Tribeca Film Festival highlights female directors

Sophia Takal will present the world premiere of her feature film Always Shine

New York's Tribeca Film Festival will feature its greatest number to date of movies by female directors.

Organisers unveiled the first 55 of this year's 101 films on Wednesday, with more than a third made by women.

Notable females with films on the list include Sophia Takal, who made 2011's Green; and Ingrid Jungermann, known for short films Slope and F to 7th.

Other highlights include the premiere of the R-rated cartoon Nerdland and Equals starring Kristen Stewart.

Takal tweeted her excitement at her film's inclusion in the festival programme: "So excited my new movie Always Shine premiering Tribeca!!!," she said.

Jungermann was equally delighted, tweeting: "Thrilled for our world premiere to be in our favourite city in the world. Thank you Tribeca for being our champion!"

The films announced on Wednesday are from the competition categories US Narrative, International Narrative, and Documentary along with Viewpoints, which showcases work from promising new film-makers from around the world.

The festival also has a special award for women film-makers called the Nora Ephron Prize.

It is designated for those considered to be showing the trailblazing spirit of the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Silkwood and When Harry Met Sally.

This year's 12-day festival will, organisers have said, include features from 32 countries, with 77 world premieres.

A total of 130 directors will screen their films, 42 of which will do so with their feature directorial debuts.

Festival director Genna Terranova said: "We are very impressed by the films this year and inspired to see new voices transcending traditions and taking risks by telling their stories their own way.

"We are excited to share with audiences how the world of independent documentary and narrative film-making is thriving."

Jungermann's festival film will mark her feature-length debut. Women Who Kill - in which she also stars - is described as a wry satire on contemporary romance, telling the story of the love affair between two female crime podcasters.

Takal's feature film Always Shine will be shown at a world premiere screening. The movie is a psychological drama about obsession, fame and femininity, revolving around the friendship between two actresses and starring Mackenzie Davis and Catlin FitzGerald.

Other women film-makers on the festival programme include Deb Shoval and Karolina Waclawiak, who will be showing the world premiere of their feature film AWOL, a love story between two young women.

In the documentary category, director Jenny Gage will be hosting the world premiere of All This Panic, which looks at what it's like to grow up and find one's way as a young adult in New York.

This year's Tribeca will open with the world premiere of The First Monday in May, a documentary about the Metropolitan Museum of Art's headline-grabbing costume exhibition, China: Through the Looking Glass.

The second half of the festival programme will be announced on 8 March and the festival runs from 13-24 April.