#Women Directors
Cannes Awards 2018: Another Dude Wins the Palme D’Or and Asia Argento Brings the House Down
Cannes’ 2018 Closing Ceremony was the perfect microcosm of the festival itself: it embraced some much-needed social change and somehow was still the usual old boys’ club. The fest’s...
Weekly Update for May 18: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Book Club – Co-Written by Erin Simms Diane (Diane Keaton) is recently widowed after 40 years of marriage. Vivian (Jane Fonda) enjoys her men with no strings...
Addressing Adversity: Crowdfunding Picks
Whether it’s an inescapable reality of everyday life, or catalyzed by a change in our circumstances, we’ve all faced adversity. For many, multiple systems of oppression intersect to pose...
All-Women Directing Team Set for Starz’s “The Spanish Princess”
Starz has let some news slip about “The Spanish Princess,” the follow-up series to “The White Queen” and “The White Princess”: all episodes will be...
Elisabeth Moss to Topline Josephine Decker Thriller About Shirley Jackson
Elisabeth Moss is following in the footsteps of Elle Fanning and taking on the role of an iconic horror writer. The “Handmaid’s Tale” star will play author Shirley Jackson in a...
Cannes: Kristen Stewart to Write and Direct Bisexual Drama “The Chronology of Water”
Kristen Stewart is stepping behind the camera again. The “Twilight” actress spilled the beans in an interview with Cannes Film Festival, where she’s currently serving as a juror....
Trailer Watch: A Journalist Follows the “Dark Money” in Kimberly Reed’s New Doc
“You know, the number one rule of political or watchdog reporting is, ‘follow the money,'” journalist John Adams says in the trailer for “Dark Money.” The reporter, who...
Amy Berg to Direct Doc Series About Adnan Syed of “Serial” Fame
In news that seems inevitable if delayed, “Serial” is getting a TV follow-up. HBO and Sky have partnered to continue the true crime story with “The Case Against Adnan Syed,”...
Trailer Watch: Zoey Deutch Is a Personal Assistant on a Mission in Netflix Rom-Com “Set It Up”
Personal assistants are all too experienced in swallowing their pride and performing thankless miracles, but when your boss is asking you to wake them up from a nap with a lullaby — and not...
Trailer Watch: The Bordelons Are at a Crossroads in “Queen Sugar” Season 3
Nova, Charley, and Ralph Angel Bordelon are back in the trailer for “Queen Sugar’s” third season — and they are still reeling from the events of Season 2. Each of the siblings...
Submissions Are Open for the 2019 Athena Film Festival
Attention filmmakers with a short or screenplay depicting a female leader: The Athena Film Festival is now accepting submissions. Co-founded by Women and Hollywood founder and publisher Melissa...
“Pretty Little Liars” Spinoff “The Perfectionists” Gets Series Order and Teaser
“Pretty Little Liars'” ended its seven-season run in 2017, but the franchise has plenty of plot twists in store. Deadline confirms that Sasha Pieterse and Janel Parrish are set to...
Cannes: Eva Vives’ “All About Nina” Acquired by The Orchard
Eva Vives’ feature directorial debut has found a home. The Orchard snagged North American distribution rights to Mary Elizabeth Winstead-starrer “All About Nina” at Cannes. Variety...
Restoration of Agnès Varda’s “One Sings, The Other Doesn’t” to Screen at BAMcinématek
Agnès Varda’s feminist musical is coming back to the big screen with a makeover. “One Sings, The Other Doesn’t” has been newly restored and will open at...
Cannes Film Festival Signs Pledge In Push for Gender Parity
The issue of the lack of female directors is dominating this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Part of this conversation is how movies get selected and who selects them. Is there a clear submission...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Margarethe von Trotta — “Searching for Ingmar Bergman”
Margarethe von Trotta launched her career as an actress. She directed her first feature, “The Second Awakening of Christa Klages,” in 1978. The next year marked the release of “Sisters,...
2018-19 TV Season: Women Directors Have Higher Pilot-to-Series Ratio Than Men
The 2018-19 pilot season has been a marked improvement over 2017-18. Last year only one drama pilot was directed by a woman and it wasn’t ordered to series. This year 14 drama pilots are...
New Research Spotlights Cannes’ Long-Standing Gender Disparity
This weekend 82 women ascended the steps of the Palais de Festival in Cannes to raise awareness around the fest’s history of excluding women directors. Since Cannes kicked off in 1946 only 82...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Agnieszka Smoczyńska — “Fugue”
Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s first feature film, “The Lure,” was recognized as the best debut at the 2015 Polish Film Festival. “The Lure” has received numerous awards at festivals worldwide,...
Weekly Update for May 11: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Breaking In “Breaking In” Gabrielle Union stars as a woman who will stop at nothing to rescue her two children being held hostage in a house designed...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Rohena Gera — “Sir”
Rohena Gera is a director and screenwriter. Her micro-budget documentary “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” screened at the Mumbai Film Festival. “Sir” is her narrative...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Pamela B. Green — “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché”
Nominated for an Emmy for the documentary ”Bhutto,” Pamela B. Green has produced main titles and created and advised on internal story sequences and marketing campaigns for films such...
Guest Post: How I Learned to Listen to My Film as a Director and Editor
Guest Post by Rachel Shuman I make a living as a professional editor, working mostly on documentary films. I find the process of editing so engaging and creative that even when I don’t love the...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Debra Granik — “Leave No Trace”
Debra Granik directed and co-wrote the Academy Award-nominated feature film “Winter’s Bone.” The drama was named Best Feature at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, won the Grand Jury...
Trailer Watch: Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon Get Their Bond On in “The Spy Who Dumped Me”
When Audrey (Mila Kunis) receives a breakup text from her boyfriend in a new trailer for “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” she decides to mourn the relationship in the usual fashion. Along with...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Beatriz Seigner — “Los Silencios”
Beatriz Seigner’s feature debut, “Bollywood Dream,” screened at over 20 international film festivals, including Busan, Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles, and São Paulo. It marked the first film...
Feminist Takes on Sci-Fi: May’s VOD and Web Series Picks
While science-fiction is usually associated with flashy VFX, aliens, spaceships, and advanced technology, the genre is incredibly varied and nuanced, and beloved by many as a means to explore complex...
Amy Poehler-Produced Pilot “Three Busy Debras” Heads to Adult Swim
More women are finally joining Adult Swim’s ranks. “Three Busy Debras,” a surreal, women-created comedy pilot from producer Amy Poehler has been ordered at the network, Deadline...
Cannes 2018: Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum” Nabbed by Sony Pictures Classics
A week ahead of its world premiere at Cannes, Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum” has found a home. Sony Pictures Classics snagged North American and Latin American rights to the drama...
Billie Piper to Make Directorial Debut with Anti-Rom-Com
With over two decades of acting experience under her belt, Billie Piper is stepping behind the camera. The former “Secret Diary of a Call Girl” and “Doctor Who” star will make...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marie Monge — “Treat Me Like Fire”
Marie Monge has written and directed short films such as “Marseille by Night,” “Mia,” and “Les ombres bossues.” “Marseille by Night” was nominated for...
Trailer Watch: Daughters of Rival Politicians Fall in Love in Cannes Pic “Rafiki”
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the trailer for Wanuri Kahiu’s “Rafiki,” now is the time. The headline-making drama just made history as the first Kenyan feature to...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marta Bergman — “Alone At My Wedding”
Marta Bergman is a Bucharest-born director known for her documentary films, in which she has explored Romania and more specifically, the Roma communities. Her documentaries have been shown at...
Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2018 Lineup Is 80% Women-Directed
Usually, it’s easier and quicker to name the films that aren’t directed by men screening at a festival because there are so few of them — but that’s not the case with Human...
Cannes and Gender — A Work in Progress
So here I am again in Cannes. It’s my fourth year. And this is the first year since the reckoning, and this festival was a place where Harvey preyed against multiple women. For someone who does the...
Cannes 2018: Beanie Feldstein to Topline Adaptation of “How To Build A Girl”
Beanie Feldstein broke out as Saoirse Ronan’s BFF in “Lady Bird” and now the supporting actress is getting her own film. She’s signed on to topline a film adaptation of...
Apply Now: AT&T Hello Sunshine Filmmaker Lab for Teen Girls
If you are — or know — a teen girl who dreams of following in the footsteps of Patty Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, Greta Gerwig, and other female directors, take note. Aspiring filmmakers...
Cannes 2018: News About Jenny Gage’s Adaptation of “After,” Sidse Babett Knudsen-Starrer “Wildland”
Cannes is about so much more than the films screening — the fest is also a business hub where projects in development seek distribution and funds. As such, the fest can be counted on to...
Meredith Vieira Unveils Initiative for Women Documentary Filmmakers
Meredith Vieira is stepping up for women directors. The TV anchor and journalist has introduced a new initiative for female filmmakers seeking funding for documentary films and series, The Hollywood...
Study: Women Underrepresented Behind the Scenes in Off Broadway Plays
The League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW), a not-for-profit that advocates for gender equality in theater, onstage and off, has published its latest study. The report, titled “Women...
You’re Invited: Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of “The Piano” with a Screening in London
“The Piano” is about to turn 25, and we’re celebrating its birthday in London. Women and Hollywood and Birds Eye View will host a screening of Jane Campion’s masterpiece on...
New Tina Turner Doc Introduced at Cannes
Tina Turner is one of the best-selling artists of all time, but The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll has never been the subject of a feature-length documentary — until now. Variety reports...
AFI DOCS and Provincetown Fests Will Open and Close with Women-Directed Pics
Cannes, this is how it’s done: projects from female filmmakers are set to kick off and conclude both AFI DOCS and Provincetown International Film Festival. AFI DOCS, a documentary fest in the...
Infographic: Women Directors at Cannes 2018 #SeeHerNow
The 2018 Cannes Film Festival is almost here. Beginning tomorrow, May 8, the renowned fest will screen films from veteran directors and newcomers alike. And, as per usual, the number of female...
Guest Post: Why I Launched a Streaming Platform
Guest Post by Melinda Prisco I’m incredibly lucky. Not only do I produce movies, but I get to distribute stunning world cinema on my streaming platform, Filmatique. I conceptualized Filmatique...
Why Does Hollywood Dismiss Women-Directed Films About Queer Women?
Opening today, Sebastián Lelio’s widely praised adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s “Disobedience” will hit theaters in New York and Los Angeles before rolling out nationwide. Led by Rachel...
Veteran TV Writer Nell Scovell on Her New Book and Hollywood’s Progress — and Lack Thereof
Nell Scovell is no stranger to Hollywood. A 30-year veteran, she has worked on some of the most memorable shows in TV history, including “Murphy Brown,” “The Simpsons,” “Late Night with...
Guest Post: Why I Was Determined to Make a Film About the First Female Psychoanalyst
Guest Post by Cordula Kablitz-Post Eight years ago, one year before her 150th birthday, I had the idea of doing a film about legendary German-Russian writer, philosopher, and first female...
Under the Radar: “The Valley” Deftly Addresses Stigma of Depression in Asian American Community
Under the Radar is Women and Hollywood’s newest feature. Published monthly, the post offers a chance for us to highlight works by and/or about women that haven’t received big releases or...
Looking for Representation: Crowdfunding Picks
As women, we know that we exist in multitudes, yet the representations that we see of ourselves in the media barely scratch the surface of our lived experiences. For so long, narratives about people...
Under the Radar: “Shakedown” Celebrates Black Lesbian Labor and Desire in Los Angeles
Under the Radar is Women and Hollywood’s newest feature. Published monthly, the post offers a chance for us to highlight works by and/or about women that haven’t received big releases or...