Cinema Femme’s Top Ten Films of 2023
This year has been a celebration of thought-provoking films, and audiences have been showing their gratitude for them by leaving their streaming platforms at home and going to the movies. This year, I feel I’ve spent more time in movie theaters than ever before, and I’ve seen films like “Barbie,” “Bottoms,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” […]
Nell Teare on the emotional beauty of grief in her directorial feature debut “Bolivar”
When I was a child, I often went on vacation with my family in Sanibel Island. We documented these excursions with photos and videos. These trips are so vivid in my memory, even more than the other places we went to. I can almost close my eyes and be on that beach as a child […]
Ashley Shelton masterfully portrays the comic horror of anxiety in “Best Clowns”
Ashley Shelton’s “Best Clowns” is one of the few films I’ve seen where I’ve laughed and cried. When I say laugh, I mean LOL, and when I say cry, I mean tears. I blame it on “It,” but I’ve always been a little afraid of clowns, although my mom dressed me up as a clown […]
Through Her Eyes: Sofia Coppola and Cailee Spaeny on the visual poetry of “Priscilla”
I got a half-step closer to my dream interview with Sofia Coppola. It was not a one-on-one, it was more like one-on-a-hundred, but I got a question in thanks to moderator Scott Mantz, and I recieved a great answer from Sofia and Cailee Spaeny who received the Best Actress prize at Venice for her portrayal […]
Big Drums and Big Dreams: Dawn Mikkelson and Keri Pickett on “Finding Her Beat”
What if we lived in a world where the Blue Man Group wasn’t the only mainstream drummer show in town? What if it was a bunch of bad-ass women playing drums in Taiko costume and style? I’m ready for the Blue Man Group renaissance to be over. Bring on the empowering troupe of HERbeat! Before […]
Excavating the Past: Ellie Foumbi on her soul-shaking feature debut, “Our Father, The Devil”
I had the pleasure of meeting Ellie Foumbi as a fellow member of the Narrative Feature jury for the Heartland Film Festival, along with actor and director Joanna Gleason. It was such an honor for me to be on a jury with such talented women. When I heard they both had directed their own films, […]
Charlotte Regan’s “Scrapper” explores working class life through a humanistic, playful lens
Like Emma Seligman and “Shiva Baby,” Charlotte Regan is another filmmaker who knocks you out with her feature debut. Charlotte emerges as a director with her feature debut, “Scrapper.” When I was screening films for Sundance, I saw a lot of darker emotional films. But like a breath of fresh air, this film came into my queue. […]
BEYOND BARBIE: Ten must-see films now playing, including the new Joyce Carol Oates doc, Linh Tran’s feature debut, and the sensual coming-of-age gem “Piaffe”
Besides Greta Gerwig’s history-making “Barbie,” which became both the highest-grossing film of the year as well as the highest-grossing film directed by a woman, another of the most pleasurable experiences I recently had in a movie theater was seeing Emma Seligman’s “Bottoms.” Every frame and line in that film is LOL. If you go with […]
TRAILER RELEASES! Elevating Indigenous stories onscreen with “War Pony” and “The Unknown Country” | Opens in theaters July 28!
WAR PONY WAR PONY follows the interlocking stories of two young Oglala Lakota men growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. At 23, Bill just wants to make something of himself. Whether it’s delivering goods or breeding Poodles, he is determined to hustle his way to the “American Dream”. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Matho can’t wait to become a […]
Producer Mariana Treviño on her feature “JACIR”
Cinema Femme is excited to highlight producer Mariana Treviño on her feature film “JACIR”. Treviño produced the film with Waheed AlQawasmi, and “JACIR” is executive produced by Larry Tolbert, Marty Martin Kelman, Ron Lazarov, and Jill and Scott Notowich. Treviño is a Mexican filmmaker based in New York. She started her career in advertising, working […]