ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

Alice Rohrwacher

Festivals 

New York Film Festival 2023: Female Filmmakers in Focus – Margaret Barton-Fumo reports

Margaret Barton-Fumo , , , , , , , , , , ,

The New York Film Festival is set to return to the city with a packed schedule of international films. A little over one-fifth of the features this year are directed by women, with several standouts in the coveted Main Slate. Sofia Coppola’s highly anticipated Priscilla is one such feature, scheduled to be the festival’s “Centerpiece” screening. Many critics are eagerly situating Coppola’s film, which is based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir, Elvis and Me, as the femme-centric antidote to Baz Luhrmann’s bombastic rock ‘n’ roll biopic. All assumed comparisons aside, the subject matter is certainly well-suited to its director, given Coppola’s accomplished history of directing moody tales of alienated women.

Read more
Festivals Reviews 

LA CHIMERA (TIFF 2023) – Review by Rachel West

Rachel West , , , , ,

Move over, Indiana Jones, there’s a new tomb-raiding archaeologist in town in Alice Rohrwacher’s madcap Italian tragi-comedy, La Chimera. Rohrwacher imbues the film with her unique style that feels loose and luxurious. Like the mythical chimera composed of incongruous body parts, the film is a gorgeous blend of style and substance. The story clips along with fast-motion sequences and silent film techniques which paint a truly original picture. Director of Photography Hélène Louvart plays with visuals and aspect ratios using 35mm, 16mm and Super 16 while editor Nelly Quettier brings further oddball energy to the the screen with jump cuts against a soundtrack of infectious Italian rock, folk, and electro-pop.

Read more
Festivals 

TIFF 2023 Preview: Films Directed By Women

Rachel West , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 48th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is once again ready to kick off in Toronto. While this year may not have the star power of previous years due to the ongoing SAG and WGA strikes, there are still plenty of films to see – especially ones with women filmmakers at the helm. While not reaching gender parity in their programming this year, TIFF is still showcasing films by women from around the world. Both well-established directors and first-time directors helm everything from star-studded ensembles, documentaries, indie dramas, comedies, and more. With more than 70 films, series, and shorts directed by women, there are many opportunities to take in female-helmed films this festival, which runs September 7 through 17th. See the full list of feature-length films and series directed or co-directed by women.

Read more
Festivals 

Women @ 71st Melbourne International Film Fest – Alexandra Heller-Nicholas reports

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas , , , , , , , , , ,

In 2023, MIFF, well, felt like MIFF again. Mask sightings were rare, the festival’s long queues wound snake-like around city blocks once again, and if not for the unseasonably warm weather it felt like business as usual. With in-cinema programming running from 3 to 20 August and MIFF Play streaming from 18 to 27 August, MIFF is not just a lengthy festival when compared with other international fests, but also one of the longest running; founded in 1952, its first edition was a year after the first Berlin Film Fest, and it predates both TIFF and Sundance by decades. TIFF is perhaps the most useful point of reference when it comes to trying to capture the tone of MIFF for those in the Northern Hemisphere; while both have a significant industry portion (amongst other things, MIFF hosts the annual 37ºSouth Market), both festivals are marked by a kind of proud, public facing euphoria and share a similar spirit of accessibility when it comes to welcoming audiences from all walks of life, not just industry players going through the motions.

Read more
Festivals Reviews 

LA CHIMERA (Melbourne IFF 2023) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas , , , ,

Alice Rohrwacher is back, and the filmmaker who brought us The Wonders (2014) and Happy as Lazzaro (2018) returns with the highly anticipated Palme d’Or nominated (and Palme Dog winning) La Chimera. A generic melange of sped-up slapstick, heist film and romantic fantasy, the film stars Josh O’Connor as Arthur, an archaeologist turned graverobber who returns to the rural Italian home of his lost love Beniamina (Yile Tara Vianello) where he reconnects with her eccentric mother Flora (Isabella Rossellini) and his old tombaroli crew who entice him back into the business of raiding tombs to pilfer Etruscan antiquities. Through Flora he meets the quirky Italia (Carol Duarte), with whom he develops an unexpected connection.

Read more
Reviews 

LE PUPILLE – Review by Nadine Whitney

Nadine Whitney , , , ,

Directed by Alice Rohrwacher (Happy as Lazzaro) and produced by Alfonso Cuarón, Le Pupille reunites Rohrwacher with writer Carmela Covino and star of Happy as Lazzaro, Alba Rohrwacher. It is WWII and a group of orphans live in a ramshackle convent in Italy. The whole county is suffering a famine because of the war. The Church, usually able to depend on money from the faithful is facing poverty, and the hope of Madre Superiora Fioralba (Alice Rohrwacher) is that the annual Nativity Scene will bring in some much-needed funds

Read more
Reviews 

AWFJ Presents CORPO CELESTE – Review by Erin Trahan

Erin Trahan , , , , , , ,

If a cinematic canon were to prioritize an adolescent girl’s point of view, Alice Rohrwacher’s Corpo Celeste from 2011 would top the list. The first of Rohrwacher’s now several features as writer-director of fiction, Corpo Celeste succeeds as a highly original coming-of-age story set among worn out but still potent Catholic traditions.

Read more
Festivals 

NYFF18: Just 4 Out of 30 Main Slate Films are Female-Directed – Jennifer Merin reports

Jennifer Merin 0 Comments , , , , , , , , ,

In 2017, New York Film Festival (NYFF) announced that its main slate lineup featured the most female-directed films in 10 years. This year it’s back below average with just four female-directed films in the lineup of 30. NYFF has made no mention of an equality pledge, nor commented on the inclusion rider circulating in Hollywood, and it shows.

Read more
Reviews 

THE WONDERS, ARMOUR OF LIGHT, MAKING ROUNDS, OUR BRAND IS CRISIS, BARE and Other Oct 30 Openers – Reviews by Jennifer Merin

Jennifer Merin 0 Comments , , , , , , , , , ,

Alice Rohrwacher’s second feature, The Wonders, is full of mystery and fully deserves it’s title. Abigail Disney’s Armour of Light, an enlightening documentary, follows an Evangelical minister and the mother of a slain teenage son to point out the contradictions between Evangelical Christian ideology and second amendment advocacy by Evangelical Christians. Muffy Meyers’ Making Rounds follows two highly regarded cardiologists as they train young doctors to listen to patients with heart and to diagnose them at their bedsides rather than at computers. Plus reviews of Our Brand is Crisis, Bare, Top Spin and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.

Read more