Guest Posts – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Payal Kapadia, first Indian to win the Cannes Grand Prix – Mythily Ramachandran interviews (Guest Post, Exclusive)

June 12, 2024June 20, 2024 Guest Post All We Imagine As Light, cannes 2024, Cannes Film Festival 2024, Chhaya Kadam, Divya Prabha, Grand Prix, Indian filmmakers, Kani Kusruti, Mythily Ramachandran, Payal Kapadia, Thomas Hakim

At the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival, Indian director Payal Kapadia etched her name for eternity in the annals of cinema history by winning the ‘Grand Prix.’ Kapadia’s debut feature All We Imagine As Light, was singled out among 22 entries. Her contenders included Andrea Arnold, Francis Ford Coppola, Jia Zhange-Ke, Paolo Sorrentino, Sean Baker, and Ali Abbasi. Kapadia is the first Indian woman filmmaker to win the coveted prize. No other Indian director had ever competed for the honour nor bagged it. Thirty years ago, Malayalam director Shaji N Karun’s Swaham‘ qualified at Cannes for the competition category in 1994. Kapadia’s magic moment happened when AWIAL received a standing ovation for eight long minutes after its Cannes premiere.

Guest Posts Reviews

BLUE JEAN – Review by Justina Walford

May 29, 2023January 8, 2024 Guest Post Blue Jean, Georgia Oakley, guest posts, justina walford, Kerrie Hayes, lgbtq, margaret thatcher, Rosy McEwen, the female gaze

Dramas set in the 80s walk a tightrope, often forcing us into a sense of nostalgia, romanticizing the decade even though it was far from inclusive. LGBTQ coming-out films also walk a tightrope, usually stuck in a world of early LGBTQ challenges without showing a character existing beyond the struggle of identity. Blue Jean is both of these genres. Yet, the combination defies the challenges and comes off beautifully as a sincere dialogue and, in some ways, a sincere amends and admiration among generations.

Guest Posts Reviews

LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL – Review by Dana Ziyasheva (Guest Post)

October 12, 2022June 21, 2023 awfj-admin Chinese films, chinese tv, Dana Ziyasheva, Love Between Fairy and Devil, netflix, Wang He Di

The Chinese show Love Between Fairy and Devil is such a carefully choreographed ballet of emotions and thoughts on the nature of love, power, and society — hammering home its points with an impossibly attractive cast and a highly addictive soundtrack — that I, a bone-weary middle-aged woman with grown-up kids, found myself pledging all my time (and the entirety of my soul) to it.

Guest Posts

AWFJ Exclusive Clip: SURVIVING SEX TRAFFICKING

April 13, 2022April 15, 2022 Jennifer Merin documentaries, guest posts, Sadhvi Siddhali Shree, Surviving Sex Trafficking, video clip

The documentary Surviving Sex Trafficking is sobering personal account from diretor/producer Sadhvi Siddhali Shree of her abuse at age six, unburied and brought up through meditation. Supported by actor Alyssa Milano, Jeannie Mai of The Real, and musician Jay Jenkins as executive producers, the production team travels to Houston, Hungary, Miami, Las Vegas, New Jersey, India, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, interviewing trafficking survivors and focusing specifically on three women with harrowing stories of their abuse. This is a crucially important documentary that reveals the ongoing abuse and exploitation of vulnerable girls and young women around the globe.

Guest Posts Interviews

Megan Mylan on SIMPLE AS WATER – Mythily Ramachandran interviews (Guest Post, Exclusive)

March 8, 2022October 14, 2023 Jennifer Merin documentaries, makenzie smith, megan mylan, Mythily Ramachandran, oscars shortlist 2022, simple as water, the female gaze

Academy award winner Megan Mylan’s latest documentary, Simple As Water, narrates the plight of four families ripped apart by the Syrian war. The film was shortlisted for an Oscar but did not make it to the final list of nominees. Mylan, who received an Oscar for her documentary, Smile Pinki, and an Independent Spirit Award for her Lost Boys of Sudan speaks with Mythily Ramachandran about filming Simple As Water and families in exile.

Guest Posts Reviews

CINDERELLA – Review by Katie M. (Guest Post)

September 1, 2021November 10, 2023 Betsy Bozdech Billy Porter, Cinderella, guest post, idina menzel, katie m., kay cannon, Pierce Brosnan, Tallulah Greive

Because Cinderella is likely to be seen by legions of youngsters around the globe, we wondered how kiddos would interpret this latest screen adaptation of the classic fairy tale. We asked Betsy Bozdech McNab’s daughter, Katie, a savvy tweenager who knows a lot of fairy tales and sees a lot of movies, to review Kay Cannon’s musical live action production. Here’s Katie’s take on the show:

Books Guest Posts

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas’ Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study – Book Review by Marietta Steinhart (Guest Post)

July 9, 2021July 9, 2021 Jennifer Merin alexandra heller-nicholas, marietta steinhart, Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study

To mark the ten-year anniversary of her compelling book Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study, Australian film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (who is a member of AWFJ) has released a seriously revised, second edition, including an exciting new chapter on women-directed rape-revenge films before and after the #MeToo Era. A lot has happened since 2011 and if the author sounds angry, she says, it’s because she is.

Guest Posts Reviews

SWEAT – Review by Marietta Steinhart (Guest Post)

June 15, 2021June 16, 2021 Jennifer Merin Aleksandra Konieczna, Magdalena Kolesnik, Magnus Von Horn, Michael Dymek, polish films, Sweat, the female gaze

Few films have pictured the Social Media phenomenon as empathically as Sweat. Thanks to a powerhouse performance by Magdalena Koleśnik, Sweatallows for a very nuanced and kind look at a profession that has been demonized and mocked. Watching movies about people staring at their phones is usually about as stimulating as watching grass grow. This is not the case here. Koleśnik’s energy is contagious.

Guest Posts Reviews

NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN – Review by Marietta Steinhart (Guest Post)

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021 Jennifer Merin Agata Kulesza, Alec Utgoff, guest post, Maja Ostaszewska, Malgorzata Szumowska, marietta steinhart, Michal Englert, Never Gonna Snow Again, the female gaze

There is a spellbinding sense of fairy tale realism to Małgorzata Szumowska’s latest, her first co-directed film with long-time cinematographer Michał Englert. Never Gonna Snow Again is loaded with social commentary – it’s wicked and quietly wonderful.

Guest Posts Interviews

Rohena Gera on SIR – Mythily Ramachandran interviews (Guest Post)

March 10, 2021March 10, 2021 Jennifer Merin bollywood, cannes, indian film, Mythily Ramachandran, Rohena Gera, sir, the female gaze

Director Rohena Gera’s debut feature film, Sir broke all stereotypes of Indian cinema with a story that explored the changing dynamics of a relationship between Ashwin-a affluent young man and Ratna-his live-in domestic help. In India where caste and position in society determines relationships, Sir was much appreciated for its sincerity and honest narration. Sir premiered in the Critics Week at Cannes (2017) winning acclaim. Gera became the first woman filmmaker to receive the Gan Foundation award as well as a prize at the Cannes Critics Week.

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