Currently Browsing: Georgiana E. Presecky
From directors Bert and Bertie and screenwriter Lucy Alibar comes the sweet and smart comedy Troop Zero, streaming on Amazon Prime Video January 17. This delightful feature not only celebrates originality as a theme for its memorable characters, but also sends a message to the audience about the value of completely original stories – especially […]
If the story told by this year’s Oscar nominations were an original screenplay, Academy members likely wouldn’t vote for its stale, predictable and entirely unoriginal narrative. Actually, the “same old” narrative probably wouldn’t matter all that much. As long as a man directs it. Nominees for the 92nd Academy Awards were announced Monday by the […]
Women make up about 30 percent of nominees being recognized by the Writers Guild of America for writing feature films in 2019. Of 23 total nominated screenwriters on 15 films, seven are women. Five of 10 writers nominated for Original Screenplay are female: 1917 co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns and Booksmart writers Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna […]
The 77th Golden Globe Awards were held Jan. 5 in Los Angeles, featuring a dismally male-dominant slate of nominees from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. On the film side, no women screenwriters or directors were nominated. Only one of the 10 films nominated for Best Motion Picture is written by a woman: the category’s winner […]
Several critics groups in major U.S. cities are honoring the work of female filmmakers in the lead-up to the Academy Awards in February. Most critics groups announce nominees and winners in December, before nationally-broadcast ceremonies in January: the Golden Globe Awards Jan. 5 and the Critics Choice Awards Jan. 12, followed by the guilds of […]
The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) announced award winners in 19 categories Dec. 14. Chosen from a refreshingly-diverse list of nominees, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women leads the pack with four wins alongside Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite. Gerwig won Best Adapted Screenplay for her faithful version of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved 1868 novel. Her brilliantly-executed nonlinear […]
The Library of Congress National Film Registry announced Wednesday the 25 films selected for historic preservation this year. Movies like Amadeus, Clerks, Old Yeller and Purple Rain were chosen from 5,200 entries because of their “cultural, historic and aesthetic importance.” A record 28 percent of films on the list are directed by women – seven […]
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced its nominations for the 77th Golden Globe Awards early Dec. 9. No women are nominated for Best Director or Best Screenplay, despite buzz surrounding films like A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, The Farewell, Hustlers and Little Women. All four films were recognized with acting nods for Tom Hanks, […]
Late in the story of Louisa May Alcott’s March sisters, first published in 1868, old friends Theodore Laurence and Josephine March are reunited after being separated by years and continents. “‘How good it sounds to hear you call me Teddy,’” Alcott writes. “‘No one ever calls me that but you,’” and Laurie sat down with […]
The National Board of Review announced its picks for best movies of 2019 Dec. 3, the first of many organizations who will roll out their awards season winners throughout the month of December. Very few awards went to female filmmakers, the most notable being Melina Matsoukas winning Best Directorial Debut for Queen & Slim, her […]
The 29th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards were held Dec. 2, featuring a myriad of female winners. This kickoff to awards season featured not only tributes to legendary women in film Ava DuVernay and Laura Dern, but a number of awards for female filmmakers for their outstanding achievement in 2019. The Mustang director Laure de […]
It’s a beautiful day at the box office for women in film. Three of the five movies dominating late-November ticket sales are directed by women. Frozen 2 won Thanksgiving weekend, earning more than $85 million domestically. The film directed by Jennifer Lee has already broken box office records, opening at #1 in all markets November […]
The Film Independent Spirit Award nominees were announced Nov. 21, featuring several nominations for women in film. Voted on exclusively by Film Independent members, the awards will be held February 8, broadcast on IFC. Two films directed by women are nominated for Best Feature: The Farewell (Lulu Wang) and Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu). Alfre Woodard is […]
159 documentaries were submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar contention. 55 are directed by women. AMPAS will announce a documentary shortlist of 15 finalists Dec. 16. Both the Directors Guild of America and the Academy have a history of recognizing gender parity for women in the documentary category, despite […]
The 17th Annual Female Eye Festival (FeFF) began Nov. 7, featuring more than 75 films directed by women. Running through Nov. 10 at the ScotiaBank Theatre in Toronto, the festival is a proud showcase for “so many talented women, most of whom are writers, directors and producers,” according to FeFF Founder and Executive Director Leslie […]
The wonderful world of Disney isn’t so wonderful for female directors. Streaming service Disney+ will launch Nov. 12. Users can stream hundreds of Disney titles dating back to 1940, including new original content, for $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. Of the more than 500 films that will be featured on Disney+, only 36 […]
Apple TV+ launches Nov. 1, featuring a diverse lineup of content from female directors. The first all-original video subscription service will be available on the Apple TV app in more than 100 countries at the price of $4.99 per month. “With Apple TV+, we are presenting all-original stories from the best, brightest and most creative […]
The Architecture & Design Film Festival will run Oct. 16-20 at Cinépolis Chelsea in New York City. The 11th year of the nation’s largest film festival devoted to architecture and design will feature eight films directed by women. With 19 films screening, about 42 percent of the lineup is from female filmmakers. Alysa Nahmias’ The […]
The 55th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) announced its full lineup Sept. 18, featuring 40 films directed by women. About 30 percent of the 136 films being screened at the AMC River East from Oct. 16-27 are from female filmmakers (on par with last year’s numbers). From gala presentations like Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet to festival-circuit […]
Olivia Wilde’s summer comedy Booksmart was quickly dubbed “the female Superbad” by publications like Vox and CinemaBlend after its release in May. Twitter users cited similarities between the two films, while Interview Magazine and InStyle both published articles about why the film is better than Superbad (2007). From the box office to marketing questions, the […]
Dr. Michele Meek is the author of the new book Independent Female Filmmakers: A Chronicle Through Interviews, Profiles and Manifestos. The writer, professor and director features the work of multiple directors from Martha Coolidge to Jennifer Fox in the hope of raising awareness for film-going audiences about the impact of women in film. FF2 Media […]
CNN aired a six-part series on the history of American cinema throughout July and August. Produced by Tom Hanks and Werner Herzog as an extension of their successful “Decades” series, the 12-hour docu-style series The Movies is an informative tribute to the cultural impact of cinema – and culture’s influence on the everchanging film landscape. […]
Marvel is notorious for hiring male directors for its big-budget blockbuster hits, from the Russo Brothers’ Avengers series to franchises like Thor and Spider-Man. The studio announced release dates for two new feature films from female directors at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend – Black Widow and Eternals. Though the directors were announced as attached […]
Three female directors are nominated for Emmy awards in major categories this year, of 14 nominees announced July 16. Amy Sherman-Palladino and her snappy Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel lead the Television Academy’s nominations this year with 20 Emmy nods. Sherman-Palladino made history last year as the first woman to win Emmys for both […]
Eight hundred forty-two new members were invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences July 1. According to Variety, 50 percent of the invitees are women, up one percent from last year. Many female screenwriters, editors, documentarians, actors and other categories were invited, along with 22 feature film directors who identify as […]
Out this Friday, Incredibles 2 is the 20th feature film released in the 23-year history of Pixar. The animation studio has made headlines in recent months with the exit of co-founder John Lasseter and the team behind Toy Story 4 stepping down due to perceived mistreatment of women and people of color.
You’ll read plenty of think pieces about Booksmart this week. Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut about best friends who make one last attempt to have fun before high school graduation has garnered high praise since its SXSW premiere and currently sits at 100 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes ahead of its May 24 release. On a […]
The Tribeca Film Festival announced its 2019 jury members April 16. Jurors will select award-winners in 10 categories at the annual festival, which will be held April 25-May 5 in New York City. Among the 10 categories is the Nora Ephron Prize, an annual award given to “a woman who embodies the spirit and vision […]
I really wanted to love Five Feet Apart. In my head, I already did, from the cheerful trailer to the engaging promotional tour in which its very entertaining leads Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson spoke of raising awareness for cystic fibrosis, the chronic disease that plagues their characters in the film. I didn’t love […]
Twilight Bowl previews began February 8 at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, from playwright Rebecca Gilman and director Erica Weiss. The powerful story follows six young women at a bowling alley in small-town Wisconsin as they contemplate their past choices and future paths. “The first time I read this play I was, first of all, blown away […]
