Transitioning Together: Amy Jenkins and Adam Sieswerda on “Adam’s Apple”
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 aunt—are priceless. Thanks to the new millennium’s technological advancements, people born within the past quarter century can have the entirety of their evolution from child […]
Pushing the Boundaries: Emily Robinson on “Ugly Cry” and “Consumed”
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 forced to cover her with white to clear the slate before the next shade splayed atop her. She would haunt the walls and infuse the […]
SXSW 2025: “Baba I’m Fine” explores the angst of an Arab teenage girl
I was fortunate to discover Karina Dandashi and her work at the Indy Shorts Film Festival in 2023. Her short film, “Cousins,” which screened at the festival, was about a queer Arab American woman and a night she spends with her long distance cousin in New York City. It was a slice of life film, […]
Women Who Break Down Walls: A Conversation with Sophia Dilley, EVP of Concord Originals
Sophia Dilley is a force in the industry. In 2018, she was hired by Concord Music to build their new content strategy. In 2021, she launched “Concord Originals,” the company’s Film and TV division. As Executive Vice President, Sophia and her team collaborate with all teams under Concord’s banner to identify, develop, and produce various […]
SXSW 2023: Putting a lens on digital image-based sexual abuse in directors Sophie Compton & Reuben Hamlyn and producer Elizabeth Woodward’s “Another Body”
I had the privilege of speaking with three artists and activists, directors Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn as well as producer Elizabeth Woodward, about their impactful documentary, “Another Body.” Just as deep fake technology conveyed the protagonist’s ever-morphing identity in Dina Amer’s “You Resemble Me”, so does this unsettling new form of technology play a […]
Look back: Kelly O’Sullivan’s debut script ‘Saint Frances’ brings an authentic look into womanhood
With the recent news of the Supreme Court leak detailing their plan to overturn Roe vs. Wade, we wanted to bring back our interview with Kelly O’Sullivan about her film “Saint Frances”. At Cinema Femme, we stand for the human rights of women, and we fight an obvious violation of them. “Saint Frances” brings up […]
SXSW 2021: “See You Then” tells a universal tale from a trans Asian American filmmaker
With the atrocities that happened this week in Atlanta that resulted in the deaths of Asian American women, and with the hashtag #StopAsianHate streaming through social media, a film like “See You Then” is more important to see then ever. A trans woman meets with an ex-girlfriend she hasn’t seen for a decade. They go […]
#TBT 2019 Sundance Ebert Fellows
Chaz Ebert introduced me to the 2019 Sundance Ebert Fellows Niani Scott, Whitney A. Spencer, and Tiffany Walden via Instagram as they were on their way to Park City, Utah, to cover Sundance Film Festival. I read up on these intelligent and extremely talented women, and I was so inspired by their drive and past experience. During our interview in March, we talked about their Sundance experiences, their favorite films from the festival, and the importance of having diverse voices in film criticism.
Director Rebecca Stern combines her love for animals and filmmaking with ‘Well Groomed’
Rebecca Stern, director of the much-talked-about SXSW film “Well Groomed,” has married her love of animals and her passion, skills, and knowledge of filmmaking to create a visually entertaining film with a compelling underlying narrative arc. Featuring four women who compete in the arena of creative dog grooming, Stern brings us into this relatively unknown world and tells a story of art and friendship.
With ‘Alice,’ director Josephine Mackerras explores preconceived notions of independence, motherhood, and marriage
Josephine Mackerras debuted her first feature film, “Alice,” at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival. The story depicts how Alice, a wife and mother, reacts to her husband’s double life, leaving them in debt and on the brink of eviction. Where she turns is an unexpected choice, creating emotionally loaded questions regarding preconceived notions of independence, […]
Cinema Femme Women’s History Month/Sexual Assault Awareness Month Issue — Editor’s Letter
If you’re not having a good time, find something else that gives you some joy in life. —Penny Marshall (October 15, 1943–December 17, 2018) When there is a passion inside you, you can’t deny it. When there is a dream and a passion inside you that you achingly want to exist, you will do everything […]
A conversation between Cinema Femme founder Rebecca Martin and film critic Danielle Solzman
“This past season, GLAAD did their report, and there’s been an increase of trans actors in series, but a lot of that is because of “Pose” (2018). So it would be nice to see more trans actors taking on roles. But I’d like to see, not so much because of the story, but casting directors being like, “Hey, you don’t necessarily need to write this character as cis; it can be a trans person.” “The Sisters Brothers” (2018) and “Colette” (2018) both had trans actors playing cisgender characters.”