Femme Film Friday: “How to Have Sex,” “Tótem,” “Departing Seniors,” and “Fitting In”
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 Martin “Scrapper” cinematographer Molly Manning Walker’s directorial feature debut premiered at Cannes last year. I’ve been waiting for a film like this one to emerge. […]
CIFF 2023 Review: “Departing Seniors,” directed by Clare Cooney
“Departing Seniors” screened opening night of The 59th Chicago International Film Festival on October 11, 2023. The final week of senior year of high school can be full of surprises. Memories of the times you’ve had flood the halls you’ve walked for four years. Fear and excitement for an unknown future linger over you. However, […]
Cinema Femme’s 10 most anticipated films for ChiFilmFest 2023!
On Monday September 18th the schedule was announced for the 59th Chicago International Film Festival, which runs October 11 – 22, 2023. In no particular order, below are listed our top ten anticipated films for this year’s festival directed by women or non-binary people. There is one exception because of the film’s story centering around […]
Clare Cooney makes her directorial feature debut with “Departing Seniors”
To deem a filmmaker as scrappy is the highest compliment. Clare Cooney continues to evolve in her many abilities as a filmmaker and artist, and has always has embodied the essence of the term “scrappy.” Her evolution over the past years is making her more in demand as a filmmaker. Her friend Jose Nateras came […]
Look back: “Runner” – Clare Cooney
A woman goes for a jog and witnesses something she can’t run away from. Read our 2019 interview with Clare Cooney about her short “Runner”.
Cinema Femme Voices #FemaleFilmmakerFriday
Happy Female Filmmaker Friday! This Friday, instead of featuring one filmmaker, we’d like to showcase some of our Cinema Femme voices, which are excerpts from past Cinema Femme filmmaker features. We hope their wisdom will inspire you as they have for us. At Cinema Femme we elevate the voices of the female film experience. We […]
A conversation between Cinema Femme founder Rebecca Martin and filmmaker/actor Clare Cooney
I first heard about filmmaker and actor Clare Cooney after her buzzworthy short film “Runner” (2017) showed at the Chicago Critics Film Festival in 2018. A few months later, I had the pleasure of meeting Clare at the Midwest Independent Film Festival. With her female-focused film and her activeness in the Chicago film community, I was so happy she took the time to share her story.
Cinema Femme New Year Issue — Editor’s Letter
Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther” (2018) was chosen for our New Year issue because of the hope this film brought for onscreen representation, and because it’s proof that diverse, strong female characters do well in the box office.