When Cinema Becomes a Witness: Kaouther Ben Hania on “The Voice of Hind Rajab”
Kaouther Ben Hania is a two-time Academy Award–nominated filmmaker whose fearless, formally inventive work has positioned her as one of the most vital voices in contemporary international cinema. Moving fluidly between documentary and narrative, her films consistently challenge conventional storytelling while remaining deeply grounded in human experience. Her latest film, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” […]
Oscar winning filmmaker Euzhan Palcy on her film “Sugar Cane Alley”
Set against the vivid backdrop of 1931 French-colonized Martinique, “Sugar Cane Alley” (“Rue Cases-Nègres”) stands as one of cinema’s most tender and politically charged coming-of-age stories. The film follows eleven-year-old José, a bright and curious boy raised by his devoted grandmother, M’man Tine, who dreams of a life for him beyond the sugar cane fields. […]
FYC: Cinema Femme speaks with filmmaker Mateusz Balcerek and producer Pinar Binay about their short film “Sunflower”
I got the opportunity to speak with the director Mateusz Balcerek and producer Pinar Binay about their live action short film “Sunflower,” which is now in the competition for an Oscar nomination. Learn more about the film by visiting https://soundsbetter.co/sunflower-short, and follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunflower_themovie/. The film is a personal one, as it is based on the […]
A Different Conversation: Maia Scalia on Her Stunning Directorial Debut, “His Mother”
If only people had listened to her. She saw the warning signs while others kept repeatedly turning a blind eye, and now her only child is on the brink of committing an unspeakable act. For thirteen agonizing minutes, Julie (played by a shattering Bethany Anne Lind), races through traffic, frantically making calls that she hopes […]
Lea Glob hopes her documentary “Apolonia, Apolonia” inspires and encourages the art of creation
My interview with Danish filmmaker Lea Glob happened at just the right time. During our interview about her Oscar short-listed documentary, “Apolonia, Apolonia,” we talked about how the questions of work and motherhood take up a lot of space in the mind of a woman. There is always that fear of whether motherhood will take […]
Look Back: Cinema Femme Voices: “Black Panther”
With the release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” coming this Friday (11/11/22) we bring back snippets of our January 2019 Black Panther issue and our interview with Oscar-Winning Production Designer Hannah Beachler. Earlier this year, we chose “Black Panther” to be our film focus for our January issue (read my editor’s letter here). I chose […]
Look back: Anna Serner blazes trails at the Swedish Film Institute with her 2019 gender equality report “What Women?”
*The following interview was conducted at the end of December 2019 and was featured on cinemafemme.com on January 2020. We are bringing the interview back for our site because she is stepping down from her role as CEO at the Swedish Film Institute. We are grateful for her hard work for women in the film […]
Promising overlooked women: shining a light on female directors
Over a year ago, at Sundance 2020, pre-pandemic, Carey Mulligan spoke with Variety about how Oscar voters overlooked films with female filmmakers, meaning they did not watch these films before they cast their votes for the Best Director category. This discussion circled around her and Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” premiere. I can’t help thinking […]
Writer/director Elvira Lind on Her Oscar-Nominated Short Film, “The Letter Room”
One of the joys of covering the movie beat is seeing a great artist whose work you believe in receive the recognition they deserve. When the 2021 Oscar nominations were announced on March 15th, I jumped out of my chair and cheered when Elvira Lind’s “The Letter Room” was named among the nominees for Best […]
‘Be Kind Rewind’ YouTube series host Izzy digs deep into the Oscars
Izzy debuted her first “Be Kind Rewind” video in 2018 and has amassed 116k subscribers since then. Her video series on YouTube explores the struggles and triumphs of Hollywood’s leading ladies with non-sensationalized narratives that erase tabloid exploitation and reveal how women and other marginalized groups have navigated the entertainment industry. Before I go into […]