A Call for Peace and Human Connection: Hikari on “Rental Family”
As I sat in my favorite movie palace, the Music Box Theatre, waiting for my wife—Cinema Femme founder Rebecca Martin—to arrive for that evening’s eagerly awaited Chicago International Film Festival screening of Hikari’s “Rental Family,” I overheard the woman next to me mention her plans to see my all-time favorite film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” […]
On Borrowed Time: The Beauty of “John Candy: I Like Me”
“I remember John Candy’s presence much more clearly than that of John Hughes,” Gaby Hoffmann told me during our interview in 2012, after I asked her about her memories of filming 1989’s “Uncle Buck” at the mere age of 7. “That movie was playing video games with Mac[auley Culkin] and rejoicing in the extraordinary loveliness […]
A Profound Experience of Rewriting: Eva Victor on “Sorry, Baby”
As annoyed as I was about Barry Jenkins, one of the greatest filmmakers working today, recently helming a prequel to the worst Disney remake in history, the Oscar-winning director of “Moonlight” has also been helping launch some of the most exciting careers in modern cinema over the past few years. I’m thinking specifically of Charlotte […]
A Sense of Authenticity: Olivia Edward on “Better Things”
When Pamela Adlon released her marvelous directorial feature debut, “Babes,” earlier this year, my husband Matt and I had not yet been acquainted with the filmmaker’s Peabody Award-winning FX series, “Better Things.” Adlon plays a fictionalized version of herself named Sam, and loosely based the series on her own experience of raising three daughters while […]
Sundance 40 Review: Theda Hammel’s head-spinning pandemic-themed comedy “Stress Positions”
Theda Hammel’s directorial debut, “Stress Positions” is a head-spinning comedy that takes place in the throes of pandemic hell. Terry (John Early) is a recent divorceé holed up in his ex-husband’s dilapidated party house while taking care of his 19 year old nephew, Bahlul (Qaher Harhash), a Moroccan model and the son of his estranged […]
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 […]
Emma Seligman on her queer sex comedy “Bottoms,” starring Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri
“I feel like we’ve watched so many male anti-hero stories, whether they’re comedies or dramas or mysteries, and it’s crazy that in 2023, we’re still so hungry for shitty, flawed women on screen.” –Emma Seligman A film that changed the game in 2021 was writer/director Emma Seligman’s small independent film, “Shiva Baby,” a comedy about […]
Cult Classic Series: The Ambiguous Queerness of Female Friendship in Buddy Films
Cinema Femme will be bringing you essays written by women and non-binary people about films that are cult classics and how they are impacting our world today. Today we feature an essay by contributor Robyn Bacon (The Light Leaks, Film Daze). For women, close female friendships are usually the first type of relationship — outside […]
LIVE interview w/Kristen Abate, co-director and star of comedy-drama “Straighten Up and Fly Right”
Cinema Femme presents a LIVE Q&A withKristen Abate, co-director and star of the comedy-drama“Straighten Up and Fly Right”2:00 PM Central, Thursday, June 9, 2022 “Straighten up and Fly Right” is a comedy-drama that premiered at Slamdance and recently screened at the Chicago Critics Film Festival in May. Logline: In a funk, Kristen, a physically disabled New York […]
Look back: Kelly O’Sullivan’s debut script ‘Saint Frances’ brings an authentic look into womanhood
With the recent news of the Supreme Court leak detailing their plan to overturn Roe vs. Wade, we wanted to bring back our interview with Kelly O’Sullivan about her film “Saint Frances”. At Cinema Femme, we stand for the human rights of women, and we fight an obvious violation of them. “Saint Frances” brings up […]
“Withdrawals” director Jorja Hudson and producer Kelly Stier talk mental health, comedy, and creating on screen magic
When “Bridesmaids” came to the screen in 2011, I was floored by its all-women ensemble. I had not seen a female comedy like that before in that way, and I wanted to see more of it. When I watched “Withdrawals” for the first time, I felt the same way. Like “Bridesmaids”, the short film is […]
April Showcase: “Turkey’s Done” screening and LIVE Q&A with SNL’s Cheri Oteri and filmmakers
Join us! TURKEY’S DONETuesday, April 13 at 7:30 PM EST (screening) 8PM EST (Q&A)as part of our April Showcase Following the screening: A LIVE Q&A with Star and executive producer Cheri Oteri, co-directors Monique Impagliazzo and Jennifer Tini, moderated by Actor and Filmmaker Katherine Bourne Taylor*$5 for screening + Q&A, we appreciate your support as we are a small organization […]