The Gene Siskel Film Center’s 24th Annual Black Harvest Film Festival will begin Saturday August 4 and run through Thursday August 30 in Chicago.
Category: Features
New research reaffirms why gender matters in film criticism
Thumbs Down 2018: Film Critics and Gender, And Why It Matters reaffirms what most female critics already know - men comprise 68 percent of all reviewers.
Diverse female directors invited to AMPAS
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has invited 928 new members; 49 percent are women. According to Variety, this class will bring the total AMPAS membership to 31 percent female, up from 25 percent in 2015. This year there is a very diverse and international female representation of filmmakers from around the…
Diverse female screenwriters invited to AMPAS
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has invited 928 new members; 49 percent are women. According to Variety, this class will bring the total AMPAS membership to 31 percent female, up from 25 percent in 2015.
Documentarian Kimberly Reed brings 'Dark Money' to light
After her breakthrough film Prodigal Sons, documentary filmmaker Kimberly Reed has returned to her home state of Montana for her sophomore film, Dark Money.
Patricia Chica talks cheeky short 'Morning After'
“Life is a box of chocolates” is a phrase that has been spread far and wide since we heard it first from Forrest Gump’s mother. Put that box in the center of a welcome home party, replace ‘life’ with sexuality, add lots of French kissing, and here you have the start to Director Patricia Chica’s…
2018 New York Asian Film Festival: Korea leads pack of female directors
This year’s New York Asian Film Festival, which began June 29 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City, will screen 57 feature films over 17 days. Only six of those features -- a paltry one percent -- were directed by women.
Womens’ empathy wins majority vote at Human Rights Watch Fest
In this 29th year, an impressive 12 of the 15 features were the moving and illuminating work of female filmmakers; 11 documentaries and one autobiographical fiction. Each film screened twice between June 14-21, 2018, at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the IFC Center.
‘Little Women’ has cinematic staying power 150 years after book
News of Greta Gerwig’s rumored Little Women adaptation for Colombia Pictures lit up the Internet June 29, with a powerhouse cast of Oscar-nominated actors in talks to play the familiar characters.
Ursula Ellis, writer, director and fearless channeler of everyone’s inner punk teen
I think back on the first film I ever worked on. It was directed by a woman, Ursula Ellis. At the time she was in the midst of her MFA at Columbia, and she already had some impressive projects under her belt in her production company name, Little Bear Pictures.
Clio Barnard explores the mind in 'Dark River'
In Clio Barnard’s third feature film, following The Arbor and The Selfish Giant, she continues her study on the impact of poverty in the U.K. with her new film Dark River. Like her previous film The Selfish Giant, the focus is squarely on the aspects of life the public tries to overlook.
Modern Prospero and Miranda in Debra Granik’s ‘Leave No Trace’
Eight years after her award-winning Winter’s Bone emerged as a sleeper hit, Debra Granik (Academy Award-nominee for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay) once again is poised to hit it big on the indie circuit with her new film, Leave No Trace.
'Leave No Trace' tests the human spirit
Academy Award nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay for her 2010 film Winter's Bone, Debra Granik takes us through a journey of raw human emotions in Leave No Trace. An adaptation of Peter Rock's novel "My Abandonment," the film tells the story of a young girl living in the woods with her father. Their simple live style is disrupted…
Madelyn Deutch keeps 'The Year of Spectacular Men' all in the family
What makes The Year of Spectacular Men so special is the fact that the film stars a real-life Hollywood family, Madelyn “Maddie” Deutch, Zoey Deutch and their mother Lea Thompson, all of whom took major roles behind the camera for the first time.
New Class of AMPAS Members is 49 % Female!
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 928 new members June 25, 49 percent of which are women.
Women continue to fight for equality in communications field, film criticism
A new study by the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication at Florida International University found that men continue to dominate top management positions while women remain in the middle, likely to have less longevity in the field. Interruption in their full-time work, too, is increased for women as they…
‘Boundaries’ director Shana Feste talks father-daughter road trip film
Known for the 2010 drama Country Strong, Feste wrote and directed this semi-autobiographical film filled with humor, heart and an honest portrayal of the complex relationships. In an in-depth interview with FF2 Media, she explains why she made the film, the message behind it and her perception of how things are changing for women in…
'Never Steady, Never Still' beautifully depicts mother-son journey
Kathleen Hepburn has had to consider this challenge since being faced with her mother’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s’ disease. And this reality inspired her feature film debut Never Steady, Never Still.
Sonja O'Hara talks filmmaking, breaking stereotypes and not waiting for permission
Writer, director and actress Sonja O’Hara is a filmmaker to watch - at least according to Independent Magazine. Born in Nova Scotia, Canada and pursuing an acting career by age 17, she has created work that is bold, original, provocative and meant to change the way Hollywood and audiences see films.
‘Set It Up' team talks dream collaboration, chemistry and reviving the romantic comedy
The screwball rom-com tells the story of two overworked assistants (Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell) who try to set up their bosses (Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs) and hope their romantic satisfaction trickles down into a happier work environment for all.
Underneath the Surface: An interview with 'Spiral' director Laura Fairrie
Spiral, directed by Laura Fairrie, is a powerful documentary, focusing on the underlying tensions that have led to the recent rise in anti-Semitism across Europe.
'This is Home' refugee doc sets timely debut on EPIX channel
Documentary filmmaker Alexandra Shiva’s latest film This Is Home: A Refugee Story, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, couldn’t be more timely. Addressing the process of refugees attempting to integrate and assimilate into life here in the United States, Shiva captures the day-to-day struggles of four Syrian families. This candid and poignant story…
Melanie Mayron premieres ‘Snapshots’ at Soho International Film Festival
To many audiences Melanie Mayron’s been a familiar face on screens since the 70s. From her breakthrough performance in Claudia Weill’s Girlfriends to her Emmy winning role as Melissa on Thirtysomething, she’s had a long and impressive career playing complex and idiosyncratic women. But since 1990 she’s been cultivating her second career in Hollywood as…
The Divine Secrets of Equality: Female Film Critics
Sixteen years ago, on June 2, 2002, The New York Times Editor Dana Kennedy published an article titled, “An Impatient Sisterhood.” Addressing Hollywood’s systemic exclusion of female film directors, the article highlighted the work of director Callie Khouri, an Academy Award winner for Thelma and Louise who was turned down repeatedly for 10 years before…
Women filmmakers dominate Human Rights Watch Film Festival
This year's Human Rights Watch Film Festival will feature 15 films - 12 directed by women. Co-presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center, the festival runs from June 14-21 at New York’s Francesca Beale Theater at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.
A hidden side of the suicide crisis in 'The Valley'
In recent years, we’ve seen startling statistics on the rising mental health crisis in America, especially among young people. It seems to have become epidemic, yet we struggle to face these issues directly as a country. But for first time writer-director Saila Kariat, the epidemic facing the country is only complicated by the cultural stigma…
High schoolers journey from China to U.S. in 'Maineland' doc
Chinese born Miao Wang, director of Beijing Taxi, followed this phenomenon in her new film Maineland. For more than three years, she followed the educational and personal growth of affluent high schoolers who choose to come from China to attend American, private boarding schools, including one in blue-collar Maine. Focusing on students Stella and Harry,…
Pixar releases 20th male-directed feature film
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.
HBO APA 2018 Short Film Competition Finalist: From Short to Feature
In the spirit of celebrating women directed shorts with potential, we have interviewed Feng-I Fiona Roan, director of short film Jiejie, about her recent win at HBO’s Asian Pacific American Visionaries 2018 short film competition. HBO has provided a platform that is now fueling her current and future works. This includes a series pilot, Lady Luck,…
Women brushed aside when bigger budgets are at play
This year, Sundance had some great news for all the supporters of female filmmakers out there. Around 52% of their 2018 shorts lineup were directed by women—an increase from previous years. However, of all the films released in 2018 by major studios, women direct only 3%.