“Desert Angel” elevates the American migrant community
You can see “Desert Angel” at the Austin Film Festival on Saturday October 26, 2024 6:45pm – 8:32pm CDT at the Galaxy 9 theater. Learn more here: https://2024austinfilmfestival.sched.com/event/1mKcL/desert-angel, keep up to date about the film here: https://www.desertangelfilm.com/ The names and faces of migrants who cross the US-Mexico border in search of a better life are […]
Look back: Elevating 25 films showing why we fight for gender equality
Labor Day for me has always symbolized the importance of elevating the fight for gender equality in the work place, and also behind the camera. Here is a list of our top 25 films that show that, and where to watch them. I’ve included some of Cinema Femme’s coverage of these films along with women […]
Lydia Ellis Curry and Alyssa Thordarson on endometriosis, women’s health, and their short film, “Chronic”
I had the opportunity to talk to actor/writer/producer Lydia Ellis Curry and director Alyssa Thordarson about their short film, “Chronic,” which will premiere at the 11th Annual NOHO Cinefest 2024 on Sunday, September 15th at 1 PM. Learn more and get tickets here: https://cinefest.ticketbud.com/shorts-11. “Chronic”: When Emma, Ruth’s sister and best friend, comes to help […]
What we have in common: Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss on the importance of “Girls State”
Our country is divided politically. This is no new news. I live in Chicago, which is predominately on the liberal side of politics, but when you drive into the farm areas of Illinois, out in Woodstock where my husband’s parents live, you see the Trump signs everywhere. Same with where my parents live in Michigan. […]
“Working Girls” director Lizzie Borden elevates female and non-binary voices in her book ‘WHOREPHOBIA: Strippers on Art, Work, and Life’
Lizzie Borden’s films are coming to the Siskel Film Center this month! To celebrate her arrival in Chicago, and her upcoming program set to stream next month on the Criterion Channel, we are spotlighting our interview with Lizzie from 6/1/23. Buy tickets here! Over the past couple months, I have had the amazing pleasure and […]
Sierra Urich explores the spaces that children of immigrants occupy in her documentary feature debut “Joonam”
We bring back our Sundance 2023 interview with Sierra Urich in anticipation of the 12/1 theatrical release, kicking off in NYC. “Joonam” is a beautiful debut documentary from Iranian-American filmmaker Sierra Urich. In the film, Urich connects with her Persian mother and grandmother while learning Farsi and trying to build her own foundation with her […]
NOFF 2023 Interview: Michéle Stephenson’s “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” illuminates a reimagined future
I’m going to keep my intro brief because I feel filmmaker Michéle Stephenson speaks to the truth of her film “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” which she co-directed with Joe Brewster, in more of an eloquent way than I could. So this interview is going to be mostly comprised of her words rather […]
Emerging filmmakers empower audiences at Heartland’s 2023 Indy Shorts International Film Festival
“My poems and songs have no flavor without you.” The above quote comes from the end of the short documentary “Ayenda,” directed by Marie Margolius. A group of teenage Afghan girls sing this song about their homeland after they’ve been evacuated by a special mission team, and the line, “My poems and songs have no […]
Female creators and actors come together to express their rage regarding the overturning of Roe v. Wade in “Give Me An A”
On June 24th, 2022, the horrific news came out that Roe v. Wade had been overturned by the federal government. This was a landmark decision made by the Supreme Court in 1973, which gave women the right to decide what they wanted to do with their bodies when it came to their reproductive choices. Bodily […]
Filmmaker Colette Ghunim heals and perseveres with “Traces of Home”
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) of “The People’s Girls” (2016), a short documentary that explores […]