sofia coppola – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Telluride Film Festival 2026 Overview (Part Two) – Diane Carson reports

September 11, 2026September 17, 2026 Diane Carson documentaries, eleanor coppola, Julie Thayer, MAKING OF MARIE ANTOINETTE, sofia coppola, Telluride Film Festival 2026, The Natural State, U.G. Krishnamurti. Matthew Dougherty

The outstanding films described in the 53rd Telluride Film Festival Overview Part One comprise just a diverse sampling. Here, in Part Two, among other diverse selections meriting praise, again documentaries and fiction films figure in the mix. Most striking, actors’ performances in the narratives deserve particular commendation for their exceptional realization of complex, often fraught and difficult characters. For their part, the nonfiction works bring their topics to vivid life through well-chosen footage, fine editing, and unobtrusive music and sound.

Festivals Reviews

MAKING MARIE ANTOINETTE (Telluride FF 2026) – Review by Diane Carson

September 11, 2026September 13, 2026 Diane Carson diane lane, eleanor coppola, francis ford coppola, kirsten dunst, Making Marie Antoinette, Milena Cannonero, sofia coppola, telluride film festival, Twlluride 2026

Already celebrated for her dazzling, incisive Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991) documenting the filmmaking trials of husband Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Eleanor Coppola’s Making Marie Antoinette (2026) confirms and enhances her reputation as an accomplished filmmaker in her own right. Early in the documentary, in excerpts from her journal spoken by Diane Lane, Eleanor acknowledges that she much prefers to stand back and observe, that “it is against my personality to shoot a documentary, and yet I continue to do so.”

Festivals

FALL FESTIVAL PREVIEW 2025 – Christina Jeurling Birro reports

July 29, 2025August 3, 2025 Christina Jeurling Birro Agnieszka Holland, chloe zhao, fall film festivals, Kaouther Ben Hania, kathryn bigelow, laura poitras, Mona Fastvold, nia dacosta, scarlett johansson, sofia coppola, toronto international film festival, Venice International Film Festival

Bigelow’s back, Zhao tackles Shakespeare, and More as the fall film festivals unveil their lineups. The fall film festival season kicks off on the Lido in Venice in less than a month, then rolls on from the mountains of Telluride to Toronto, and beyond. This year promises a strong showing from female directors across many lineups. Here are just a few of the exciting films to keep your eyes on!

Reviews

PRISCILLA – Review by Susan Granger

November 21, 2023November 21, 2023 Susan Granger Cailee Spaeny, Elvis and Me, Jacob Elordi, Priscilla, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, sofia coppola

In casting Priscilla, filmmaker Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette) chose diminutive 5’1” Cailee Spaeny to play the titular role; she’s visibly dwarfed by 6’5” Jacob Elordi as towering Elvis. Filmed for $20 million in 30 days in Toronto, the film hints that moody, controlling Elvis may have been sexually dysfunctional with a Madonna complex, although rumors were rampant that he had affairs with Ann-Margret, Nancy Sinatra, Connie Stevens, Rita Moreno and Linda Thompson – among others.

Reviews

PRISCILLA – Review by Diane Carson

November 2, 2023November 2, 2023 Diane Carson Cailee Spaeny, Elvis and Me, Jacob Elordi, Priscilla, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, sofia coppola

Priscilla scrutinizes Priscilla’s and Elvis’ relationship. Solid but unexciting, writer/director Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla painstakingly anchors its story in Priscilla Beaulieu Presley’s relationship with Elvis. It begins with her high school days in 1959 Germany at the Air Force base where her stepfather and Elvis are stationed. Riding the roller coaster of their relationship, it concludes with her leaving Graceland in 1972.

Festivals

NYFF 2023: Female-Focused Wrap – Margaret Barton-Fumo reports

October 10, 2023October 15, 2023 Margaret Barton-Fumo Agnieszka Holland, Alice Rohrwacher, Catherine Breillat, Deborah Stratman, female filmmakers, Joanna Arnow, justine triet, Lee Grant, Michèle Stephenson, Niki de Saint Phalle, NYFF 2023, Raven Jackson, Rosine Mbakam, sofia coppola

Women directors held their own at this year’s New York Film Festival, with impressive films in each of the fest’s coveted programs, from the Main Slate to Revivals. We’ll dip into each of these categories, singling out some of the lesser-known titles, in a women-focused overview of the fest. Starting off with the generally crowd-pleasing Main Slate, a number of women-directed features stood out (eight out of thirty-two, in fact).

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Sofia Coppola’s PRISCILLA is NYFF Centerpiece – Brandy McDonnell reports

September 21, 2023September 28, 2023 Brandy McDonnell biopics, Cailee Spaeny, Elvis and Me, Jacob Elordi, New York Film Festival, NYFF 2023, Priscilla Presley, sofia coppola, the week in women, twiw

Writer-director Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla will screen as the Centerpiece selection for the 61st New York Film Festival, making its North American premiere Oct. 6 at Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center. Adapted from Priscilla Presley’s best-selling 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, the biopic stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis. Priscilla is a culminating triumph for Sofia Coppola, a filmmaker with a singular gift for illuminating the interior lives of her characters,” said Dennis Lim, artistic director of the New York Film Festival.

Festivals

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

September 15, 2023September 16, 2023 Margaret Barton-Fumo Agnieszka Holland, Alice Rohrwacher, Annie Baker, Catherine Breillat, Deborah Stratman, female filmmakers, Joanna Arnow, justine triet, New York Film Festival, Niki de Saint Phalle, NYFF 2023, sofia coppola

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.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Sofia Coppola Takes on Priscilla Presley’s ELVIS AND ME – Brandy McDonnell reports

October 13, 2022October 16, 2022 Brandy McDonnell biopics, Cailee Spaeny, Elvis and Me, Jacob Elordi, Priscilla Presley, sofia coppola, the week in women, twiw

Oscar-winning writer-director Sofia Coppola is adapting Priscilla Presley’s best-selling 1985 memoir Elvis and Me into a feature film titled =Priscilla. The biopic will star Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis. In the 1980s, Presley’s book quickly became an international sensation as a chronicle of her passionate marriage to The King. She was just 14 years old when she caught the eye of Elvis, who was 24 at the time, during his military service in Germany. They married in 1967, and welcomed a daughter, Lisa Marie, before splitting up in 1972.

Reviews

ON THE ROCKS – Review by Diane Carson

December 11, 2020December 13, 2020 Diane Carson Bill Murray, Jenny Slate, motw, Movie of the Week, on the rocks, rashida jones, sofia coppola

Writer/director Sofia Coppola tackles recognizable, perplexing situations with observational skill. Through calm restraint that communicates volumes, she reveals complex characters who struggle with relationships. In her latest film, Laura slowly but surely begins to suspect that husband Dean is having an affair with his assistant. On the Rocks is quiet, restrained, and wonderful.

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