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Exclusive: The Alliance of Women Directors has set its Rising Director Fellowship class of 2025: Mora Carew, Robin Cloud, Lisa Cole, Saray Bravo Guidetti, Dana Nachman, Jenn Shaw, and Allex Tarr.

Awd’s mission advocates to increase opportunities for women and nonbinary directors working in the screened content industry through robust advocacy, craft development programs, and mentorship.

The year-long intensive fosters directors who have achieved substantial success in the short-form space and are attached to direct their first narrative feature film. The program supports these directors through educational and networking opportunities, mentorship, and the opportunity to create a Proof of Concept for their feature projects. The journey concludes with an Industry Screening of the shorts.

Each candidate underwent rigorous vetting and was chosen from a pool of 18 finalists who were interviewed by Awd Icon Members Mary Lou Belli, Kelly Park, Rachel Ramist, Aida Rodriguez, Rosemary Rodriguez, and Bethany Rooney, Advisory Board Members Jonathan Frank,...

To celebrate its century-long run as one of Hollywood's biggest movie studios, Warner Bros. is releasing 20-minute-long remakes of six of its most classic films. The company, which is now called Warner Bros. Discovery after a merger with Discovery, Inc., plans on developing the short film series through its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team and stated that the series will reimagine these stories through "representative casting, storytelling, and narrative."

The six films on the slate are the recently remade "A Star is Born," the swashbuckling "The Adventures of Robin Hood," the Western "Calamity Jane," the Abbott and Costello comedy "Jack and the Beanstalk," the much-adapted "The Prince and the Pauper," and the James Dean drama "Rebel Without a Cause." Production is slated to begin this summer, with Ali Afshar ("American Wrestler: The Wizard" and a whole slew of Christmas-related material) serving as consulting producer. "We can't think of a better...

As part of its ongoing celebration of the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studios, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has commissioned short film adaptations of six classic movies from its vault.

These 20-minute shorts, which will be available to stream on Max later this year, will update the films through today’s more diverse and inclusive understanding of the world, with what Wbd’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team calls “representative casting, storytelling and narrative.”

Six filmmakers have already been chosen by a committee that includes Wbd senior vp Dei in North America Karen Horne alongside individuals from Warner Bros. Pictures, Visual Communications, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, Urban World, Sundance Indigenous Lab, Outfest and ReelAbilities Film Fest. The filmmakers, who will receive a budget through which they can derive their own compensation, will begin production this summer and be mentored by a group of established producers and directors,...

SeriesFest and Shondaland have announced Tamika Miller as the winner of their annual Women Directing Mentorship.

The Women Directing Mentorship was first launched in 2018 as a partnership between SeriesFest and Shondaland, founded by Shonda Rhimes who is a champion of inclusion in front of and behind the camera. The mentorship offers a unique opportunity for a rising female director to shadow an already established episodic director on a Shondaland produced series. The recipient of the inaugural 2019 Women Directing Mentorship, Rachel Myers (Wendy’s Shabbat), shadowed director Tessa Blake on Episode 306, Ice Ice Baby of the Shondaland series, Station 19 which airs on ABC.

“From her application video to her film reel, Tamika Miller was an exceptional choice for this year’s prestigious mentorship,” said SeriesFest CEO, Randi Kleiner. “Both the SeriesFest team and our partners at Shondaland were blown away by her as a director, a visionary, and an artist...

Eight filmmakers have been selected to take part in the AFI Directing Workshop for Women. They are Robin Cloud, Revati Dhomse, Ashley Eakin, Tiffany Frances, Marie Jamora, Bridget Moloney, Lara Panah-Izadi and Nicole Taylor-Roberts.

Launched in 1974, the filmmaker-training program offers several months of tuition-free film education, culminating in the production of a short film. The films will premiere at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in 2020.

“AFI has led the conversation about the need for more female directors since the Directing Workshop for Women opened its doors over 40 years ago,” Lauren Ludwig, director, AFI Dww,...

Eight filmmakers have been selected to take part in the AFI Directing Workshop for Women. They are Robin Cloud, Revati Dhomse, Ashley Eakin, Tiffany Frances, Marie Jamora, Bridget Moloney, Lara Panah-Izadi and Nicole Taylor-Roberts.

Launched in 1974, the filmmaker-training program offers several months of tuition-free film education, culminating in the production of a short film. The films will premiere at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in 2020.

“AFI has led the conversation about the need for more female directors since the Directing Workshop for Women opened its doors over 40 years ago,” Lauren Ludwig, director, AFI Dww,...

In today’s film news roundup, Glenn Close gets an honor, AFI names its Directing Workshop for Women participants and Teri Polo gets cast in a Christmas drama.

Close Honor

Glenn Close will be honored on Feb. 21 by the Us-Ireland Alliance at the 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards, held at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot in Santa Monica, Calif.

Melissa McCarthy, the recipient of an Oscar Wilde Award in 2012, will present Close with her award. Abrams, a previous honoree, will emcee.

A six-time Academy Award nominee, Glenn Close stars in the title role of the film adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s bestselling novel, “The Wife,” with Jonathan Pryce and Christian Slater for Swedish director Bjorn Runge. Close has won a Golden Globe Award and a Critics Choice Award for in a tie with Lady Gaga. Close received her sixth Academy Award nomination in 2012 for “Albert Nobbs.”

Close has also been nominated for Oscars for “Fatal Attraction,...

The American Film Institute revealed its list of eight women selected for this year’s Directing Workshop for Women on Tuesday. The participants will take part in a year-long, tuition-free film production course, culminating with each of them directing a short film that will premiere in Los Angeles in 2020.

The eight participants are Robin Cloud, Revati Dhomse, Ashley Eakin, Tiffany Frances, Marie Jamora, Bridget Moloney, Lara Panah-Izadi and Nicole Taylor-Roberts. Their bios can be read here.

“AFI has led the conversation about the need for more female directors since the Directing Workshop for Women opened its doors over 40 years ago,” said Lauren Ludwig, director, AFI Dww. “The rising filmmakers in this program embody the Institute’s active, enduring steps to create change, and we are excited to see the stories from this year’s class come alive on the screen.”

Also Read: AFI's Top 10 List Ranges From 'Black Panther...