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Read our most recent issue with stories that validate, inspire, and change the way we see— and make — film.
About a year ago, I sat down for what was probably my sixth movie of the day at the 2025...
As I spent twelve hours in the hospital last week, waiting for my dad to recover from his long-belated knee...
As someone who was born four decades ago, any fragments of home movie footage that exist from my childhood—most of...
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.
5 min read
by Rebecca Martin
November 4, 2018
One of the raffle prizes at our launch party with be Cinema Femme founder Rebecca Martin’s personal collection of Criterion Collection films. Here, Rebecca writes about what each film means
2 min read
by cinemafemme
November 4, 2018
Our launch party at this Music Box Theatre is this Thursday! We will have raffle prizes from… #1: Revolution Brewing Company Cheers to the weekend! One of our awesome raffle
3 min read
by Rebecca Martin
October 10, 2018
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Cinema Femme magazine, the voice of the female film experience! Cinema Femme is a digital magazine that voices the female film experience through personal essays and interviews, accompanied
1 min read
by Rebecca Martin
October 6, 2018
Inaugural Issue (launching 11/12/18) interviews film critic Pamela Powell and filmmaker Laura Moss. Learn about their personal female film experiences in the upcoming digital issue, launching November 12, 2018. Pamela Powell
1 min read
by Rebecca Martin
October 6, 2018
“Virgin Suicides” (1999) “Everybody—the male and female actors and the audience alike—is captivated by this film that is a meditation on the existential horror of teenage life. We are all
1 min read
by Rebecca Martin
October 6, 2018
Founder Rebecca Martin’s journey to Cinema Femme started in 2011 when she decided to form a Meetup called the Chicago Film Lover Exchange (CFLX).
1 min read
by Rebecca Martin
October 6, 2018
Out of 50 films I presented on Instagram, with over 300 likes by my followers liking their favorites out of the 50, I dissected the top 12 films that got
9 min read
by Rebecca Martin
October 6, 2018
I’ve followed Sofia Coppola’s career closely, ever since 2003. In 2003, I saw the film that became my gateway in to the cinephile world: Lost in Translation. Friends in college (where
2 min read
by Rebecca Martin
October 6, 2018
Over the past few years, and it seems like from the beginning of time, when it comes to an opinion, in general, male (specifically white men) have been the represented
7 min read
by Emily Jacobson
March 20, 2026
About a year ago, I sat down for what was probably my sixth movie of the day at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. My eyes were burning, my brain was
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
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
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
14 min read
by Rebecca Martin
March 3, 2026
In conversation with Elizabeth Stam, Wendy Robie, Brookelyn Hebert, Mary Tilden, and Heather Kuhlmann. Some films move like a straight line. “Hekla doesn’t. It rushes, swerves, collides—then bursts into color
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
8 min read
by Rebecca Martin
February 10, 2026
“The Way of the Whale” tells the untold story of an extraordinary interspecies bond — a connection so profound it feels like love — between humans and gray whales in
10 min read
by Rebecca Martin
February 10, 2026
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
7 min read
by Rebecca Martin
February 9, 2026
Cinema Femme is thrilled to reconnect with director, writer, and actress Gabriela Ortega on the occasion of her latest short film, “Marga en el DF”, which makes its World Premiere
6 min read
by Davide Abbatescianni
March 6, 2025
After a successful festival run kicked off at San Sebastian and BFI London last year, Sylvia Le Fanu’s debut, titled “My Eternal Summer,” heads to the Göteborg Film Festival, one
6 min read
by Davide Abbatescianni
March 5, 2025
In her latest endeavor, “White Roses Fall!” (in Spanish: “¡Caigan las rosas blancas!”), Argentinian filmmaker Albertina Carri follows Violeta, a director known for her breakout amateur lesbian porn hit, as
29 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
February 24, 2025
One of my favorite films I saw in 2024 is finally kicking off its limited theatrical run before arriving on VOD. Last year, I had the privilege of serving on
23 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
February 21, 2025
I have always had a fondness for coming of age films that vividly recall how intense our emotions are during pivotal moments of growth and transition. In many ways, we
8 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
October 18, 2024
Valeria Golino was 18 years old when she filmed Italian director Francesco Maselli’s “Storia d’amore,” the movie that would make her an international star. She earned the Best Actress prize
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
21 min read
by Anna Pattison
April 18, 2025
From writer and director Florence Bouvy, “Where We Stay” is a beautiful and touching examination of human connection and unspoken truths. The film was partially inspired by Florence’s own story
10 min read
by Peyton Robinson
April 15, 2025
Cheryl Dunye is best known for her iconic film “The Watermelon Woman” — a tale of an aspiring Black lesbian filmmaker (played by Dunye herself) who seeks to learn more
8 min read
by Rebecca Martin
November 4, 2024
“This movie that saved my life also holds a complicated and controversial history in the queer film canon. I’m not seeking to change anyone’s mind with this film, but to
4 min read
by Rebecca Martin
July 3, 2024
I had the opportunity to speak with Jac Cron about her feature debut “Chestnut.” We talked about how she came to this project, and how her time after college was
4 min read
by Rebecca Martin
April 12, 2024
“The Tuba Thieves” premieres tonight at the Siskel Film Center. Get your tickets here. “The Tuba Thieves,” directed by Alison O’Daniel, is a cinematic vision for the senses. I love
6 min read
by cinemafemme
February 2, 2024
Here are our capsule reviews of four new releases we recommend you seek out! How to Have Sex – directed by Molly Manning Walker (Feb. 9) | review by Rebecca
5 min read
by Emily Jacobson
January 30, 2024
A teenage girl goes on a camping trip with her father and his oldest friend. Typically, this type of movie would be a coming of age film, focusing on the
4 min read
by Peyton Robinson
January 30, 2024
Haley Elizabeth Anderson’s feature debut, “Tendaberry,” is a narrative document on change. Dakota (Kota Johan) is a 23 year old New York City transplant, somewhat estranged from her family, but
5 min read
by Emily Jacobson
January 29, 2024
It is 2005 and Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston have just split up. While the pop culture world cries out in despair, Doris (Nico Parker) recites the news to her
4 min read
by Peyton Robinson
January 29, 2024
“In the Summers” won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance 2024 film festival for Dramatic. Alessandra Lacorraza Samudio’s semi-autobiographical film, “In the Summers,” is a portrait of
5 min read
by Peyton Robinson
January 28, 2024
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
5 min read
by Rebecca Martin
January 27, 2024
I’ve been embarking on a new frontier in my self-journey. I’ve started to go through fertility treatments because my husband Matt and I want to try to have a biological
4 min read
by Peyton Robinson
January 26, 2024
“Handling the Undead,” directed by Thea Hvistendahl, mainly follows a trio of isolated vignettes. Anna (Renate Reinsve) and her father, Mahler (Bjørn Sundquist), mourn the loss of her young son.
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About a year ago, I sat down for what was probably my sixth movie of the day at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. My eyes
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
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
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
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
In conversation with Elizabeth Stam, Wendy Robie, Brookelyn Hebert, Mary Tilden, and Heather Kuhlmann. Some films move like a straight line. “Hekla doesn’t. It rushes,
About a year ago, I sat down for what was probably my sixth movie of the day at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. My eyes
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
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
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
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
In conversation with Elizabeth Stam, Wendy Robie, Brookelyn Hebert, Mary Tilden, and Heather Kuhlmann. Some films move like a straight line. “Hekla doesn’t. It rushes,
About a year ago, I sat down for what was probably my sixth movie of the day at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. My eyes
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
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
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
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
In conversation with Elizabeth Stam, Wendy Robie, Brookelyn Hebert, Mary Tilden, and Heather Kuhlmann. Some films move like a straight line. “Hekla doesn’t. It rushes,
