Rotterdam 2026: Sisters, Spirits and Invented Truths: Itonje Søimer Guttormsen on Her Sophomore Feature “Butterfly”
Premiering in the Big Screen Competition at IFFR (29 January–8 February), “Butterfly” marks Itonje Søimer Guttormsen’s return to feature filmmaking five years after “Gritt.” Set in Gran Canaria, the film follows estranged sisters Lily (Renate Reinsve) and Diana (Helene Bjørneby) as they reunite after their mother’s death and inherit an unfinished resort-cum-esoteric retreat connected to […]
Sundance 2026: Walking Through the In-Between — Malin Barr on “Sauna Sickness” and the Quiet Violence of Emotional Manipulation
My discussion with Swedish-native Malin Barr at Sundance quickly evolved beyond a standard interview. By the time we secured coffee amidst the festival’s intensity, the conversation felt like a continuation of an already established, deeply considered thought. Rather than a conventional, seated Q&A, this piece is a dynamic, walking dialogue. We moved through Park City’s […]
Sundance 2026: Holding the Line — Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić on “To Hold a Mountain”
Gara, the guiding force at the center of “To Hold a Mountain,” is living proof that not all heroes wear capes. Her days begin before sunrise — herding sheep across vast alpine pastures, making cheese by hand, and protecting the land she calls home. Alongside this relentless labor, she is raising young Nada to be […]
Sundance 2026: “Birds of War” — Love, Journalism, and Bearing Witness Across Revolution and Exile
“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 love story shaped by revolution, war, and exile. Told through thirteen years of personal archives, it traces the intertwined lives of London-based Lebanese journalist Janay […]
Sundance 2026: How Inuk filmmaker Lindsay Aksarniq McIntyre Made a Sundance Film From Caribou and Lichen
Lindsay Aksarniq McIntyre is an Indigenous experimental filmmaker based in Canada with a filmography spanning over 40 short films almost exclusively shot on 16mm film. Her work is deeply personal, giving her an artistic pathway to deal with struggles, learn new ways of being, and experiment with ways to connect to her land and ancestors. […]
Sundance 2026: Unapologetically Imperfect: Siri Hjorton Wagner on Female Desire and Motherhood in “Without Kelly”
“Without Kelly” screened at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival as part of the Shorts Program, following its Orizzonti International Short Film Award win at the Venice Film Festival. Made by Swedish filmmaking duo Lovisa Sirén (director) and Siri Hjorton Wagner (producer), the short offers a raw, intimate portrait of young single motherhood and the layered […]
When Cinema Becomes a Witness: Kaouther Ben Hania on “The Voice of Hind Rajab”
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 between documentary and narrative, her films consistently challenge conventional storytelling while remaining deeply grounded in human experience. Her latest film, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” […]
“Women Make the Harsher Films”: Isa Willinger Revisits a Provocation in “No Mercy”
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 really be true? So often, women and non-binary filmmakers are framed through the language of empathy, intuition, or sensitivity — rarely through force, severity, or […]
Reclaiming the Self: Carolina Cavalli on the Strange Beauty of “The Kidnapping of Arabella”
Italian filmmaker Carolina Cavalli has quickly emerged as one of the most original voices in contemporary cinema. Born in Milan, Cavalli made her feature debut with “Amanda” (2022), which premiered at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals and introduced her signature blend of melancholy, absurdity, and quiet tenderness. She later co-wrote “Fremont” (2023) with […]
Kick Out the Conventions: Agnieszka Holland on “Franz,” “The Secret Garden” and More
With the 61st Chicago International Film Festival nearly in the rearview mirror, there are so many memories from the past several days that I know I will be cherishing for years to come. Yet the one that stands above them all is the half-hour I got to spend last weekend speaking with one of the […]
Oscar winning filmmaker Euzhan Palcy on her film “Sugar Cane Alley”
Set against the vivid backdrop of 1931 French-colonized Martinique, “Sugar Cane Alley” (“Rue Cases-Nègres”) stands as one of cinema’s most tender and politically charged coming-of-age stories. The film follows eleven-year-old José, a bright and curious boy raised by his devoted grandmother, M’man Tine, who dreams of a life for him beyond the sugar cane fields. […]
Cinema Femme’s Most Anticipated Films at the 2025 New Orleans Film Festival
Rental Family, directed by Hikari Set in modern-day Tokyo, “Rental Family” follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese ‘rental family’ agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that […]