Celebrate Earth Month With Environmental Film Festivals, Wherever You Are

We love this time of year — the weather warms up and people take time out to give thanks to Mother Earth! In celebration of Earth Month, we invite you to check out a few films about how we can help preserve our planet. There are many environmental film festivals showcasing films that teach just that. And the best part is, you can watch many of these films without leaving much of a carbon footprint!

If you live along the Eastern Seaboard, there are festivals up and down the coast that you can attend at various times throughout the year. Starting north is the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival (FLEFF), held each April at Ithaca College in New York. This year, FLEFF runs from April 1 to April 14. Moving down the coast, every March the Washington, D.C. metro area holds an annual festival known as DCEFF (short for DC Environmental Film Festival). This year's event just finished up, but it is never too early to start planning for next year. Events take place across the region, including Smithsonian museums, libraries, and cultural centers. Heading farther south, Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, holds an annual festival on campus that is free and open to the public. If you don't live in the Sunshine State, you can watch some of this year's short films on The Eckerd College Environmental Film Festival website.

Moving west, the Colorado Environmental Film Festival (CEFF) is held annually in Golden, Colorado. The next festival won't be held until February of 2025, and if you can't make it to Colorado, you can still participate the week after when the films stream online. Heading even further west, the California towns of Nevada City and Grass Valley (about an hour from Sacramento) hold the annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival each February. The festival includes both in-person and virtual options.

Lastly, the British Columbia Environmental Film Festival (BCEFF) is held online each December, and it is not too late to submit a film for consideration. BCEFF will consider any film that shines a light on diverse environmental issues and solutions.

You may also want to check out the films we recommended last year, if you haven't gotten to them all yet. Happy Earth Month, and happy viewing!

April is Earth Month | Invest in Our Planet

Warren Buffet, who knows a thing or two about investing, once said, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” This advice is even more fitting as April is Earth Month, and the theme this year is “Invest in Our Planet.” Broadway Stages doesn’t usually dispense investment advice, but here are some tips that we wholeheartedly endorse.

Take a walk or bike ride!

New York City was once known as the concrete jungle, but today, our greenspaces are just as much a part of our identity. New York City is home to over 20,000 acres of natural areas. The city’s trees each year capture 1.97 billion gallons of stormwater runoff and store 1.2 million tons of carbon. Each borough has plenty of parks and trails for you to explore. Cyclists can find a complete map of the city’s bike trails here. For hikers, the parks department has a page dedicated to the hiking trails for each borough. You can start your journey here.

Support your pollinators!

With the changing climate, pollinators that help grow our food, such as birds, bees, bats, and butterflies, are at risk. But you can help. Grow a pollinator garden with native plants. You don’t need a spacious backyard to do it, either. A windowsill will do! For more information on how, just click here. Or visit and support our friends at Kingsland Wildflowers. Their green roof is home to abundant native plants and insects and provides incredible views of Manhattan.

Invest some sweat equity!

Trash left behind damages our ecosystems. Wildlife might pick at it for food. It may make it more difficult for some plants to flourish. It may end up in waterways and cause harm to underwater life, which keeps our water bodies clean. There are hundreds of events throughout the year where you can pitch in and paint, clean, rake, and take care of our city’s great and vast park system. No matter your schedule or where you live, there is an event for you. Just check out the volunteer events calendar here.

Take care as a caretaker!

You can help ensure our city’s natural resources are safe for future generations. Help with forest and wetland restoration. Or, plant and prune street trees. Maybe you can harvest and propagate native seeds. Or monitor local wildlife. One great way to do this and meet like-minded neighbors is through our friends at the New York City Audubon or our partners at the Newtown Creek Alliance, a community-based organization dedicated to restoring, revealing, and revitalizing Newtown Creek. Or you can become a New York City Parks Steward. It is easy to do but has a significant impact.

There are so many easy and engaging ways to “Invest in our Planet,” and New York City is a great place to do it. Take some time to enjoy the environment and make a difference. And Earth Month is the perfect time to get started!

Spotlight | Bess Wohl - Playwright and Filmmaker

Welcome to Broadway Stages’ Spotlight, where we feature local shops, restaurants, organizations, individuals, and venues. We encourage our readers to support these establishments and advance local economic growth. For Women’s History Month, we are shining the spotlight on a few of the women-owned or women-oriented businesses and organizations in the neighborhoods where we work. This week, we present Brooklyn-born playwright and filmmaker Bess Wohl.

Growing up in Brooklyn, Bess Wohl was exposed to the rich world of storytelling through the New York theater. She continued this journey at Harvard College, where she earned a BA in English. At Harvard, she studied with Antiguan-American novelist and essayist Jamaica Kincaid and Irish Nobel prize-winning poet and playwright Seamus Heaney. Her time in their schooling was fruitful. She was awarded the Rona Jaffe Writing Prize and the Tennessee Williams Scholarship and ultimately graduated magna cum laude.

From Harvard, she attended Yale School of Drama as a recipient of the Rebecca West Scholarship. She would garner an MFA in acting after writing the play “Cats Talk Back.” Harry Forbes of Backstage wrote that this work was “tightly written” and called it “a winner.” Indeed, it was a winner, taking home the prize for Best Overall Production at the New York International Fringe Festival.

Wohl credits her background as an actor for her career as a storyteller. She said, “My start in playwriting came when I was getting an MFA in acting at Yale School of Drama. I had all these actor friends and wanted to write plays for them. So the first play that I wrote was for five of my classmates in acting school.” She added, “I was like, ‘This is kind of cooler than the thing that I’m in school for.’ So that was the moment that really opened my eyes. And then I just kind of kept doing it from there and writing parts for my friends.”

In the years since, her plays have been produced on and off Broadway, regionally, and internationally. Her works include the play “American Hero,” which premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her work “Small Mouth Sounds” won the John Gassner Outer Critics Circle Award, while her play “Make Believe” won the NYTimes Critic Pick. Her 2020 play “Grand Horizons,” starring Jane Campion and Oscar winner James Cromwell, received Tony Nominations for Best Play & Best Featured Actress.

In addition to writing plays, Wohl worked on “Pretty Filthy,” an original musical about the adult entertainment industry, in collaboration with the composer/lyricist Michael Friedman and the Civilians. This work was nominated for Outstanding Musical from Drama Desk. She was awarded the Sam Norkin special Drama Desk Award for “establishing herself as an important voice in New York theater.”

In 2022, Wohl wrote and directed the movie Baby Ruby, starring Noémie Merlant and Kit Harington. This film (now available on the streaming service Hulu) premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post called Wohl’s work “an intriguing and impressively assured writing-directing debut.”

Wohl said, “It’s fun to have an acting background and be a playwright because I find myself really inspired by actors and by acting. I love watching their process. I feel like a lot of what drives me as a playwright is trying to create roles that are fun for actors and make them a little playground to play in.” And her joy shines through in her work. Broadway Stages will be watching Wohl’s Instagram page to see what comes next from this gifted woman.

92NY | There’s Something for Everyone!

Formerly known as the 92nd Street Y,  92NY is a world-class cultural and community center where people worldwide connect through culture, arts, entertainment, and conversation. For 150 years, they have harnessed the power of arts and ideas to enrich, enlighten, and change lives.

92NY offers programs for children and families year round. For those whose families are growing, they offer classes for expectant and new parents, caregivers, and toddlers through the Lipshultz Parenting Center. For those with children two and a half to five years old, 92NY offers an exceptional preschool program. And for children in kindergarten up to fifth grade, they have after school enrichment and care.

92NY has a long history of supporting and fostering the arts. For budding artists of all ages, the Gilda and Henry Block School of the Arts encompasses the School of Music, the Harkness Dance Center, and the Art Center (which includes the Ceramics Center, the Jewelry Center, and Fine Art & Design).

And for those looking to embrace the joy of movement, swimming classes and teams are available for all ages and levels. Various sports clinics and leagues are also available for ages four to eighteen.

Because 92NY believes that the arts are a right, not a privilege, they have created the School Engagement in the Arts program. The program provides arts education programs for K-12 students and their teachers across New York City — and nationwide via online offerings. Through the programs, students interact with 92NY mainstage talent, learn from expert teaching artists, and have access to professional internships.

92NY generously welcomes everyone to take advantage of these programs regardless of financial circumstances. Needs-based scholarships for 92NY programs are available on a case-by-case basis. You can donate here if you would like to support the amazing work done at 92NY.

We would be remiss if we did not mention 92NY’s Recanati-Kaplan Talks. These talks are New York’s premier forum for the most compelling thinkers of our time, the most thrilling entertainers in the country, and the most influential policymakers in our society.

This spring, on Monday, April 15, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin will discuss her book, “An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s,” with David Rubenstein. The book is a personal and candid look at a decade pivotal in our nation’s history through the collection of letters to her and her husband from John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, and Lyndon Johnson.

With so much to do, there is no other place like the 92NY. Broadway Stages encourages you to check it out for yourself. And when you do, tell them Broadway Stages sent you!

Inside Broadway Stages | What's Filming

We are excited to have several productions returning to our stages to film their new seasons. Read on to find out more about what's happening at our facilities.

Prime Video's "Harlem" Filming Season Three in New York City

Last month, filming commenced on the third season of the comedy series "Harlem," nearly a year after the final season two episode dropped on Prime Video. When we last saw the ladies of "Harlem" in February of 2023, Camille (Meagan Good) was looking to get back on track following some life-changing decisions. Tye (Jerrie Johnson) was attempting to connect with others while dealing with her divorce, and Quinn (Grace Byers) was seeking balance and stability. Angie (Shoniqua Shandai) was hoping for a change of luck.

Shandai recently spoke to New York City news network WPIX about how much fun she and her co-stars are having filming season three. We don't know when the new season will drop, but we will be sure to let you know as soon as we have some more updates!

Netflix Rom-Com "The Life List" Names Cast Members

Disney Channel star Sofia Carson will play the lead in a film adaptation of Lori Nelson Spielman's 2013 novel "The Life List." The popular book centers on a woman who attempts to complete a bucket list she put together when she was 14 years old. Will she finally fall in love and go to Paris, like she thought she would 20 years ago? Or will this journey take her somewhere else?

Carson is known for her starring role in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Descendants" and its sequels and spinoffs, as well as the network's 2016 remake of "Adventures in Babysitting." She is no stranger to Netflix, as she also starred in the streaming service's 2022 film "Purple Hearts."

Kyle Allen ("American Horror Story"), Connie Britton ("The White Lotus"), and Sebastian De Souza ("The Great") will also appear in the romantic comedy that is currently in pre-production. We are excited to welcome the cast and crew to our facilities later this year!

"Girls5Eva" Cast Making the Talk Show Rounds

The critically acclaimed comedy "Girls5Eva" ran for two seasons on Peacock before it was canceled. Netflix picked up the show for a third season, which dropped earlier this month. The show follows the four members of a once popular '90s girl group (Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell, and Busy Philipps) who are now in their 40s and staging a comeback.

Several of the show's stars have appeared on talk shows this month to discuss the new season. Pell and Bareilles appeared separately on "Late Night With Seth Meyers," while Goldsberry sat down for an in-depth interview with Desi Lydic and Michael Kosta of "The Daily Show." All four recently joined Drew Barrymore on her show to get nostalgic about the late '90s.

The girls are clearly happy to be back, and we are too! The new season of "Girls5Eva" is getting really great reviews. All three seasons are available to watch now on Netflix.

"Evil" Creators Announce Four Bonus Episodes

Last month, Paramount+ announced that it would not renew the supernatural drama "Evil" for a fifth season. However, the streaming service did allow creators Robert and Michelle King to add four extra episodes to the final season, raising the episode count from 10 to 14.

The paranormal series, which began airing on CBS in 2019, follows a forensic psychologist (Katja Herbers) who partners with a technical contractor (Aasif Mandvi) and Catholic priest-in-training (Mike Colter) to investigate supernatural events. Broadway Stages has provided facilities for the show's entire four-season run.

The Kings have told several news sources that they are not shopping the series to other networks or streaming services, and they said the additional episodes should provide closure for fans and allow the show to wrap up some loose ends. We have truly enjoyed having the cast and crew film at our facilities all these years, and they will always be a part of the Broadway Stages family.

"The Girls on the Bus" Cast Discuss Show, Share Reactions to Racy Fantasy Sequence

The first three episodes of the political drama "The Girls on the Bus" are now streaming on Max, and a new episode is dropping on Thursdays through May 9. The series draws inspiration from New York Times journalist Amy Chozick's 2018 book "Chasing Hillary," about her time reporting on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns.

Melissa Benoist ("Supergirl") stars as Sadie McCarthy, a young journalist who dreams of covering a presidential campaign. Carla Gugino ("The Haunting of Hill House"), Natasha Behnam ("Blake & Emily Get Famous"), and Christina Elmore ("Insecure") respectively play fellow journalists Grace, Lola, and Kimberlyn who befriend McCarthy on the campaign trail.

Scott Foley ("Scandal"), who plays longshot candidate Hayden Wells Garrett, appeared on "Good Morning America" a few weeks ago to talk about the show. He has more recently been making headlines for his performance in a fantasy sequence in the third episode, in which the 51-year-old actor stripteases to Ginuwine's 1996 hit "Pony," a song associated with the "Magic Mike" film franchise.

It looks like the show is off to a great start! Congrats to everyone involved.

Be sure to check out all of the productions above, and follow our blog and sign up for our newsletter to stay informed of updates on all of our productions.

2024 Broadway Stages’ Arts Residency Award | Open Call

We are excited to announce the Open Call for the 2024 Broadway Stages’ Arts Residency Award @ Kingsland Wildflowers. Presented by NOoSPHERE Arts as part of the annual WE ARE NATURE Rooftop Series, the residency is sponsored by Broadway Stages.

The open call is for a site-specific installation that will remain on view on the Upper Meadow of the Kingsland Wildflowers rooftop community center from June 20 to October 27, 2024. The submission deadline is April 10.

The award winner receives $1500 for artist fees, travel costs, art supplies, and all other production expenses. The installation should be non-intrusive, focus on sustainability, reflect on nature, take into consideration the mission and vision of the WE ARE NATURE series and the surrounding environment on and around the Kingsland Wildflowers rooftops, and reflect this season’s theme.

This season’s theme, A Vibrant Tapestry, flows from NOoSPHERE Arts’ guiding philosophy that sees the world holistically “... as a web of relations between the various parts of a unified whole…interconnected…in a state of dynamic flow.”

The submission deadline is April 10, and the winner will be announced in early May 2024. Opening night will take place on Thursday, June 20, and the awardee will install their piece between June 10 - 19. The residency period runs from June 20 to October 27, 2024. Click here for details about submission. 

We can’t wait to see the next installation at Kingsland Wildflowers. A special thank you to our arts partner NOoSPHERE Arts and resident artist Sol Kjøk for her commitment to and passion for art, nature and community. 

Women Leading Change | Dr. Melony Samuels

Over 1 million New York City residents face food insecurity every day. But there are those among us who are dedicated to helping their neighbors overcome it. Last week we featured Evelyn Heilbron of Community Center Services Organization Corp (CCSO) and her work to  ensure everyone has food on their table at the end of each day. Today, we feature Dr. Melony Samuels of The Campaign Against Hunger (TCAH).

Dr. Melony Samuels saw a need and felt compelled to act. After hearing of a woman in need, she and her husband packed some bags with groceries right away. This made her aware that the woman in need was not an isolated case. So, in 1998, she founded a small, traditional food pantry in a church basement.

With her business mindset, Dr. Samuels set to work. By 2005, she had created The Campaign Against Hunger (TCAH). What started with a few bags of groceries now includes mobile pantries, which reach the South Bronx, the Rockaways, and all of Brooklyn, two robust Urban Agro-Ecological Centers, a social services office, a community kitchen and nutrition education hub, and a youth and leadership development program. Today, this nonprofit organization provides services to over 300,000 unique individuals each year.

During the Pandemic, the need for food was at an all-time high, but providers were closing out of fear. Dr. Samuels was afraid, too, but she held firm. With hundreds of people in line for food, she said, “I literally prayed and asked God, “Help me, I need a warehouse. I know it’s an impossible ask.”

Three days later, Broadway Stages offered her use of an 11,000-square-foot warehouse at 101st Street in Brooklyn. Using this space, TCAH built partners on the ground, took the food to partners, bought additional vehicles, and started moving food.

Dr. Samuels said, “It is just a natural thing for any human being to know someone is in need and to do something about it.” You can take action by helping TCAH help others throuh a donation or by volunteering. And since TCAH is very active in many communities, it would be good to keep an eye on their Instagram and Facebook pages, too.

As you can see, Broadway Stages is inspired by strong, passionate women like Evelyn Heilbron of Community Center Services Organization Corp (CCSO) and Dr. Melony Samuels of The Campaign Against Hunger (TCAH) and their fight against food insecurity. We strongly encourage you to fight this scourge in your community, too. Because of these women’s good work, you don’t have to start from scratch. Contact them. They will put your support to work right away. And when you do, tell them Broadway Stages sent you!

BAFTA Announces 2024 TV Nominations

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is an independent arts charity that offers a year-round international program of workshops, masterclasses, lectures, scholarships, and mentoring in the United Kingdom, America, and Asia.

Each year, the organization honors the year's top films and television shows in separate ceremonies, much like the Oscars and Emmys in the United States. BAFTA just announced the shows in the running for this year's television awards, and the dramas "Happy Valley" and "Succession" lead in the major categories. "The Crown," "The Sixth Commandment," "Slow Horses," "The Last of Us," and an episode of "Black Mirror" called "Demon 79" also received a good deal of love from BAFTA.

The BBC One crime drama "Happy Valley," streaming on Netflix in the United States, has run for three seasons, with the first airing in 2014 and the second in 2016. Both six-episode seasons won the coveted Best Drama Series in their respective years. Fans had to wait nearly seven years for the third and final season, which faces tough competition this year at the BAFTAs. The series is also in the running in three acting categories and the Memorable Moment category.

Multiple American programs will compete in the International category, including Emmy favorites "The Bear," "Beef," "The Last of Us," and "Succession."

BAFTA will honor its TV Craft Award winners on April 28, and the main ceremony will be held on May 12, with comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan returning as hosts for the second year in a row. Congrats and best of luck to all nominees! See the full list here.

Spotlight | PANO

Welcome to Broadway Stages’ Spotlight, where we feature local shops, restaurants, organizations, individuals, and venues. We encourage our readers to join us in supporting these establishments and advancing local economic growth. For Women’s History Month, we are shining the spotlight on a few of the women-owned or oriented businesses and organizations in the neighborhoods where we work. This week, we want to share PANO. This network stands for and supports underrepresented women, non-binary, and gender nonconforming (GNC) creators in every aspect of the entertainment industry.

Cidney Hue is a writer-director in NYC who uses science fiction to build inclusive futures. In her work, she noticed that women were a minority in the entertainment industry, far out of proportion to their societal numbers. So, she took action.

“I was working at a commercial production company, and I felt like I wasn’t meeting enough women. And if I relied on just going on set and meeting that occasional one other or two other women, it would take me forever to meet a community of women that I wanted to work with. So I decided to host a little get-together. I ordered a few pizza pies, and that first time, 20 women showed up,” she said.

So, in 2015, she founded PANO (formerly NYC Women Filmmakers). The networking events grew as more women reached out to friends and colleagues. Today, the grassroots 501(c)(3) non-profit organization network includes over 6,000 members and has hosted over 150 free events.

They advocate for including and amplifying underrepresented women, non-binary, and gender nonconforming (GNC) creators of all trades, experiences, and backgrounds. They do this by connecting members with influential networks, valuable resources, and career-changing opportunities to impact meaningful change in the industry.

Membership in the network has several benefits. As you might expect in a networking organization, mentoring is particularly attractive. But PANO takes a nontraditional approach to mentoring. They have done away with the mentor and mentee titles and opted for an accessible approach inspired by successful mentorships. PANO Pairs are mutually beneficial experiences where partners support each other equally in their endeavors.

Another resource available to members is The Cinematographer’s Lab. This multi-week program is designed to help working and emerging cinematographers. To make this happen, Pano has partnered with AbelCine, a leading provider of products and services to the production, broadcast, and new media industries.

As any creator knows, funding is essential. So, PANO offers cash grants to support projects or professional development. Every year, PANO distributes cash microgrants and in-kind grants to support underrepresented filmmakers and their projects.

PANO makes it easy for other creators to boost inclusion on their projects by hosting a robust job board. They give employers the ability to post part-time and full-time positions and members the ability to be aware of what is available. It’s free to join to post crew calls, casting calls, and job listings.

Finally, it only makes sense for PANO to host virtual and in-person socials, workshops, and screenings to connect, educate, and amplify their members in New York and worldwide. You can view their events and screenings page for more information on what’s up next.

If you want to connect with a community of thousands of filmmakers experiencing gender marginalization, including women, trans, and gender-expansive creators, Click here to join PANO. Or, if you want to support the cause, your financial support is welcome! While you are at it, Follow PANO on Instagram and Facebook because something great is always happening.

The Bechdel test (also known as the Bechdel-Wallace test) measures the representation of women in film and other fiction. It asks whether a work features at least two female characters who have a conversation about something other than a man. Broadway Stages looks forward to the day when such a test is unnecessary. As productions grow to become places of inclusion, that day is on the horizon. We are glad PANO is striving to bring us closer to that reality.

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Women's Stories Come to Life on Film | Part II

For Women's History Month, we are sharing the stories of real women who lived extraordinary lives, changed history, or made the world a better place. As a film and television production stage company, we naturally love to learn and share these stories via film. Earlier this month, we wrote about the lives of entertainers, writers, artists, athletes, and activists. Below are more acclaimed biopics about women, many of which are available to rent on streaming services.

"Big Eyes" (2014)

In the 1950s, artist Margaret Keane developed a signature painting style, depicting subjects with unusually large, prominent eyes. She produced more than 100 paintings in her lifetime, generating a good deal of commercial success. However, for more than a decade she received no recognition for her work. Her husband Walter claimed credit for her paintings and continuously lied to art critics and collectors for decades to keep up the charade.

Margaret and Walter divorced in 1965, and several years later she publicly announced that she was the true artist, not her ex-husband. Several lawsuits followed, and in 1986 a federal judge ordered Margaret and Walter to create an original painting on the spot in the courtroom to prove once and for all who the real artist was. It took less than an hour for Margaret to create a painting that became known as "Exhibit 224." Walter did not even attempt to produce a piece of art, claiming he was suffering from a shoulder injury.

Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz earned critical acclaim for their performances as Margaret and Walter in Tim Burton's "Big Eyes," and Adams ended up winning a Golden Globe while Waltz earned a nomination.

Learn about other female artists by watching: "Charlotte" (2021), "Woman Walks Ahead" (2017), "Maudie" (2016), "The Danish Girl" (2015), "Séraphine" (2008), "Frida" (2002), "Camille Claudel" (1988)

"Killers of the Flower Moon" (2023)

Mollie Burkhart (née Kyle) might not be a household name, but Martin Scorsese's award-winning film about the Osage Indian murders ensures that her story will never be forgotten.

In 1917, Kyle married Ernest Burkhart, the nephew of a local crime boss in Osage County, Oklahoma. Shortly after their union, many of her family members died under mysterious circumstances, and she narrowly survived a poisoning attempt. These deaths were actually calculated murders orchestrated by Burkhart's uncle to gain control of the victims' lucrative headrights, which entitled members of the Osage Nation to regular payments for the oil on their land.

Outraged, members of the Osage Nation petitioned the Bureau of Investigation (the predecessor to the FBI) to investigate, leading to prosecutions of the guilty parties. Their persistence led to real change, as Congress passed a law in 1925 barring the inheritance of Osage headrights to non-Osage people (with specific exclusions).

"Killers of the Flower Moon" earned 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Lily Gladstone, who won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance.

Learn about other historical figures by watching: "Harriet" (2019), "Jackie" (2016), "Amelia" (2009), "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1959), "Calamity Jane" (1953), "Joan of Arc" (1948)

"Elizabeth" (1998) and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (2007)

Following the short reigns of her half-siblings Edward VI and Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I became the Queen of England in 1558 at the age of 25. The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn ruled England for 44 years, a time during which British culture flourished, particularly theater, poetry, and literature.

"Elizabeth" follows the early years of her reign, as she survived multiple attempts to usurp her throne and turned down several potential suitors in favor of her independence, earning her the nickname "The Virgin Queen." A sequel, 2007's "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," covers the later years of her reign.

The film earned seven Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture. Cate Blanchett earned the first of her eight Oscar nominations for her performance in "Elizabeth," and she earned another nomination for the sequel.

Learn the stories of other royal women by watching: "Spencer" (2021), "A Royal Affair" (2012), "The Young Victoria" (2009), "The Queen" (2006), "Marie Antoinette" (2006), "The Lion in Winter" (1968), "Cleopatra" (1963), "Queen Christina" (1933)

"Joy" (2015)

In the late '80s, Joy Mangano found herself divorced, struggling to pay her bills, and sharing a Long Island home with her three young children, unemployed ex-husband, negligent mother, and grandmother.

Unfulfilled with her home life and job as an airline booking clerk, she decided to pursue her dreams of inventing, starting with a self-wringing mop that she designed. Mangano faced many challenges in securing funding, navigating patent laws, dealing with unscrupulous manufacturers and investors, and promoting her invention – the Miracle Mop.

Today, Mangano is a highly decorated business woman who recently partnered with Pitbull to create a new line of cleaning products called CleanBoss. She has sold around $3 billion in products and remains a regular fixture on HSN. Mangano served as an executive producer on the critically acclaimed film about her life, simply called "Joy." Jennifer Lawrence received an Academy Award nomination and won a Golden Globe for portraying Mangano in the film.

Learn about other female entrepreneurs and inventors by watching: "Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker" (2020) miniseries, "The Post" (2017), "Coco Before Chanel" (2009)

"Music of the Heart" (1999)

Violinist Roberta Guaspari spent decades working to keep music education taught in Harlem schools. She first came to Harlem in the early '80s and established a violin program at Central Park East School. She began holding concerts with her students, and her program grew over the decade to include several additional schools.

However, in 1991 New York City sought budget cuts for its public schools, and her program was dropped. That year, she co-founded her own school, the Opus 118 Harlem School of Music. To support music education, she organized a benefit concert called Fiddlefest with the help of former students and teachers. Several esteemed violinists enlisted top talent and booked Carnegie Hall for the event, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Meryl Streep learned to play the violin in order to accurately portray Guaspari in "Music of the Heart," earning her an Oscar nomination.

Learn about other inspirational educators: "Freedom Writers" (2007), "Anna and the King" (1999), "The Sound of Music" (1965), "The Miracle Worker" (1962)

"The Color Purple" Dominates the 55th Annual NAACP Image Awards

"The Color Purple" won 11 NAACP Image Awards on Saturday night, including Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture, and Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture) for director Blitz Bazawule. The musical also swept the costume, makeup, and hairstyling categories, won Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album, and earned additional awards for four of its stars – Fantasia Barrino (Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture), Taraji P. Henson (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture), Colman Domingo (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture), and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi (Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture).

Domingo was a double winner, also nabbing Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance in "Rustin." Another double winner was Usher, who won Outstanding Male Artist and the night's top prize – Entertainer of the Year, beating out Barrino and Domingo.

In the television and streaming categories, ABC's "Abbott Elementary" won Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for Quinta Brunson, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for William Stanford Davis. The drama winners were primarily split between Netflix's "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story," which won Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for India Ria Amarteifio, and FX's "Snowfall," which won Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for Damson Idris and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Gail Bean.

Presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the NAACP Image Awards honors outstanding representations and achievements of people of color in motion pictures, television, music, literature, podcasts, and social media. "The Equalizer" star Queen Latifah hosted again for the second year in a row.

Congratulations to all winners! See the full list here.