Why everyone should know and cherish Lois Weber

by Cláudio Alves

In such works as his Story of Film and Women Make Film, Mark Cousins has put forward the idea that film history is sexist by omission. That's undeniable when one considers the case of the many women film pioneers who saw their achievements overshadowed by and even misattributed to their male colleagues. Lois Weber, who's currently being celebrated on the Criterion Channel, is one of those filmmakers whose legacy has been usurped, forgotten, despite both its quality and importance. The fact most of her 140 films are lost doesn't help matters. However, the few that have survived speak of an accomplished visual storyteller, political artist, and fearless provocateur. I think every cinephile should know about Lois Weber, and here's why… 

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How Had I Never Seen... "Girlfriends"?

by Cláudio Alves

This month, the Criterion Channel added Claudia Weill's 1978 debut feature Girlfriends to their roster. Since last year, the film has been part of the collection, but it's now available for streaming. Coincidentally, I've also recently purchased the European edition of the Blu-Ray. Taking this into account, as well as the fact that I've been hearing and reading wonderful things about this flick for ages, it seems like a good time to finally watch Girlfriends and share my first impressions with you, dear readers…

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Other women who should have won Best Director

by Cláudio Alves

At this year's Oscar ceremony, Chloé Zhao became only the second woman in Academy history to conquer the Best Director prize. The second one in 93 years. She follows in the steps of Kathryn Bigelow, whose Hurt Locker, like Nomadland, also won the Best Picture trophy. As a longtime proponent of the importance of women directors in film history, I rejoice at this result. However, the victory is bittersweet, a reminder of the chronic lack of recognition for these filmmakers. Many other women have deserved to win the Best Director Oscar across the years…

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FYC: Kelly Reichardt for Best Director

by Cláudio Alves

Today marks the end of Oscar voting. After the clock strikes 5 PM PST/8 PM EST all the ballots for the 93rd Academy Award nominations will be set in stone, and nothing will change until the results are announced next Monday. As it stands, this also marks the end of these FYC write-ups by the Team Experience. To conclude things, I took for myself the honor of writing the last such piece of the season. It's about my favorite of the Oscar eligible titles, a tale of kindness in an unkind world, of ancient friendships, untraditional masculinities, unhuman economies, and unforgiving histories. First Cow's Kelly Reichardt's magnum opus and the film for which the American cineaste should be conquering her first Oscar nomination…

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How many female directors are going to be nominated?

by Juan Carlos Ojano

In hindsight, concerns that "there are no movies" or cries to "cancel the Oscars" during the pandemic were premature and also insulting. We could lament all the films postponed or we could embrace the extraordinary films we got. 2020 was a rich year of diverse voices behind the movies. That happily translated to the awards conversation: BIPOC and female filmmakers have had an unprecedented presence in the run up to the Oscar nominations.

Looking back at Oscar history, only five women have been nominated for Best Director...

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