Director Rebecca Stern combines her love for animals and filmmaking with ‘Well Groomed’
Rebecca Stern, director of the much-talked-about SXSW film “Well Groomed,” has married her love of animals and her passion, skills, and knowledge of filmmaking to create a visually entertaining film with a compelling underlying narrative arc. Featuring four women who compete in the arena of creative dog grooming, Stern brings us into this relatively unknown world and tells a story of art and friendship.
Aisling Franciosi dives deep into character in Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Nightingale’
Repost of feature from August 23, 2019 in honor of Aisling Franciosi being awarded Most Promising Performer by the Chicago Film Critics Association’s! Watch “The Nightingale” on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and YouTube. It’s 1825 and a young Irish convict, her husband, and infant son live in the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, surviving each and […]
‘Maiden’: How an all-women sailing team fought sexism and made history
“Maiden” (2019) is the harrowing true tale of how Skipper Tracy Edwards pushed against the acceptable gender tides of racing in 1989–1990 and then changed the boat racing world and women’s education to today.
Director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre on animal therapy, rehabilitation, and second chances
Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre has written and directed a uniquely evocative and stunning film that reassesses humanity and our need for connection seen through the lens of a hopeless and withdrawn prison inmate who participates in a horse rehabilitation training program.
Maria Sødahl reveals how her personal struggle with cancer gave birth to ‘Hope’
“Hope” is based upon filmmaker Maria Sødahl’s experiences as a working woman in a blended family whose life is forever changed when her cancer is no longer in remission. Over the period of a week, Anja (Andrea Bræin Hovig) and husband Tomas (Stellan Skarsgård) prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It’s a story […]
Rising star and third generation actor Thomasin McKenzie discusses her character in ‘Jojo Rabbit’
“Jojo Rabbit,” based on the book Caging Spies by Christine Leunens, pushes the boundaries in satirical storytelling in ways that only director Taika Watiti can do. His bold and daring satire about a little boy whose pretend friend is Hitler hits all the right notes. It makes us not just laugh, but think and even create sympathy […]
Filmmaker Louise Archambault brings cinematic beauty to love and life with ‘And the Birds Rained Down’
Louise Archambault writes and directs the film “And the Birds Rained Down” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie is based on the novel by Jocelyne Saucier which depicts a small group of older people whose lives are interrupted by the addition of Marie-Desneige (Andrée Lachapelle); a woman with her own sad […]
The Women of Tribeca
Film festivals afford you an opportunity to meet filmmakers from all over the world who are involved in the industry in many different capacities. And this year, at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, I spoke with writers on the red carpet, watched Q and As as an audience member, and literally bumped into or by […]
Ten years later, the world is ready for ‘Booksmart’
There are two main reasons Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut “Booksmart” is getting such high praises: Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever.
Director Gillian Greene on comedy ‘Fanboy’ and finding humor in everyday life
While the film was only meant to demonstrate her skills as a director to get work for feature films, Greene wanted to share this charming comedy about a South Carolina video store employee (Fran Kranz) who dreams of being in Sam Raimi’s sequel to “For Love of the Game” and tries his hand at the Hollywood scene.
With ‘Alice,’ director Josephine Mackerras explores preconceived notions of independence, motherhood, and marriage
Josephine Mackerras debuted her first feature film, “Alice,” at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival. The story depicts how Alice, a wife and mother, reacts to her husband’s double life, leaving them in debt and on the brink of eviction. Where she turns is an unexpected choice, creating emotionally loaded questions regarding preconceived notions of independence, […]
Director Alison Klayman discusses her new documentary ‘The Brink’
Never in recent memory has there been such a volatile time in politics than today and one man has added his own fuel to the fire—Steve Bannon. Director Alison Klayman has opened the doors into this man’s life with her new film “The Brink” (2019), giving viewers a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes action and the inner workings of politics like never seen before.