Last November, FF2 was proud to help spread the word about a new movement rallying America’s artists: Fall of Freedom (FOF).
FOF is a grassroots campaign comprised of world-renowned artists and everyday citizens working together towards a common goal: the defense of democracy. Like many of us, the organization has had enough of the present administration’s censorship and intimidation.… read more.
Today is Emily Brontë’s 208th birthday. To celebrate, I am revisiting Emerald Fennell’s film adaptation of Emily’s iconic novel Wuthering Heights (released earlier this year). I am someone who loves this novel, and someone with very strong opinions about book-to-screen adaptations, so I am taking this as an opportunity not only to celebrate Emily’s brilliance, but also to analyze whether Emerald’s adaptation did it justice. … read more.
When I first talked to muralists Sam Kirk and Dorian Sylvain about their collaboration for Home Court — one of the Obama Presidential Center’s most visible commissions — I tossed out a quick quip, laughing: “Oh, you’re twins by different mothers.”
Both artists have strong south side of Chicago roots.… read more.
Reading Lolita in Tehran (a 2024 film just now opening wide in the USA) brings the beloved 2003 memoir by Azar Nafisi to life. In a severely repressed and religiously dictated Iran, Azar (a literature professor once ensconced at the University of Tehran) gathers a group of seven women students in her home to discuss banned books.… read more.
One of my favorite quotes is Annie Dillard’s “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” I felt the power of these simple words so strongly when I visited Tyanna Buie’s print series at Chicago’s new Obama Presidential Center (OPC). Tyanna’s carefully arranged background images command their own attention as they bring out the key messages of three prints she has dropped into the space of a room in the Forum building.… read more.
As we’ve just celebrated America’s 250th birthday and, no doubt, are looking at issues daily that affect how we want to live, it’s probably the perfect time to contemplate freedom. What does being free mean to you as an individual and what would you be willing to do to protect and expand it?
The Obama Presidential Center opened on June 19th (aka Juneteenth) 2026.… read more.
Sugar Island (2024) beautifully demonstrates how independent filmmaking captures untold stories, giving a voice to those erased by dominant media narratives. For this reason, Johanné Gómez Terrero’s award-winning directorial debut has been slated as one of the feature films for the upcoming Art House Theater Day.… read more.
In William Wyler’s The Children’s Hour (1961) — adapted from Lillian Hellman’s 1934 play of the same name — a single malicious rumor sets into motion the destruction of an entire social world. On its surface, the film tells the story of two women who run a girls’ boarding school and whose lives are ruined after one of their students accuses them of having an “unnatural” relationship.… read more.
What Would Nora Do?
One Last Look at Nora Ephron’s “Successful” Film Career
“What would Nora do now?” I asked myself?
Back down and go with the flow?
(Posted by the Huffington Post on July 10, 2012)
Nora Ephron died on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at the age of 71. Although she had been very ill for several years, she kept her condition a secret, so her “sudden” death came as a shock to many people.… read more.
“Womanhood is pain” is a phrase that comes to mind when I think of my own experiences coming into adulthood. The anger, sadness, and physical twitches of pain that twist my body in shapes that are indescribable at times, but could often be described as “pure agony.” One artist who explores this pain through her vivid use of color, rawness, and authenticity in depicting her own traumatic experiences is Tracey Emin, who has been showcasing this work since she stepped onto the London art scene during the Young British Artists (YBA) era in the 1980s. … read more.
The restoration of the documentary, A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde, is a stunning tribute to an impactful Black queer artist, and a reminder of the importance of queer art this Pride Month.
Originally premiering in 1995, A Litany for Survival shares award-winning poet and activist Audre’s work, life, and lasting legacy.… read more.
It takes a lot of women power to pull off a trailblazing Tony Award opening performance, as America saw last week with the astounding performance of “Leading Lady Marmalade” at the 2026 annual Tony Awards. The host of this year’s award ceremony, P!NK, was joined by 170 performers to pay tribute to the singer’s 2001 hit “Lady Marmalade” and to the performers of the Broadway season.… read more.
Have you ever read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl? If yes, what do you remember about it? I read it as a kid, maybe eleven or twelve, and haven’t revisited it since. The main part I remember is her crush on Peter, which probably speaks to the state of my pre-adolescent preoccupations more than anything.
Curiously, and somewhat hauntingly, I also remember thinking Anne survived the Holocaust when I read the Diary as a kid.… read more.
Promised Sky baptizes the audience in the warm waters of empathy. In her second narrative feature, director, and co-writer Erige Sehiri, weaves the story of three Black women as they navigate living in Tunisia and the appearance of a little girl who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck. Intertwining reality and fiction, Erige weaves together a sober meditation on the condition of the oft-demonized African migrant population.… read more.
On a hot Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, I rushed to a busy Regal Cinema near Union Square (Manhattan) to watch the encore broadcast of The Met’s much discussed opera L’última Sueño De Frida Y Diego. I had come totally unprepared: I’d never seen an opera — live or otherwise — nor did I know much about the life of Frida Kahlo.… read more.
Before the screening began, I realized I was bringing my own history with Frida Kahlo into the theater. As a child, she was one of the first women artists whose work genuinely moved me. I encountered her paintings in museums long before I understood their historical context, and later discovered her life and work through Julie Taymor’s 2002 film Frida.… read more.
In Boots Riley’s latest absurdist film I Love Boosters, clothes do indeed make the (wo)man. The film follows a group of shoplifters (Keke Palmer as Corvette, Naomi Ackie as Sade, Taylour Paige as Mariah, and Poppy Liu as Jianhu) as they target stores stocking the clothes of Demi Moore as prominent designer Christie Smith.… read more.
The Devil Wears Prada is among the most quotable and iconic films of all time. It remains ever-present in pop culture and everyday comedic conversation. The Devil Wears Prada 2, builds on the success of the very iconic 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada. In the wake of the sequel’s release, many fans have revisited the iconic lines of dialogue the world— even two decades later– can’t stop quoting.… read more.
On Saturday, May 23, the Cannes Film Festival awarded an honorary Palme d’Or on its final night of festivities. This honor is a prestigious one, given to only the most accomplished members of the film industry. Past recipients include Agnès Varda, Meryl Streep, Jane Fonda, and other legends working both in front of the camera and behind it.… read more.
Last weekend, I headed out with a few FF2 team members to see Ask E. Jean, an incredible new documentary directed by Ivy Meeropol about E. Jean Carroll—the iconic journalist and advice columnist who is also the only woman to beat Donald Trump twice in court.
News has just broken that the Supreme Court has launched a criminal investigation into E.… read more.
