ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

Interviews

Interviews 

THE SECRET ART OF HUMAN FLIGHT – Pam Grady interviews H.P. Mendoza, Grant Rosenmeyer and Paul Raci (exclusive)

Pam Grady , , , , ,

A work for hire turns personal as director H.P. Mendoza and actors Grant Rosenmeyer and Paul Raci unlock the secrets behind The Secret Art of Human Flight. There are special effects in The Secret Art of Human Flight, but when pigeons land on star (and lead producer) Grant Rosenmeyer’s head, it is the real deal. The actor laughs and shudders at the same time, remembering his up close and personal encounter with rats with wings.

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Interviews 

Erica Tremblay on FANCY DANCE – Leslie Combemale interviews

Leslie Combemale , , , , , , , ,

When Fancy Dance premiered at Sundance in 2023, it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize and lauded by critics. The film went on to great acclaim on the festival circuit, including a special mention at Outfest and a win for Best Narrative Feature at the New York’s LGBT film festival, NewFest. The film’s co-writer, director and producer Erica Tremblay had been working on the screenplay with writing partner Miciana Alise for years. They’ve crafted, re-crafted, and tightened the story as they processed it through several writer’s labs, including one at Sundance. The attention to detail and story shows. It has garnered at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and its release is much anticipated. AWFJ lead contributor Leslie Combemale discussed the project with Tremblay in this exclusive interview:

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Festivals Interviews 

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Trish Dalton reflect on DIANE VON FURSTENBERG (Tribeca 2024) – Valerie Kalfrin interviews

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , ,

Diane von Furstenberg’s outlook is as lively as her eye-catching designs. The fashion and feminist icon is a quote machine of practical wisdom. Watch her Tribeca 2024 documentary Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge, attend a Q&A with her, or visit with her, and you’ll be tempted to take notes, even if you’re not a journalist or a film critic. The directors recently talked with AWFJ about designing this project and what they absorbed from the experience.

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Interviews 

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON: Creating Mythic Characters – Jennifer Merin interviews

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , ,

HBO Max’s series House of The Dragon creates its own fantastic universe around a cast of mythic characters who weave themselves into the fabric of an immensely complicated and twisting history. The series doesn’t shoot in sequence, so Keeping track of where they are in the tale and in their personal character arcs must be a daunting task for the actors. At a recent press conference, I had the opportunity to ask them about the choices they’ve made to help them with their journey.

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Festivals Guest Posts Interviews 

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

Guest Post , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

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Festivals Interviews 

Katie Mathews on ROLEPLAY (SXSW2024)

Nadine Whitney , , , , , , ,

Katie Mathew: I’m certainly not an expert in the history of sexual education in America but I wonder if we haven’t ever escaped our Puritan roots in the colonization of this country. Sex is still somehow taboo. With the continuously disappearing line between State and (Conservative Christian) Church, sex for pleasure (or a non-cis-straight-white man’s right to desire and enjoy sex) is demonized. Unfortunately curiosity and hunger for knowledge doesn’t disappear when suppressed. Young people are receiving misinformation or misogynistic information about sex from the internet, peers, and certain types of porn. Awareness, dialogue, and education is KEY to healthier and safer sexual relationships.

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Festivals Interviews 

Alison Tavel on Realizing RESYNATOR (SXSW2024) – Valerie Kalfrin interviews

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , , , , , , , ,

When she started making the documentary Resynator, Alison Tavel imagined she’d introduce viewers to the “super-trippy” synthesizer her late father invented. But once she unpacked the device from storage, she dug up family secrets, such as his depression and insecurities. “There was a moment when I thought I should stop filming,” she said, recalling hearing of her dad’s troubles for the first time. “The narrative was way more personal than I was intending it to be. … [I thought,] ‘I don’t need to show the whole world this.’” She was so unsettled, she phoned her mom, then thought about it some more, realizing, “Maybe this is the story I need to tell.”
Resynator debuted at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival, winning an Audience Award for Feature Documentary.

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Interviews 

PATRICIA ROZEMA on Celebrating her Career – Liz Braun interviews

Liz Braun , , , , , ,

Patricia Rozema, part of the Toronto New Wave of the 1980s and early 1990s, has been a force in filmmaking since her debut feature, I’ve Heard The Mermaids Singing, earned her immediate recognition. It was the first English-language Canadian film to win a prize at the Cannes Film Festival ― the Prix de la jeunesse in 1987 — and more than 35 years later, it is still regarded as one of the best Canadian movies extant. During the month of March the Toronto International Film Festival is honoring Rozema with a special film series. The trailblazing filmmaker — currently inspiring the next generation of filmmakers at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film & Television — is also being honored in L.A. and New York. We caught up with Rozema recently to talk about the TIFF series.

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Interviews 

Annette Bening on Preparation for NYAD – Wendy Mitchell interviews

Wendy Mitchell , , ,

Annette Bening can still hardly believe she has been on the heightened emotional and physical journey playing the long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad. “I never in my wildest imagination ever imagined doing something like this. Especially in my 60s!” she says with a hearty laugh. “So that’s what was also very enticing about it.” When Bening first read the script, adapted from Diana Nyad’s memoir Find A Way, she remembers, “I was moved and I laughed, I was furious at her, but I loved her. I found her funny. I found her exasperating. I found the story just ultimately so inspiring because it’s so surprising. As a character she was outrageous and I knew I wanted to play her. Bening certainly questioned herself as she trained for a year in the pool, not just to get into the right shape to walk around in a swimsuit for most of the film but also to make sure she had the precise strokes and breathing patterns of a seasoned swimmer — even the same breathing to the left that Nyad had to do to see her coach Bonnie Stoll (played by Jodie Foster) on the boat.

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Interviews 

Ali Scher and Cast on POPULAR THEORY – Jeanne Wolf interviews

Jeanne Wolf , , , , , ,

The Popular Theory story is about Erwin, a chemistry-obsessed and somewhat shy schoolgirl. Her aunt, played by Cheryl Hines of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame, worries about Erwin because she’s so absorbed in her science studies that she doesn’t make friends. She finds a friend, Winston, another chemistry geek, and together, they invent a popularity serum that they add to chewing gum to make anyone instantly attractive. And it works! Lots of lessons about the value of popularity and the value of following your own passion make the story end with lots of smiles.

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