Hold for Laughs

The AFI Directing Workshop for Women has been dedicated to developing the talent of the next generation of film and TV female directors since 1974. Amy French, one of last year’s eight AFI DWW fellows, generated some buzz with her feature from last year, El Súperstar, and continues to bring it with Hold for Laughs, premiering Thursday, June 16th (TONIGHT!) at 7pm at the AFI Mark Goodson Theater in L.A. Hold for Laughs is a story about an awkward 13-year-old Catholic schoolgirl who moonlights as a stand-up comic (produced by Lauren Schnipper). Maybe the sequel will be about a 13-year-old stand-up comic who moonlights as a Catholic schoolgirl.

Read Amy French’s article about her experience in the AFI DWW program, a forum that brings diligent creative women together.

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Elissa Bassist edits the Funny Women column and teaches humor writing. Her next class is "How to Write a Comedic Memoir" on 3/30. She wrote Hysterical, a semi-finalist for The Thurber Prize for American humor, and is co-writing Inside Jokes: A Comedy and Creativity Guide for All Writers with Caitlin Kunkel (out in 2026). Her newsletter is Tragedy Plus Time.

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