NEW YORK, NY.- The Museum of Modern Art presents The Future of Film Is Female, Part 2, the second installment in a two-year, seasonal effort to champion contemporary films directed by women early in their careers. Organized with the funding initiative The Future of Film Is Female, a group dedicated to increased representation, equitable workplaces, and gender parity for women in cinema, the series at MoMA provides an opportunity for female directors to screen and discuss their new projects. The recurring series highlights films that reflect and respond to changes in filmmaking, financing, and exhibition, in addition to broader societal challenges. This winter’s The Future of Film Is Female series runs February 14–21, 2019, in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters and is organized by Caryn Coleman, guest curator, and Rajendra Roy, The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, The Museum of Modern Art.

The Future of Film Is Female’s winter edition includes a weeklong run of Bridey Elliott’s Clara’s Ghost. In her debut feature, Elliott stars alongside real-life family members (including her comedian father, Chris Elliot) as members of a showbiz family brought together to celebrate their dog’s birthday. As vodka flows, the night slowly devolves and the family matriarch, Clara, begins communicating with a spirit. Also included is a world premiere from variety TV show The Eyeslicer titled “Marlon said to me: ‘Maria, don’t worry, it’s just a movie.” The featurelength new episode includes eight shorts that investigate the female body in continuance of conversations involving assault in the filmmaking industry. Additionally, the series highlights films by Josephine Decker, Kate Novack, Nia DaCosta, Quinn Shephard, Veronika Kedar, and Karen Kusama with most filmmakers in attendance at screenings. Each feature in the program will be preceded with a short film.

Rajendra Roy, The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, states, “A new year, another step toward a more equitable film culture, means a new chapter of The Future of Film Is Female curated by Caryn Coleman at MoMA. Building on the tremendous talent and audience enthusiasm that made our first edition such a triumph, we’re thrilled to continue the progress and promise of this series.” Caryn Coleman, guest curator, adds, "There’s no better way to kick off the new year than by presenting a second program of incredible films directed by women with MoMA. The film industry is still in a crisis of representation and is in desperate need of institutions that champion female filmmakers. It’s an honor to continue our partnership and, judging from the love we received from our debut program last summer, audiences are hungry for more.”

The Future of Film Is Female, founded by Caryn Coleman, Director of Programming/Special Projects at Nitehawk Cinema, began as a funding initiative to provide financial and promotional support to women filmmakers who are in pre/post-production of a short film. As part of the larger conversation happening in the film community about the lack of female filmmakers, this project aims to be a vital first step in increasing the representation of women’s voices in the industry, awarding individual grants on a quarterly basis to support new projects by female directors. The Future of Film Is Female has since expanded its mission, partnering with MoMA to create this ongoing series to champion contemporary films directed by women early in their careers, in an effort to have their voices represented and respected on equal footing with their male counterparts.