Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards were announced early January 22. For the 87th time in Oscar history, no women are nominated for Best Director; only five women have ever been nominated in this category and Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, 2010) is the only winner. No Best Picture nominees are directed by women this…
Category: Features
Sundance increases number of women directors
This year’s Sundance Film Festival (Park City/Salt Lake City, Utah) will be different. What makes it different is the presence of female-directed movies - close to 42 percent, according to Women and Hollywood report. With a four percent overall increase from last year, female-directed films will be featured in various categories, including large percentages in…
Roberta Grossman talks 'Who Will Write Our History'
Who has the freedom, resources and opportunities to tell the stories of history? The stories of the Oyneg Shabes are some of the courageous individuals who wrote, documented and saved the written histories of the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto as “reporters from hell.” Based on the book by Samuel Kassow, Roberta Grossman’s captured the…
Watch at Home: ‘Adult Life Skills’ & more from female filmmakers
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.
Oscar shortlist features female documentarians
Eight of the 15 films advancing in the Documentary Feature category for the 91st Academy Awards are directed by women. Oscar voting ended January 14 and official nominees are announced January 22.
The Wife expands to 150 theaters
The Wife expanded to 150 theaters the weekend of January 11, following Glenn Close’s win for Best Actress at the Golden Globes. Sony Pictures Classics re-released the film after its initial August run the same weekend Close tied Lady Gaga for Best Actress at the 24th Annual Critics Choice Awards January 13. At both ceremonies,…
‘On the Basis of Sex’ another biopic forcing a likable female icon
One of the first women in government to be idolized, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, had two films made about her this year: RBG, a documentary with unprecedented access, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and On the Basis of Sex, a biopic written by Daniel Stiepleman and directed by Mimi Leder.
Sally Rubin's doc 'Hillbilly' urges different view of Appalachia
In their new film Hillbilly, Sally Rubin and Ashley York look at the people, region and stereotypes that created our image of the people of Appalachia.
#MakeOscarGold campaign breaks down male bias
Although the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has faced backlash of their mostly-male, mostly-white nominees, generating hashtag campaigns like #OscarsSoWhite and #OscarsSoBlue, FF2 Media continues championing #MakeOscarGold: merit-based award nominations.
New York Jewish Film Festival program to highlight films by women
Have a case of the winter blues? Get out and see a film festival! The New York Jewish Film Festival runs from January 9-22 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Out of the 22 feature films playing at the festival, eight are by women directors.
DGA nominates zero women for feature film directing
The Directors Guild of America announced nominees for its annual awards, to be held February 2. Five directors (five men and zero women) are nominated.
Golden Globes acceptance speeches laud female creators
There were many triumphant moments for women at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, despite very few female writers and directors being represented in film categories. Many winning actresses used their acceptance speeches as an opportunity to champion female creators. On the television side, Best Actress Rachel Brosnahan of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel thanked many women…
WGA nominates one woman and 20 men for feature film writing
The Writer’s Guild of America announced nominees for its annual awards January 7. Writers of 10 feature films are nominated for best screenplay, but Can You Ever Forgive Me? co-writer Nicole Holofcener is the only woman of 21 writers. The documentary screenplay category is a slight improvement, with Lauren Greenfield (Generation Wealth) and Dava Whisenant…
Watch at Home: ‘The Hate U Give’ & more from female filmmakers
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 12/18/18 (with links to FF2 Media reviews…
Golden Globes Preview: Female-directed features snubbed
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has once again neglected to acknowledge female filmmakers in its pool of Golden Globe nominees. For the fourth year in a row, no women are nominated for best director. Only five women have ever been nominated in this category, and Barbra Streisand is the only winner (for Yentl in 1984).…
Watch at Home: ‘State Like Sleep’ & more from female filmmakers
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 12/18/18 (with links to FF2 Media reviews…
Marilyn Ness focuses on making a difference in 'Charm City'
Documentarian Marilyn Ness is arguably best known for her work as a producer for films such as Cameraperson, Trapped, 1971 and E-team. Many of her films have focused on how some of societies darkest times (trap abortion laws, government corruption, and international human rights violations) have also brought led to heroes willing to fight the good…
'That Way Madness Lies' a devastating, necessary story of family and mental illness
Sandra Luckow has been a working documentarian for more than two decades. Although she's occasionally included herself in her work, such as the feature Belly Talkers about ventriloquists (one of her other skills). But her new film That Way Madness Lies, is her most personal and painfully revealing film, documenting her brother's descent due to…
Queer Your Queue: Lesbian period pieces to watch after 'The Favourite'
Our readers may have seen that I had a lot of thoughts about The Favourite and its use of queer characters in a period piece. My main point in that article was that the stories we tell influence our internal realities, which then affects how we interact with our external realities. While simply watching “woke”…
‘The Favourite’ Queers The Past And The Present
I’m currently on a mission to get every queer person I know to see The Favourite. You could say it’s my “Favourite” movie of 2018, and since I’m writing this in late December you can really tell I’ve seen everything the year has to offer and chosen this decadent lesbian sweetmeat of a film out…
Christina Hodson's 'Bumblebee' tackles Transformers franchise with heart and humor
Hodson is one of the women in the genre on the rise in the industry, landing on the Blacklist three times before being tapped for Bumblebee. We’ll next see her name in the DC Universe with Birds of Prey (the Harley Quinn film starring Margot Robbie) and Batgirl. She’ll also be living out a childhood…
Watch at Home: ‘All About Nina’ & more from female filmmakers
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.
'Mortal Engines,' Peter Jackson and the future of fantasy film
Mortal Engines is a clear attempt at a new fantasy series by the team behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Co-written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson, the film takes place in a futuristic world where resources have greatly depleted and cities-on-wheels hunt each other.
Penny Marshall: A pioneer for women in film
Penny Marshall was a pioneer for women filmmakers. The actress, director and producer died December 17, leaving behind a lifetime of memorable work.
Film Forum hosts Q&A with 'Capernaum' filmmaker Nadine Labaki
On Friday, December 14, Film Forum screened the film Capernaum from acclaimed director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki, boasting 18 awards and 16 nominations. Nadine Labaki’s tear-jerking, powerful movie Capernaum follows a young boy of roughly 12 years old in Lebanon. In the film, Labaki takes us through a whirlwind of a story showing the struggle…
Maria Pulera wants to embrace the weird and wild in 'Between Worlds'
Written and directed by Maria Pulera, the genre-bending Between Worlds weaves supernatural horror and erotic thriller together to create a wild, sometimes campy, often funny ride.
Today, it's OK to cry in baseball
When I was a little girl, I had a sweater that had an ‘L’ sewn onto the chest – just like Laverne DeFazio had worn on her sweater in the ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley. I wore it because, obviously, my name is Lisa, but also because two of my favorite actresses at the time…
Watch at Home: ‘A Simple Favor’ & more from female filmmakers
Based on the book of the same name, Paul Feig's A Simple Favor offers a charming fun comedic thriller with a side dish of mystery.
Romance, class and heists in Stacy Cochran's 'Write When You Get Work'
Stacy Cochran takes a similar approach with her new romantic dramedy/heist film Write When You Get Work. In the world of New York high finance and Manhattan private schools, have-not Johnny (Finn Wittrock) pursues his ex-Ruth (Rachel Keller), an admissions officer, and gets entangled in the lives of the Nobles (Emily Mortimer and James Ransone),…
'Jeff Tries to Save the World' in Kendell Goldberg's debut film
Writer-director Kendell Goldberg, making her feature debut with Jeff Tries to Save the World (an extension of the short she made in college). Despite it’s big title, Goldberg has created an intimate and sweet story about Jeff (played by Jon Heder in one of his best performances) who takes great pleasure in his work as…