Athena Film Festival 2019 began its run on Thursday, February 28th. On this chilly Thursday evening, my sister and I promptly headed to the Miller Theatre for the opening film of the festival—Fast Color. The auditorium was buzzing with excitement, waiting for the first film to begin. I hadn’t looked at the program prior to…
Author: Katusha Jin
Living with the consequences of rape today in short film 'Lullaby' (Part 2)
Camille Kane and her largely female key crew team up with production company NINE X THREE FILMS to bring to life her debut self-written and directed short film Lullaby.
Living with the consequences of rape today in short film 'Lullaby' (Part 1)
Camille Kane and her largely female key crew team up with production company NINE X THREE FILMS to bring to life her debut self-written and directed short film Lullaby.
The Bostonians 4K Restoration World Premiere—Q&A with James Ivory
The Quad in New York screened the World Premiere 4K Restoration of The Bostonians on November 30th 2018. The film boasts many awards and nominations, and is one of the many proud pieces created by the collaborating partners Director James Ivory and Writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Jhabvala has won two Oscar awards and nominated for…
DOC NYC: Gudrun Schyman talks 'The Feminist: a Swedish Inspiration'
DOC NYC and New York Women in Film & Television presented the International premiere of The Feminist: a Swedish Inspiration on Saturday, November 10 at Cinepolis Chelsea. Produced by Helene Granqvist and directed by Hampus Linder, the documentary is an intimate portrait of Gudrun Schyman—a living icon among feminist supporters in Sweden. As a candid politician,…
Normalizing the conversation around medical marijuana in 'Weed the People'
Abby Epstein brings to our attention a documentary about a subject few know to think twice about: cannabis as a life-saving drug. Having been marked as a schedule I level drug, it has had a bad reputation for the past 100 years. Blinded by this, we are turned away from any possible benefits that this…
Directing with Chi Energy—Patricia Chica chosen for TIFF Filmmaker Lab 2018
Following our interview with Director Patricia Chica about Morning After, and upcoming feature Montréal Girls, it was announced today that she has been selected as one of the 10 Canadian directors to be part of the TIFF Filmmaker Lab 2018. The Filmmaker lab is a highly curated creative development program and will be held during…
AAIFF Panel—Women in Film: on the screen and behind the camera
The Asian American International Film Festival is running between July 25th - August 4th and one of the first events was a panel talking about women in film. Gathered together were four female Asian directors who discussed their experiences in creating their films, as well as their views on how women are navigating in the…
Director More Raça: telling women’s stories, one film at a time (Part II)
Part II—Past experiences and journeying on to the feature film K: How has your experience with shorts prepared you for your first feature? M: I think this is the right time for my first feature. I have been involved in many shorts and have been going through this process for years. I have also worked…
Director More Raça: telling women’s stories, one film at a time (Part I)
Director More Raça grew up in Kosovo and currently resides in Pristina. She has directed numerous well-received shorts such as “Home”, “Ajo”, and “Amel”, and continues to spread awareness about the social issues that affect fellow women in her country. In our two-part interview, she talks about how she started out in film, why she…
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…
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%.
Female Cinematographers – What’s the big deal?
Although we still have over a month until the Oscar Awards, Rachel Morrison’s nomination is already being celebrated worldwide. Why? Because no female has ever been nominated for the Best Cinematography category. And yes, this is a big deal.
Contributing Editor Katusha Jin
My name is Katusha and I write features and reviews for FF2 Media. I find it important to contribute to FF2 Media because I am a believer of its cause: lending a voice to overlooked female filmmakers. As a female filmmaker myself, I can certainly see the need for more women role models in the…
Throwback to when Gwyneth Paltrow was Sylvia Plath
It has been a while since this film came out in 2003, but it still remains a powerful piece of acting from Gwyneth Paltrow. The dark biopic, Sylvia, is directed by Christine Jeffs, and stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig. The two leads are husband and wife in this movie about a wandering journey through a lost…
A behind-the-scenes look at 'Broken Record' with director Katusha Jin
Sometimes when I listen to a song or read a script, I have an instant impulse to create something for it. Broken Record by Sophi Alvarez, whose stage name is Saint Victoria, is a perfect example of this; I wanted to bring to life the visuals to accompany her powerful song. When I approached Sophi…
Hidden Figures and the music of the spheres
The music in every movie must always support the story. It connects and immerses the audience into the world of the characters. In Hidden Figures, the music pushes the audience beyond sympathy from mere observation, engaging us in the experience through an almost personal connection. In a way that no movie about the human exploration…
Katusha's Athena (2017)
FF2 Intern Katusha Jin reports on her time at the 7th annual Athena Film Festival, hosted by Barnard College in Manhattan from 2/9/17 thru 2/12/17. AFF'18 dates are 2/22/18 thru 2/25/18. We hope to see YOU there next year 🙂 In the eighty-eight years since the first Academy Awards, there have only been four women nominated for…