nell minow – Page 3 – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 20, 2026: 1000 WOMEN IN HORROR

March 15, 2026March 21, 2026 Jennifer Merin 1000 WOMEN IN HORROR, alexandra heller-nicholas, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, documentaries, Donna Davies, History of cinema, horror genre, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, sandie angulo chen

Whether you’re someone who can’t get enough of movies overflowing with blood and guts or have to hide your face behind your hands whenever anything scary is about to happen on screen, chances are you’ll get a kick out of director Donna Davies’ brisk documentary 1000 Women in Horror. Based on the book by horror expert (and AWFJ member!) Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, it’s a smart, thought-provoking look at the way the genre both impacts and is impacted by women.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 13, 2026: SPACEWOMAN

March 8, 2026March 9, 2026 Jennifer Merin austronaut, betsy bozdech, Bridget Youngs, documentary, eileen collins, hannah berryman, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nasa, nell minow, Pat Youngs, sandie angulo chen, space shuttle, spacewoman

Looking at Eileen Collins — and hearing her talk in such an unassuming, approachable way, with a cadence that really sounds more Midwestern than southern New York, where she grew up — you’d be forgiven for not immediately recognizing her as the barrier-busting astronaut who, in 1999, became the first woman to command a Space Shuttle mission for NASA. But Hannah Berryman’s compelling documentary Spacewoman aims to make sure everyone knows exactly who Collins is.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 6, 2026: SILVER STAR

March 1, 2026March 1, 2026 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Grace Van Dien, indican, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, Lola Bessis, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Ruben Amar, sandie angulo chen, Silver Star, Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson

Like a younger version of Thelma and Louise — had Thelma been a troubled, formerly incarcerated Civil War re-enactor and Louise an impulsive, very pregnant teen with a motor mouth and a penchant for dramatics — the main characters in Lola Bessis and Ruben Amar’s Silver Star find themselves on the road while running from the law. But, also like Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon’s iconic duo, they develop a powerful bond in the process.

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MOVIE OF THE WEEK February 27, 2026: THE INQUISITOR

February 22, 2026March 13, 2026 Jennifer Merin alfre woodard, Angela Lynn Tucker, Angela Tucker, Barbara Jordan, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, dan rather, independent lens, jasmine crockett, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, pbs, PBS’ Independent Lens, sandie angulo chen, The Inquisitor

Trailblazers don’t come much more blazing than Barbara Jordan, the groundbreaking Texas politician/lawyer/all-around bad-ass who’s the subject of director Angela Lynn Tucker’s illuminating documentary The Inquisitor. As the first Black woman to be elected to her home state’s Senate since the Civil War — not to mention the first southern Black woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives — Jordan made an indelible mark on U.S. politics in her all-too-brief time in Washington, D.C.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK February 20, 2026: BEAM ME UP, SULU

February 15, 2026February 15, 2026 Jennifer Merin Beam Me Up Sulu, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, documentary, George Takei, James Shigeta, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, nell minow, Nichelle Nichols, sandie angulo chen, Sasha Schneider, stan woo, star trek, Timour Gregory, trekkies, Yorktown: A Time to Heal

The enduring appeal and positive messages of Star Trek are at the heart of Timour Gregory and Sasha Schneider’s heartfelt documentary Beam Me Up, Sulu. As it tells the decades-long story of making the Star Trek-inspired fan film Yorktown: A Time to Heal, it touches on everything from cosplay and conventions to prejudice and internment camps, always bringing it back to the power of the world of Klingons, Vulcans, and the starship Enterprise.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK February 13, 2026: AN AMERICAN PASTORAL

February 8, 2026 Jennifer Merin An American Pastoral, Auberi Edler, betsy bozdech, book banning, Cate Marquis, documentary, jennifer merin, Kristy Moore, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, sandie angulo chen, school board election

Raw and revealing while remaining fastidiously observational, French documentarian Auberi Edler’s An American Pastoral is about the tense 2023 school board race in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, following as moderate candidates go up against a slate of far-right conservatives. In telling the story of that election, it lays bare the deep, painful divides that plague virtually every aspect of life in the United States. Edler’s camera is in the room as candidates and others express opinions on which books are and aren’t (mostly aren’t) appropriate to have in school libraries. She follows candidates as they canvas their neighbors, hoping to earn votes, and as they attend church services and other community events. She captures their (very) honest thoughts on Covid, January 6th, transgender people, the Constitution, handguns, and more. What emerges is the portrait of a town that, like the country it belongs to, is sharply split along ideological lines.

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MOVIE OF THE WEEK February 6, 2026: INVISIBLE WARRIORS: AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN WORLD WAR II

January 31, 2026February 1, 2026 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, nell minow, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole

Part Hidden Figures, part A League of Their Own, part The Tuskegee Airmen, director Gregory Cooke’s compelling documentary Invisible Warriors: African American Women in World War II tells the story of the more than 600,000 Black women who helped keep the United States’ home fires (and forges) burning during WWII but have never received much in the way of thanks — or credit — for their contributions to the country’s war efforts.

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MOTW January 16, 2026: A PRIVATE LIFE

January 11, 2026January 13, 2026 Jennifer Merin A Private Life, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Daniel Auteuil, jennifer merin, jodie foster, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, mathieu Amalric, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Rebecca Zlotowski, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Simon Cohen-Solal, Virginie Efira

A psychiatrist’s personal and professional insecurities come together to send her spiraling in the wake of her long-time patient’s death in director Rebecca Zlotowski’s engrossing mystery/thriller A Private Life. Starring Jodie Foster in her French-language feature debut, the film follows Dr. Lilian Steiner (Foster) as she gets caught up in trying to prove that the engimatic Paula Cohen-Solal (Virginie Efira) didn’t die by suicide but, in fact, was murdered.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK December 26, 2025: HO HO HOLIDAY VIEWING

December 21, 2025December 21, 2025 Jennifer Merin babette's feast, betsy bozdech, carol, Cate Marquis, its a wonderful life, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, nell minow, Round and Round, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, THE FAMILY STONE, The Holiday, THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT, while you were sleeping, WHITE CHRISTMAS

During this celebratory cope and hope holiday season, good movies provide respite from the world’s day to day worries and they deliver insight into the ways in which we might make progress in overcoming them. And so we take this opportunity to present — for your escape from stress and for your viewing enjoyment — Team Movie of the Week’s richly varied list of highly recommended movies for your ho ho holiday watch roster. Team MOTW’s choices feature romance, comedy, thrills and an abundance of good food. We’ve selected films that are upbeat, inspiring and spirited, although not all are directly connected to traditional holiday celebrations. Read our mini reviews of all the selected titles, punch up the trailers and pick the titles that most appeal to you. Or, better yet, watch them all.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK December 12, 2025: GOODBYE JUNE

December 7, 2025December 8, 2025 Jennifer Merin Andrea Riseborough, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Goodbye June, helen mirren, jennifer merin, Joe Anders, Johnny Flynn, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, nell minow, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Timothy Spall, toni colette

Humor and pathos go hand in hand in Kate Winslet’s moving directorial debut Goodbye June. As the film — written by Winslet’s son, Joe Anders — follows a boisterous British family preparing to say a final goodbye to their beloved wife/mother/grandmother, it reminds viewers that death is an inevitable part of life, something to be planned for and accepted with grace and love, if not necessarily welcomed with open arms.