I recently had the opportunity to speak with local film industry powerhouse Chris (Christine) Dudley, the Executive Director of the Illinois Production Alliance. Along with other leading Chicago-based women in film like Chaz Ebert, Betsy Steinberg, Erica Duffy, and Kris Rey, Chris Dudley is helping […]
O’Sullivan and Thompson gently fold their story together, finding humor and heart at every turn, leading to the kind of ending that somehow inspired the film’s very first audience at Sundance to laugh and cry. Again, we know how this sounds, but — it’s funny! and good! And a […]
I’ve been fortunate to interview some of the up-and-coming female programmers who have come out of Chicago. Earlier this year, I spoke with Imani Davis, who now is a programmer at the American Cinemateque in Los Angeles. Last week, I talked to a poetic soul, […]
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Leo Tolstoy Haroula Rose’s sophomore feature “All Happy Families” starts with the above quote, which is resonant for most people. The family dramedy is her follow-up feature to the powerful “Once […]
“Departing Seniors” screened opening night of The 59th Chicago International Film Festival on October 11, 2023. The final week of senior year of high school can be full of surprises. Memories of the times you’ve had flood the halls you’ve walked for four years. Fear […]
“The Beautiful Summer” is screening this afternoon at AMC NEWCITY at 2:30 PM as part of the Women in Cinema and Outlook program. Adolescence is universal. No matter the time period, gender, sexuality, or setting, coming of age is tangible to any audience member. It […]
Margaret Kellas, director of the short “this is not the morning i thought i was going to have,” is the recipient of the 2023 Cinema Femme Short Film Fest Chicago Spotlight Award! Chicago Spotlight Award: Awarded to a Chicago-based filmmaker recognized for the exciting work […]
I’ve known Colette Ghunim for a while now through her previous leadership with Mezcla Media Collective, an organization that “ensures women and non-binary filmmakers of color can actively participate in Chicago’s bustling media production scene”. Likewise, Colette is the co-director (along with Tinne Van Loon) […]
Last month, pre-Sundance, I had a great conversation with Imani Davis, programmer at the American Cinematheque in LA. Based out of Chicago, and known for her programming work and connections at universities such as UChicago and Northwestern, she caught the attention of K.J. Relth-Miller, who […]
Discovering a filmmaker like Linh Tran at the beginning of her career is unbelievably exciting. A friend of mine has already made a bootleg Girls on Top T-shirt with her name on it, and I want one to accompany my Sofia Coppola, Chloé Zhao, Charlotte […]
Congratulations to Rebecca Fons for being Chicago Tribune’s Chicagoan of the Year (2022) for Film! I admire and am kind of obsessed with Rebecca Fons. She makes things happen, and when it comes to the Chicago film community, she is opening doors for filmmakers and […]
Buy your tickets: https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/film/art-and-pep/ Cinema Femme kicks off its 2022 ChiFilmFest coverage by speaking with filmmaker Mercedes Kane about her doc “Art and Pep”. We talked about why this film is so important, especially now as our government has been stripping away some of our […]