Read our most recent issue with stories that validate, inspire, and change the way we see— and make — film.
Years ago, while working at Chicago Filmmakers, I came across a large pile of magazines from the organization’s archive that...
Chicago is buzzing with energy this month as we celebrate the incredible impact of women-led and women-owned businesses in the...
I had the honor of speaking with Emmy-winning writer and executive producer Simran Baidwan, who has helped shape The Pitt...
This is a living record of underrepresented brilliance in film. Dive into our archive of stories and hear from bold voices that paving the industry forward.
16 min read
by Rebecca Martin
June 16, 2026
Years ago, while working at Chicago Filmmakers, I came across a large pile of magazines from the organization’s archive that were destined for the trash. To some, they may have
6 min read
by Rebecca Martin Fagerholm and Matt Fagerholm
June 12, 2026
Chicago is buzzing with energy this month as we celebrate the incredible impact of women-led and women-owned businesses in the film community. The Independent Film Exhibition Conference (IND/EX), running June
12 min read
by Rebecca Martin
June 10, 2026
I had the honor of speaking with Emmy-winning writer and executive producer Simran Baidwan, who has helped shape The Pitt into one of television’s most distinctive medical dramas. Much like
24 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
June 8, 2026
Upending an audience’s expectations has become one of the most joyous experiences to have in a movie theater, especially when so many releases from mainstream studios are content to remain
14 min read
by Rebecca Martin
June 5, 2026
Some films seem to find you when you’re finally ready for them. In 2023, I spoke with filmmaker and writer Guinevere Turner about her memoir, When the World Didn’t End,
6 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
May 29, 2026
As a variation on our Femme Filmmaker Friday articles, our contributor Matt Fagerholm is offering his thoughts on three new male-directed films (plus one new female-directed series) all bolstered by
8 min read
by Emily Jacobson
May 21, 2026
When I first watched “Go Fish,” Rose Troche’s 1994 film, it was in the middle of lockdown during 2020. I was watching at least three movies a day, using my
3 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 20, 2026
When I sat down with director Nora Kirkpatrick, she described her latest feature, “Couples Weekend,” as “The Breakfast Club for adults.” It’s a comparison she credits to actor Josh Gad,
9 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 19, 2026
We are living in a culture right now where we are constantly feeding ourselves, and not only with food. The content constantly competing for our attention on all sizes of
16 min read
by Rebecca Martin
June 16, 2026
Years ago, while working at Chicago Filmmakers, I came across a large pile of magazines from the organization’s archive that were destined for the trash. To some, they may have
12 min read
by Rebecca Martin
June 10, 2026
I had the honor of speaking with Emmy-winning writer and executive producer Simran Baidwan, who has helped shape The Pitt into one of television’s most distinctive medical dramas. Much like
24 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
June 8, 2026
Upending an audience’s expectations has become one of the most joyous experiences to have in a movie theater, especially when so many releases from mainstream studios are content to remain
14 min read
by Rebecca Martin
June 5, 2026
Some films seem to find you when you’re finally ready for them. In 2023, I spoke with filmmaker and writer Guinevere Turner about her memoir, When the World Didn’t End,
8 min read
by Emily Jacobson
May 21, 2026
When I first watched “Go Fish,” Rose Troche’s 1994 film, it was in the middle of lockdown during 2020. I was watching at least three movies a day, using my
3 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 20, 2026
When I sat down with director Nora Kirkpatrick, she described her latest feature, “Couples Weekend,” as “The Breakfast Club for adults.” It’s a comparison she credits to actor Josh Gad,
9 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 19, 2026
We are living in a culture right now where we are constantly feeding ourselves, and not only with food. The content constantly competing for our attention on all sizes of
6 min read
by Davide Abbatescianni
May 16, 2026
Franco-Costa Rican filmmaker Valentina Maurel returns to Cannes with “Forever Your Maternal Animal,” premiering in Un Certain Regard four years after her Critics’ Week-bound debut “I Have Electric Dreams.” Set
12 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 15, 2026
Kate Cragg’s filmmaking begins with a refusal: a rejection of the “proper way” of doing things. Where conventional cinema prizes structure, coverage, and clarity, Cragg has built a practice grounded
24 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
June 8, 2026
Upending an audience’s expectations has become one of the most joyous experiences to have in a movie theater, especially when so many releases from mainstream studios are content to remain
6 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
May 29, 2026
As a variation on our Femme Filmmaker Friday articles, our contributor Matt Fagerholm is offering his thoughts on three new male-directed films (plus one new female-directed series) all bolstered by
24 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
April 29, 2026
It’s a special kind of thrill when the greatness of an emerging filmmaker’s work hits you like a thunderbolt. That’s precisely what happened to me upon discovering the sublimely nuanced
25 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
April 13, 2026
After seeing Chicago’s BDSM community turn out in huge numbers for a euphoric preview screening of Harry Lighton’s acclaimed movie “Pillion” earlier this year, it’s clear that Madison Young’s equally
22 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
March 13, 2026
As I spent twelve hours in the hospital last week, waiting for my dad to recover from his long-belated knee replacement surgery, I found a liberating mode of escapism in
17 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
March 8, 2026
If she could, Amber would be a wall painted nondescript grey. Paint isn’t like wallpaper. It can’t be removed completely. No matter how much sanding down, they would still be
17 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
February 19, 2026
The sun is just beginning to set as the twenty-something characters in Jessica’s Barr’s mesmerizing new film, “The Plan,” start to congregate in an East LA apartment. The calmness of
4 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
February 13, 2026
There is no filmmaking duo whose work I await with greater anticipation than Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson. In 2019, Thompson made his debut feature, “Saint Frances,” written by and
21 min read
by Veronica Miles
February 12, 2026
Yes, you can just go to Sundance. Yes, you will definitely have fun. Yes, you will see celebrities. Yes, you will see movies that may win Oscars or launch the
14 min read
by Rebecca Martin
June 5, 2026
Some films seem to find you when you’re finally ready for them. In 2023, I spoke with filmmaker and writer Guinevere Turner about her memoir, When the World Didn’t End,
8 min read
by Emily Jacobson
May 21, 2026
When I first watched “Go Fish,” Rose Troche’s 1994 film, it was in the middle of lockdown during 2020. I was watching at least three movies a day, using my
9 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 19, 2026
We are living in a culture right now where we are constantly feeding ourselves, and not only with food. The content constantly competing for our attention on all sizes of
25 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
April 13, 2026
After seeing Chicago’s BDSM community turn out in huge numbers for a euphoric preview screening of Harry Lighton’s acclaimed movie “Pillion” earlier this year, it’s clear that Madison Young’s equally
14 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
March 9, 2026
As someone who was born four decades ago, any fragments of home movie footage that exist from my childhood—most of which was recorded on a cumbersome camcorder borrowed from my
4 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
February 13, 2026
There is no filmmaking duo whose work I await with greater anticipation than Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson. In 2019, Thompson made his debut feature, “Saint Frances,” written by and
16 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
January 28, 2026
Sundance has always been a festival I had admired at a distance. How Robert Redford had gone about using his platform to launch the careers of countless filmmakers for over
14 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
November 4, 2025
I went into David Michôd’s biopic “Christy” knowing nothing about its titular boxer. I knew I would be interviewing the film’s real-life subject, Christy Salters Martin, the following morning, and
15 min read
by Emily Jacobson
May 20, 2025
Hannah Welever is a queer filmmaker based in New York, but her roots are Midwestern. In her newest short, “Soirée,” Welever creatively holds space for women’s bodies, and how often
6 min read
by Rebecca Martin Fagerholm and Matt Fagerholm
June 12, 2026
Chicago is buzzing with energy this month as we celebrate the incredible impact of women-led and women-owned businesses in the film community. The Independent Film Exhibition Conference (IND/EX), running June
5 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 18, 2026
“That’s the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they’re not much to look at, or even if they’re sort of stupid, you fall half in
12 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 5, 2026
This month’s lineup leans heavily into documentaries, with “The Invite” as the lone outlier. Watching these films, I kept circling back to my own life—each one opening up a different
8 min read
by Rebecca Martin
April 16, 2026
Some films invite passive observation; others refuse distance altogether, demanding a more intimate kind of surrender. The selections in the April 2026 Femme Film Series—”The Chronology of Water,” “My NDA,”
9 min read
by Rebecca Martin
March 8, 2026
For me, movies and meaning are inseparable; I process my daily life through this art form. The cinema is not just entertainment—it’s a vital lens through which I understand the
4 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
February 13, 2026
There is no filmmaking duo whose work I await with greater anticipation than Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson. In 2019, Thompson made his debut feature, “Saint Frances,” written by and
8 min read
by Peyton Robinson
February 9, 2026
Whether a creator or observer, one’s relationship with art dictates a host of qualities: values, ambitions, fantasies, etc. That umbrella term – art – can be composed of so many
6 min read
by Emily Jacobson
February 5, 2026
For my final dispatch of Sundance 2026, I talk about three films I screened virtually from home (though I originally saw “The Musical” in Park City, but I enjoyed it
8 min read
by Peyton Robinson
February 3, 2026
For many women, sexual discovery is a kind of reckoning. It comes in waves. Answering the question of “what was your first sexual experience?” can be immensely complex when bearing
2 min read
by Anna Pattison
November 1, 2025
Dear Cinema Femme Readers, Let’s celebrate: our talents, passions, our goals, and dreams. Let’s support: to ensure these dreams are made a reality. Let’s thrive: in spaces where we
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Years ago, while working at Chicago Filmmakers, I came across a large pile of magazines from the organization’s archive that were destined for the trash.
Chicago is buzzing with energy this month as we celebrate the incredible impact of women-led and women-owned businesses in the film community. The Independent Film
I had the honor of speaking with Emmy-winning writer and executive producer Simran Baidwan, who has helped shape The Pitt into one of television’s most
Upending an audience’s expectations has become one of the most joyous experiences to have in a movie theater, especially when so many releases from mainstream
Some films seem to find you when you’re finally ready for them. In 2023, I spoke with filmmaker and writer Guinevere Turner about her memoir,
As a variation on our Femme Filmmaker Friday articles, our contributor Matt Fagerholm is offering his thoughts on three new male-directed films (plus one new
Years ago, while working at Chicago Filmmakers, I came across a large pile of magazines from the organization’s archive that were destined for the trash.
Chicago is buzzing with energy this month as we celebrate the incredible impact of women-led and women-owned businesses in the film community. The Independent Film
I had the honor of speaking with Emmy-winning writer and executive producer Simran Baidwan, who has helped shape The Pitt into one of television’s most
Upending an audience’s expectations has become one of the most joyous experiences to have in a movie theater, especially when so many releases from mainstream
Some films seem to find you when you’re finally ready for them. In 2023, I spoke with filmmaker and writer Guinevere Turner about her memoir,
As a variation on our Femme Filmmaker Friday articles, our contributor Matt Fagerholm is offering his thoughts on three new male-directed films (plus one new
Years ago, while working at Chicago Filmmakers, I came across a large pile of magazines from the organization’s archive that were destined for the trash.
Chicago is buzzing with energy this month as we celebrate the incredible impact of women-led and women-owned businesses in the film community. The Independent Film
I had the honor of speaking with Emmy-winning writer and executive producer Simran Baidwan, who has helped shape The Pitt into one of television’s most
Upending an audience’s expectations has become one of the most joyous experiences to have in a movie theater, especially when so many releases from mainstream
Some films seem to find you when you’re finally ready for them. In 2023, I spoke with filmmaker and writer Guinevere Turner about her memoir,
As a variation on our Femme Filmmaker Friday articles, our contributor Matt Fagerholm is offering his thoughts on three new male-directed films (plus one new
