#Women Writers
May 2019 Film Preview
May 2019 promises to be an exciting month for new releases by and about women. From star-studded comedies to intimate documentaries, women’s stories are flooding theaters this month. Olivia...
Hot Docs 2019 Women Directors: Meet Tülin Özdemir – “Red Moon”
Tülin Özdemir’s work asks the question, “Who is today’s modern woman?” The filmmaker made her first short documentary, “Our Wedding,” in 2008 and expanded on its...
Hot Docs 2019 Women Directors: Meet Jola Dylewska – “Marek Edelman… and There Was Love in the Ghetto”
Jola Dylewska is a Polish writer, director, and cinematographer. She has worked as a cinematographer on over 25 projects. She won Best Cinematography at the 2012 Polish Film Awards for her work on...
Weekly Update for April 26: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Body at Brighton Rock – Written and Directed by Roxanne Benjamin (Also Available on VOD) “Body at Brighton Rock” Wendy (Karina Fontes), a part-time summer...
Rachel Mason’s “Circus of Books” Acquired by Netflix Ahead of Tribeca Premiere
“Circus of Books” will make its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival this evening, but that’s not all writer-director Rachel Mason is celebrating. The doc has already found a...
Trailer Watch: A Woman Fights to Find Her Stolen Baby Girl in Cannes Pic “Canción sin nombre”
A relatively stress-free pregnancy and birth precede a tragedy in Melina León’s “Canción sin nombre” (“Song Without a Name”). A newly released trailer for the Cannes’...
Apply Now: CinemaStreet Women’s Short Screenplay Competition
CinemaStreet Pictures is hosting a contest for short scripts from female screenwriters. The CinemaStreet Women’s Short Screenplay Competition is accepting women-penned scripts of 20 pages or...
Alfre Woodard-Starrer “Clemency” Gets an Awards-Friendly Release Date
The winner of Sundance 2019’s U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award has a release date. Currently boasting a 100 percent “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, “Clemency” has been...
Trailer Watch: College Activists Help Women Find Underground Abortion Services in “Ask for Jane”
Set in 1969, just a few years before the Supreme Court’s game-changing 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, “Ask for Jane” sees college students fighting to offer women autonomy over their own...
Hot Docs 2019 Women Directors: Meet Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni – “Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind”
Martha Kehoe is a writer, producer, and director who has worked on and created award-winning documentaries, series, and specials in multiple genres. Her early career focused on music, as she...
Amy Sherman-Palladino & Daniel Palladino Bringing Mary Gabriel’s “Ninth Street Women” to Amazon
If you enjoyed Midge and Rose’s adventures in the art world during Season 2 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” you’re going to love Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel...
Quote of the Day: Amy Poehler on Unpacking Misogyny and Working with Women
Actress, writer, director, producer, Upright Citizens Brigade co-founder, and Worldwide Orphans Foundation ambassador Amy Poehler is a popular dream BFF, and it’s no wonder. One of the...
Tribeca 2019 Women Directors: Meet Lara Jean Gallagher – “Clementine”
Lara Jean Gallagher is a writer and director. Her shorts and music videos have screened at SXSW, Palm Springs Shortfest, Mill Valley, Portland International, DC Shorts, as well as online via...
Tribeca 2019 Women Directors: Meet Michela Occhipinti – “Flesh Out”
Michela Occhipinti is an Italian director and producer. She traveled throughout South America to film and produce “Viva la Pepa! (Give Us Back the Constitution)” in 2003 and later filmed a “Sei...
“Saving Face” Writer-Director Alice Wu Sets Lesbian Teen Romance at Netflix
Alice Wu is following up her beloved 2004 romance “Saving Face” with another tale of secrets, Chinese-American culture and expectations, and LGBTQ love. According to Deadline, the...
“Gentleman Jack’s” Sally Wainwright and Suranne Jones on Bringing Anne Lister to Life
Sally Wainwright (“Happy Valley”) has reclaimed Anne Lister in a bold way in the HBO limited series “Gentleman Jack.” Suranne Jones (“Scott & Bailey,”...
Jennifer Lopez Will Star in Kat Coiro Rom-Com “Marry Me”
Jennifer Lopez is returning to the screen — and the stage. The multi-hyphenate will portray a pop star in “Marry Me,” a rom-com from director Kat Coiro and STXfilms. According to...
Tribeca 2019 Women Directors: Meet Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy – “Blow the Man Down”
Wesleyan University graduates Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy met on a film set in Coney Island. They immediately bonded over a shared love of character-driven stories and juicy filmmaking...
Tribeca 2019 Women Directors: Meet Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin – “Scheme Birds”
Ellen Fiske is a director, writer, and producer. She directed the award-winning short films “Keep Me Safe” and “Lone Dads,” both set in Scotland. She is currently co-directing another...
Tribeca 2019 Preview: Cheerleaders Fighting Wage Theft, the USA Gymnastics Scandal, & More
Fifty percent of the film’s screening in competition sections at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival are women-directed or co-directed, and plenty more titles from female filmmakers appear in the...
Weekly Update for April 19: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Little Woods – Written and Directed by Nia DaCosta This Tribeca winner sees Tessa Thompson playing a woman facing a handful of crises in Little Woods, North Dakota....
Under the Radar: Ash Mayfair’s “The Third Wife” Explores a Complicated Coming of Age
In the opening scenes of “The Third Wife,” May (Nguyen Phuong Tra My), a 14-year-old girl, arrives at the Ninh Binh estate in rural Vietnam to be wed to a much older man. As the film’s title...
Trailer Watch: Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” Spotlights Injustice of Central Park Five Case
“There is injustice happening here,” says an activist (Adepero Oduye, “Pariah”) in the trailer for Ava DuVernay’s Central Park Five story “When They See...
Theater Director Adrienne Campbell-Holt to Make Feature Debut with “Contested”
Adrienne Campbell-Holt is stepping behind the camera. The award-winning theater director has signed on to make her feature debut with “Contested,” a political thriller. A press release...
“Killing Eve” and “Hannah Gadsby: Nanette” Among Peabody Entertainment Winners
Favorites among both critics and fans, “Killing Eve” and “Hannah Gadsby: Nanette” have been awarded with a prestigious honor. Both are among the entertainment winners for the...
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson on Gina Rodriguez-Starrer “Someone Great” & Telling Women’s Stories
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is best known for creating MTV’s “Sweet/Vicious,” a comedy about two college students who have a secret life as vigilantes targeting sexual assailants on...
Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo to Topline and Write Comedy “Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar”
If you had a dream last night and Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo were in it, we’ve got good news for you: the “Bridesmaids” writers are collaborating on another feature comedy....
Jessica Mecklenburg Adapting Liv Constantine’s “The Last Mrs. Parrish” as Amazon Series
Jessica Mecklenburg is bringing a tale of social climbing and assumed identity to Amazon. The former “Stranger Things” co-executive producer will pen and EP a TV adaptation of Liv...
Trailer Watch: Stacie Passon Unearths Creepy Family History in “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”
“The Blackwoods have always lived in this house — and we will never leave here, no matter what they say, or what they do to us. Never,” says Taissa Farmiga in a trailer for...
Akela Cooper to Pen “The Nun” Sequel
Akela Cooper is thinking up even more ways to terrify audiences. The “American Horror Story” alumna and exec producer of Netflix’s upcoming supernatural thriller...
Trailer Watch: Virginia Woolf Falls in Love in “Vita & Virginia”
Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West’s love affair apparently began before the women even met. A trailer for Chanya Button’s biopic about the lovers, “Vita &...
Phoebe Waller-Bridge Tapped to Do Touch Ups on “Bond 25” Script
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is bringing her signature dark sense of humor to the next James Bond film. Variety confirms the “Fleabag” and “Killing Eve” creator has been tasked with...
Middle Eastern Netflix Drama “AlRawabi School for Girls” On the Way, Features All-Female Cast & Crew
If “Derry Girls” left you craving more international, women-created young adult series set in all-girls schools, you’re in luck. Netflix’s newest project is “AlRawabi...
Jennifer Lawrence Is Teaming Up with Theater Director Lila Neugebauer for Her Next Pic
Jennifer Lawrence is heading back to set. A year after announcing a break from acting, the Oscar winner has signed on to star in an untitled film for IAC FILMS and A24. Theater director Lila...
Jackie Sibblies Drury Wins Drama Pulitzer for “Fairview”
For the third straight year, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama has been awarded to a woman playwright. The Hollywood Reporter confirms Jackie Sibblies Drury won the Pulitzer for “Fairview.”...
Jennifer Lopez-Starrer “Hustlers” Gets a Release Date
Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B, Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer, and Julia Stiles are currently filming Lorene Scafaria’s next pic, and now we know when to expect the star-studded drama. STX...
Sundance Film Festival: London to Open with “Late Night”
“Late Night’s” traveling across the pond. Nisha Ganatra’s comedy about a late-night host (Emma Thompson) who hires her first female staff writer (Mindy Kaling) made its world...
’60s-Set “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” Spinoff Coming to Acorn TV
Phryne Fisher’s legacy lives on. A spinoff of the feminist, sex positive “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” debuted earlier this year on Australia’s Seven Network and is now...
Eliza Hittman Wraps Production on Latest Film “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Eliza Hittman is following up her 2017 Sundance winner “Beach Rats” with another coming-of-age story. Focus Features, Pastel, and BBC Films are joining forces for her next feature,...
Lena Waithe’s “Twenties” Ordered to Series at BET
We’re a step closer to getting Lena Waithe’s long-in-the-works series about a young queer black woman and her two straight BFFs. The Hollywood Reporter confirms “Twenties,”...
Aidy Bryant-Starrer “Shrill” Renewed for Season 2
Annie’s journey is just getting started, and the aspiring journalist has plenty more to say. “Shrill” has been renewed for a second season by Hulu, The Hollywood Reporter...
Weekly Update for April 12: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Little – Directed by Tina Gordon; Written by Tina Gordon and Tracy Oliver “Little” is “Big” but reversed and centered on a black girl —...
Sara Collins to Adapt Her Period Novel “The Confessions of Frannie Langton” for TV
Sara Collins’ debut novel just hit shelves, but a TV adaptation is already in the works. Drama Republic (“Black Earth Rising”) snagged rights to “The Confessions of Frannie...
Trailer Watch: Phoebe Waller-Bridge Falls for a Priest in “Fleabag” Season 2
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is ready to address the “screaming void inside [her] empty heart” in Season 2 of “Fleabag.” A trailer has dropped for the dark comedy’s second...
Anna Deavere Smith Will Be Signature Theatre’s Playwright in Residence Next Season
Signature Theatre is getting in the Anna Deavere Smith business. As Deadline reports, the Off Broadway venue has appointed Smith its playwright in residence for the 2019-20 season and is staging...
Trailer Watch: Amy Poehler Reunites with Old Friends for Shenanigans in “Wine Country”
Amy Poehler’s making her feature directorial debut, and she’s bringing lots of familiar faces along for the wine-drenched journey. A trailer has dropped for “Wine Country,”...
Managing Motherhood: Crowdfunding Picks
Even as more and more women opt out of having children, the pressure to pursue motherhood remains consistent. Those women who do choose to have kids must grapple with the reality of balancing their...
Quote of the Day: “The L Word” Creator Ilene Chaiken on Telling LGBTQ Stories
“The L Word” is coming back, but before the sequel to the trailblazing series about a group of lesbians living in West Hollywood premieres on Showtime, the creator behind the original...
Biopic About Soccer Star Hope Solo in the Works, Christine Crokos Will Write and Direct
Hope Solo’s story is on its way to the big screen. Deadline reports that an as-yet untitled biopic about the U.S. soccer star is in the works from writer-director Christine Crokos...
Trailer Watch: Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever Aren’t Just “Booksmart”
“Nobody knows that we are fun,” says Beanie Feldstein in a new trailer for “Booksmart.” Olivia Wilde’s feature directorial debut sees the “Lady Bird”...
“Killing Eve” Renewed for Third Season, Suzanne Heathcote to Showrun
Eve and Villanelle will continue to play the world’s sexist game of cat-and-mouse for at least another season. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Killing Eve” has been renewed...