Female Film Critics 24/375
Fulfilling Sylvia Plath’s observation: “It’s a hell of a responsibility to be yourself. It’s easier to be somebody else or nobody at all”…Noah Baumbach’s bittersweet buddy movie Jay Kelly explores regret and missed opportunities – on a rarefied level.
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Famous actor Jay Kelly (George Clooney) continually asks after filming a scene, “Can I go again?” That question takes on a whole new meaning by the end of Noah Baumbach’s latest dysfunctional family meets Inside the Actor’s Studio character study of an aging star having second thoughts about his choices in life.
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Cannes Film Festival is underway from May 13 and through May 24 in Cannes, France, with Juliette Binoche serving as president of this year’s jury for the long-running event. The Oscar-winning French actress is presiding over the jury of the 78th Festival de Cannes exactly 40 years after her first appearance on La Croisette. Binoche follows four-time Oscar-nominated American filmmaker Greta Gerwig as president of the Cannes jury. It’s just the second time in the festival’s history that one woman in film is taking up the prestigious torch from another.
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AWFJ’s January 2025 SPOTLIGHT is focused on Vivian Kerr, the producer, writer, director and star of Scrap, an entirely indie film that has been winning awards and gaining acclaim at film festivals since 1922 and has at long last landed (mid-December, 2024) on the internet for easy audience access. Scrap is Kerr’s first feature, and it took her almost a decade of dreaming and scheming to get it made and make it known. In doing so, she has transformed her career from that of an actress with roles on Grey’s Anatomy, Masters of Sex, Criminal Minds, New Girl, The Bold & The Beautiful and other shows to an new role as an independent filmmaker with promising prospects. She’s already premiered her second feature, a horror/thriller titled Seance, in October 2024 at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Kerr’s path to success is one that many women working in the movie industry might wish to follow. In AWFJ’s SPOTLIGHT interview, Kerr generously shares her experiences and strategies.
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This year, the Cannes Film Festival spotlighted a rich diversity within its Official Selection Jury, including prominent women like Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) and the Jury President, Oscar-winning director Greta Gerwig (Barbie). The festival celebrated the achievements of many female filmmakers and actresses, who not only appeared on screens in the South of France but also took home prestigious awards. The festival was a powerful celebration of women’s contributions to cinema, setting a high standard for future events.
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Following a year in which she beat most every box-office record with her film Barbie, American director, screenwriter and actor Greta Gerwig will preside over the feature film competition jury at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.The 77th Festival de Cannes will take place from May 14-25 in France. In less than 15 years, Gerwig has gained recognition in American and worldwide cinema. Originally from Sacramento, California, but a New Yorker by adoption, she dreamed of being a playwright but has crafted her own path in film.
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With the Cannes Film Festival on the way May 14th – 25th, this year’s awards season will officially begin. Out of all those promising films on the slate from Oscar winner Emma Stone in her next collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos, Kinds of Kindness, to Andrea Arnold’s Bird, a lot of movies that sound good on paper will be thrown against the wall to see if they stick. In the past decade-plus, Cannes has become a battle ground in the fight for female representation. The balance has changed.
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I empathize with the director’s need to come from her heart. I honor the genuine disappointment that Gerwig and her star Robbie might have experienced after riding their wave of hype and success. Still, let’s insert a little context here. Barbie, despite its eight Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling) and Actress (America Ferrara), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and two Best Songs, is not your typical Oscar-winner.
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Imagine there’s no bias. It isn’t hard to do. What if all five Best Director nominees were women? Who would they be? When we put together our AWFJ EDA Awards Nominations, we managed it. We had our ultimate winner, Barbie’s Greta Gerwig, who has gone from the female-driven indie Lady Bird to the female-driven literary adaptation of Little Women to the 2023 blockbuster inspired by the iconic Mattel doll.
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In 2023, The Zone of Interest picked up awards for both Best Film and Best International Film, Barbie captured four awards, including Best Director for Greta Gerwig, who also shared Best Original Screenplay Award with Noah Baumbach, Best Supporting Actor for Ryan Gosling and Best Ensemble Cast/Casting Director (tie). Among other awards Killers of the Flower Moon won awards for Best Actress (Lily Gladstone), Best Cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto), Best Editor (Thelma Schoonmaker) and Best Women’s Breakthrough Performance (Lily Gladstone). American Fiction also won multiple awards.
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