Tag: Spotlight

Directors, Female Filmmaker, Female Writer, Feminism, LGBTQ Cinema, LGBTQ Filmmakers

Happy Birthday To Céline Sciamma

The wonderful Céline Sciamma will be celebrating her birthday on the 12th November and if you’re familiar with our site then you know that we are HUGE fans of her work. For this piece, we want to discuss her career and celebrate her filmography and how she’s taking on the French film industry and its sexism. She may have only directed four feature films and one short, but Sciamma has already established herself as one of the icons of female filmmaker history. Her unique perspective and story-telling have helped to create engaging conversations with critics and cinephiles alike. Continue reading Happy Birthday To Céline Sciamma

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Acting, History, Spotlight

Spotlight: Helen Gibson, Hollywood’s First Professional Stunt Woman

In the month of August, we at In Their Own League are focusing on Women in Action; female-led films in the action genre. For this piece I’ll be looking back at the work of Helen Gibson, a truly amazing woman from the silent film era who is dubbed “Hollywood’s First Professional Stunt Woman”. Continue reading Spotlight: Helen Gibson, Hollywood’s First Professional Stunt Woman

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Animated, Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Female Writer, Spotlight

Animated April: Spotlight on Princess Anna from “Frozen”

When Disney’s “Frozen” came out in 2013, it truly seemed like a cultural reset. Disney parks were flooded with little girls in Elsa dresses and you couldn’t escape hearing Idina Menzel singing “Let It Go” even if you wanted to. While Brenda Chapman had directed “Brave” the year before, “Frozen” marked the first time that a Walt Disney Animation Studios film was directed by a woman. Jennifer Lee also wrote the script, along with co-directing, and it seems fitting that a film so focused on the love between two sisters would be the first at the studio to have a female director.

However, while the character of Elsa got all the glory, her younger sister Princess Anna has been majorly overlooked. Voiced by the talented and sunshine-y Kristen Bell, Anna has a character arc just as touching as Elsa’s throughout “Frozen” and its sequel “Frozen II” (2019).  Continue reading Animated April: Spotlight on Princess Anna from “Frozen”

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Acting, History, Spotlight, Women in Film

Women’s History Month: Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo started her career in Swedish cinema (her first notable role being the 1924 film “The Saga of Gösta Berling”), which brought her to the attention of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studio, leading her to her first Hollywood role in “Torrent” (1926). From here on followed a suite of successful silent films and Garbo’s conquest of international acclaim began.   Continue reading Women’s History Month: Greta Garbo

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Acting, Netflix, Spotlight, Women in Film, Women in Television

Spotlight: Betty Gilpin

There are few actresses who give full-on, metaphorical balls-to-the-wall performances.  Betty Gilpin is one of those people. She gives immensely high-caliber performances every time she is on screen.  So, with the release of “The Hunt” (2020) fast approaching it is time we take a moment to appreciate the underappreciated Betty Gilpin.

Gilpin has been working long before her turn as actress-turned-wrestler on Netflix’s “GLOW.”  But it has been her Emmy-nominated performance as Debbie Eagan and wrestling alter-ego Liberty Belle that has shone a light on her innate talent.  Continue reading Spotlight: Betty Gilpin

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Acting, History, Spotlight, Women in Film

Women’s History Month: Louise Brooks

You may not know her name, but I am damn certain that you would recognise her face and more importantly her hairstyle. The ‘Lulu’ Bob haircut worn by Louise Brooks is a representation of the Jazz age in all of its glory and revolutionary awe. For a few brief years, Brooks was one of the most well known and one of the highest-paid actresses in the world. At the height of her career, she made a bold decision to leave La La Land, in order to star in two of the silent era’s most famous films, “Pandora’s Box” (1929) and “Diary of a Lost Girl” (1929).

However, when she returned to America her career had virtually ended and by 1938 she had turned her back on Hollywood. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, Brooks lived in extreme economical hardship before being ‘rediscovered’ by James Card, who encouraged her to write down her memoirs as well as essays that reflected on the silent era. Continue reading Women’s History Month: Louise Brooks

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Acting, Spotlight, Women in Film

Best Actress of the Decade, Entry No. 20: Rooney Mara

To celebrate the last decade 2010-2019 we are counting down the best actresses and discussing some of their most notable and memorable performances of the last decade. With the help of Film Twitter, the ITOL team have selected 30 actresses. Entry No. 20 is Rooney Mara, and writer Kristy Strouse discusses her favourite performances by Mara over the last decade. Continue reading Best Actress of the Decade, Entry No. 20: Rooney Mara

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Directors, Female Filmmaker, Spotlight, Women in Film

Spotlight: Sally Potter- Writer, Director, Choreographer, Musician

A creative force to be reckoned with. This woman graduated as a dancer, choreographed dance shows, made music, directed plays and wrote and directed world-class movies. And all this output can be traced back to when she was the tender age of 14 and made her first 8mm films. Her name: Sally Potter.

If you have seen one or two Potter films, you may think that she broke or rejected the conventions of mainstream film making, but that isn’t quite right. What Potter does with her films is let them speak. The ideas within them come out in ways that are free forming and she follows the flow of them until they are completed films. They are not without structure or form; they are parts of the human condition that have been given freedom of expression. Continue reading Spotlight: Sally Potter- Writer, Director, Choreographer, Musician

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Directors, Female Characters, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Film Industry, Spotlight, Uncategorized, Women in Film

Female Filmmaker Friday: Jodie Foster as Director

As hard as it is to believe, Jodie Foster allegedly once said, “Acting, for me, is exhausting. I’m more energized by directing. It’s more intense to direct. I can pop in and express myself, then pop out again. It’s a huge passion for me.” So why hasn’t she directed as much as she might have? Continue reading Female Filmmaker Friday: Jodie Foster as Director

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Directors, Female Filmmaker, Female Filmmakers, Spotlight, Women in Film

Spotlight: Lynne Ramsay

Film is comprised of two elements; image and sound. For generations, filmmakers from all walks of life have utilized these two elements to create tapestries for audiences to get immersed in. But only a select few directors in film history have utilized these elements in tandem. There was Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, and now there’s Lynne Ramsay. Continue reading Spotlight: Lynne Ramsay

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