Founder of The Bechdel Test Fest, Corrina Antrobus, was dismayed at the poor representation of women in film. In 2013, only 15% of the top 100 films released had a female protagonist. By June 2014, less than half of cinematic releases passed the Bechdel Test (a scene with two female characters talking about something other… Continue reading THE BECHDEL TEST FEST: 2015
Category: zJan’s Chats
Meet Activist Kylie Angell
Exclusive Interview with University of Connecticut Alumna and Activist Kylie Angell by FF2 Associate Editor Brigid K. Presecky ************************* BKP: How did you get involved with It Happened Here? KA: I started working with fellow activists at the end of my fifth year at UConn on the Title IX complaint and we were asked if we… Continue reading Meet Activist Kylie Angell
WHERE DO WE GO NOW? Review by FF2 Media
Nadine Labaki’s breakout film Caramel was firmly set in contemporary Beirut, but her new film Where Do We Go Now? is magical realism. A mythical Lebanese village, surrounded by landmines, is dominated by one church & one mosque. Exhausted by intramural feuding & senseless death, the women of the village seek ways to distract their… Continue reading WHERE DO WE GO NOW? Review by FF2 Media
Chatting with Pamela Gray
Click HERE for full chat as a printable pdf. On October 8th, I had the privilege of talking on the phone with screenwriter Pamela Gray about her new film Conviction starring Hillary Swank as real-life heroine Betty Anne Waters—an ordinary mom/waitress who discovered enormous inner strength when her brother Kenny was wrongfully convicted of a… Continue reading Chatting with Pamela Gray
Brava, Sally Potter!
Posted today on Women’s eNews: “Let’s praise Sally Berger, a curator at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), for putting together a remarkable retrospective (July 7 to 24) of the films and videos of Sally Potter, the brilliant British feminist moviemaker.” Kudos, Sally Berger! Brava, Sally Potter J Click HERE to read my… Continue reading Brava, Sally Potter!
Chatting with Lone Scherfig
Click HERE to read my review for WomenArts. Click HERE to read my chat with Danish Director Lone Scherfig about her new film AN EDUCATION. What are YOU doing THIS weekend? If you support WITASWAN, then your answer should be: “I’m going to see AN EDUCATION!” Nag, Nag, Nag J
See OPERATION FILMMAKER on PBS!!!
Download Jan’s Chat with Nina Davenport as a pdf. OPERATION FILMMAKER premieres tonight on PBS!!! Here’s the basic story: An American film crew brings a young Iraqi man named Muthana to their shoot in the Czech Republic. They’re offering him a great “learning opportunity,” but he has no clue what it really means to… Continue reading See OPERATION FILMMAKER on PBS!!!
Chatting about BRICK LANE
Brick Lane is a beautiful film that could have been even better. Based on a well-regarded novel of the same name by Monica Ali, Sarah Gavron’s film is about a young Bangladeshi woman named “Nazneen,” who is sent to London as a teenager to marry a man she has never met… (JLH: 4/5) Click here… Continue reading Chatting about BRICK LANE
Aline Brosh McKenna on THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Jan: You captured it all, so please tell me about it: tell me how you created Miranda & the extra scenes that you wrote for her; tell me how you created Nigel from a composite of characters in the book. What were your goals when you create these wonderful characters. Aline: Miranda: we wanted to… Continue reading Aline Brosh McKenna on THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Chris Noonan on MISS POTTER
What a surprise: I walked into a critics screening of MISS POTTER with minimal background and low expectations (“Oy, Peter Rabbit? I don’t think so!”), but walked out delighted to have met her acquaintance. Luckily the publicist was able to add me to Chris Noonan’s schedule when the came to Chicago on a press tour… Continue reading Chris Noonan on MISS POTTER
Julie Delpy on 2 DAYS IN PARIS
Jan: Julie, tell me about the evolution of your character “Marion” in your new film 2 DAYS IN PARIS, and about Marion’s relationship with “Jack” (Adam Goldberg). In your mind, how has all this evolved from the relationship “Celine,” your character in BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE SUNSET, had with “Jesse” (Ethan Hawke).Julie: Well, Marion, she… Continue reading Julie Delpy on 2 DAYS IN PARIS