Here's What You Missed at Sundance 2021, 7 Must-See Black History Month Flicks to Stream Right Now and More No images? Click here My Isolation Diary By Emily Vogel Dear Diary, January was basically 2020 in a fedora… But I have high hopes for February. For the first time since my first-grade boyfriend Kyle Lafferty, I'm finally going to have a Valentine. His name is Lock Down - but his friends call him Quarantine or "The Q," I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but he's kind of famous and has over 1.5 billion hits on Google. Like any relationship, some days are better than others and “once COVID is over” is starting to sound a lot more like “he’ll change,” but for now he seems like the safest option. Since "The Q" suffers from agoraphobia we couldn't travel to the Sundance Film Festival this year. But luckily, TheWrap brought Park City to us. Click here to check-out highlights from TheWrap's Interview and Portrait Studio presented by NFP and National Geographic. SPOILER ALERT: Female Directors Kicked Ass! Female Directors Rule Sundance 2021 – (Credit: Photographed by Irvin Rivera for TheWrap) This year feels like some kind of balance has been achieved. There is no mistaking these films for tokens or placeholders. Among all of the 72 feature films announced for the festival in December, 47% were directed by women, 3% by non-binary individuals, 43% by BIPOC and 8% by one or more LGBTQ+ filmmakers. (Two more features, both directed by men, were later added.) This includes “CODA” by writer-director Sian Heder, the film that broke all Sundance sales records with a $25 million buy by Apple this weekend, about a deaf family and their hearing daughter who chases her dream as a singer. It includes “Passing,” by actress-turned-filmmaker Rebecca Hall, starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga as well-to-do women who can “pass” on either side of the racial divide, set in 1920s Harlem. It includes “Land,” the widely-praised first feature by actress Robin Wright, already acquired and launched into the Academy Awards race. And many more! Click here to read full article by Sharon Waxman on TheWrap.com. Stacey Abrams Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize(Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images) Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia gubernatorial Democratic candidate and star voting rights activist, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Abrams and her organization Fair Fight Action were integral in increasing Black voter turnout in Georgia this election cycle — a sprawling, years-long effort that culminated in the long-time red state turning blue. Lars Haltbrekken, a Socialist Party politician in Norway’s Parliament, said Monday, the first day of Black History Month in the U.S. and the last day for someone to be nominated for the prize, that “Abrams’ work follows in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s footsteps in the fight for equality before the law and for civil rights.” Click here to read full article by Marty Johnson on TheHill.com. Maya Rudolph And Natasha Lyonne On Shedding The Bullshit Of Hollywood(Credit: Daria Kobayashi Ritch) On the surface, Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne might seem like an unlikely duo, but they've actually been friends for over 20 years! They met in New York, were even roommates for a short stint, and have remained close through various creative collaborations. In 2018, they launched a production company together, Animal Pictures. They recently executive-produced Sarah Cooper’s comedy special Everything’s Fine, currently streaming on Netflix, and are developing several films and series, including Desert People, a dramedy created by Lyonne and Alia Shawkat. Here, the friends and business partners discuss “shedding the bullshit” of Hollywood and choosing the communities they want to create with. "I really go out of my way to surround myself with women. And 40 is the beginning for so many of the women in my life," said Lyonne. Click here to read full article on HarpersBaazar.com. ACLU, For The First Time, Elects
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