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Jane Campion, Richard Linklater, Radu Jude and Ali Abbasi are among the advisors and special guests taking part in the 2025 Oxbelly screenwriting and literary retreat in Greece.

The event takes place on June 28–July 6 at Costa Navarino in Messinia and includes programs for writers working in film and literary fiction.

Golden Bear-winner Jude leads the screenwriters program – for writers working on their second features - with eight fellows selected this year. The full list of screenwriting fellows is below.

Other advisors or guests taking part include directors Annemarie Jacir and Kleber Mendonça Filho, and UK producer Tanya Seghatchian.

The lab...

Update: Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the Oscar-winning Israel-Palestine documentary “No Other Land,” has been freed, according to the latest post from co-director Yuval Abraham.

“After being handcuffed all night and beaten in a military base, Hamdan Ballal is now free and is about to go home to his family,” Abraham posted on X on Tuesday.

Previously: A petition to free Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the Oscar-winning Israel-Palestine documentary “No Other Land,” has gathered more than 3,700 signatures on Change.org.

Ballal is reportedly missing after being attacked, according to a series of posts on X from co-director Yuval Abraham.

“We, members of the global film community urgently appeal for the immediate release and safety of filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, co-director of ‘No Other Land,’ the recipient of this year’s Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Reports that Mr. Ballal was forcibly removed by the Israeli army from an ambulance following a brutal attack by settlers,...

Netflix and Chicken & Egg Pictures have teamed up on a new $450,000 documentary fund to support seasoned women and non-binary filmmakers working on their next feature-length project. Up to 30 filmmaking teams will receive either a $10,000 research grant or a $20,000 development grant to use towards a docu project.

Recipients of the Chicken & Egg Pictures research and development grant will also have access to peer support, mentorship, and relationship-building within the documentary filmmaking community.

Applications are currently being accepted for the new grant. The deadline for submission is April 24 and recipients will be announced this summer. To be eligible for the new grant, projects must be a feature-length film that is either in the research or the development stage. Additionally, the project must be directed or co-directed by an experienced woman or non-binary filmmaker who has directed at least two feature-length documentary films. Docus covering all types of topics and artistic approaches are welcome to apply.

Kani Lapuerta’s project “Niñxs” won the IDFA Forum Award for Best Pitch on Wednesday at the 35th edition of the Amsterdam-based documentary festival.

Produced by Mexico’s La Sandía Digital Producción Audiovisual and Germany’s Jyoti Film and Dirk Manthey Film, the film is about Mati, a 14 year-old trans girl who lives in Tepoztlán, Mexico, and faces a binary society that tries to fit them into one gender.

“The award goes to a project with a very strong and compelling character while bringing up a universal and timely theme,” jurors Gugi Gumilang, Marieke van den Bersselaar and Natalia Libet said. “The jury values the sincere and close connection between the protagonist and filmmaker and the witty tone of the trailer.”

Produced by Anke Peterson and Dirk Manthey, “Ninxs” is currently being edited, but Lapuerta said that he has a few more shooting days left in the schedule. He plans...

The Hamptons Intl. Film Festival will open with the world premiere of Matthew Heineman’s “The First Wave” on Oct. 7 and buzzy titles including Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer” as the Saturday centerpiece film and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” in the additional spotlight selection. The in-person festival ends Oct. 13 with Wes Anderson’s “French Dispatch.” The festival takes place in the Hamptons on the Eastern End of Long Island, N.Y. from Oct. 7-13. Masks and proof of vaccination are required in theaters.

Spotlight Titles

Newly announced Spotlight titles include the East Coast premiere of Joe Wright’s “Cyrano,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial feature debut of “The Lost Daughter,” Academy Award-winning director Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parallel Mothers,” Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut “Passing” and Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.”

Signature Programs

As part of the Signature Programs, the Conflict and Resolution section will include Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee,...

Sandbox Films, a new production company that will back documentary films about scientific inquiry, is launching at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival.

The company is on hand (virtually) for the world premiere of its inaugural effort, “Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds,” a new non-fiction effort from Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer the explores the science, history and mythology around meteors that fell to Earth.

In addition to “Fireball,” Sandbox Films has signed onto executive produce three upcoming documentaries with filmmakers Ondi Timoner, Penny Lane and Theo Anthony (“Rat Film”).

“There is really a hole in the documentary space in terms of commissioning films like these,” said Greg Boustead, who will serve as director and executive producer of Sandbox Films. “Outside of Nat Geo, Discovery and ‘Nova,’ there are not a lot of places where independent filmmakers can go to get resources to tell stories about science.”

The goal, Boustead said,...

Gamechanger has hired veteran producer Effie T. Brown (“Dear White People”) as its new chief executive officer.

Launched in 2013, Gamechanger became the first film financing fund built for and managed by women. Brown will oversee the fund’s expansion to include projects by people of color, Lgbtq+ and people with disabilities.

“As a black female producer who’s been in the business for over 20 years, I know how hard it is to not only get into the room but to then secure financing when you have a culturally diverse or gender-specific point of view,” Brown said.

“I am beyond thrilled to join Gamechanger as CEO and help level the playing field by providing equity financing for production, development monies as well as strategic partnerships for people with disabilities, Lgbtq+, women, and people of color,” she added. “What also makes us different is that the diversity of our content is as diverse as our investor pool.

Veteran producer Effie T. Brown has been named the new CEO of Gamechanger, the first film financing fund by and for women, which launched in 2013. Under Brown’s leadership, Gamechanger will broaden the fund’s scope to also include projects by and about people of color, the Lgbtq+ community, and people with disabilities. Gamechanger will also expand into television and digital content with a new, fully monetized development fund that will enable it to buy, option, and develop IP for those platforms.

“As a black female producer who’s been in the business for over 20 years, I know how hard it is to not only get into the room but to then secure financing when you have a culturally diverse or gender specific point of view,” said Brown. “I am beyond thrilled to join Gamechanger as CEO and help level the playing field by providing equity financing for production, development...

Known for her producing work on socially and culturally-minded projects like Dear White People and Real Women Have Curves, Effie T. Brown has been a game-changing advocate for inclusivity in the industry. That said, the veteran producer is bringing her work to the next level as she has been named the CEO of Gamechanger.

Launched in 2013, Gamechanger is the first film financing fund by and for women. Brown will bring her expertise to help broaden the fund’s scope to include projects by and about people of color, Lgbtq+ and people with disabilities. In addition to films, Gamechanger is set to expand its reach to television and digital content with a new, fully monetized development fund that will enable it to buy, option and develop IP for television, streaming and digital platforms.

“As a black female producer who’s been in the business for over 20 years, I know how hard...

Effie T. Brown, the veteran producer of “Dear White People,” “Real Women Have Curves” and “But I’m a Cheerleader,” has been tapped as CEO of the female-focused film financing fund Gamechanger, the fund announced on Tuesday.

Now with Brown at the helm — she also appeared in Season 4 of HBO’s “Project Greenlight” as a producer — Gamechanger is broadening its scope to include projects by and about people of color, Lgbtq+ and people with disabilities. The fund will also expand into TV and digital content with a new, fully monetized development fund that will enable it to buy, option and develop IP for TV, streaming and digital platforms.

“As a black female producer who’s been in the business for over 20 years, I know how hard it is to not only get into the room but to then secure financing when you have a culturally diverse or gender specific point of view,...

Rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding The Gap” beat out the competition to win top honors at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday night. The portrait of a group of skateboarders took home Best Feature, Emerging Filmmaker and Best Editing. Liu had accepted a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where the Pov film was acquired by Hulu.

Other winners include Floyd Russ’s “Zion” (Best Short), Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” (Best Limited Series), HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (the ABC News VideoSource Award), PBS’ Pov (Best Curated Series), Showtime’s “The Trade” (Best Episodic Series), Mel Films (Best Short Form Series), and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” (the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award). Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.” won Best Music Documentary,...

Rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding The Gap” beat out the competition to win top honors at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday night. The portrait of a group of skateboarders took home Best Feature, Emerging Filmmaker and Best Editing. Liu had accepted a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where the Pov film was acquired by Hulu.

Other winners include Floyd Russ’s “Zion” (Best Short), Netflix’s “Wild Wild Country” (Best Limited Series), HBO’s “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (the ABC News VideoSource Award), PBS’ Pov (Best Curated Series), Showtime’s “The Trade” (Best Episodic Series), Mel Films (Best Short Form Series), and Jayisha Patel’s “Circle” (the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award). Both Melissa Haizlip’s “Mr. Soul!” and Steve Loveridge’s “Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.” won Best Music Documentary,...

Wild Wild Country wins best limited series.

Bing Liu’s Minding The Gap was named best feature at the 34th Annual Ida Documentary Awards on Saturday night (8).

Floyd Russ’s Zion won best short at the ceremony at Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles, while Wild Wild Country was named best limited series.

“Both the Best Feature and Best Short categories recognized the remarkable range of work that was produced in 2018,” said Simon Kilmurry, Ida executive director. “In Minding The Gap we see the emergence of Bing Liu as a fresh, bold new voice in documentary. His film sneaks up on audiences and,...

Ninety percent of features nominees have women producers, half are directed by women.

Free Solo and Crime + Punishment are among the 10 feature nominees unveiled by the International Documentary Association (Ida) on Wednesday (24).

Ninety percent of the features nominees have women as producers and half are directed by women.

The 2018 Ida Awards features nominees are: Crime + Punishment, Dark Money, Free Solo, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Minding The Gap, Of Fathers And Sons, Sky And Ground, The Silence Of Others, United Skates, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

The 2018 Ida Awards shorts nominees are: Black Sheep, Fear Us Women,...

With the sprawling number of high-caliber documentaries flooding every platform and clamoring for attention, the International Documentary Association Awards are a crucial curator pointing other awards groups in the direction of what they need to see. Academy documentary branch members, who are inundated with hundreds of movies to watch, aren’t necessarily keeping track of which movies won awards at festivals along the way.

So far, the influential Doc NYC shortlist and the Critics Choice Documentary Award nominees also included many of the Ida’s feature picks: On all three lists are Stephen Maing’s NYPD expose “Crime + Punishment,” fall box office hit E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s vertiginous “Free Solo,” rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap,” and Morgan Neville’s summer box office phenomenon “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” an emotionally wrenching portrait of the late TV star Fred Rogers.

Making two out...

With the sprawling number of high-caliber documentaries flooding every platform and clamoring for attention, the International Documentary Association Awards are a crucial curator pointing other awards groups in the direction of what they need to see. Academy documentary branch members, who are inundated with hundreds of movies to watch, aren’t necessarily keeping track of which movies won awards at festivals along the way.

So far, the influential Doc NYC shortlist and the Critics Choice Documentary Award nominees also included many of the Ida’s feature picks: On all three lists are Stephen Maing’s NYPD expose “Crime + Punishment,” fall box office hit E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s vertiginous “Free Solo,” rookie filmmaker Bing Liu’s “Minding the Gap,” and Morgan Neville’s summer box office phenomenon “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” an emotionally wrenching portrait of the late TV star Fred Rogers.

Making two out...

​Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group has purchased North American rights to Hannah Fidell’s road trip comedy “The Long Dumb Road,” starring Jason Mantzoukas and Tony Revolori.

The film made its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Fidell and co-written by Fidell and Carson Mell, the film also stars Taissa Farmiga, Grace Gummer, and Ron Livingston.

Revolori plays a college-bound teenager who offers an itinerant 30-something mechanic (Mantzoukas) a ride during a stop-over in small-town Texas. As they travel through the American Southwest, both passengers come alive through the myriad possibilities of the open road as they find connection, comfort and chaos in their shared journey.

In her review for Variety, Amy Nicholson said, “Fidell’s third film after her darker dramas ‘A Teacher’ and ‘6 Years’ is a light-fingered diversion. She keeps an eye on class. People continually offer each other small amounts of cash...

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group has acquired North American rights to The Long Dumb Road, Hannah Fidell’s road trip comedy that bowed earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. A November day-and-date theatrical and VOD release is planned.

Tony Revolori and Jason Mantzoukas star as college-bound teenager Nat (Revolori), who offers itinerant thirtysomething mechanic Richard (Mantzoukas) a ride during a stop-over in small-town Texas. As they travel through the American Southwest and cross paths with an assortment of old flames, fellow travelers, kooky cons and Good Samaritans, both come alive. Taissa Farmiga, Grace Gummer and Ron Livingston co-star.

Fidell produced with Jacqueline Ingram, Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams. Mynette Louie, Alicia van Couvering, Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous and Wendy Ettinger are executive producers, and Abigail E. Disney, Regina K. Scully, and Jenny & Douglas Patinkin co-executive produced. UTA and Gray Krauss attorney Anita Surendran negotiated...

Exclusive: Argentinian filmmaker Natalia Garagiola makes feature directorial debut on Rei Cine drama.

The first-look international trailer for Rei Cine’s upcoming Venice Critics’ Week and San Sebastin Horizontes Latinos selection Hunting Season (Temporada De Caza) is now live.

Hunting Season

Argentinian filmmaker Natalia Garagiola makes her feature directorial debut on the Argentina-us-Germany-France-Qatar co-production from Rei Cine, Gamechanger Films, Augenschein Filmproduktion, and Les Films de l’Étranger.

Hunting Season marks the first time New York-based Gamechanger Films has co-financed a film outside the Us. Lautaro Bettoni, Germán Palacios, Boy Olmi, and Rita Pauls star in the story about a respected hunting guide whose life with his new family in Patagonia changes when he is forced to take in his estranged teenage son following the death of his first wife.

The man struggles to get along with his son, who displays violent outbursts. Without any sympathy from his new family, the hunter and teenager move towards forgiveness in the...

Subverting the Unexpected

At the end of the 20th century, Bobcat Goldthwait’s legacy read like a cheap joke: He was a screaming comedian from the eighties best known as Zed in the “Police Academy” franchise who once tried at his hand at directing a movie (“Shakes the Clown”). Those achievements barely skimmed the surface of Goldthwait’s ability, as the ensuing years made clear, when Goldthwait completely transformed his career into one of the most provocative American filmmakers working today. With the microbudget “Sleeping Dogs Lie” (aka “Stay”), Goldthwait showed his potential to funnel taboo subject matters into oddly touching, relatable human dramas, a proclivity he kicked up to a whole new level with the subversive black comedy “World’s Greatest Dad,” which features Robin Williams in one of his all-time great roles.

Goldthwait has kept innovating, with each new movie offering a fresh perspective on the naive assumptions...

Exclusive: Charlotte Mickie and her team have come on board to represent international sales on Sundance regular So Yong Kim’s Us Dramatic Competition entry ahead of its world premiere in Park City.

Lovesong will debut on Monday and stars Jena Malone, Riley Keough and Rosanna Arquette. Autumn Productions and Gamechanger Films produced in association with Monofonus Press

The film follows Sarah, a neglected wife, who embarks on a road trip with her daughter and her best friend Mindy, only to have a dramatic falling out with her friend.

Three years later Sarah is forced to come to terms with her feelings for Mindy in the run-up to her friend’s wedding.

The cast includes Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Marshall Chapman and Ryan Eggold.

Cassian Elwes of Elevated Film Sales and Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content jointly represent North America.

Kim wrote Lovesong with her partner Bradley Rust Gray and has produced Gray’s features Jack And Diane and The Exploding Girl...

Sundance, Berlin, Venice and Toronto film fest programmers would all agree — there is a refined and fertile cinema chez So Yong Kim. In Between Days, Treeless Mountain and For Ellen yield high-end return on subtle emotional footprints. Joining forces with regular collaborators Jena Malone and Riley Keough, production on her fourth feature film began in December of 2014. So one full year to work on Lovesong conceivablely means that a return to Park City – same lieu where she won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance for In Between Days, and premiered For Ellen. is a strong possibility. Set in Tennessee, this is film that looks to be split into two chapters, this stars Jena Malone and Riley Keough in the leads with a supporting cast consisting of Brooklyn Decker, Ryan Eggold, Rosanna Arquette and Amy Seimetz.

Gist: This tells the story of Sarah (Keough) who, with her young daughter in tow,...

It’s been a long time coming for Short Term 12 supporting player Rami Malek, but the momentum built around television’s highly successful “Mr.Robot” has landed him the coveted lead role in Sarah Adina Smith‘s sophomore film. THR reports that actor leads a cast comprised of Kate Lyn Sheil, DJ Qualls, Toby Huss, Lin Shaye, Lance Barber, Mark Kelly, Bruce Bundy and Teresa Yenque in Smith’s Buster’s Mal Heart — production is being set up in Montana and should commence filming shortly. Jonako Donley and Snowfort Films’ Travis Stevens (We Are Still Here) are producing. Gamechanger’s Mynette Louie, Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger are executive producing.

Gist: This follows an eccentric mountain man (Malek) on the run from authorities who survives the winter by breaking into empty vacation homes. He’s haunted by a recurring dream of being lost at...

Meru directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi with Tom Brokaw Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Sundance Audience Award winner and Sheffield Doc/Fest selection Meru was honored with a lunch hosted by Meredith Brokaw, Tom Brokaw, Austin Hearst and Doc NYC 2015's new Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Barbara Kopple at the 21 Club, organised by Peggy Siegal. Meru composer J. Ralph, who also worked on Orlando von Einsiedel's Oscar nominated Virunga, Bob Eisenhardt, who was also the editor of HBO's Everything Is Copy, directed by Jacob Bernstein on his mother Nora Ephron, which had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival , were at the lunch and discussion. Jean Doumanian, a producer of John Wells' wild and furious August: Osage County, documentarian Alexandra Pelosi, director/playwright Israel Horowitz, Absolute Wilson director/producer Katharina Otto-Bernstein and Wendy Ettinger, Chicken & Egg Pictures founder, were among the guests.

Peggy Siegal introduces Tom Brokaw...

Read More: Chicken & Egg Pictures: The Force Behind Women Directed Documentaries at Sundance and Beyond When Chicken & Egg Productions founders Julie Parker Benello, Wendy Ettinger and Judith Helfand started their non-profit organization in 2005, it was with one simple aim: To provide both help and a home for women non-fiction filmmakers in need of that extra push to make their projects a reality. Now celebrating its 10th year this month, the film fund has awarded nearly $4 million in grants and spent more than 5,200 hours of mentorship to bolster over 190 films. The organization continues to roll out new initiatives that serve their multi-pronged approach, along with their true desire to "incubate and hatch all at once." From the beginning, the founders were compelled by the idea that they could make a real difference for filmmakers who found themselves at a critical juncture. "It was pretty clear that there were lots of...

I am happy to see more people vocalize demand for Latina representation onscreen and the resurging interest in solving this messed up disparity issue (Thank you Gina Rodriguez Golden Globes acceptance speech ). However, the representation issue I find ten times more urgent to address is the anguishing miniscule percentage of Latina Content Creators in film and television.

I give you 5 bomb Latina Directors who are are at the helm of brand new feature films coming out this year, women who are striking through the hostile mass media industry to escape the rule of homogeneity (white male perspective). Now that is something to celebrate. It’s not surprising that three of these are documentaries. The percentage of women directed films in documentaries is higher than in fiction. Now I can’t say with total certainty these 2 Latina directed U.S. fiction feature length films are the only ones out there this year…actually yes I can…..until someone reaches out to correct me ….and I really do hope to be corrected because only two???????

"Los 33"

Director : Patricia Riggen

Writers : Mikko Alanne, Michael John Bell, Craig Borten, Jose Rivera

Producers : Robert Katz, Edward McGurn, Mike Medavoy

Cinematographer : Checco Varese

Music : James Horner

U.S. Distributor : Tba

Cast : Rodrigo Santoro, Antonio Banderas, Cote de Pablo, James Brolin, Juliette Binoche, Gabriel Byrne, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kate del Castillo, Tenoch Huerta

Social Media: @The33Pelicula

Logline: Based on the incredible real-life story of the 33 survivors of a copper-gold mine in Chile that collapsed and trapping them 700 meters underground for 69 days until their rescue.

Add Riggen to the exclusive ranks of women who fought for and have proved they got the chops to direct big action, Hollywood type genre movies like Katheryn Bigelow, Mimi Leder. The trailer for Los 33 that dropped last week reveals an epic dramatization of the intensely emotional struggle to survive the Chilean mine disaster. The English language film carries a sweeping score by none other than James Horner (and naturally you can hear Violetta Parra’s classic song, Gracias Por La Vida). Add to that a big hero performance by Antonio Banderas who leads an ensemble cast of well known international actors (including hottie Mexican star of Güeros, Tenoch Huerta!!). Riggen, who was born in Guadalajara but moved to the states after graduating Columbia’s film school in NY, made a splash with her 2007 film, Under the Same Moon starring a back-then-virtually-unknown-in-the-u.S. Eugenio Derbez, and Kate del Castillo. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival then was picked up by Pantelion, the studio she later worked with on the Eva Mendes starrer Girl in Progress.

Domestic distribution and release stateside is yet to be confirmed. Meanwhile Twentieth Century Fox will be releasing the film in Chile in August, marking the fifth anniversary of the incident, before rolling out the film throughout Latin America including Mexico. For an in-depth account of Los 33, check out current best-seller, “Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle That Set Them Free” by Hector Tobar.

"Endgame"

Director: Carmen Marron

Writers : Hector Salinas, Carmen Marron

Producers : Sandra Avila, Carmen Marron

Executive Producers : Hector Salinas, Betty Sullivan

Associate Producer : Bonnie Emerson

Cinematographer: Francisco Bulgarelli

Music: Brian Standefer

Cinematographer: Francisco Bulgarelli

U.S. Distributor : Tba

Cast : Rico Rodriguez, Efren Ramirez, Justina Machado, Jon Gries

Social Media: @GoForIt_Carmen

Facebook

Logline: Shot in Brownsville and inspired by true events, Endgame is a coming-of-age story about a young boy who joins the school chess team, and with the help of his coach, embarks on a journey of self-discovery, team spirit and the importance of family.

Another talented genre director (and fellow Chicana from Chicago, Heyyy) whose tenacity and talent make her primed to be our Latina Ava Duvernay success story (of course that depends on whether the public (and gatekeepers) support her to make the change to the system to demand her spot in the national mainstream). I wrote about Carmen’s tireless spirit before , mentioning her first film which she shot, wrote, directed and produced in Chicago called Go For It (which incidentally was Gina Rodriguez’s first feature role). Her latest film is Endgame starring the precocious Manny from Modern Family, Rico Rodriguez, and Efren Ramirez from cult classic Napoleon Dynamite, Endgame is one of those irresistible competition, underdog, against-all-odds stories. Ramirez portrays the galvanizing Brownsville public elementary school teacher and chess afficionado, J.J. Guajardo, who in 1989, upon seeing his 6th grade class take an interest in his chess board, began to teach them on the regular. The class excelled and entered regional competitions, going on to enter and win state championships against schools with far more resources. Echoing the positives of disrupting a broke educational status quo with simply offering access to advanced mental cognition building tools, the film echoes another real life story and seminal Chicano film, Stand & Deliver. Big difference; that movie was not directed by a Latino/a.

The film is world premiering at the Dallas International Film Festival April 12 &13. Distribution is yet to be confirmed for theatrical/VOD but stay tuned via the Facebook page.

"No Mas Bebes"

Director: Renee Tajima-Peña

Producers : Virginia Espino

Associate Producer : Kate Trumbull-Valle

Executive Producers : Julie Parker Benello, Wendy Ettinger, Judith Helfland, Sally Jo Fiefer and Sandra Pedlow

U.S. Distributor : Itvs/Latino Public Broadcasting

Cinematographer: Claudio Rocha

Music: Bronwen Jones, additional music by Quetzal

Cast : Antonia Hernandez, Gloria Molina, Dolores Madrigal, Jovita Rivera, Consuelo Hermosillo

Social Media: Facebook

Logline : An investigation of the sterilization of Mexican-American women at Los Angeles County-usc Medical Center during the 1960s and 70s

Sadly, there is an appalling history in the United States of laws and policies authorizing sterilizations of poor women without their knowledge or consent for the “benefit of society”; Buck v. Bell (low-income white women in Virginia), Relf v. Weinberger (young African-American women in Alabama), and female inmates in California. This film focuses on the case of Latinas of Mexican origin in California in Madrigal v. Quilligan . Shedding light on this horrific human rights violation, the film includes interviews with women who suffered this terrible ordeal and locked the memory away, along with former medical staff and the incredible lawyer who filed this suit forty years ago, Antonia Hernandez. A long-time coming, supremely valuable and eye opening contextualization of the Chicano rights movement from the late 60s/70s as well as the current reproductive justice movement.

So kind of cheating here, Renee is not Latina per se, but a sister in the struggle to document the Latino community. Her producer is Latina, Virginia Espino, La born-and-raised historian, plus I really want to rally support for this film because it is one of those Latina stories that really needed to be told and remembered this year which marks the 40th anniversary of the lawsuit (June 19). It is ready to be unveiled and seen by as wide an audience as possible. Stay tuned to hear when the film will have its world premiere before its broadcast in the Fall on Voces, Latino Public Broadcasting’s arts and culture series on PBS.

"Now en Español"

Director: Andrea Meller

Producers : Aaron Woolf, Andrea Meller

Music: Camara Kambon

Cinematographer: Charlie Gruet

U.S. Distributor : PBS/Latino Public Broadcasting

Cast : Marabina Jaimes, Marcela Bordes, Gabriela Lopetegui, Ivette Gonzalez, Natasha Perez

Social Media: @NowenEspanol, website

Logline: Follows the trials and triumphs of the small group of Latina actresses who dub “Desperate Housewives” into Spanish.

Currently hitting the festival circuit in such reputable festivals as Santa Barbara, Chicago Latino Film Festival, CineFestival, ahead of its showing on PBS Voces, "Now en Español" is such an effective and distinct balance of humor, seriousness and insider look by Chilean-American Andrea Meller.

Profiling Marcela Bordes, Ivette Gonzalez, Marabina Jaimes, Gabriela Lopetegui and Natasha Perez, the film is quite plainspoken and sympathetic about the struggle of the actor in Hollywood. Like the comedy fiction film (also directed by a woman!) "In a World," by Lake Bell, the film offers a rare behind the scenes and insight into the voice acting industry. Few actors make make careers out of this, others pick it up for income, but in the end it is a highly distinct skill to dub millions of shows. It’s really fascinating perspective on the representation of Latinas onscreen and off. What I love most about this film on top of it being an important tool for dialogue and change, is that the filmmaker injects a whimsy tone (apropos Wisteria Lane) which makes sparking this conversation and call to action so much more effective. You have no reason to miss this as it premieres on Friday, April 24, 2015, 10:00-11:00 p.m. (check local listings) as part of Voces, Latino Public Broadcasting’s arts and culture series on PBS. To get a taste of the ladies’ charm and humor check out the trailer:

"Ovarian Psycos"

Director: Kate Trumbull-lavalle & Joanna Sokolowski

Producers :Kate Trumbull-lavalle & Joanna Sokolowski

U.S. Distributor : Itvs (broadcast)

Cinematographer: Michael Raines

Music: Jimmy Lavalle

Cast : Ovarian Psycos Cycle Brigade

Social Media: Facebook

Logline: Follows the story of an all woman of color bicycle brigade, the Ovarian Psycos Cycle Brigade. Based in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood in Eastside Los Angeles, the Ova’s are a collective of unapologetic, politicized, young Latina women who host monthly bike rides every full moon for women and women-identified riders.

Ever since I interviewed Kate during her film’s Kickstarter , I’ve been madly anticipating this, so I’m pleased to scoop that it will be ready late Fall thanks to Itvs coming in with finishing funds. Protegees of esteemed film ladies like Renee Tajima Peña and B. Ruby Rich, the ladies have spent more than two years riding with the Ovas for this documentary. Says Joanna, “There are lots of bike groups in La, but what’s unique about the Ova’s is each ride has a sociopolitical theme and ends with a group discussion. They dialogue about everything from violence against women to the gentrification of Boyle Heights”.

The Ova’s s leadership is run by the collective who work “To Serve, not to Self Serve. Credited as founder is activist and music artist, Xela de la X who formed this rad collective in 2011 with the mission to cycle for the purpose of healing, reclaim neighborhoods, and create safer streets for women on the Eastside. Currently being edited the film should be ready for the Fall if not early next year.

In case you are wondering Trumbull-lavalle is two generations apart from family in Northern Mexico. Which I only add as proof that last names and color of skin are not indicators for knowing whether someone identifies as Latino/a or not.

Which leads me to reiterate, I really hope these 5 are not the only Latina directors with films coming out this year. Calling out an A.P.B. to Latina directors with a feature length film (fiction especially) in production or post, holler at your girl...

Actresses Riley Keough, Jena Malone and a supporting cast comprised of Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Marshall Chapman, Ryan Eggold and Rosanna Arquette have all boarded Lovesong, So Yong Kim’s fourth feature film. Deadline reports the road trip romance will film in Tennessee, and will be produced by Alex Lipschultz, Bradley Rust Gray, David Hansen, and Johnny Mac. Mynette Louie, Laura Rister, and Gamechanger Films’ Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger will executive produce.

Gist: Co-written by Kim and hubby Bradley Rust Gray, this is the tale of best friends Sarah (Keough) and Mindy (Malone) who take off on an impromptu road trip with Sarah’s young daughter in tow and see their deep BFFship develop into a surprising romance – despite the fact that Mindy is about to get married.

Worth Noting: Keough and Malone have previously worked with the Bradley Rust Gray and So Yong Kim team.

Exclusive: For Ellen helmer So Yong Kim has set Jena Malone and Riley Keough to lead Lovesong, the tale of best friends Sarah (Keough) and Mindy (Malone) who take off on an impromptu road trip with Sarah’s young daughter in tow and see their deep BFFship develop into a surprising romance – despite the fact that Mindy is about to get married.

Kim wrote Lovesong with frequent collaborator Bradley Rust Gray, whose own features Jack and Diane and The Exploding Girl were produced by Kim. Lovesong reunites the duo with Keough, who starred in Gray’s Jack and Diane and also starred in a short film Kim directed for designer Miu Miu earlier this year, Spark and Light. Malone appeared in both Jack and Diane and For Ellen.

Also cast in the indie, which is backed by Autumn Productions and Gamechanger Films in association with The Monofonus Press, are Brooklyn Decker (Just Go With It,...

• Another big name has been launched into consideration for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi film The Martian. Emmy winner Jeff Daniels is the latest actor in talks to join Matt Damon in the movie about a stranded astronaut struggling to survive. Daniels would play the Nasa director dealing with the crisis back on Earth. Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig and Kate Mara may also star in the film written by Drew Goddard (World War Z) and adapted from the self-published book of the same name by Andy Weir. [THR] • Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Ron Livingston, and Clea DuVall have signed on for Fresno,...

The Indian Documentary Foundation announced a new fund for Indian women documentary filmmakers at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (Idsffk) on Sunday.

The new fund will support two women filmmakers from India with grants to the value of $10,000.

The funding is a partnership with Chicken and Egg Pictures, the American not-for-profit which is dedicated to supporting women nonfiction filmmakers. The Indian Documentary Foundation is a not-for-profit organization co-founded by Jaaved Jaaferi and Sophy Sivaraman in 2011 for the promotion, development and funding of documentaries in and about India.

The Fund, to be called the Idf-Chicken & Egg Fund for women directors will make its first call for proposals in September this year.

Applicants can be at any stage of their career, but must have samples of their work to show their artistic vision and their ability to tell a story. The fund will support a variety of film projects,...

Sony Pictures Classics announced today that it will release Martha Stephens & Aaron Katz's Land Ho! on July 11 in New York and Los Angeles, followed by openings nationwide. Additionally, Land Ho! will screen at the Tribeca Film Festival in April and the Los Angeles Film Festival in June. The film made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it played to great critical acclaim.

The bawdy road trip comedy, Land Ho!, is produced by Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy, and Christina Jennings, and executive produced by David Gordon Green, Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn White Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger of Gamechanger Films. It is the first film to be financed by Gamechanger, which launched last fall to exclusively finance features directed and co-directed by women. Keegan DeWitt of the band Wild Club, whose summer tour kicks off this week, did the film score.

Starring Paul Eenhoorn...

Land Ho!

Directors: Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz

Writers: Stephens and Katz

Producers: Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy, Christina Jennings

Exec. Producers: David Gordon Green, Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, Wendy Ettinger

U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics

Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Earl Lynn Nelson, Karrie Crouse, Elizabeth McKee, Alice Olivia Clarke, Emmsjé Gauti

Delivering career bests with the unlikeliest of gems with a septuagenarian, buddy dramedy that utilizes portions of the road-trip template, wunderkinds Martha Stephens (Pilgrim Song fame) and Aaron Katz (Cold Weather fame) Land Ho! is perhaps the best title to set sail with our top 200 list. Swooning auds at the world premiere screening at the Library theatre in Park City, ostensibly this works from a matter-of-factly devised idea but firmly validated a pair of points: singular voices can creatively offer strong samples when paired and, U.S indie spirit works comfortably outside the U.S. borders.

Sony Pictures Classics announced this morning that it has secured worldwide rights to Martha Stephens & Aaron Katz’s road trip comedy "Land Ho!," which premiered on Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival. Spc plans to release the film nationwide in 2014. "That rare bird of a movie, fresh and funny and moving, featuring the most memorable two characters you've experienced in a long, long time. We are also so pleased to collaborate with an important new independent company Gamechanger and especially the directorial voice of Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz," said Sony Pictures Classics. Read More: Sundance Review: How the Road Trip Dramedy 'Land Ho,' From Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens, Transcends Clichés The film is produced by Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy, and Christina Jennings, and executive produced by David Gordon Green, and Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger of Gamechanger Films. "Land Ho!" is notably...

There's so much talk about the gender inequality in film and how we need more female directors, but Chicken & Egg Pictures is actually doing something about it. As the only nonprofit film fund devoted solely to supporting women documentary directors, Chicken & Egg Pictures plays an important role in the independent film world by offering funds and mentorship to women documentary filmmakers. Their influence is felt at the Sundance Film Festival, where, this year, four of their documentary feature grantees will debut: "Private Violence" and "Watchers of the Sky" in the U.S. Documentary Competition and "Sepideh" and "Web Junkie" in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. In addition, another grantee, Lucy Walker's short documentary "The Lion's Mouth Opens," will also screen at the festival. Founded in 2005 by award-winning filmmakers and producers Julie Parker-Benello, Wendy Ettinger, and Judith Helfand, the organization, which has offices in Brooklyn and San Francisco,...

Why are there so few women filmmakers? In a word, money.

See the Top 10 Actors Who Direct in the 21st Century

Conventional wisdom says that producers and investors won't back female filmmakers because they don't have a track record of proven successes. But women can't build such a record if they don't have the backing to make movies.

 

Hoping to end this vicious cycle is the aptly named Gamechanger, a new company whose mission is to fund narrative fiction films made by women. "It's a big name to live up to,...

Gamechanger Films, a new for-profit film fund exclusively targeting narrative feature-length films directed by women, was announced today. The New York-based company was founded by Julie Parker Benello (Afternoon Delight, Pariah, Brooklyn Castle), Dan Cogan (Hell and Back Again, How to Survive a Plague, The Queen of Versailles), Geralyn Dreyfous (Born Into Brothels, The Invisible War, The Square) and Wendy Ettinger (Semper Fi: Always Faithful, The War Room, Eye of God), and will be led by producer Mynette Louie (Cold Comes the Night, California Solo, Children of Invention). Producer Mary Jane Skalski (Very Good Girls, Win Win, The Visitor) is […]...

Gamechanger Films, a new for-profit film fund exclusively targeting narrative feature-length films directed by women, was announced today. The New York-based company was founded by Julie Parker Benello (Afternoon Delight, Pariah, Brooklyn Castle), Dan Cogan (Hell and Back Again, How to Survive a Plague, The Queen of Versailles), Geralyn Dreyfous (Born Into Brothels, The Invisible War, The Square) and Wendy Ettinger (Semper Fi: Always Faithful, The War Room, Eye of God), and will be led by producer Mynette Louie (Cold Comes the Night, California Solo, Children of Invention). Producer Mary Jane Skalski (Very Good Girls, Win Win, The Visitor) is […]...

Chicken & Egg Pictures, which has long sought to inspire social change around the world by empowering female non-fiction filmmakers, announced the appointment of its first executive director earlier today. Jenni Wolfson has over 20 years of nonprofit and human rights experience and joins Chicken & Egg Pictures from Witness, an international Ngo advocating the use of video to document human rights violations. In her capacity as Managing Director and Acting Executive Director at Witness, Wolfson developed partnerships with the human rights, media, communications, entertainment, technology, corporate and philanthropic communities.  Prior to Witness, Wolfson worked at Unicef and the Un, where she assumed a number of leadership roles and was assigned to the Un International Civilian Mission in Haiti as well as the office of the Un High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva and Rwanda. Chicken & Egg Pictures co-founders Julie Parker Benello, Wendy Ettinger, and...

Debut Feature From Writer/Director Dee Rees,

Executive-produced By Spike Lee;

Release Date For Movie Also Set

New York, September 6th, 2011 - Following an online outreach, Focus Features has revealed the moviegoing public.s choice of the official theatrical release poster for the contemporary drama Pariah, written and directed by Dee Rees.

Pariah world-premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, where it was honored with the Excellence in Cinematography Award (Bradford Young). Spike Lee is among the feature.s executive producers. Pariah is produced by Nekisa Cooper.

With the public having now selected the Pariah one-sheet, Focus is also announcing the movie.s theatrical release information. Pariah will open in exclusive engagements in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco on Sunday, December 25th; and will expand to additional cities throughout the winter. The movie will also screen on Monday, September 12th at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Pariah has already received critical acclaim.

Focus Features has unveiled the third poster for its indie drama Pariah, announcing its limited release on December 25. Take a look at this one-sheet below, which was created by a fan. You can read the full press release announcing the film's theatrical debut below the image.

Following an online outreach, Focus Features has revealed the moviegoing public's choice of the official theatrical release poster for the contemporary drama Pariah, written and directed by Dee Rees.

Pariah world-premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, where it was honored with the Excellence in Cinematography Award (Bradford Young). Spike Lee is among the feature's executive producers. Pariah is produced by Nekisa Cooper.

With the public having now selected the Pariah one-sheet, Focus is also announcing the movie's theatrical release information. Pariah will open in exclusive engagements in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco on Sunday, December 25th; and will expand to additional cities throughout the winter.

New York, January 28th, 2011 . Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to the contemporary drama Pariah, the debut feature from writer/director Dee Rees. Pariah world-premiered In Competition this past week at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Spike Lee is among the feature.s executive producers. Pariah is produced by Nekisa Cooper.

In tandem with the Pariah acquisition, Focus has engaged Ms. Rees to write a screenplay. The script deal is for a new feature-length film that the writer/director would conceive.

Pariah is one of the Festival.s most acclaimed entries this year; Kyle Smith of The New York Post wrote that Pariah is .emotionally satisfying.with a likeable and believable heroine at its core.. Andrew Barker of Variety wrote that actress Adepero Oduye gives .a wonderful lead performance..

The feature is an expansion of Ms. Rees. short film of the same name, which screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Ms.

By Sean O’Connell

Hollywoodnews.com: In the latest of a steady stream of Sundance sales, Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to the contemporary drama “Pariah,” which world-premiered In Competition at this year’s fest.

The debut feature from writer/director Dee Rees, “Pariah” expands on a short film about Alike (Adepero Oduye), a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell) and younger sister (Sahra Mallesse) in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the support of her best friend Laura (Pernell Walker), she is especially eager to find a girlfriend. Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity – sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.

Focus Features CEO James Schamus said, “Dee Rees has made a debut film that...

Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to the contemporary drama Pariah, the debut feature from writer/director Dee Rees. Pariah world-premiered In Competition this past week at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Spike Lee is among the feature's executive producers. Pariah is produced by Nekisa Cooper.

In tandem with the Pariah acquisition, Focus has engaged Ms. Rees to write a screenplay. The script deal is for a new feature-length film that the writer/director would conceive.

Pariah is one of the Festival's most acclaimed entries this year; Kyle Smith of The New York Post wrote that Pariah is "emotionally satisfying...with a likeable and believable heroine at its core." Andrew Barker of Variety wrote that actress Adepero Oduye gives "a wonderful lead performance."

The feature is an expansion of Ms. Rees' short film of the same name, which screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Ms. Oduye, who had starred in the short film,...

Tim Blake Nelson's feature, which won a Special Jury Prize at the Seattle Film Festival, is a promising film debut by an actor-playwright who has been doing impressive work in New York theater for several years. Although the director-screenwriter tries a little too hard to render his Gothic tale in overly complex terms, the film boasts excellent performances, an exacting sense of milieu and a compelling emotional grip.

Set in a small Oklahoma town, "Eye of God" uses a nonlinear style to tell its ultimately horrific story. Martha Plimpton stars as Ainsley, a bright-eyed young waitress who has been engaged in a pen-pal relationship with Jack Stillings (Kevin Anderson), a convict who has just been paroled. Jack, who has found religion, says he is a new man, and shortly after he comes to town, he and Ainsley get married. The union begins happily enough, but soon Ainsley discovers that Jack's surface placidity merely covers up an intense need to control every aspect of her existence. When the relationship becomes abusive, she desperately searches for a way out.

Concurrently, the film depicts the investigation by a world-weary local sheriff (Hal Holbrook) to find out exactly what happened to a young boy, Tom Spencer (Nick Stahl), who has been found wandering around in a dazed state and covered in blood. By the finale, the film's separate tales have merged in haunting fashion.

Nelson's choice of a complex narrative style is admirable, but it also saps the story of much of its suspense. He also strains too hard for symbolism, most notably in a scene late in the film involving Ainsley and Tom, where she reveals to him that she has a glass eye. Overall, however, the film is marked by notable intelligence, restraint and sense of detail, and the performances are uniformly excellent. Plimpton has rarely been so appealing, and Anderson, in a role that serves as a sort of doppelganger to his warm-hearted priest on "Nothing Sacred", employs a calm stillness that makes his character all the more menacing.

EYE OF GOD

Castle Hill Prods.

Director-screenplay Tim Blake Nelson

Producers Wendy Ettinger, Michael Nelson

Co-producer Dolly Hall

Director of photography Russell Lee

Music David Van Tieghem

Color/stereo

Cast:

Ainsley Dupree Martha Plimpton

Jack Stillings Kevin Anderson

Sheriff Rogers Hal Holbrook

Tom Spencer Nick Stahl

Dorothy Margo Martindale

Mrs. Spencer Mary Kay Place

Running time -- 84 minutes

MPAA rating: R...