#Women Directors
The Bonds Between Us: Crowdfunding Picks
Our entire lives are defined by relationships. From a young age, we are taught to identify ourselves relative to someone else; daughter, sister, partner, friend. And whether these bonds are defined...
Julia Ormond to Star in BBC One’s “Gold Digger”
Julia Ormond has nabbed the lead role in”Gold Digger,” a six-part drama for BBC One. Deadline confirmed the news. The Emmy winner will play a woman whose relationship with a much younger...
Four Universal Cable Prods. Pilots Will Have Women Directors
Universal Cable Productions (UCP) has brought on four female directors to helm some of its biggest pilots. Variety reports the NBCUniversal company hired Ana Lily Amirpour, Steph Green, Laure de...
Trailer Watch: Sanaa Lathan Ditches Her Weave in “Nappily Ever After”
“Ever since I was a kid, my hair was everything. I had to be fixed. Only then was I perfect,” explains Sanaa Lathan (“The Affair”) in a new trailer for Haifaa...
Why Are the Only Two Women-Directed Studio Films of the Summer Opening the Same Day?
On the surface “The Spy Who Dumped Me” and “The Darkest Minds” couldn’t be more different. One is an action-comedy about best friends (Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon) who...
Abigail Disney’s Fork Films Announces $625,000 in Grant Funding to Docs
Fork Films is at it again. Abigail Disney’s company announced that it has provided $625,000 in grant funding to 16 new documentaries “that align with the company’s dedication to...
LA Film Fest’s Major Feature Competition Lineups Are Over 50 Percent Women-Directed
Film Independent’s LA Film Festival (LAFF) has announced its first batch of lineups, and the programs are cause for celebration. Of 24 features screening in major competition categories, 14 are...
TIFF Announces Sisters March to Spotlight “Systemic Inequality”
The Toronto International Film Festival is rallying the troops. The fest announced that a rally will be held during its upcoming 43rd edition, a sisters march intended to spotlight “systemic...
Severely Gender Imbalanced Venice Fest Will Screen a Dude’s Doc About Women in Film
In news that could either be an attempt to rectify its exclusion of women directors or a simple fuck-you, Venice Film Festival is premiering the first four hours of an epic 16-hour doc about women...
Locarno Fest to Sign Pledge for Parity and Inclusion
Locarno Festival is committing to change. A press release from the Switzerland-based fest announced that President Marco Solari and Vice President Carla Speziali will sign the Programming Pledge for...
HBO Acquires Rights to “At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal”
HBO has snagged the worldwide rights to Erin Lee Carr’s “At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal.” The premium cable network announced the news in a press release,...
Netflix Orders “Madam C.J. Walker,” Octavia Spencer to Star in the Limited Series
“Madam C.J. Walker” is headed to Netflix. The long-brewing Octavia Spencer limited series has received an eight-episode order from the streamer, Deadline confirms. The Oscar winner was...
August 2018 Film Preview
If you’re looking for a respite from the hot summer days, August is looking to be an excellent month for movies helmed by women or led by women characters. One of the most highly anticipated...
Weekly Update for July 27: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING THIS WEEK Snapshots – Directed by Melanie Mayron; Written by Jan Miller Corran and Katherine Cortez (Opens in LA) Three women. Three generations. Two summers. 50 years...
“Picnic at Hanging Rock” Showrunner Larysa Kondracki Inks First-Look Deal at Amazon
Larysa Kondracki is taking a big step in her relationship with Amazon Studios, Deadline reports. After serving as showrunner on Amazon’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and helming three...
“Killing Eve” Gets a New Lead Writer and Women Directors
Stars Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer are returning for Season 2 of “Killing Eve,” but a major shakeup is in the works behind the scenes of the spy thriller. Creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge is...
Mélanie Laurent’s “Galveston” Acquired by RLJE Films
Mélanie Laurent’s English-language directing debut has found a home. A press release announced that RLJE Films acquired all U.S. rights to Elle Fanning-starrer “Galveston” with a...
Trailer Watch: “Love, Gilda” Tells the Story of Comedy Legend Gilda Radner
“There was so much in the world that had yet to be carved out for women,” says Amy Poehler in a new trailer for “Love, Gilda.” The “Parks and Rec” alumna is...
HBO Releases Remaining Doc Slate for 2018: Jane Fonda, Sandra Bland, & More
HBO has announced its documentary lineup for the second half of 2018, and seven of the 12 films are women-directed or co-directed. Among the first to air will be “Jane Fonda in Five...
Augustine Frizzell to Direct Ryan Reynolds-Starrer “Stoned Alone”
Augustine Frizzell is taking audiences on another drug-fueled adventure. The “Never Goin’ Back” writer-director has signed on to helm “Stoned Alone” for Fox, an R-rated...
Gina Prince-Bythewood to Direct Fantasy Film “The Old Guard”
Gina Prince-Bythewood is taking on another comic adaptation. Already signed on to helm “Silver & Black” based on Marvel characters Silver Sable and Black Cat, the director has been tapped to...
Under the Radar: “Are You Glad I’m Here” Expertly Portrays Friendship Across Cultures
Winner of the Brooklyn Film Festival’s Audience Award, “Are You Glad I’m Here” follows a young American woman as she moves to Beirut and befriends her neighbor, a Lebanese housewife. Directed...
Safe (and Unsafe) Spaces: Crowdfunding Picks
How do we react in the face of adversity or tragedy? Specifically, how do our identities and backgrounds shape the means by which we grow from these experiences? These are the questions our latest...
NBC Announces First Female Forward Directors Class
NBC has announced its inaugural class for Female Forward, the network’s annual initiative launched with the aim of giving female directors a pipeline into scripted television. Founded last year by...
Only One Woman-Directed Film Will Screen in Competition at 2018 Venice Fest
The Venice Film Festival announced the lineup for its 2018 edition and once again it is years behind in terms of representing women directors. Just eight films of the 64 screening in the fest’s...
Teaser Watch: Elle Fanning Survives the Apocalypse in Reed Morano’s “I Think We’re Alone Now”
“Weren’t you lonely?” Elle Fanning asks “Game of Thrones'” Peter Dinklage in a NSFW teaser for “I Think We’re Alone Now.” The unlikely pair are living...
Zoey Deutch to Topline and Produce Tanya Wexler’s “Buffaloed”
Zoey Deutch is getting into the debt collecting business. Deadline reports that the “Set It Up” actress just kicked off production on “Buffaloed,” a dark comedy about a debt...
TIFF 2018’s Galas and Special Presentations Are 28 Percent Women-Directed
Claire Denis, Nicole Holofcener, and Amma Asante are heading to the Great White North. The directors’ latest films are making their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival...
Brenda Chapman Launches Production Company, Signs First-Look Deal at Fox
Not only has Brenda Chapman lined up her next gig, she’s started her own production company. According to Deadline, the “Brave” co-director has launched ‘Twas Entertainment...
Trailer Watch: Hilary Swank Returns Home to Help an Ailing Blythe Danner in “What They Had”
“She’s going to forget everything,” says Hilary Swank in a new trailer for “What They Had.” Bridget (Swank) has returned home to Chicago to help navigate a family...
Guest Post: Why I Made a Documentary About Domestic “Helpers” in Hong Kong
Guest Post by Joanna Bowers I moved to Hong Kong from Los Angeles in 2011 and quickly realized that I couldn’t have chosen two cities more different than one another. Leaving the sprawling,...
Weekly Update for July 20 Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING THIS WEEK Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again” This sequel to 2008’s “Mamma Mia!” follows a pregnant Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) as she...
Melina Matsoukas to Direct “Queen & Slim,” Lena Waithe Penning the Script
Melina Matsoukas has yet another project in the works. Best known for directing Issa Rae-starrer “Insecure” and Beyoncé’s “Formation” video, the rising star will...
Trailer Watch: A Girl Chooses Between Being a Witch and a Goat in “I Am Not a Witch”
A U.S. trailer has arrived for Rungano Nyoni’s award-winning feature debut, “I Am Not a Witch.” The drama follows Shula (Margaret Mulubwa), an eight-year-old girl who shows up...
Exclusive: A Sex Worker and Writer’s Many Lives Are Explored in “Nelly” Trailer
“I’m not a writer,” a sex worker tells a client in the trailer for “Nelly” — but she actually is. Nelly Arcan (Mylène Mackay) is, in her words, a...
BAMcinématek Hosting “Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers” Film Series
BAMcinématek has lined up its next feminist film series. The Brooklyn venue is teaming up with Kino Lorber and the Library of Congress for “Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers,” which...
Trailer Watch: A Filmmaker and Activist Is Honored in “Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen”
According to her son Hepi, the late filmmaker Merata Mita once said, “What you see when you look at an archival film are resurrections taking place.” She explained, “A past life...
Teaser Watch: Elle Fanning Goes on the Run in Mélanie Laurent’s “Galveston”
“Are you gonna kill me?” Elle Fanning asks Ben Foster in the new teaser for “Galveston.” Roy (Foster), a terminally ill hitman with a bounty on his head, replies no. And so...
Isabel Coixet Has a Drama About Spain’s First Lesbian Marriage On the Way
In just over a month “The Bookshop” hits U.S. theaters, but writer-director Isabel Coixet is already well on her way to completing her follow-up project. The Spanish filmmaker is...
Trailer Watch: “A Whale of a Tale” Revisits “The Cove”
“The Cove” made a major splash upon its 2009 release. The animal rights documentary won an Academy Award, took in over a million dollars at the box office, and sparked an international...
Exploring the Psyche: July’s VOD and Web Series Picks
All three of the picks for this month’s VOD and web series round-up spotlight a loaded subject: mental health. Long considered taboo, mental health has finally started to be talked about more...
Trailer Watch: Amandla Stenberg Is a Super Teen with a Super Romance in “The Darkest Minds”
A new trailer has dropped for “The Darkest Minds.” The adaptation of Alexandra Bracken’s YA novel sees “Hunger Games” star Amandla Stenberg living in another dystopia....
Trailer Watch: RBG Is Ready to “Topple the Whole Damn System” in “On the Basis of Sex”
“You’re a smart girl, Ruthie,” some condescending old dude tells a young Ruth Bader frickin’ Ginsburg in the trailer for “On the Basis of Sex.” “You married...
Weekly Update for July 13 Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING THIS WEEK What Will People Say – Written and Directed by Iram Haq Sixteen-year-old Nisha (Maria Mozhdah) lives a double life. When out with her...
Julie Delpy and Sherry Marsh Developing New TV Projects
The television industry has been buzzing with various female-led and -driven adaptations. There’s Hulu’s adaptation of Celeste Ng’s “Little Fires Everywhere,”, a...
Cate Shortland to Direct Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow Pic
The long-awaited Black Widow stand-alone movie is one big step closer to fruition. After meeting with over 70 potential directors, Marvel has decided on Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland. The...
2018 Emmy Nominations: Tiffany Haddish, Sandra Oh, Issa Rae, and More
Tiffany Haddish can add Emmy nominee to her rapidly expanding list of accolades. The 2018 Emmy nominations are in, and the “Girls Trip” breakout just scored her first-ever nod for hosting...
Bruna Papandrea Developing Karin Slaughter Novel for TV, Lesli Linka Glatter to Direct
So far, “Big Little Lies” producer Bruna Papandrea has had a busy year. Over the past few months, she snagged the rights to both Allison Pearson’s “How Hard Can It...
Trailer Watch: The Whole Family’s a Suspect in Agatha Christie’s “Ordeal by Innocence”
“Which one of them’s got blood on their hands?” a sarcastic Matthew Goode (“The Good Wife”) asks in Amazon Prime’s trailer for “Ordeal by Innocence.”...
Frankie Shaw Signs Overall Deal with ABC Signature Studios
Bridgette Bird isn’t destined for the WNBA and her acting career leaves much to be desired, but “SMILF” creator and and star Frankie Shaw’s own profile continues to rise. The...
Mimi Leder to Direct and Produce Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston’s Apple Series
Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston’s upcoming Apple series still doesn’t have a name, but the buzzy project has secured a director. Emmy winner Mimi Leder is signed on to helm the...