Category: zPennyEvents

WONDER WOMAN (2017): Our New York Team POV

Our NYC Team — FF2 Editor-in-Chief Jan Lisa Huttner plus FF2 Associate Lindsy Bissonnette, FF2 Senior Contributor Lisa Inanucci, FF2 Contributor Giorgi Plys-Garzotto & FF2 Associates Katusha Jin & Rachel Kastner — weigh in on this weekend’s box office hit Wonder Woman 🙂 Lindsy’s Rating: 5/5 Wonder Woman directed by the brilliant Patty Jenkins is an absolute must see. Incredibly… Continue reading WONDER WOMAN (2017): Our New York Team POV

WONDER WOMAN (2017): Our Chicago Team POV

Our Chicago Team — FF2 Managing Editor Brigid Presecky, FF2 Senior Contributor Pamela Powell, FF2 Senior Contributor Stephanie A. Taylor, FF2 Social Media Manager Georgiana Presecky — weigh in on this weekend’s box office hit Wonder Woman 🙂 Georgi’s Rating: 5/5 🙂 Gal Gadot is the epitome of strength in director Patty Jenkins’ outstanding Wonder Woman. Both the… Continue reading WONDER WOMAN (2017): Our Chicago Team POV

WONDER WOMAN (2017): Our Los Angeles Team POV

The Los Angeles Team — FF2 Executive Editor, Jessica Perry + FF2 Associate Eliana M. Levenson & FF2 Contributor Elyse B. Thaler — weighs in on this weekend’s box office hit Wonder Woman 🙂 Elly’s Rating: 4/5 Over the next few weeks, perhaps even longer, a lot will be said about the first female directed superhero film and… Continue reading WONDER WOMAN (2017): Our Los Angeles Team POV

WAITRESS Musical

Closing out another Women’s History Month at a performance of the fabulous new Broadway musical Waitress with my friend Ann Weil Feldman (from Livingston High School days) and our wonderfully accommodating spouses Rick and Rich. Waitress is based on the beloved film by Adrienne Shelly and has an all-female creative team lead by screenwriter/playwright Jessie Nelson, singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles,… Continue reading WAITRESS Musical

JACK OF THE RED HEARTS

Jack of the Red Hearts tell the heartwarming story of a troubled young girl who lies her way into a nannying job and ends up forming a strong bond with an 11-year-old autistic girl. AnnaSophia Robb stars as a con artist “Jack,” in this beautiful exploration of education, understanding and, most importantly, love. (BKP: 5/5) Review by… Continue reading JACK OF THE RED HEARTS

AFF 2016 Begins

Ring the bells: The fifth annual Athena Film Festival opened at Barnard College in Manhattan last night under the magnificent leadership of Co-Founders Kathryn “Kitty” Kolbert and Melissa Silverstein. And this year, FF2 Media is a Silver Level Co-Sponsor 🙂 The first film was Dawn Porter’s Trapped about the consequences of new TRAP laws–Targeted Regulation… Continue reading AFF 2016 Begins

Waitress on Broadway

NYC Shout-Out: Celebrate the 9th annual International SWAN Day on Broadway! Join us on Sunday, March 27 for opening weekend at the new Broadway musical Waitress! Tony winner Jessie Mueller (Beautiful) stars as “Jenna” in this uplifting new musical celebrating female friendship, motherhood, and the magic of a well-made pie. Inspired by Adrienne Shelly’s beloved film,… Continue reading Waitress on Broadway

Crawlin’ in Chelsea

Huge thanks to Nicole Casamento for organizing a second annual “gallery crawl” in honor of International SWAN Day. Last year (2014), we hit three galleries on the Upper East Side. This year (2015), we hit three galleries in Chelsea (on Manhattan’s West Side). We started at the Jack Shainman Gallery (on West 20th Street), where we saw… Continue reading Crawlin’ in Chelsea

CGC: Hayv Kahraman

Our first stop on the Chelsea Gallery Crawl was the Jack Shainman Gallery where we saw an astonishing new exhibit called “How Iraqi Are You?” by Hayv Kahraman! HAYV KAHRAMAN – HOW IRAQI ARE YOU?, February 27 – April 4, 2015 (from the Jack Shainman Gallery website): Jack Shainman Gallery is pleased to announce Hayv Kahraman’s second solo exhibition at… Continue reading CGC: Hayv Kahraman

CGC: Alice Neel

Our second stop on the Chelsea Gallery Crawl was the David Zwirner Gallery where we saw a restrospective of work by American painter Alice Neel (1/28/00 – 10/13/84). From Phoebe Hoban’s biography Alice Neel: The Art of Not Sitting Pretty (2010) Alice Neel liked to say that she was the century and in many ways she was. She was born into… Continue reading CGC: Alice Neel

CGC: Ann Agee

Our third stop on the Chelsea Gallery Crawl was the P.P.O.W. Gallery where we saw work by Ann Agee… and had a surprise meeting with the artist herself! Click HERE to learn more about Ann Agee.   Top Photo: Agee MFG Co. Guidebooks 2015, silkscreen on Japanese paper, linen thread and welded steel rack with… Continue reading CGC: Ann Agee

Chelsea Gallery Crawl

NYC Shout-Out: Join us on Saturday (3/28) for our second annual International SWAN Day Gallery Crawl coordinated–once again–by fabulous Nicole Casamento! Last year, we went to three different galleries on the Upper East Side. This year we are heading southwest to Chelsea. Meet-up is 11:45 AM at the Jack Shainman Gallery (513 W 20th St). Reservations are… Continue reading Chelsea Gallery Crawl

3/29: NYC eVite

NYC SHOUT-OUT: Please join us at Quad Cinema on Sunday March 29th for a special International SWAN Day screening of Lisa F. Jackson’s important new documentary It Happened Here. CLICK HERE TO ORDER TICKETS ONLINE! ************************* In her compelling new documentary, It Happened Here, director Lisa F. Jackson explores the issue of sexual assault on America’s… Continue reading 3/29: NYC eVite

3/5/15: Art & Activism

This is the Title Page for the PowerPoint presentation I used when I spoke at John Jay College of Criminal Justice tonight in their International Women’s Day program on “Sexual Assault on Campuses.” I recorded it, so I should have the transcript back in a couple of days. If you would like a copy, just… Continue reading 3/5/15: Art & Activism

AFF 15: KUDOS!

What I saw and who I met at the 2015 Athena Film Festival…

BHAJI at 20

“I know how personally empowering it is to show the world from my own perspective.” That’s what filmmaker Gurinder Chadha said last night at the New York Indian Film Festival’s 20th Anniversary celebration of her breakthrough film Bhaji on the Beach (which was originally released in the USA in May 1994). Since Bhaji’s release, Chadha… Continue reading BHAJI at 20

DARK RIVER

World Premiere on Friday April 4th! From the WomenArts Website: Dark River: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story is a full-length opera by Mary Watkins about Fannie Lou Hamer, the daughter of sharecroppers who was one of the first African-Americans to register to vote in Mississippi.  She became a leader in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and the Mississippi Freedom… Continue reading DARK RIVER

UES Crawl: Thanks, Nicole!

THE RAIN DID NOT STOP US!!! Huge thanks to Nicole Casamento for organizing an Upper East Side Gallery Crawl in honor of International SWAN Day. We did our meet-up at the Dominique Lévy Gallery, where we saw the Germaine Richier retrospective. Then we went to Galerie Perrotin to see ceramic sculptures by Klara Kristalova. Then we… Continue reading UES Crawl: Thanks, Nicole!

UES Crawl: Klara Kristalova

Second Stop on our Upper East Side “Gallery Crawl” in honor of International SWAN Day (organized by Nicole Casamento). From Wikipedia: Klara Kristalova (born 1967) is a sculptor, who works mostly in ceramics. She plays upon the Meissen porcelain technique, working in a similar fashion but with larger figurines. She lives and works in Sweden. Klara Kristalova has… Continue reading UES Crawl: Klara Kristalova

UES Crawl: Germaine Richier

First Stop on our Upper East Side “Gallery Crawl” in honor of International SWAN Day (organized by Nicole Casamento). From Wikipedia: Born in Grans, Germaine Richier began her studies at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Montpellier, in the atelier of Louis-Jacques Guigues; in 1926 she went to work with Antoine Bourdelle, remaining in his studio until his death in… Continue reading UES Crawl: Germaine Richier

UES Crawl: Mira Schendel

Third Stop on our Upper East Side “Gallery Crawl” in honor of International SWAN Day (organized by Nicole Casamento). From Wikipedia: Mira Schendel (1919–1988) was a Brazilian artist best-known for her drawings on rice paper, but who was also a painter and sculptor… In the early 1960s, Mira received a gift of rice paper from Mario… Continue reading UES Crawl: Mira Schendel

Whitehead Q&A

Thanks to Liliane Mavridara from WIFV-DC for an invitation to attend a private screening of Karen Whitehead’s new film Her Aim is True at the Norwood Club on West 14th Street. Her Aim is True is a fascinating doc about the career of photographer Jini Dellaccio. Dellaccio–who fell in love with jazz as a kid & spent many years… Continue reading Whitehead Q&A

Athena Film Festival (2014)

Spent all of last weekend at the 4th annual Athena Film Festival at Barnard College (accompanied by Rich on Fri & Sat but not on Sun). Wow! New Films I Saw at the 2014 Athena Film Festival: Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs Farah Goes Bang Geraldine Ferraro:… Continue reading Athena Film Festival (2014)

JACBA ’13

“Also in attendance at the ceremony were 14 students from the Walt Whitman Middle School in Brooklyn. Their school librarian, Alla Umanskaya, uses the award to teach her students about Jane Addams and the topics covered by award-winning books including peace, social justice, and constructive problem solving. The students were happy to meet the winning… Continue reading JACBA ’13

Chicago Pearl

Huge thanks to filmmaker Pearl Gluck for coming to Chicago to for two International SWAN Day screenings of Divan! Pearl Gluck (left) with Joan Pomaranc: Wednesday Night (3/13/13) at the Berghoff Restaurant following the 6 PM screening at the Harold Washington Library Center (Chicago Loop). Photo taken by Jan Lisa Huttner. Pearl at Max & Benny’s Deli:… Continue reading Chicago Pearl

Spark & Hustle 2012

Are YOU a Smart Movie Consumer??? Yesterday Monica Smith (FF2’s Social Media Manager) & I headed to Oak Brook for Tory Johnson’s 2012 Spark & Hustle. We had a great time, met many interesting people, &  yes, of course, we even sold & signed copies of Penny’s Picks! Thanks to FF2 Publicist Jeff Marden for… Continue reading Spark & Hustle 2012

PRLF 2012 Wrap-Up

Another year at the Printers Row Lit Fest! This was my 9th year at the PRLF, & this year, for the first time, I finally had a book of my own to sell 🙂 First & foremost, my thanks to Art & Susan Brauer who served as coordinators of the IWPA Tent this year. Thanks… Continue reading PRLF 2012 Wrap-Up

6/9/12: Sat PM Pix

Many thanks to Julia Kulovitz & her friend Lindy Groark for helping staff FF2 Media’s table under the IWPA canopy at this year’s Printers Row Lit Fest! Click HERE to “Look Inside” Anita Hill’s Book Reimagining Equality on Amazon. Click HERE to “Look Inside” my book Penny’s Picks on Amazon. Click here for handout about Jane Addams Day prepared… Continue reading 6/9/12: Sat PM Pix