 2018 Film Preview
By Keno Katsuda and Antora Majumdar Although 2018 is more than halfway over, there are still plenty of amazing women-centric and women-created films yet to be released. Emma Thompson leads one of the...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sine Plambech — “Heartbound”
Sine Plambech is an anthropologist at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Barnard College, Columbia University. For 15 years, Plambech has worked...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Selma Vilhunen — “Stupid Young Heart”
Selma Vilhunen’s latest works as a director include the documentary “Hobbyhorse Revolution,” which premiered at the Tampere Film Festival and won the main prize in domestic...
Trailer Watch: Harassment Makes a Woman’s New Job a Nightmare in TIFF Film “Working Woman”
“The administrative manager is my right hand,” Orna’s (Liron Ben-Shlush) new boss tells her in the trailer for Israeli drama “Working Woman.” She assists him at his...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Ash Mayfair — “The Third Wife”
Ash Mayfair was born and raised in Vietnam, and received her MFA in filmmaking from NYU. Her short films — including “The Silver Man” and “No Exit” — have been screened at...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Nandita Das — “Manto”
Nandita Das has acted in more than 40 feature films in 10 different languages. She made her directorial debut with 2008’s “Firaaq.” Das also acted, wrote, and directed the 2012 play...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Carmel Winters — “Float Like a Butterfly”
Carmel Winters is an award-winning writer and director for the screen and stage. Her debut feature “Snap” won Best Irish Feature and Best Director at the Dublin Critics’ Circle...
TIFF News: Gemma Arterton to Topline Phyllis Nagy’s Dusty Springfield Biopic
Gemma Arterton is going to the Toronto International Film Festival with one film and leaving with another. The Hollywood Reporter confirms the “Vita and Virginia” actress will portray...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marielle Heller — “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Marielle Heller began her career in front of the camera, appearing in shows such as “Spin City” and “Single Dads,” as well as in movies like “MacGruber” and “A Walk Among the...
“Liyana” Acquired by Abramorama
Abramorama has snagged the rights to “Liyana,” a documentary featuring South African storyteller Gcina Mhlophe. Directed by Amanda and Aaron Kopp, the film made its world premiere at the...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Jasmin Mozaffari — “Firecrackers”
Jasmin Mozaffari’s student thesis film, “Firecrackers,” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to screen at numerous other fests across Canada and Europe....
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Carolina Hellsgård – “Ever After”
Carolina Hellsgård is a writer-director born in Sweden and based in Berlin. Her critically acclaimed debut feature film “Wanja” premiered at the Berlinale in 2015 and was nominated for...
Quote of the Day: Felicity Jones on Wanting to Play a Female Genius
“What was so important to me was to play a female genius,” Felicity Jones tells Vanity Fair in a newly released cover story. The Oscar-nominated actress is discussing her latest role, which sees...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marija Kavtaradzė — “Summer Survivors”
Marija Kavtaradzė’s short film “I’m Twenty Something” won best student film at the Lithuanian Film Academy Awards in 2015. Kavtaradzė also co-wrote the feature film “The Saint,”...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Natalia Meschaninova — “Core of the World”
Natalia Meschaninova made her feature debut with 2014’s “Hope Factory,” a coming-of-age drama set in Russia. “Core of the World” will begin screening at the 2018 Toronto...
Trailer Watch: The Right to Choose Is On the Line in “Reversing Roe”
“Life is winning again,” Vice President Mike Pence gloats in the trailer for “Reversing Roe” — but women’s rights are not. As Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Carol Morley — “Out of Blue”
Carol Morley’s credits include “The Alcohol Years,” a BAFTA-nominated film about her scurrilous teenage past, “Dreams of a Life,” which went behind the anonymous newspaper headline about...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Camilla Strøm Henriksen – “Phoenix”
Camilla Strøm Henriksen was born in Oslo and studied directing at the London Film School. She has appeared on and directed numerous Norwegian television shows. Henriksen previously directed the...
TIFF 2018 Preview: Women Directors Tackle War, Police Dramas, LGBTQ Love, & More
We’re just 2 days away from the 2018 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. We’ve assembled a list — by no means exhaustive — of some of the women-directed titles...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Imogen Thomas — “Emu Runner”
Imogen Thomas’ short film “Mixed Bag” premiered at the Montreal Film Festival in 2008 and received the Gold Award at the Australian Cinematographers Society Awards . The film was also a...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Renée Beaulieu — “The Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin”
Renée Beaulieu holds a degree in screenwriting from INIS (the National Institute of Image and Sound), a PhD in film studies, and is a certified pharmacist. Her previous features include “Le...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Patricia Rozema – “Mouthpiece”
Patricia Rozema’s first comedy feature, “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing,” screened at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, where it won the Prix de la Jeunesse. It then...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Wanuri Kahiu – “Rafiki”
Kenyan director-producer-writer Wanuri Kahiu’s first feature, “From A Whisper,” was based on the real-life events surrounding the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in...
September 2018 Film Preview
While the summer movie season is winding down, the release of films by and about women is not. September features a bevy of women-driven indies and star-studded studio releases. The month kicks off...
Weekly Update for August 31: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING Let the Corpses Tan – Written and Directed by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani (Opens in NY and LA) After stealing a truckload of gold bars, a gang of thieves...
Trailer Watch: Amandla Stenberg in a Holocaust Story Unlike One That Has Ever Been Seen Before
“It wasn’t that I had not known I was different,” says Amandla Stenberg in a new trailer for “Where Hands Touch.” “As I reached 16 I realized Hitler had a plan for...
Venice 2018 Women Directors: Meet Nicole Palo – “Emma Peeters”
Nicole Palo’s credits include the 2005 short “Anna Doesn’t Know” and the 2008 feature “Get Born.” “Emma Peeters” will premiere at the 2018 Venice Film...
YouTube Orders Theresa Rebeck Pilot About Gender Inequality in Gaming Industry
Theresa Rebeck has a new show in the works. The “Smash” creator is taking on the world of gaming — and tackling its infamous misogyny. Deadline reports that YouTube has given a...
DGA Report: Women and POC First-Time TV Directors Made Gains in 2017-18 Season
Sometimes the fight to make the entertainment industry more inclusive can feel downright Sisyphean. Thankfully, that’s not always the case, as the Directors Guild of America’s (DGA)...
Dana Nachman on Her Guide Dog Documentary “Pick of the Litter”
Dana Nachman is an award-winning filmmaker of both fiction and documentary films. Nachman’s 2018 feature documentary, “Pick of the Litter,” was sold within 48 hours of its premiere at...
Venice 2018 Women Directors: Meet Elsa Amiel — “Pearl”
Elsa Amiel previously directed two short films, “Ailleurs seulement” and “Faccia d’Angelo.” “Pearl” is her feature debut. “Pearl” will premiere...
Foreign-Language Oscar Submissions: Colombia Picks “Birds of Passage,” Estonia “Take It Or Leave It”
Two more women-directed films have joined the foreign-language Oscar race. Colombia named Cristina Gallego — and Ciro Guerra’s — “Birds of Passage” as their entry, and...
Trailer Watch: Anjelica Huston Won’t Be Bullied in Theresa Rebeck’s “Trouble”
Anjelica Huston and Theresa Rebeck are re-teaming for “Trouble.” A trailer for the drama about siblings feuding over property recently dropped. Huston and Rebeck previously collaborated...
Venice 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Marx — “L’Enkas”
Sarah Marx previously directed “Fatum,” a 2012 short about about a man struggling to reintegrate into society after serving time in jail. She later shot a documentary in a prison in...
London Film Fest’s Competition Lineup Is 50 Percent Women-Directed
Venice Film Festival is currently underway, and just one title screening in its Competition is directed by a woman. In contrast, the BFI London Film Festival just announced its 2018 Competition...