#Women Directors
Women Directed Film Winners in Berlin
This weekend, the 2013 Berlinale drew to a close and the major awards went to male directed films about strong women. The talk throughout the week was about the Romanian film Child's Play...
Guest Post: What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Aging: An Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker’s Conversation-Starter on Women and Aging
Ten years ago, when I began work on the short documentary that would become Kings Point, issues of aging weren’t really a part of the public discussion. In a way, that helped me: because they...
Weekly Update February 15: Women-Centric, Directed, Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Beautiful Creatures Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich) longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new girl, Lena (Alice Englert). Together, they...
WGA Awards to Hold Tribute to Nora Ephron
On Sunday, February 17, the Writer’s Guild of America, East will hold their annual awards ceremony. They’ve just announced that included in the ceremony will be a tribute to Nora Ephron,...
SXSW Adds More Women Directed Films to Schedule
SXSW has announced another round of films to their lineup, adding more films directed by women. They have also added many films written by women, such as Sundance favorite The East, co-written and...
Poster Release: If I Were You Written and Directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin
Here’s a look at the newly released poster for the new film from Joan Carr-Wiggin, If I Were You, starring Marcia Gay Harden. The film follows Madelyn (Gay Harden) who saves a young woman...
On the Ground in Berlin
I arrived in Berlin two days ago from NY after the huge success of The Athena Film Festival. Did you hear we had a blizzard and people still came. I missed the opening weekend craziness...
Rachel Feldman to Direct Lilly Ledbetter Biopic
Lilly Ledbetter has chosen Rachel Feldman to direct a biopic based on her life and her fight for equal pay for women. Ledbetter worked for over two decades in an Alabama Goodyear Factory. After...
Ava DuVernay Directs Short Film ‘The Door’ for Miu Miu
Ava DuVernay has directed a new short film for fashion label, Miu Miu. The film is the fifth in their ‘The Women's Tales’ series. Starring Gabrielle Union, as a woman whose marriage...
Emmanuelle Riva, Lynne Ramsay and Juno Temple Win at 2013 BAFTAS
On Sunday, the BAFTAS held their annual awards ceremony. As awards season comes to a close, there weren’t many upsets but a couple interesting things of note. Emmanuelle Riva won lead actress...
Trailer Watch: The Brass Teapot – Directed by Ramaa Mosley
The Brass Teapot, directed by Ramaa Mosley, centers around a down on their luck couple (Juno Temple and Michael Angarano) who are struggling to make it until they find a magical teapot at a local...
Let’s Talk About Gender and Women Directors at the Berlin International Film Festival
This year’s Berlin Film Festival kicked off yesterday—screening over 400 films—19 of which are in competition. Festival director Dieter Kosslick says that gender is a central...
Weekly Update: Women-Centric, Directed, Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Side Effects Emily (Rooney Mara) and Martin (Channing Tatum) are a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily's...
Barbra Streisand, Ellen Page Directing New Films
After yesterday’s news that Melissa McCarthy would be directing her first feature, more news about upcoming women directed films has been announced. The legendary Barbra Streisand will be...
Athena Co-Chair Diablo Cody Helps Kicks Off The Athena Film Festival Tonight
As we here at Women and Hollywood gear up for the Athena Film Festival starting tonight at Barnard College, we are so excited and thankful for the press that has been circulating about the festival....
Interview with Cate Shortland – Director and Co-Writer of Lore
Cate Shortland’s Lore opens on this Friday (2/8) in New York and Los Angeles. Originally published on September 25, 2012. Lore is Cate Shortland's second film after the exciting...
Jane Campion Named President of 2013 Cannes Short Film Jury
In exciting news from Cannes, Jane Campion has been named president of the Short Film Jury and the Cinefondation at this year’s festival. Campion (who we just interviewed at Sundance) has...
Sundance Interview with Lynn Shelton – Director of Touchy Feely
I had never met Lynn Shelton before last month but I already felt like I knew her. She has a way of telling us stories about other people that are really about all of us. Her new film...
A Sisterhood With a Glass Ceiling
The NY Times devoted the top story in the Arts and Leisure section this past weekend to an exciting thing happening off-Broadway, the fact that women are being regularly hired to direct shows. The...
Guest Post: A Perfect Ending — Lesbian Film, Art House Film or Both?
So what is it that makes a movie a lesbian movie? Does it require lesbians playing the roles of the characters? Does the director have to be gay? Is there a quota of girl on girl...
SXSW Line Up: Not Great for Women Directors
Fresh on the heels of Sundance is SXSW’s film line up. While there are some awesome women-directed films featured such as Sini Anderson's documentary, The Punk Singer, about Kathleen Hanna,...
Sundance Interview: Concussion – Directed by Stacie Passon, Produced by Rose Troche, Starring Robin Weigert
Concussion was one of my favorite movies at Sundance this year. It was truly a revelation. Robin Weigert who we have seen for so many years as a supporting character in shows like...
Jessica Chastain to star in Miss Julie – Directed by Liv Ullmann
Liv Ullmann, director and muse of Ingmar Bergman, is set to direct an adaptation of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie. Set in 1874, the play explores the title character’s...
Kasi Lemmons Directing Black Nativity Starring Jennifer Hudson
Kasi Lemmons, director of Eve’s Bayou, has begun principal photography on Black Nativity. Shooting began this week in New York City, on the film which is based on Langston Hughes’ 1961...
Rise of the Underdog: Kimberly Peirce and the Connection Between Carrie and Boys Don’t Cry
This month’s issue of The Advocate features an incredible interview, with Kimberly Peirce, talking at length about her upcoming remake of Carrie and its surprising linkage to Peirce’s...
Sundance Interview: Lana Wilson and Martha Shane – Directors of After Tiller
One of the highlights of Sundance was seeing the documentary After Tiller directed by Martha Shana and Lana Wilson. Here's our conversation right after they won a $5,000 grant from Women in...
For the First Time Women are the Majority on Berlin Film Festival Competition Jury
The 2013 Berlin International Film Festival announced this year’s competition jury. In a first for the festival, women are the majority of the voting body—comprising 4 of the 7 jury...
Michael Moore: Zero Dark Thirty is a Movie About ‘How We Don’t Listen to Women.’
Always controversial and rarely quiet political filmmaker and author, Michael Moore, has spoken out in defense of Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty. Moore took to Facebook (and Time.com),...
Jill Soloway and Lake Bell Take Home Major Awards at 2013 Sundance Feature Film Awards
Sundance wrapped up over the weekend and announced their 2013 Film Awards. Women filmmakers took away some of the bigger prizes of the festival including Jill Soloway winning the directing award for...
Noemie Lvosky Receives 13 Nominations for France’s Cesar Awards
The nominations for France’s César Awards were announced and women, specifically one in general, are dominant. Noémie Lvovsky received 13 nominations for her film, Camille...
Sundance News: Women In Film Awards Grants to Jordana Spiro, Martha Shane and Lana Wilson
During its 7th annual Sundance Filmmakers panel, Women In Film – Los Angeles awarded $30,000 in grants to women filmmakers. Jordana Spiro, director of Skin, received the Women In Film/CalmDown...
Amy Hobby and Anne Hubbell Launch Women-Focused Tangerine Entertainment
Industry veterans, Amy Hobby and Anne Hubbell are launching Tangerine Entertainment, a production company and community meant to support women directors and interesting and strong roles for...
Sundance Watch: Austenland – Directed by Jerusha Hess
Austenland, directed by Jerusha Hess, centers around Jane (Keri Russell) who goes to a Jane Austen themed resort to find her own Austen-esque leading man. The film was acquired by Sony Pictures...
Sundance Review – Salma: Tamil Poet’s Struggle Against Patriarchy
Salma, a film premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this year, focuses on the life of the prolific Tamil poet, by British documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto. It highlights the struggles of a...
2012 Celluloid Ceiling Study Results Are In. Spoiler Alert: They Aren’t Great
Following the Sundance Institute & Women in Film’s unveiling of their new groundbreaking study of women directors during the Sundance Film Festival, comes Dr. Martha Lauzen's annual...
Sundance Watch: Blackfish – Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Blackfish, a documentary directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, has been getting a lot of buzz at Sundance since its premiere. The doc follows the history of killer whales in captivity leading up to...
Five Minutes with Jane Campion
This week at Sundance I got to sit down for a brief couple of minutes to check in with Jane Campion who was in town promoting her six hour mini series Top of the Lake which will premiere on the...
Kathryn Bigelow Covers Time and Appears on The Colbert Report
Kathryn Bigelow went on The Colbert Report for one of her most candid interviews yet. She was set to appear on the show weeks ago but admitted she had been "spooked" by the Senate...
Sundance Watch: Afternoon Delight – Directed and Written by Jill Soloway
Jill Soloway's Afternoon Delight, premiered the other day at Sundance. The film centers around a thirtysomething couple (the hilarious Kathryn Hahn and Josh Radnor) living in the Los Angeles...
Sundance Deals: Women Directed and Women Centric Round Up
Here are some of the deals coming out of Sundance in the past couple days that are women directed or women focused films. Sundance 2013: 'Pussy Riot' Doc to Air on HBO...
Sundance Watch: The East – Co-Written and Starring Brit Marling
The East, co-written by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij (who directed and previously collaborated with Marling on Sound of My Voice) centers around an ex-FBI agent (Marling) who goes undercover to...
Jane Campion and Stacie Passon’s Films Announced in Berlin Line Up
Last week, the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival announced more films to their lineup. Among the women directed films include Stacie Passon’s Concussion, which premiered at Sundance (and...
Sundance Deals: Jerusha Hess and Stacie Passon Get Distribution Deals
Jerusha Hess’s directorial debut, Austenland, was picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions for around $4 million. The film, which stars Keri Russell and Jennifer Coolidge, follows a...
Sundance Institute and Women in Film Release Unprecedented Study on Women Directors
This morning, here in Sundance, a new ground breaking study of women directors "Exploring the Barriers and Opportunities for Independent Women Filmmakers" was released. The study is...
Sundance Diary Part One: Mother of George and After Tiller
I arrived in Sundance on Friday morning totally freaked out about the Sundance flu and the cold. But now I'm on day 2 and so far so good. I hear there are people stuck in their hotels...
Guest Post: Why We Shot on Film in Rural West Texas
“What’s the movie about?” a very solemn man in a cowboy hat asks us. I hesitate. One of the first things I learned when traveling to West Texas to shoot our low budget indie BEST...
In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing Volume 1 Available Now!
For the past couple of years I have been working IN HER VOICE: WOMEN DIRECTORS TALK DIRECTING, a book of interviews with women directors from the first couple of years of the site. I am happy...
Anticipating Sundance: Using Sundance to Shift the Narrative on Women Directors
I am heading to Sundance for the first time. I am looking forward to seeing a bunch of women directed movies over the next couple of days. There are also several women's events...
Teaser Trailer for HBO Miniseries Parade’s End – Directed by Susanna White
Susanna White, director of HBO's Generation Kill, directed the new HBO miniseries, Parade's End, penned by Tom Stoppard. The series is adapted from a series of 1920s novels by Ford...
A24 Acquires Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring for June Release
One of our most anticipated movies of 2013, Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring, was just acquired by A24. Coppola’s film is based on the real life story of a group of rich teenagers who...
Anticipating Sundance: Sundance Lineup is a Win for Women Directors and for Everybody Who Cares About Movies
This post was originally published on November 29, 2012. For the last couple of years (the time that I have written this blog) I have lived in a world full of disappointment when it comes to...