As the 71st Cannes Film Festival quickly approaches, the French Riviera is alive with the sound of movies. That is, if you can hear it above the Oohs and Aahs from the proclaimed lack of female directors, the ill-timed Netflix fiasco, early screenings and red carpet selfie halt. The official selection for the 2018 festival […]
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There’s a magical time of year when lovers of independent cinema converge on Leicester Square in London to enjoy the best the world has to offer, thanks to the Raindance Film Festival. It’s the UK’s largest and longest-running independent film festival, and for good reason- Raindance are well and truly on the pulse of independent […]
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So we are already at episode 9 of the podcast, and it kind of feels like we are still making it up as we go along. Maybe we are. And that’s not a bad thing. As the site re-brand settles into its new surroundings, so then the name of the podcast changes name. Simply referred […]
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If I were female, Maya Deren would be my heroine for all time. Scratch that, the pioneer’s legacy in the film world is a landmark of inspiration and adoration for all, regardless of gender, of occupation, of time. Deren’s imprint on the history of cinema is likely too vast and layered to do it justice […]
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I recently began writing my first screenplay. My story, which centers on a male protagonist, is not only something I love to tell, but I’ve never had more fun writing anything in my life… that was, until I started developing the main female protagonist. I approached her first scene-stealing moment filled with excitement, but almost […]
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Well, the four other members of the jury and I debated over the eight short films in the ten categories as described in the prior post – and here are the announcements. The two big winners were Anna Kerrigan, who wrote and directed Hot Seat, and Minhal Baig, writer- director of Hala (Baig also had After […]
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To close this magnificent #FemmeFilmFest I have assembled a small jury of film-lovers to honor a select few of these outstanding new short films. There are 5 of us in the jury, who will contest on the official selection and come to a (very difficult) decision as the top merit in each of the 10 […]
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Femme Filmmakers Festival — Day Ten Program — Sunday 10th September 2017 And there we have it. The final day of the Femme Filmmakers Festival has arrived – too soon, like a brilliant holiday that is almost over. These female filmmakers and their movies have thrilled me during these ten days – and I know […]
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Agnès Varda. A name synonymous with a film revolution still, astonishingly, under-recognized. A name that reminds us of rich, fluent, and oh-so varied cinema. Stayed tuned for the remainder of the Femme Filmmakers Festival, Vagabond closes the the whole affair Sunday. Anyway, I’m only rippling the surface with the following links, but click away all […]
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Femme Filmmakers Festival — Day Nine Program — Saturday 9th September 2017 Well here we are at the penultimate of the Femme Filmmakers Festival, and I won’t lie, I am pretty broken up about it. But that wont halt my enthusiasm and excitement for these female filmmakers. It is, of course, Directors’ Weekend too, and […]
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Femme Filmmakers Festival — Day Eight Program — Friday 8th September 2017 Day Eight of the Femme Filmmakers Festival sees the first day of the Directors’ Weekend with three films from the legendary Agnès Varda. Two features coming Saturday and Sunday, and a 30 minute short coming today. Don’t forget you can hit the links […]
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Femme Filmmakers Festival — Day Seven Program — Thursday 7th September 2017 Women’s rights are the direct subject of one of the feature films coming in Day Seven of the Femme Filmmakers Festival. And a smart, young filmmaker has two short films in the selection, and we had a hefty chat about many aspects of […]
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Femme Filmmakers Festival — Day Six Program — Wednesday 6th September 2017 Welcome to the second half of the Femme Filmmakers Festival. Day Six has a mixed bag of tricks once again of the short and feature variety. We venture to New Zealand and France for the feature films, women directors with a gentle, loving, […]
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This four-minute portrait of the filmmaker’s mother combines the texture of 1970s-color-saturated found footage with an oddly avant-garde structure. The editing rhythms are distinctly recognizable for anyone who has watched 70s home movies; the Kodak would often linger and jerk-pan for about twenty seconds, then (because the film ran out, because only so much could […]
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Femme Filmmakers Festival — Day Five Program — Tuesday 5th September 2017 Among the recommended shorts and features on Day Five of the Femme Filmmakers Festival, we take a trip to Brazil for one of the most under-rated movies of the last decade. As we approach the half-way point of the #FemmeFilmFest, why not share […]
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Beautifully filmed, A Million Miles Away is an ensemble film that delivers with so much intimacy and thought in spite of the many cast members. Whether these characters, primarily a bunch of teenage girls and their substitute teacher, wear their hearts on their sleeves or not, emotional resonance is clearly skin-deep. Writer and director of […]
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Originally published over at On The Screen Reviews Before Hollywood discovered the benefit of locking their doors when leaving town, a group of gutsy, celebrity-obsessed high schoolers ransacked the homes of Paris Hilton, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom, and Lindsey Lohan…to name a few. And they posted their designer booty on Facebook feeling the temporary fulfillment […]
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Discovering such mini marvels as Speed Dating, written and directed by Meghann Artes, is not only tipping the iceberg of new film ventures, but also makes all the hard work that goes into the Femme Filmmakers Festival completely worth it. Promoting the work, these short films, to make them so much more so accessible, fills […]
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Femme Filmmakers Festival — Day Three Program — Sunday 3rd September 2017 So here we are a Day Three of the Femme Filmmakers Festival already. And with it five more unmissable films directed by women, two features, and three shorts. See below for the feature film links, and in the meantime you’re only a scroll […]
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I saw the short film The Dresser about 2 years ago, and wrote about it as part of the Made by Women series. Having watched it again as I scheduled it into the Femme Filmmakers Festival 2017, I decided to track down writer-director-actress Mary Neely to talk to her about her growth as a filmmaker, […]
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Roughly twenty years is probably enough time for most audience members, if not this particular critic, to forget one of the most famous twists in movie history, especially when they only have to forget it for roughly ten minutes of a new film’s 12-minute running time. It is also true that Saranne Bensusan’s short film […]
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