Rebecca Martin

Asian American, Interviews, Sundance

8 min read

Sundance 2026: Writing Herself Into the Frame —Stephanie Ahn on her debut feature “Bedford Park”

by Rebecca Martin

February 4, 2026

At the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, Stephanie Ahn’s “Bedford Park” arrived with quiet force — and left with one of the festival’s top honors, the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award

Documentaries, International Films, Sundance

8 min read

Sundance 2026: “Birds of War” — Love, Journalism, and Bearing Witness Across Revolution and Exile

by Rebecca Martin

February 3, 2026

“Birds of War” premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Impact. At its core, the film is a

Film Festivals, Interviews, Sundance

9 min read

Sundance 2026: “Take Me Home” — Liz Sargent on Caregiving, Disability, and Imagining a More Supportive World

by Rebecca Martin

February 2, 2026

When “Take Me Home” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, it arrived not only as an intimate debut feature but as the expansion of a story Liz Sargent has been

Profile, Queer Stories, reviews, Sundance

4 min read

Sundance 2026: Finding Barbara Hammer—A Late Awakening to Queer Experimentation

by Rebecca Martin

January 31, 2026

Barbara Hammer once said, “If we’re experimenting with our lives and the way we’re going to live, our film and our art should also be experimental. It breaks tradition, and

Film Festivals, Profile, Sundance

6 min read

Breaking Through the Lens at Sundance: Filmmakers on Resilience, Risk, and Not Selling Out

by Rebecca Martin

January 29, 2026

There’s a particular kind of honesty that surfaces at Sundance—usually not on the red carpet, but in the quiet spaces where filmmakers gather to tell the truth about how hard

2025 Films, Awards, Profile

9 min read

Cinema Femme’s Top 10 Films of 2025

by Rebecca Martin

December 23, 2025

I often think about a particular scene from the second series of “Fleabag” as the year draws to a close. Kristin Scott Thomas’s character, Belinda, is at a bar with

International Films, Interviews

5 min read

When Cinema Becomes a Witness: Kaouther Ben Hania on “The Voice of Hind Rajab”

by Rebecca Martin

December 19, 2025

Kaouther Ben Hania is a two-time Academy Award–nominated filmmaker whose fearless, formally inventive work has positioned her as one of the most vital voices in contemporary international cinema. Moving fluidly

Chicago International Film Festival, Interviews

5 min read

Inside “The Museum”: Annette Elliot on Art History, Erasure, and Representation

by Rebecca Martin

December 13, 2025

Annette Elliot is a Chicago-based writer and director whose work sits at the intersection of cinema, art history, and architecture. Drawing consciously from painting, sculpture, and the built environment, her

Chicago, Profile

4 min read

Crafting Real Stories in Sound — The Artistic Journey of Yuxin Lu

by Rebecca Martin

December 10, 2025

Cinema Femme had the opportunity to speak with sound designer and composer Yuxin Lu. Based in Chicago, Yuxin is a dynamic and multidimensional audio artist whose journey spans continents and

Interviews

6 min read

Freya Adams on Craft, Identity, and Building the Stories She Wants to See

by Rebecca Martin

December 1, 2025

Freya Adams is a first-generation Indian American actress best known for her lead role in Jennifer Phang’s “Advantageous” (now streaming on Netflix), where she starred opposite Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle,

Documentaries, Film Festivals, International Films, Interviews

8 min read

“Women Make the Harsher Films”: Isa Willinger Revisits a Provocation in “No Mercy”

by Rebecca Martin

November 21, 2025

When cult filmmaker Kira Muratova told a young Isa Willinger, “The truth is, women make the harsher films,” the statement lodged itself in Willinger’s mind like a riddle. Could this

Awards, Cinema Femme Short Film Festival, Interviews, Oscars, Short Films

10 min read

“Holding Two Truths at Once”: A Conversation with Lauren Melinda on “Before You” and the Mission of Simbelle Productions

by Rebecca Martin

November 18, 2025

In the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (June 2022) decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, Lauren Melinda’s “Before You” emerges as an intimate, unflinching, and profoundly