“How many women have to die before it’s a story?” Keira Knightley asks in a new trailer for “Boston Strangler.” Inspired by a true story, the thriller sees the two-time Oscar nominee playing Loretta McLaughlin, a reporter for the Record-American newspaper who is determined to uncover the truth about a mysterious killer.

The spot suggests that Loretta does not have the support of her bosses. “You’re on the lifestyle desk. You’re not covering a homicide,” she’s told. She finds an ally in Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), a colleague who joins her dangerous quest to discover the murderer’s identity.

McLaughlin become the first journalist to connect the Boston Strangler murders.

Knightley received

The 2023 NAACP Image Awards will be led by royalty: Queen Latifah has signed on to host this year’s show, which is set to air live February 25 on BET. Deadline confirmed the news.

“It’s an honor to host the 54th NAACP Image Awards, especially in the year we are celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop,” said Queen Latifah. “This is a night to celebrate Black excellence and Black contribution to our industry and beyond. Celebrating one another, lifting each other up and you know we’ll have fun doing it!”

Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET added, “Queen Latifah is one of our generation’s most influential

As the shameful  all-white BAFTA winners list continues to make waves, Essence is spotlighting women of color “making their undeniable mark in film and television and forging forward their own definition of what it means to be a Black woman in Hollywood.” Now in its 16th edition, the Black Women in Hollywood awards luncheon is set to honor “Abbott Elementary” actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, “The Woman King” helmer Gina Prince-Bythewood, “Till” star Danielle Deadwyler, Onyx Collective president Tara Duncan, and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” actress Dominique Thorne.

“For more than a decade and a half, Essence has championed the Black Women in Hollywood Awards to commemorate the Black women who

Emily Atef is a French-Iranian filmmaker who was born in Berlin. She studied directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). Her first feature film, “Molly’s Way,” won the German Cinema New Talent Award for best screenplay at the 2005 Munich Film Festival and the Grand Jury Award at the Mar del Plata Film Festival. Her other features include “The Stranger in Me” (“Das Fremde in mir”), “Kill Me” (Töte mich”), and “3 Days in Quiberon” (“3 Tage in Quiberon”). The latter won seven Lolas at the 2018 German Film Awards, including Outstanding Feature Film and Best Director.

“Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything” is screening at the

Patricia Chica’s award-winning feature debut has found a home. Deadline reports that Level 33 Entertainment nabbed rights to “Montréal Girls,” the Canadian-Salvadorean filmmaker’s drama about a Middle-Eastern medical school student and aspiring poet who moves to Montreal and befriends two young women who inspire him to reconsider his life path.

Written by Chica and Kamal John Iskander, the film premiered at San Jose’s Cinequest festival last August and took home the Best Feature Award at the Los Angeles International Film Festival in November, where it served as the fest’s closing night film.

Andreas Olavarria, president and CEO of Level 33 Entertainment, praised Chica’s “unique voice” which “seamlessly delivers emotion and

Malika Musayeva was born in Grozny, Chechen Republic. During the Second Chehen War in 1999, she fled the Chechen Republic. During her studies at Russia’s Kabardino-Balkarian State University she directed several short films which were presented at various international film festivals. She later received a degree in Directing at the Hamburg Media School in Germany. In Hamburg, she directed two short films. “The Cage is Looking for a Bird” marks her feature debut. She currently resides and works in Germany.

“The Cage Is Looking for a Bird” is screening at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival, which runs from February 16-26.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

Attention women and nonbinary screenwriters 40+: applications are now open for The Writers Lab 2023.

The Writers Lab is “the only program in the world devoted exclusively to script and career development for women and nonbinary writers 40+. We honor the fact that gender is personal and specific and seek to create an inclusive and supportive community,” a press release emphasizes.

Features and pilots in English will be considered. Approximately 12 writers will be selected for an in-person retreat in New York for November 7-10, 2023 with dates subject to change.

The intensive will see mentors and writers engaging in “rigorous script development through one-on-one mentor meetings, small group and

“Susie Searches” has found a home. A press release announced that Vertical scored rights to Sophie Kargman’s feature debut, a mystery comedy about a podcaster that premiered at the 2022 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.

Slated for a day-and-date release later this year, “Susie Searches” follows Susie (Kiersey Clemons, “Dope”), an “awkward college student with a failing true-crime podcast [who] seizes the opportunity to boost her campus and online popularity by solving the mysterious disappearance of Jesse (Alex Wolff), a campus heart-throb. With her star on the rise, events take a dark turn as Susie digs out the truth and soon finds herself in over her head,” the

Frauke Finsterwalder was born in Hamburg and studied film directing at HFF Munich. She previously worked at theaters and as a journalist. Her debut feature film, “Finsterworld,” received numerous international awards.

“Sisi & I” is screening at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival, which runs from February 16-26.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

FF: “Sisi & I” is a somewhat wild reinterpretation of the “Sisi” myth that isn’t really bothered by historical facts. It tells the fictional story of Countess Irma, who is starting a new job as the lady in waiting of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary, the biggest star of her times.

The film

The power of “The Woman King’s” reign is still being felt.  Gina Prince-Bythewood’s latest is among the titles starring women of color making a major mark on the film industry. A new report from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found a “significant increase in the number of top-grossing films with girls and women of color in leading and co leading roles in 2022,” per a press release.

Titled “Inequality Across 1,600 Popular Films: Examining Gender, Race/Ethnicity & Age of Leads/Co Leads From 2007 to 2022,” the report brief examines the gender, race/ethnicity, and age of lead/co lead actors across 100 top-grossing movies each year from 2007