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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.
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
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
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
8 min read
by Davide Abbatescianni
February 22, 2026
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
6 min read
by Anna Pattison
February 20, 2026
The logline, “A Mormon couple ties the knot,” already had me invested but reading the synopsis sealed the deal: “It’s wedding day at the Mormon Temple. For wide-eyed Sydney, it’s
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
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 cinemafemme
June 14, 2024
Cora Bora – Hannah Utt (script written by Rhianon Jones) Catch the NYC and LA premieres this weekend! Megan Stalter reminds me of Catherine O’Hara when she was getting started
33 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
June 3, 2024
Every once in a while, I come across a film that feels as if it has been made especially for me. That happened most recently at this year’s joyous in-person
12 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 29, 2024
“Tell That to the Winter Sea” is a masterfully crafted journey into womanhood, filled with captivating performances, stunning visuals and assured direction. The film brings me back to being a
5 min read
by Emily Jacobson
January 25, 2024
On Friday, January 19th, the Utah House of Representatives voted to advance a restrictive anti-trans bill outlawing trans people from using bathrooms aligning with their gender identity. It will now
16 min read
by Rebecca Martin
August 31, 2023
Speaking with “American Psycho” screenwriter Guinevere Turner about her book When the World Didn’t End: A Memoir and her films that have changed the face of independent cinema, like “Go
8 min read
by Rebecca Martin
August 26, 2023
“I feel like we’ve watched so many male anti-hero stories, whether they’re comedies or dramas or mysteries, and it’s crazy that in 2023, we’re still so hungry for shitty, flawed
9 min read
by Rebecca Martin
August 1, 2023
We need authentic stories, even in the rom-com genre. New Zealand filmmaker Anna Rose Duckworth agrees with this! She beautifully paints the line between romantic comedy and elevating humanity within
11 min read
by Rebecca Martin
June 23, 2023
Trauma and pleasure. Two things that are different, yet when it comes to sex, the one sometimes can bring shame to the other. One is not our fault, the trauma
6 min read
by Rebecca Martin
May 23, 2023
I had the opportunity to speak with Lillah Halla (she/her/them) about her beautiful film “Levante,” which centers on a promising 17-year-old volleyball player named Sofia, who is faced with an
7 min read
by Matt Fagerholm
October 21, 2025
The Girl in the Snow One of the great discoveries I made at CIFF ten years ago was the talent of young Galatéa Bellugi. As a pregnant teen in the
3 min read
by cinemafemme
April 11, 2025
BEING MARIA – directed by Jessica Palud “I want to be free as an actor to explore where a scene can go, but if it’s going to be a fight
6 min read
by Peyton Robinson
February 25, 2025
For my final dispatch of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, I’m covering three films that I watched virtually. Ironically, these films, while not all specifically tailoring their plots to location,
8 min read
by Emily Jacobson
February 18, 2025
For my second Sundance dispatch, I exchanged my snow boots for my slippers, and viewed most of the films from the comfort of my couch. While certainly not comparable to
7 min read
by Peyton Robinson
February 18, 2025
The endeavors of love and lust can feel like matters of life and death, but the films which compose this dispatch also find the humor in these escapades. I was
8 min read
by Emily Jacobson
January 31, 2025
When I was thirteen, I remember scrolling through the movie channels of my parents’ television and finding a film called “Like Crazy,” which was labeled as a “breakout Sundance hit.”
7 min read
by Peyton Robinson
January 28, 2025
It’s Saturday, January 25th and today is my last day at my first in-person Sundance Film Festival. Writing from a sardined high top table at Atticus, where yesterday I met
10 min read
by cinemafemme
December 13, 2024
This year started as it usually does for Cinema Femme with the Sundance Film Festival. Although we didn’t get the kind of coverage we’d like, as we were covering mostly
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
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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,
