• Tribeca 2018 was truly the year for female filmmakers. With “Egg,” actress and director Marianne Palka (“Glow”) proves that she’s just as talented behind the camera as she is in front of it. Fresh off the success of writing and directing her dark comedy “Bitch" (2017) Palka takes on a more dialogue-driven relationship story. In “Egg,” two art school friends and their husbands meet for an afternoon in New York. While discussing

  • Over the years I’ve researched and written extensively on the underrated work of silent movie actress Mabel Normand, Hollywood’s first film comedienne and female director. I’m now happy to report that she is finally being recognized for her many accomplishments. During November 11-12 the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, located in Fremont, Calif., will be hosting a retrospective of this early film pioneer.

  • When last year I spoke with Illeana Douglas we discussed her work highlighting the accomplishments of women behind the camera. We also talked about her involvement as executive producer of the Kino Lorber five-disc collection “Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers.” As I've discovered, Douglas is continuing her mission by hosting TCM’s annual “Trailblazing Women” series for the second year in a row. The current

  • There is always a time when the topic of Female Directors becomes pertinent. Kathryn Bigelow winning her Oscar for “The Hurt Locker” certainly raised the subject.  But that was seven years ago.  Now, Patty Jenkins’s recent “Wonder Woman” success is picking up the topic.  The problem seems to be continuing the trend.  In an effort do just that, writer/producer Ryan Murphy (“American Horror Story," “Feud”) has started a new fellowship aimed at supporting the cause. 

  • (this is the follow-up piece to Rudy Cecera's interview with the director from earlier this year) Susie Singer Carter has much to be proud. Not only is “My mom and the girl” racking up palm leaves all over the U.S. but it also received recognition at the Cannes Festival in May. In fact, her short film got two separate nods, the the “Jury Winner Honorable Mention LGBTQ Winner at The American Pavilion” and the

  • Many short films tend to be comedy-oriented but not all of them are funny. An exception is “Lemon,” which was shown as part of shorts program at the last Tribeca Festival. In the twelve minutes that make up its length I found myself laughing more often than I do during some feature-length films.

    Written and directed by Timothy Michael Cooper (“Concierge: The Series”) “Lemon” provide

  • (Short notice is Screen Comment's new column. It is exclusively devoted to short films) Australian filmmaker Jacobie Gray has directed a vivid, modern-day period piece of a relationship of the kind that Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick were famous for. “The Beehive” explores the affinity between an artist and his muse. Gray portrays the avant-garde culture of the New York art scene in the sixties through a modern retelling