One of the 90 or so films chosen for screenings at the Sundance Film Festival was Daughters, a documentary directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton. It’s a beautiful, inspiring and moving film, a perfect example of the power of independent work to shift perspectives with personal stories we might not otherwise see.
Read MoreReflecting on Our Sundance Journey: A Roller Coaster Ride Towards Change
Guest Post By Angela Patton
Daughters is a new documentary by filmmakers Natalie Rae and Angela Patton that received the Audience Favorite Award at the Sundance Film Festival last month. The film was inspired by a TEDWomen Talk that Angela gave in 2012. I asked Angela to share her experiences at the festival as a first-time director.
Reflections on the 2024 Sundance Film Festival
Having just returned from my 30th year of the Sundance Film Festival, I am sharing some thoughts about how this festival, widely respected as the premiere festival for launching new work and discovering new talent, reflects an ever evolving global ecosystem of independent films, and how this impacts what you and I are viewing on our screens, big and small.
Read MoreGo See This Film This Weekend!
Ava DuVernay's new film, Origin, is a breathtaking film that “explores the mystery of history, the wonders of romance and a fight for the future of us all.”
Read MoreA Tribute to Jess Search
Jess Search, a formidable force in the documentary community, and in the lives of all who knew her or worked with her as co-founder of the Doc Society, died last week from brain cancer at the age of 54. She was a passionate fighter for justice and independent voices, and a beloved and brilliant friend.
Read MoreFood, Fuel and Fire at Skoll World Forum
Food. Fuel. Fire. I heard those words again and again throughout the SWF as this community of individuals and organizations embraced Ava DuVernay’s reminder that we need all three, and we must strive to be connected as a community committed to making the changes needed to get us to a future of shared peace and prosperity — Jeff Skoll’s vision for the foundation.
Read More“The Martha Mitchell Effect”
One of the five Oscar nominees in the Documentary Short category tells the story of Martha Mitchell and her pivotal role in the Watergate scandal in a political and psychological thriller that I highly recommend. “The Martha Mitchell Effect” had its World Premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix.
Read MoreA Love Letter to Newsletters
On this Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing my love for many of the women I admire who have committed to writing the posts that help keep me and so many others informed and inspired — my ‘newsletter sisters.' These are newsletters I always open. They offer news you might otherwise miss, insights you'll appreciate, along with valued perspectives and often much needed inspiration.
Read MoreWatch These Films — and More! — at the Sundance Film Festival
January is not only my birth month, (this year marks the beginning of a new decade for me!), but it’s also the month of the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, widely considered the premiere festival for launching independent films. There are so many dramatic films, documentaries, short films and episodic series worth watching at this year's festival.
Read MoreFinding Joy in the Ibu Movement and Women's Stories in Textiles
In 2015, Susan Hull Walker founded the Ibu Movement which works with women artisans around the world to preserve and uplift the cultural arts, the heritage skills and the community stories that are carried in their crafts.
Read MoreRise For The Bodies Of All Women, Girls And The Earth
The theme of this year's One Billion Rising campaign, which begins today, is is Rise for Women’s Bodies and the Earth. This visionary global movement created by V (formerly Eve Ensler) of V-Day, is survivor-led and survivor-focused, and demonstrates the power of art and activism to change culture and systems.
Read MoreThe Sundance Film Festival: My Sofa Perspective
Resistance and accountability were the themes of this year's Sundance Film Festival. I want to point out two films, one narrative and one documentary, about a group of women who came together in the late 1960s in Chicago to help nearly 11,000 desperate women get safe abortions in the years before legal abortions were possible.
Read MoreFinding Joy in Our Times with Help from Archbishop Tutu and the Dalai Lama
When I heard of Archbishop Tutu’s passing on December 26, I felt the deep sadness of having one fewer of our human rights heroes alive on the planet with us. But then I remembered another aspect of his work with the world — spreading JOY.
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Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels
A "Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity" to Solve a Universal American Problem
When I was a working single mother in Boston in the 1980s, finding a balance between work and parenting was a constant struggle. Legislation moving through Congress this week would make that struggle a little easier for so many working parents in America. And it's about time!
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New Paradigm: Shifting Power as We Rebuild America with a Gender Lens
This is a crucial moment and the Generation Equality Forum is a crucial gathering for women all over the world, as the pandemic has pushed back women's rights and girl's protections in too many places. In a new op-ed written by Ms. Foundation President and CEO Teresa C. Younger and Joy Anderson, President and Founder of Criterion Institute, they discuss the need to shift power as we rebuild.
Read MoreEquality Can't Wait, Our Future Depends On It
Never has better representation of women's lives, ideas, challenges and accomplishments been more needed to strengthen and sustain our democracy. So this week, I want to write about three organizations working to elevate women's voices in media.
Read MoreReflections on Sundance 2020: Imagining the Future
“Imagining the Future” was the theme of SFF2020 and this year’s festival reflected the strategic focus on making all of Sundance Institute’s programs — from labs for screenwriters, directors and producers to the festival — more inclusive.
Read MoreReflections: My Year of Living Dangerously!
What a year! 2019 was an incredible year — declaring myself a dangerous woman, publishing a memoir and traveling coast to coast inspiring others to become more dangerous too, to meet the challenges of dangerous times, as well as many convenings, including the Connected Women Leaders Initiative, TEDWomen and Fire Drill Fridays.
Read MoreMedia That Matters to Add to Your #MustList!
Last week, I wrote about some new books, podcasts and movies that I am excited about and wanted to share with you. So many of you expressed interest — and I had more recommendations than I had time to include — that I've chosen to write another posting this week with additional suggestions that are "musts" for the "must read/must listen/must watch" lists which fortunately are getting longer when it comes to women-led, women-written initiatives!
Read MoreChristiane Amanpour on Truth in Journalism, Moral Courage and the Perils of False Equivalency
I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour last night at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford. I’ll share our entire conversation later, but here are a few video outtakes from social media.
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