The world may be winding down for the holiday season, but with the Oscar race heating up and so much content coming out, we’re in no rush to slow down anytime soon! For all of you who barely have enough time to catch a breath, you don’t even have to worry about looking at all those awards show updates; we have you covered with the latest buzz (and major disappointments—we absolutely mean you, Golden Globes!) as we race toward the Academy Awards. Keep scrolling for the rest of this piping hot tea!

In case you’re looking for something to watch over the holidays, we’ve also included all of the latest film releases and streaming updates that involve our fellow community members. So get cozy and get to scrolling!

Each category is organized alphabetically, so don’t forget to scroll all the way down to the bottom!

What is “Here’s The Work”?

This newsletter represents a curated selection of the commercials, branded content, short films, music videos, films, and documentaries that were directed by the talented directors in FREE THE WORK's global database.

Bear in mind, too, that while this list showcases the work of FREE THE WORK directors, our site also is a one-stop-shop for discovering writers, editors, colorists, composers, and DPs (with more roles to be featured in 2020!). A commitment to freeing the work doesn’t just stop at hiring underrepresented directors—enrich your crews with underrepresented creators across production roles!

See your work on the list? Let’s celebrate! Share across social media—tag us at @FREETHEWORK and use the hashtags #FREETHEWORK and #HeresTheWork!

Want to have your work featured? All creators who have applied and been accepted as vetted professionals on the FTW database are able to submit work released within the past 3 months to our Submission Form.

FILM & TV NEWS

Must-See Film & TV Releases

**Please note that the following dates are specific to the United States.

You can now watch all short films produced through the AT&T Hello Lab mentorship program! Catch work from
Alison-Eve Hammersley, Jessica Mendez Siqueiros, Malakai, and Vishnu Vallabhaneni in this playlist. (YouTube) | LINK

Sink your teeth into The Vampire Diaries spinoff, Legacies, which features an episode directed by Bola Ogun. (Netflix) | LINK

Carrie Brownstein (from Portlandia!) directed two episodes of the comedy miniseries Mrs. Fletcher. As if you needed another reason to watch the show, right? (HBO) | LINK

Experience the masterpiece that is Céline Sciamma’s 18th-century queer feminist drama, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, in theaters now! | LINK

Catch Chinonye Chukwu’s Clemency (scored by Kathryn Bostic). The powerful death-row drama (and Oscar hopeful) is in theaters on December 27. | LINK

Have your hope in the universe restored by Destin Daniel Cretton’s law drama Just Mercy (which stars Michael B. Jordan). The film opens in theaters on December 25.| LINK

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn's The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, is a barrier-breaking "silent revolution" about the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada. (Netflix) | LINK

Eva Orner's BIKRAM: YOGI, GURU, PREDATOR explores the rise of the controversial founder of hot yoga. It's some food for thought before your next yoga-sesh. (Netflix) | LINK

Watch Oscar-hopeful Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, in theaters on December 25! Feel all the warm, fuzzy feelings you need to fend off those cold winter blues. | LINK

Director Isabel Coixet’s Foodie Love, Spain’s first original half-hour series for HBO Europe, streams on December 25 throughout the continent. (HBO Europe) | LINK

Director JJ Adler’s new sketch "Magical Negro Rehab" can be viewed on the new show Astronomy Club Sketch Show. (Netflix) | LINK

Cozy up with your loved ones and watch screenwriters Kay Cannon and Victoria Strouse’s Let It Snow, which features a wholesome queer love story. (Netflix) | LINK

Lauren Greenfield's The Kingmaker will leave you on your edge of your seat as it details the shocking true story of the former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos. If you loved Greenfield's The Queen of Versailles, this is absolutely a must-watch. (Showtime) | LINK

Catch Lena Waithe and Melina Matsoukas' Queen & Slim in theaters now and get wrapped up in the film's eye-opening take on systemic racial injustice. | LINK

Marielle Heller's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is in theaters, and we can promise that it will restore your faith in humanity. | LINK

Mati Diop's supernatural romance, Atlantics, is the breath of fresh air that you need right now. (Netflix) | LINK

Minhal Baig's coming of age drama, HALA, which centers on a Pakistani American teenager, is now available to stream. (Apple TV+) | LINK

Nanfu Wang’s One Child Nation is turning heads for its possible Oscar nomination and powerful exploration of China’s former one-child policy. Stream it now! (Amazon Prime) | LINK

Phillip Youmans' lauded debut feature, Burning Cane, is a thought-provoking character exploration of motherhood and religion, set in rural Louisiana. (Netflix) | LINK

Sam Taylor-Johnson's powerful 90's-set rehab drama, A Million Little Pieces, is now in theaters. | LINK

Sophia Takal's Black Christmas opens in theaters on December 13 the holiday slasher flick you didn't know you needed. A fresh take on Jason Blum's 1974 cult classic, this film follows a cutthroat group of sorority sisters that fight back against a campus killer. | LINK

Taylor Russell’s family drama, Waves, hit theaters on November 15, so be sure to see it soon! | LINK

Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy is a coming of age drama (and India's official entry for the 2020 Oscars) about a Mumbai streep rapper that will have you stunned with its stellar performances and socially-conscious messages about inequality. (Amazon Prime) | LINK

Awards Buzz

Over 70% of documentary nominees from the PGA Awards are directed or co-directed by women. | LINK

On November 3, Olivia Wilde took home the Breakthrough Director Award at the Hollywood Film Awards. | LINK

On November 18, the Voice of a Woman Awards announced its 2019 shortlist for 40 women directors in advertising and communications, which included the following directors:

A.V. Rockwell, Adi Halfin, Alicia MacDonald, Amber Grace Johnson, Anna Ginsburg, Aoife McArdle, Charlotte Regan, Cristiana Miranda, Daisy Zhou, Dee Rees, Georgia Hudson, Jaci Judelson, Jenn Nkiru, Karen Cunningham, Katina Mercandante, Kim Gehrig, Kirsten Lepore, Laerke Herthoni, Lisa Paclet, Lucy Walker, MJ Delaney, Natalia Leite, Nina Holmgren, Quinn Wilson, Rachel McDonald, Sasha Rainbow, Siri Bunford, & Sophie Edelstein. | LINK

The 77th Annual Golden Globes were announced on December 9, and once again, women filmmakers were virtually shut out of the boys' club. Lulu Wang's The Farewell and Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire are the only two women-helmed films nominated for a best feature category (Best Foreign Film), while no women were nominated in the directing and writing categories. If you're not boycotting the event by now, the awards will take place on January 5, 2020. | LINK

The 29th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards took place on December 2. Among the winners are Ava DuVernay (Breakthrough Series – Long Format for When They See Us) and Taylor Russell (Breakthrough Actor for Waves). | LINK

The International Documentary Association awarded Waad al-Kateab's For Sama with the top prize of Best Feature on December 7 at the IDA Awards. | LINK

On December 8, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association announced their picks for the year's best in film. Among the winners are Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) and her cinematographer Claire Mathon (who also worked on Mati Diop's Atlantics), Ja'Tovia Gary (The Governy Documentary), Jennifer Lopez (for Lorene Scafaria's Hustlers), and Zhao Shuzhen (for Lulu Wang's The Farewell). | LINK

The Academy has released the names of the 159 Documentary Features that were submitted for the 2019 race. The documentary feature shortlist will be announced on December 16. | LINK

Greta Gerwig's Little Women and Lulu Wang's The Farewell are among 10 films named to the American Film Institute’s AFI Motion Pictures of the Year list. The honorees will attend a private AFI Awards luncheon on January 3, 2020. | LINK

The Sundance 2020 features lineup has been announced. The “Day One” banner includes Oscar hopeful Haifaa al-Mansour’s Saudi Arabian drama, The Perfect Candidate, and Justin Simien’s horror-satire, Bad Hair. Also premiering at the festival is Dee Rees’ political thriller The Last Thing He Wanted and Janicza Bravo’s "social media tell tale," Zola. 46% of all feature film directors in competing categories are women. | LINK

The Hollywood Critics Association announced their nominations on November 25. The awards will take place on January 12, 2020. Included in the nominations are:

Alma Har’el (Honey Boy), Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Chinonye Chuwku (Clemency), Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Gurinder Chadha (Blinded By the Light), Lauren Greenfield (The Kingmaker), Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), Natasha Braier (Honey Boy), Olivia Wilde, (Booksmart), Susanna Fogel (Booksmart), & Taylor Russell (Waves). | LINK

The PGA Awards Documentary Nominations include One Child Nation, directed by Nanfu Wang and For Sama, directed by Waad al-Kateab. The PGA Awards will take place January 18, 2020. | LINK

Andrew Thomas Huang and Savanah Leaf were nominated for Best Music Video Grammys. The Grammys will take place on January 26, 2020. | LINK

The Independent Spirit Awards announced their official nominations on November 21. The awards will take place on February 8, 2020. Included in the nominations are:

Alma Har’el (Honey Boy), Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Chinonye Chuwku (Clemency), Danielle Krudy & Bridget Savage Cole (Blow the Man Down),
Gulp Splash / Jocelyn Deboer & Dawn Luebbe (Greener Grass), Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Natasha Braier (Honey Boy), Olivia Wilde (Booksmart), Rashaad Ernesto Green (Premature), & Waad al-Kateab (For Sama). | LINK

Here is an official guide to all 92 Best Foreign Language Film submissions for the Oscars, featuring Anastasiya Miroshnichenko,

Zoya Akhtar, and Haifaa Al-Mansour. | LINK

On Your Radar

Michael B. Jordan and Alana Mayo are developing a comedy feature film under their Outlier Society production company for HBO Max. HBO Max is set to launch their streaming service in 2020. | LINK

Ava DuVernay, Kat Candler, and ARRAY Filmworks are developing a one-hour drama series about the Texas oil industry for TNT. | LINK

A24 will now air all of their theatrical releases (like Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird and Taylor Russell’s Waves) on Showtime Networks. | LINK

Haifaa al-Mansour is confirmed to direct Let It Go, a biopic of the British entrepreneur Dame Stephanie Shirley. | LINK

Variety’s 2020 Directors to Watch List and of 10 filmmakers featured, five are women (and three are FTW creators!):
Janicza Bravo, Mati Diop, Radha Blank. | LINK

Melina Matsoukas, the director behind Queen & Slim and shows like Insecure and Master of None, has landed a first-look deal with FX Productions. | LINK

Nahnatchka Khan, the director behind Fresh Off the Boat and Always Be My Maybe, is set to helm the comedy feature Showboat, which centers on cruise entertainment. | LINK

Niki Caro set to direct multiple episodes of the upcoming Amazon musical drama Daisy Jones & The Six. | LINK

Zoe Saldana has been confirmed to play the lead role in Reed Morano’s Sabaya, which is about the unlikely circumstances behind the 2015 U.S. Special Forces raid that killed a top ISIS leader. | LINK

Paramount’s current 2020 film slate includes 16 films, and exactly one of them is directed by a woman: Reed Morano’s The Rhythm Section. | LINK

Siqi Song and Tina Gharavi are featured as one of 25 participants in the BAFTA Los Angeles Newcomer program. | LINK

COMMERCIALS

Amirah Tajdin | Farfetch, "Fall 19' Campaign" | The Factory | LINK

Amy Allais | BHF, "#clearthestigma – Lebohang Motsoeli" | Ola Films | LINK

Angela Kohler | Popsockets, "Express Yourself" | Majority | LINK

Aoife McArdle | Playstation | adam&eveddb | Somesuch | LINK

Canister | Royal British Legion | Cubaka | Tinderflint | LINK

Clara Cullen | Adidas Women x Stella McCartney, "Breast Cancer Awareness" | Image Partnership | LINK

The Coles | Bank of America, "Swipe Right" | Hey Wonderful | LINK

Daisy Zhou | DBX, "Beautiful is Relentless" | Ashton Martin | Great Guns | LINK

Eloise King | “Grab Life By the Boobs” | Coppafeel! | Prettybird | LINK

Fiona Jane Burgess | Nike, "All For One: A Community of Movement" | BREAKS | ALIBI | LINK

Ida Andreasen | Plastic Change | Bacon | LINK

Jeana Theron | “16 days of Activism: Courtney Pieters” | First Women | Fox P2 | Darling TV | LINK

Joanna Bailey | Ovarian Cancer Action, "I will survive" | Nikki Weiss and Co. & Heads Up Production | Snapper Flims | LINK

Jody Lauren Miller | “Gingerbread” | Florida Lottery | LINK

Karla Braun | Procter & Gamble, “Not Your Mama’s Olay” | The Community | Kreative Kontent | LINK

Kate Halpin | RAA Travel Insurance, "Wrong Track" | Eight | LINK

Katharina Hingst | Amorelie, "#24ThingsToTryBeforeYouDie" | Überground | EASYdoesit | LINK

Lizzy Bailey | South Australia Tourism | TBWA Melbourne | LINK

Luisa Kracht | “S.O.S. Moms” | Facebook | LINK

Melanie Bridge | Woolworths, "Picked For Christmas" | M&C Saatchi | The Sweet Shop | LINK

Merete Mueller | “Unite” | Bombas | Bindery | LINK

Molly Schiot | Kyleena, "Lucy's Story" | Hill Holiday Health | Honor Society Films | LINK

Reed Morano | Visit Dubai, "A Story Takes Flight" | Pulse Films | LINK

Sara Dunlop | NBA x ATT, "The Codes We Live By" | Translation | The Corner Shop | LINK

Stef Smith | Young Henry's | Playtime | LINK

Los Perez (Tania Verduzco, Adrian Pérez) | Latitude, "Let's" | CHE Proximity | Division Sydney | LINK

Zandi Tisani | “Coconut Kelz” | Takealot | Arcade Content | LINK

Zoe McIntosh | New World, "Enjoy Christmas 'Round at Ours" | Clemenger Group New Zealand | Sweetshop | LINK

MUSIC VIDEOS

Adinah Dancyger | "Baby Little Tween" – Okay Kaya | LINK

Alexandra Gavillet | Wafia – Flowers & Superpowers | LINK

Allie Avital | Kesha – "My Own Dance" | LINK

Ashleigh Jadee | Flyo ft. RV, LD, Youngs Teflon – "Hoodies, Gloves" | LINK

Ashleigh Jadee | M Huncho ft. Nafe Smallz – "Thumb"Yellow Fish | LINK

Aya Tanimura | Barbie – "We're Taking Over" | LINK

Aya Tanimura | Xavier Omär, Sango ft. Wale, VanJess – "Just Get Here" | LINK

Clare Gillen | "Automatic" – Lil Miquela | LINK

Fiona Jane Burgess | Grace Carter – "All Fired Up" | Lez Creative | LINK

Kat Keene | “Over You” – Seratones | LINK

Laura Cairney-Keize | Tiësto, Mabel – "God Is A Dancer" | Black Dog Films | LINK

Nadira Amrani | “Higher Power” – Avelino | LINK

Quinn Wilson | Banofee ft. Empress Of – "Tennis Fan" | LINK

Sarah Prinz | Clipping – "All In Your Head" | LINK

Sarah Prinz | Tinashe ft. Ms. Banks – "Die a Little Bit" | AVONNI | LINK

Sophie Muller | “Look At Her Now” – Selena Gomez | LINK

Symone Ridgell | Noah Cyrus – "Lonely" | LINK

Symone Ridgell | Noah Cyrus – "fuckyounoah" | LINK

Tamar Levine | The Head and the Heart – "See You Through My Eyes" | Stories Intl. | LINK