News Archive
Geena Davis Is Still Locked And Loaded
Thelma Dickinson, as in Thelma & Louise, is the best role Geena Davis ever read. She got the part, lucky stars be thanked, and when the film came out, 24 years ago this May, critics loved it, too. The idea was that Davis and Susan Sarandon would inspire a new era for women onscreen. But the forecasted flood of lady buddy movies did not materialize. In fact, Davis says, public reaction was more like the opposite, with folks—mostly male folks—near distress at the prospect of armed and rebellious women. Read More…
International Women’s Day 2015
March 11, 2015
Geena Davis
Geena Davis with Micheal Bloomberg discussing the importance of women in the industry.
Geena Davis is working to bring gender-equality to television and films
Who is your hero? For young children, the answer often includes people they have seen on TV or in movies. Yet, the percentage of male roles in the media far surpasses the percentage of roles for females, according to actor Geena Davis, keynote speaker at the East Bay Women’s Conference last Monday in San Ramon. (She does not call herself an “actress” because “actor” means a person portraying a character in a production.) Read More…
Actress Geena Davis to speak on gender equality
We are pleased to welcome actor and advocate Geena Davis to the Ithaca College campus. She will give a free public talk titled “Gender Equality in the Modern Media” at 8 p.m. March 31 in Ford Hall. Davis is known for her portrayals of strong female characters in such films as “Thelma and Louise” and “A League of Their Own,” and as the first woman president in the ABC series “Commander in Chief.” Read More…
Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon mull over ‘Thelma & Louise’ anniversary tour
Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon may be heading out on the road again — a quarter-century after the release of their Oscar-winning film “Thelma & Louise.” Davis says she and Sarandon are currently hashing out ways to mark the 25th anniversary of the film about a girls’ road trip gone bad. “There’s still so much affection for the movie and we loved it,” Davis says. “It seems like there should be some girl power celebrating going on.” Davis and Sarandon, who still remain good friends, came up with the idea. Read More…
Video Contest Offered by Zions Bank, Utah Film Commission Will Commemorate 25th Anniversary of ‘Thelma & Louise’
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of “Thelma & Louise,” the iconic feminist movie filmed in part in Utah’s red rock country, Zions Bank and the Utah Film Commission today announced a public video contest. The announcement was made by Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis, Zions Bank President and CEO Scott Anderson and Utah Film Commission Director Virginia Pearce during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival Women’s Leadership Celebration on Jan. 29. Read More…
Geena Davis will headline this Cincinnati business event
Actress Geena Davis will be paying a visit to Cincinnati in May to speak at the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati’s Career Women of Achievement luncheon. The annual event, which will be held May 13, is the YWCA’s largest fundraiser and honors eight women from Greater Cincinnati for their personal career success, leadership, qualities and status as role models for all women. Two educational scholarships will also be awarded at the event that runs from noon until 1:30 p.m. at the Duke Energy Convention Center. Read More…
Geena Davis Is on a Mission to Highlight Female Filmmakers. Her Biggest Ally? Walmart
It’s not surprising that, amid a national debate over gender equity, a star and activist like Geena Davis would launch a film festival celebrating female and minority filmmakers. What might be surprising, however, is that it would be held in Bentonville, Arkansas, and proudly sponsored by hometown megabrand Walmart. As it turns out, setting The Bentonville Film Festival in Bentonville—where fellow sponsors Coca-Cola and Kraft also have offices—wasn’t Walmart’s idea, according to Trevor Drinkwater, festival co-founder and ARC Entertainment CEO. Read More…
Here’s Why Geena Davis Started a Film Festival Focused Not on Women, But Diversity
It’s a new year, and gender and racial inequality persist. However, Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis, founder of The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, hit the ground running in 2015 with the announcement that she’s launching a film festival designed around diversity. Davis’ new film festival, the Bentonville Film Festival, is being described as an event “designed around diversity” because it’s designed to not only promote diversity to its festival audiences, but also guarantee distribution across all platforms to the films that win the Audience, Jury Selection and Best Family Film awards. Read More…
Geena Davis to Launch Bentonville Film Festival
Academy Award winning actor Geena Davis announced the launch of the Bentonville Film Festival.
The inaugural festival is slated for May 5 – 9 in Bentonville. The five day event will screen 75 films that highlight women and diversity in filmmaking. Winners of the competition will get guaranteed theatrical, television, digital and retail home entertainment distribution for its winners.
The festival will be hosted by ARC Entertainment, Walmart, Coca-Cola and AMC Theatres. Davis will serve as the chair. Films selected will include studio premieres to independent features and documentaries. The Festival’s Advisory Board includes Angela Bassett, Bruce Dern, Samuel L. Jackson, Randy Jackson, Eva Longoria, Julianne Moore, Paula Patton, Natalie Portman, Nina Tassler and Shailene Woodley.
Films that receive the Audience, Jury Selection and Best Family Film awards at the Bentonville Film Festival will receive a distribution agreement with a guaranteed traditional theatrical release on a minimum of 25 screens from AMC Theatres.
Film submissions for the Festival will open on January 15th 2015, with films accepted into competition being announced in March 2015.
