For anyone who hears the name "E. Jean Carroll" and thinks "that woman who sued Donald Trump," do yourself a favor and watch Ivy Meeropol's engaging documentary ASK E. JEAN sooner than later. Because, yes, Carroll did do that, but she's also done so much more (let's just say that you don't get nicknamed "the female Hunter S. Thompson" for being boring), and she deserves to be just as well known for all of that, too.
Read #AWFJ #MovieOfTheWeek coverage at the link in our bio or at /blog/2026/05/17/movie-of-the-week-may-22-2026-ask-e-jean/
#AskEJean #EJEANCarroll #ElleMagazine #ivymeeropol #lisabirnbach #Abranorama #documentaries #MOTW #femaledirectors #womeninfilm
#Defamationlawsuits
Meet director Maria Martinez Bayone!
For a young Spanish director to make her first feature film in English with a Euros 8 million ($9.4m) budget—more than double the Spanish average—and with internationally renowned actors like Rebecca Hall, Noomi Rapace, Gael García Bernal and Beanie Feldstein is unusual. For her film to be invited to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival is even more out of the ordinary.
Read Jennifer Green's in depth interview with Maria Martínez Bayona at the link in our bi oor at /blog/2026/05/16/maria-martinez-bayona-talks-the-end-of-it-cannes-2026-jennifer-green-interviews/
#Cannes2026 #mariamartinezbayona #TheEndOfIt #firstfeature #femaledirectors #RebeccaHall #noomiRapace #BeanieFeldstein @albatonini@beaniefeldstein #AWFJ #Alliance ofWomenFilmJurnalists #GaelGarciaBernal
The Women in Film: Global South Cinema Campari luncheon at Cannes 2026 celebrated great strides made by Women in Film in Africa and India, proving what women united can achieve.
Over the past two years, WIF Los Angeles partnered with filmmakers, festivals, funders and organizations across the Global South to build connections, map industries, and launch 10+ new WIF chapters worldwide to support women in the industry.
Regional partnerships and leadership collaborations include those with WIFT Africa, WIF India, and women entertainment leaders from around the globe.
Read AWFJ's full report at the link in our bio or at /blog/2026/05/14/women-in-film-cannes-2026-diane-carson-reports/
@decarson99 #WomeninFilmLA #WIF #womeninfilm #WIFTAfrica, #WIFIndia #Cannes2026 #Campari #AndriaWilsonMirza #GuneetMongaKapoor #DrInyaLawal
Here's our look at the movies hitting #theatres and #VOD this week (May 11-17) that are BY and ABOUT women.
MAGIC HOUR - Reviews by Team Movie Of The Week
AGATHA'S ALMANAC
IS GOD IS
FORGE
DECORADO
DIAMONDS
Head to AWFJ.org to get more on each film, courtesy of @marbarfu , and to read the mentioned movie reviews!
Which movie are you most excited to see? We wanna know!
Follow @awfjorg on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and BlueSky, and help us to get the word out about women in front of and behind the camera 📣📣📣
#femalefilmcritics #AWFJ #movierelease
Our #MovieOfTheWeek is Katie Aselton's MAGIC HOUR
It's tricky to discuss Katie Aselton's poignant relationship drama MAGIC HOUR without revealing the story twists that give it such a powerful emotional punch. The writer-director-star crafts the first act of her film very carefully, setting viewers' expectations and then challenging them. The result is both romantic and touching, with memorable performances by Aselton and co-star Daveed Diggs and a gorgeous, haunting setting amid the singular landscape of #JoshuaTree.
Read our full #motw coverage at the link in our bio or at /blog/2026/05/10/movie-of-the-week-may-2026-magic-hour/
#BradGarrett #DaveedDiggs #greenwichentertainment #KatieAselton #MagicHour #markduplass #SusanSullivan
It’s been a turbulent few years for Toronto’s annual Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival, but each spring they manage to deliver a sure-footed 10-day event filled with a host of must-see features and shorts. The 2026 edition was no exception. This year’s slate gave movie-lovers engaging stories from Canada and around the world and from both up-and-coming and established filmmakers. Programmers put a real effort into making their line-up diverse–from every viewpoint–and it showed.
But, how'd women do at this year's festival? Read Emma Badame's feminist wrap at the link in our bio or at /blog/2026/05/07/hot-docs-2026-wrap-emma-badame-reports/
#HotDocs2026 #Torontofilmfetivals #marjoleinbusstra #emmabadame #AmericanDoctor #TheDeliveryLine
#canadianFilmFests #documentaries
#HouseofHope #MarjoleinBusstra #PohSiTeng #TruckMama
Congrats to Ann-Margret!
Stage and screen icon Ann-Margret will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Chita Rivera Awards, which promote and recognize dance and choreographic excellence on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in film.
One of Hollywood’s most celebrated and versatile stars, Ann-Margret has won five Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. A dynamic force in film, television, music and live performance, she also has earned two Academy Award nominations, for best supporting actress in 1972 for CARNAL KNOWLEDGE and best actress in 1976 for TOMMY.
Read more at the link in our bio or at
/blog/2026/04/29/week-in-women-ann-margret-to-be-honored-at-chita-rivera-awards-brandy-mcdonnell-reports/
#TheweekInWoman #TWIW #AnnMargret #WomenInFilm #ChitaRiveraAwards #HollywoodIcons #Iconicactresses
#AllianceOfWomenFilmJournalists #AWFJ
Here's our look at the movies hitting #theatres and #VOD this week (May 4-10) that are BY and ABOUT women.
SILENT FRIEND - Reviews by Team Movie Of The Week
REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES
BILLIE EILISH: HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
BROAD TRIP
COUPLES WEEKEND
LINDA PERRY: LET IT DIE HERE
AFFECTION
Head to AWFJ.org to get more on each film, courtesy of @marbarfu , and to read the mentioned movie reviews!
Which movie are you most excited to see? We wanna know!
Follow @awfjorg on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and BlueSky, and help us to get the word out about women in front of and behind the camera 📣📣📣
#femalefilmcritics #AWFJ #movierelease
MOVIE OF THE WEEK: SILENT FRIEND
Like a prestigious literary novel, Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi's deliberately paced drama SILENT FRIEND deftly weaves together three stories that might seem to have little in common but are actually variations on the same theme, connected by the same majestic, impassive ginko tree. Situated on the grounds of a German university, that tree -- the titular silent friend -- offers comfort and inspires curiosity over the course of more than a century.
SILENT FRIEND is purposely slow and thoughtful, reminding us that nature's speed is much slower than that of the people bustling around it. Indeed, Enyedi seems to be saying that it's by taking the time to stop, observe, think, and perceive that we can truly appreciate the vast variety of life that's around us -- and perhaps, through that process, create stronger connections with each other as well.
Link in bio or read more at /blog/2026/05/03/movie-of-the-week-may-8-2026-silent-friend/
#SilentFriend #IldikóEnyed #TonyLeong #MarburgUniversity #TalktoPlants #LeaSeydoux @lea_seydouxofficial #Neurophysicist
#plantexperiments #Botany #Ginkotrees #AllianceOfWomenFilmJournalists #AWFJ
In our May SPOTLIGHT: ANNA MAY WONG, Chinese-American Actress and Internatinal Cultural Icon
The more you learn about Anna May Wong, the more inspiring and fascinating she is. As the first Chinese American Hollywood star to gain international recognition, she was a pioneer and trailblazer, carving out a path for Asian actors during an era of extreme racism and systemic exclusion.
Straightforward, famously kind, incredibly talented, determined, and whip smart, she was a global cultural icon. Her perseverance and grace in the face of prejudice inspired future generations of Asian American performers in theater, and in front of and behind the camera.
Read @awfjorg 's illuminating #AnnaMayWong #SPOTLIGHT profile and tribute at the link in our bio ot at /blog/2026/05/01/spotlight-may-2026-anna-may-wong-chinese-american-actress-and-global-cultural-icon/
#annamaywong #holluwoodwalkoffame
#asianamericanactors
#culturalicon
#allianceofwomenfilmjournlists
#AWFJ
#shanghaiexpress
#daughersofshanghai
Here's our look at the movies hitting #theatres and #VOD this week (April 27- May 3) that are BY and ABOUT women.
AMERICAN DREAM - Reviews by Team Movie Of The Week
OUR LAND - Reviews by Diane Carson and Sarah Ward
TWO PIANOS - Review by Lois Alter Mark
EVERY CONTACT LEAVES A TRACE - Review by Valerie Kalfrin
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 - Review by Leslie Combemale
COME WHAT MAY
DIDN'T DIE
Head to AWFJ.org to get more on each film, courtesy of @marbarfu , and to read the mentioned movie reviews!
Which movie are you most excited to see? We wanna know!
Follow @awfjorg on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and BlueSky, and help us to get the word out about women in front of and behind the camera 📣📣📣
#femalefilmcritics #AWFJ #movierelease
MOVIE OF THE WEEK: AMERICAN DREAM
It's been slightly over 40 years since Hormel factory workers in Austin, Minnesota, went on a nearly year-long strike to protest slashed wages and benefits -- and 35 years since Barbara Kopple's revealing film about the strike won the Best Documentary Oscar in 1991. And what lingers most after watching the 4K rerelease is the feeling of how relevant so much of it still is decades later.
This May Day is an ideal time to watch, or revisit AMERICAN DREAM which chronicles the weakening of trade unions during the Reagan era and the rise of corporate power.
Kopple captures everything from the solidarity and hope at the strike's outset to the devastation when strikebreakers cross the picket lines, pitting friends, neighbors, and even brothers against one another.
A remarkable documentary, AMERICAN DREAM confirms Kopple's place in the pantheon of essential documentarians.
Read AWFJ's full coverge at the link in our bio or at /blog/2026/04/26/movie-of-the-week-may-1-2026-american-dream/
#barbarakpple #americandreamdocumentary #laborunions #ufcw #Hormelstrike #SPAM #JanuaFilms #4Krestoration #MovieOfTheWeek #MOTW #AWFJ #AllianceofWomenFilmJournalists #femalefilmmakers #womeninfilm
