Have you heard of Anne Innis Dagg? The answer is probably not, and people around the world should know her. Writer/director Alison Reid’s The Woman Who Loves Giraffes shines a spotlight on Dagg, a Canadian who traveled to Africa alone in the 50s to do some of the first studying ever of animals in their own habitat. …
2019 was an exceptional year for women in front of and behind the camera. Exceptional, in part, because films made by talented female filmmakers found their way to the screen, whether big or small, and were backed up and supported by film lovers like never before. That is both exciting and a little bit depressing. …
Let me suggest, if you want to get a clear read on a movie, not to see it with your dad, an 84 year old superfan. This was how I experienced Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, sitting next to the man with whom I’ve seen every Star Wars movie in the saga, from the …
Writer/director Rob Garver’s documentary What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael is a fascinating look at a woman who carved out a life as a writer in an industry that has been famously unforgiving for opinions offered by female voices. Kael built a career as a movie critic in a very important time in cinema, right …
The more distance I get from seeing Bombshell, the more mad the movie makes me. The film, which soft-tackles the story in which former CEO of Fox News Roger Ailes finds his downfall through sexual harassment claims from the most prominent female (oft-seen) on-air personalities at the studio, is certainly a decidedly good news/bad news affair. …
If there is such a genre as ‘Mystical Femme,’ and there really should be, French writer/director Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire belongs in it, placed at the top. Winner of the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, the film features magnetic lead actresses whose chemistry with each other is …
**NOTE: I wrote a Queen & Slim review for the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, part of which is included below. I urge you all to see this film, which is written and directed entirely without studio influence, contribution, or alteration or notes from any white folks. This might not sound like a big deal, …
It’s really unfortunate that so few studio films directed by women are released each year, not least because it puts so much pressure on female filmmakers that have been graced with (read: exhausted themselves get to) the rare opportunity. Fortunately, one of the most anticipated of these, Charlie’s Angels, is a frothy, entertaining delight, and …
Shooting the Mafia is a look at Latitzia Battaglia’s career as photojournalist from the perspective of the artist herself, through interviews and voiceovers. It is built from sometimes seemingly random recollections of her life and experience. Filmmaker Kim Longinotto plays sentimental music like O Solo Mio and Volare over Battaglia’s crime scene photos and of the artist in her youth, …
In director Marielle Heller’s new film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers says, “If it’s mentionable, it’s manageable.” Though he often explained his philosophy of life in ways both children and adults could understand, this quote truly speaks to the thoughtfulness and intensity with which the iconic television host of …
