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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.
9 min read
by Rebecca Martin
February 17, 2026
Every Sundance leaves an impression on me — no, more than that. It feels like a permanent mark etched into my soul. Of course, there’s the snow, the crowded Main
6 min read
by Rebecca Martin
February 13, 2026
Chicago-based writer-director Hannah Schierbeek continues her exploration of intimate human stories set against vast socioecological backdrops with her latest short film. Written, directed, and produced by Schierbeek, the film follows
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
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
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
7 min read
by Rebecca Martin
February 5, 2026
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
5 min read
by Rebecca Martin
November 8, 2018
I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Moss, NYC-based filmmaker. I met Laura last year at the Chicago Critics Film Festival, where I saw her short film “Fry Day.” I
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
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
13 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
November 17, 2025
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
14 min read
by Anna Pattison
November 1, 2025
When a laid-off sex worker falls for a mail carrier in a world frozen by pandemic unknowns, it will take the help of an astrologer, cinema guru, cam model, retired dungeon owner,
14 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
October 25, 2025
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
6 min read
by Rebecca Martin
February 28, 2021
Amina Maher is brave. Her short film “Letter to My Mother” is a triumph and a courageous way for the filmmaker to break her silence about the abuse she endured
12 min read
by Rebecca Martin
February 15, 2021
I am in love. I’m in love with Marion Hill’s ‘Ma Belle, My Beauty.’ This film is a romance that involves many people, but at the heart of it is
9 min read
by Rebecca Martin
August 28, 2020
“Every image or sound is a vessel for emotion: rapture, despair, sensuousness, fury, a combination of these. That makes cinema a kind of legerdemain: the art of sculpting such seemingly
13 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
June 29, 2020
“For many years, I had to confront the cruel system in my home country that does not tolerate people with a different mindset. People judged me for my ideas as
13 min read
Filmmaker Anna Kerrigan takes us on the heartfelt journey of a father and his trans son in “Cowboys”
by Rebecca Martin
May 6, 2020
I like that idea that when you’re in nature you can be your true self, and not influenced by the constructs of your society. It’s a really interesting way to
10 min read
by Rebecca Martin
December 5, 2019
5 min read
by Rebecca Martin
July 19, 2019
I am ready to share with the world that I am a freaky queer femme sex worker domme and I am also a fucking filmmaker. —Molly Hewitt/Glamhag June, 2019 Molly
16 min read
by Rebecca Martin
July 15, 2019
13 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 28, 2019
I met filmmaker and Seed&Spark’s head of education and outreach Christina Raia in March at the 2019 Girl Power Film + Media Summit, where she gave a presentation about film
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
7 min read
by Emily Jacobson
February 3, 2026
As I got deeper into the festival and more sleep deprived, my second dispatch from Sundance saw some common themes begin to emerge in the films I was seeing. In
4 min read
by Rebecca Martin
January 31, 2026
Barbara Hammer once said, “If we’re experimenting with our lives and the way we’re going to live, our film and our art should also be experimental. It breaks tradition, and
9 min read
by Emily Jacobson
January 30, 2026
When I landed in what would be the last Sundance in Park City, Utah, a notable feeling of gratitude washed over me. My first day was a frenzy of badge
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
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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,
