Annaya Baynes

Promised Sky baptizes the audience in the warm waters of empathy. In her second narrative feature, director, and co-writer Erige Sehiri, weaves the story of three Black women as they navigate living in Tunisia and the appearance of a little girl who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck. Intertwining reality and fiction, Erige weaves together a sober meditation on the condition of the oft-demonized African migrant population.

In Boots Riley's latest absurdist film I Love Boosters, clothes do indeed make the (wo)man. The film follows a group of shoplifters (Keke Palmer as Corvette, Naomi Ackie as Sade, Taylour Paige as Mariah, and Poppy Liu as Jianhu) as they target stores stocking the clothes of Demi Moore as prominent designer Christie Smith. Costume designer Shirley Kurata is the mind behind the fabulous wardrobe that creates a feast for the viewing audience's eyes.

The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature has only existed for twenty-five years. In this short timespan, only 49 of the 243 nominees in the top three categories — Director, Screenwriter, &/or Producer — have been women (~ 20%). Remarkably, 14 of these women (~ 29%) were nominated in 2026’s 98th Academy Awards cycle. This marks the highest number of women nominated in one year in the history of the Best Animated Feature category.