Vienna 1956: Though the microcosm of one family's joys and sorrows, first time filmmaker Sandra Wollner tells a haunting tale of daily life in the immediate aftermath of World War II. When her husband dies of a sudden heart attack, a grief-stricken mother moves her two young daughters back into her parents' home. Teenage Johanna, recovering…
Author: Jan Lisa Huttner
NYWIFT Sponsors Celebrate 11th Annual SWAN Day
New York Woman in Film & Television (NYWIFT) hosted its 11th annual International SWAN Day program at SVA Theatre in collaboration with traditional co-sponsors HerFlix, ImageNation, SAG-AFTRA, WAM and WMM. This year, for the second year in a row, AAWIC also folded this event into their annual African American Women in Cinema Film Festival. As…
Jan's Athena 2018: Bigger & Better Every Year at Barnard's AFF
What did Swiss filmmaker Petra Volpe say that made me laugh so hard that I almost peed my pants in front of a full auditorium? I can't remember. I just know that in a weekend of superlative moments, my Q&A with Petra after our FF2 Media-sponsored screening of The Divine Order (see featured photo above)…
Tony Scott has "Second Thoughts" about Woody Allen
Hallelujah! After a little over a year of life in Trumpsylvania, some big dudes in the mainstream media (aka MSM) are finally beginning to recognize their own complicity in this national disaster. First came news of Jeffrey Toobin's mea culpa on Larry Wilmore's podcast last Monday. "I think there was a lot of false equivalence in…
From the archives: Lauzen says 'virtually no movement' for women filmmakers (2003)
"if you can change women’s representation in the media, you will change women’s place in the world. I think it’s that simple. But if change comes, it will come slowly."
Announcing FF2 Media's new Coach Corner!
As the editor-in-chief of a growing site, one of my priorities is to balance quantity with quality. But as the flood of women filmmakers grows ever greater (hooray!), it's frankly hard to keep up. So I am proud to announce the creation of our new initiative Coach Corner. Wonderful women will be joining me as…
Hillary Clinton is 'The Woman in the Moon'
"The Woman in the Moon" is a Barbra Streisand song from the album and film A Star is Born (1976 film). Songwriters: Paul H. Williams and Kenny Ascher © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group. Disclaimer: FF2 Media does not own these photos.
9/12/17: WHAT HAPPENED is released in the day Hillary's Auxiliary Turns Two :-)
"What Happened" TODAY! I started the morning ~ 6 AM at the Hyatt on Union Square I left my room ~ 6:15 & then I dashed 2 blocks to the Barnes & Noble on 17th Street. It is now 5:25 & I am finally I am home again. It took ~ 8 hours to get thru…
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala story Heat & Dust newly re-released in 4G
In 1983, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's Booker-prize winning novel Heat and Dust was released in theatres for its first run, and in 1984, BAFTA rewarded her with a Best Adapted Screenplay award. But even many film buffs will not recognize her name. Ruth Prawer Who??? Although she was the genius who wrote most of screenplays for their their…
AFI honors the incomparable Diane Keaton
Jan Here. Honestly, I turned on AFI's tribute to the incomparable Diane Keaton last night as "filler" between the end of the PBS News Hour & the beginning of The Rachel Maddow Show, but I ended up watching the entire tribute. I have always loved Diane Keaton in her dramatic roles as well as her…
Jane Austen's 200th Yahrzeit
Honoring Jane Austen's 200th Yahrzeit By FF2 Media Editor-in-Chief Jan Lisa Huttner Jane Austen died exactly 200 years ago today. Really! So I can't keep from kvelling while remarking on how "bashert" this is ("meant to be") given that today, July 18, 2017, falls midway between this year's readings of Parsha Pinchas and Parsha Mattot/Mas’ei (the…
Great News! Peirce & Karaszewski elected to AMPAS Board of Governors!
More great news from AMPAS! Members newly elected 2017–18 Board of Governors include Kimberly Peirce (added to the Directors Branch) and FF2 Media FOJ Larry Karaszewski (added to the Writers Branch). When AMPAS President Cheryl Boone Isaacs issued her diversity declaration in January 2016, I was frankly skeptical. But now I see she has, in fact, exceeded…
FF2 Media applauds diversity in new AMPAS Class of '17
FF2 Media applauds AMPAS (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) for inviting inviting 774 new members from 57 countries. The class of 2017 has an increased number of women and POC (People of Color) in its effort to boost diversity in each of its seven branches. Of the 64 directors invited this year,…
The Wedding Plan & The Woman's Balcony: A Tale of 2 Screenplays
FF2 Media Editor-in-Chief Jan Lisa Huttner explores the implicit misogyny of religious fundamentalism in a compare/contrast of two recent Israeli films. It can't just be that I was no fan of Rama Burshtein's first film Fill the Void. I had heard raves about her second film -- The Wedding Plan -- from people I love and respect,…
DocAviv '17: Sneak Peeks from Israel's world-renown documentary film festival
FF2 Media is proud to introduce Eti Or -- our new Israeli contributor -- with her report on Israeli women filmmaker screenings at this year's DocAviv (Israel's world-renown documentary film festival). Here are sneak peaks of Eti's Top Picks from DocAviv '17. Hopefully some of these films will make their way to festivals and theaters worldwide…
Feminist Media Critic Jennifer Pozner wins 2017 Women's Choice Award
Congratulations to Feminist Media Critic Jennifer Pozner (author of "Reality Bites Back") for winning the 2017 Women's Choice Award in the "Voice of Women" category last night in LA! From Jennifer's Amazon Page: Jennifer L. Pozner is founder and executive director of Women In Media & News (WIMN), a media justice group that amplifies women's…
Pride, Determination & Resilience at the 24th Annual New York African Film Festival
FROM THE FESTIVAL STATEMENT: The urge to reclaim stolen images and voices has been a motto for African filmmakers and artists since the 60s. Cinema has served as a megaphone for the African people to let the world know about their collective and individual struggles. As Frantz Fanon said: Each generation must, out of relative…
Women will complete in all writing/directing categories at the 2017 Tony Awards
When the 2017 Tony nominations were announced this morning, women's names appeared in every single writing and directing category. Correct me if I am wrong, but I do not believe this has ever happened before. And if I am correct, this marks a new milestone for women in the arts! Here is the list of women…
Ten years later, Adrienne Shelly's 'Waitress' is still as sweet as the best cherry pie
Jan Here: Ten years ago on this date, I posted a review of Adrienne Shelley's wonderful film Waitress on a site called The Digital Filmmaker (now defunct). My review ended as follows: "For her family and friends there can be no consolation, but those of us who will only know Adrienne Shelly by her work can still…
Giorgi Plys-Garzotto debuts NYU film 'Won't Somebody Think of the Children'
Congratulations to FF2 Associate Giorgi Plys-Garzotto for posting her NYU film "Won't Somebody Think of the Children" on the We Are Moving Stories site: Here is a snippet from the WAMS interview: Congratulations, Giorgi! Why did you make your film? This film was my senior thesis at NYU, the culmination of four years studying film at…
Happy Pesach to all who celebrate from FF2 Media
Where there is life, there is hope! Happy Pesach from Jan, Richard & the whole FF2 Media Team Photo of 1947 Seder at Feldafing DP Camp in Germany from the Yad Vashem website.
Jan Rants about Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" (2015)
When a film starring Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Damian Lewis, Robert Pattinson, and a cast of thousands (plus camels!) makes its debut at the Berlin Film Festival in 2015 but doesn't open in an American theatre until 2017, the odds are already against it. But true to my mantra "YOU Never Know Until YOU Go!," I…
NYC's 2017 "Canada Now" Film Festival now playing at IFC Center
Jan Here: I saw two stunning new films from Canadian women filmmakers yesterday. The first was Window Horses (The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming) written and directed by Ann Marie Fleming. The second was Nelly written and directed by Anne Émond. Both films are based on real Canadian women, but beyond that bare similarity, they couldn't be more…
NYC's 20th annual Sephardi Jewish Film Festival opens at the Center for Jewish History
April Fool's Day find us at Opening Night of NYC's 20th annual Sephardi Jewish Film Festival at the Center for Jewish History.
NYC's Kino Festival of German Films moves to the Landmark Sunshine
NYC members celebrate the last day of Women's History Month at the first day of the 2017 Kino Festival of German Films. From left: Isabell, Katusha, Jan, Tracy & Lindsy.
New Broadway revival of "The Little Foxes" proves Lillian Hellman was a prophet
Terrific new production of playwright Lillian Hellman's masterpiece arrives on Broadway with startling prophetic force. FF2 team members Lindsy Bissonette and Jan Lisa Huttner attend the first preview on March 29th at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
Celebrating the 10th annual International SWAN Day with New York Women in Film & Television
NYC members of FF2 Media flocked to the SVA Theatre in Chelsea to celebrate the 10th annual International SWAN Day. Photos by Eti Or.
Showing our love for "Beauty and the Beast"
Women's History Month is packed with activities for members of the FF2 Media Team. But as we all ran from film to film at various festivals and special screenings (not to mention celebrating the 10th International SWAN Day on Saturday March 25th), most of us found time to sneak into a local multiplex for a…
In "Pendular," two artists share one space for both living and working
From the New Directors/New Films (2017) Website: A male sculptor and a female dancer live and work together in their big, barren loft, a mere strip of orange tape serving as the boundary between his atelier and her studio. Here, the stage is set for a low-key psychosexual drama centered around the couple’s erotic, artistic, and everyday…
Three Canadian Women struggle with multiple 'Boundaries' in mythical Besco
From the New Directors/New Films (2017) Website: Chloé Robichaud’s sophomore feature centers on three women trying to square their political careers with complicated personal lives. Besco, a fictitious island country off the eastern coast of Canada, possesses vast natural resources that foreign companies would love to tap into, which occasions negotiations between Besco’s president (Macha…