Currently Browsing: Features
The 55th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) kicks off this weekend, featuring more than 40 films directed by women during its 11-day lineup. The festival has a history of striving toward gender equality, featuring more than 30 films directed by women in 2017 and 2018. Favorite films in previous years have included Greta Gerwig’s Lady […]
Out of a record-breaking 93 countries that have submitted entries to be considered for best international film nominations at the Academy Awards, 27 films are directed by women (or 29 percent total). Previously known as the “Best Foreign Language Film” that the Academy dubbed outdated, the “Best International Film” submissions were announced Monday, including first-time […]
The Second Annual Chaz and Roger Ebert Symposium took place on Friday, Sept. 27, where panelists discussed important issues and solutions for diversity in film, including Keynote Speaker Dr. Stacy Smith who gave a presentation on extensive film analysis research. Founder & Director of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative (AII), Dr. Smith’s research showed that, […]
The winners of the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) have been announced and as the dust is now settled, we can sift through the hype and clearly see the outcome at this year’s fest. Yes, the stars were shining bright along the red carpet and there’s certainly a bit of Oscar buzz already, but […]
The Second Annual Chaz & Roger Ebert Symposium will take place this Friday, Sept. 27 at the iHotel and Conference Center in Champaign. The event is free and open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend. This year’s symposium is titled “Creating an Inclusive Media and Cinema Ecosystem” and will feature speakers from […]
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 2019 Toronto International Film Festival may have come to an end but women in film had many achievements to celebrate. The Gala and Special Presentation programs were certainly the big headliners with the likes of Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood. If you’re anything like me, you’re going to get emotional as […]
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 […]
Women filmmakers were celebrated at IndieWire Female Filmmakers Dinner at Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 8 at The Purman (presented by Canada Goose). This year, TIFF (which runs through September 15) is presenting more than 330 films: 36 percent are directed, co-directed, and/or created by women; a slight increase from last year’s representation […]
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 […]
Hannah Pearl Utt and Jen Tullock have been professional actresses for years. But with their new film Before You Know It, they step into the spotlight as two very different sisters stunned to learn their long-dead mother…isn’t. This project isn’t their first time acting opposite one another, having co-starred in the series Disengaged which Utt […]
Almost a century ago, Virginia Woolf skyrocketed to fame with her iconic novel Orlando, and has remained one of the key figures in English literature ever since. Her contributions as one of the premiere modernist authors of her time has made her novels vital classics still studied and enjoyed today. But her name was relatively […]
The 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will take place September 5-15, presenting more than 330 films: 36 percent are directed, co-directed, and/or created by women; a slight increase from last year’s representation of 35 percent. TIFF will showcase world premieres and festival favorites alike at this year’s event comprising 84 feature films directed by […]
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. […]
Three years ago, Nanfu Wang emerged as a documentarian to watch with her highly praised Hooligan Sparrow, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and ultimately winning the top documentary prize from the Independent Spirit Award. Hooligan Sparrow told the story of how the Chinese government targeted activists, and telling that story made Wang a target […]
51fest’s first-ever run took place July 18-21 at the IFC Center. The festival aligned with a heatwave, but nonetheless people lined up enthusiastically in anticipation. Partnering with Women in the World and IFC Center, 51fest is a festival centered on women filmmakers. According to their mission statement, “Women make up more than half of [the] […]
The 57th Annual New York Film Festival will feature 29 films on their main slate – six from female directors, making up 20 percent of the lineup. Running from September 27 through October 13 at Film at Lincoln Center, the festival’s lineup includes films from directors Kelly Reichardt, Agnes Varda, Celine Sciamma, Mati Diop, Justine […]
Cindy Chupack already has two Emmy awards in her pocket (and eight nominations) as proof of her accomplishments as a writer. But after working for the last 25 years on shows like Everybody Loves Raymond, Sex and the City, Modern Family, I’m Dying Up Here, Divorce and Better Things, she’s finally making the jump to […]
On Sunday, July 21, IFC Center screened A Girl from Mogadishu as a part of 51fest’s inaugural run. It is a narrative feature based on the life of Ifrah Omar, directed by Mary McGuckian. Born into a refugee-camp in Somalia, Ifrah (portrayed by Aja Naomi King) treks a tumultuous journey to seek asylum in Ireland […]
The 25th annual Black Harvest Film Festival will run from August 3-29 with 60 films, including 27 directed by women (an increase from last year’s festival when there were only 17 female filmmakers). Two years ago, I interviewed Nancy Buirski, director of The Rape of Recy Taylor. The documentary was about a Black woman who […]
The 76th Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 28 through September 7, has doubled the amount of women directors from last year’s slate – with a total of two out of 21 films directed by women. Saudi Arabian director Haifaa Al-Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate and Australian director Shannon Murphy’s Babyteeth are the only two […]
Human rights, poverty, gangs, political revolution and LGBT issues are just some of the topics that will be covered at the Asian American International Film Festival (July 25-August 3) this year. The festival (also known as AAIFF) will screen 27 films and documentaries, along with workshops, shorts by local college students, Q&As, and panels discussing […]
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 […]
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Can You Ever Forgive Me? director Marielle Heller previews her upcoming Fred Rogers biopic (although she insists it isn’t) A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. With Tom Hanks portraying another American hero (see: Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, Sully) and Matthew Rhys as the hard-hearted reporter who profiles […]
Director Ritu Sarin discusses her latest effort, The Sweet Requiem, which chronicles one young woman’s experience as she processes the aftermath of escaping Chinese-occupied Tibet.
FF2 Media’s new “Watch at Home” columns list the new films written and/or directed by women filmmakers that are newly available each week on DVD, Video On Demand &/or streaming services. Here are the new films written and/or directed by women filmmakers now available at home as of 7/19/2019 (with links to FF2 Media reviews […]
In celebration of World Malala Day, China Women’s Film Festival organizes a screening of “Gul Makai”, a film based on Malala Yousafzai’s life.
The Farewell stars Awkwafina as Billi, a young adult struggling with life’s goals when she learns that her grandmother is dying of cancer. The family travels back to their homeland of China under false pretenses of a family wedding so they can gather to say goodbye to Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhao). Based on writer/director Lulu […]
FF2 Media’s new “Watch at Home” columns list the new films written and/or directed by women filmmakers that are newly available each week on DVD, Video On Demand &/or streaming services. Here are the new films written and/or directed by women filmmakers now available at home as of 1/25/2019 (with links to FF2 Media reviews […]
Peabody award-winning director Judith Helfand’s documentary Cooked: Survival by Zip Code is now screening for a two week-run at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago through July 25. Detailing the city’s deadliest summer heat wave in 1995, Cooked delves into the politics of the disaster – the […]
