Reading, PA (The Hollywood Times) 8/12/26 – As a proud media partner of the 2026 ReadingFilmFEST, The Hollywood Times is pleased to spotlight one of the festival’s timely documentary selections, Miss Representation: Rise Up, from filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
Fifteen years after the original Miss Representation examined how media representation contributes to women’s underrepresentation in positions of leadership and influence, Rise Up turns its attention to an increasingly urgent challenge: the impact of social media, artificial intelligence, online harassment and deepfakes on the safety, mental health and voices of women and girls.
Directed, written and produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, with Camille Servan-Schreiber and Gretchen Miller serving as producers and writers, the 87-minute documentary centers the personal experiences of young women while bringing together perspectives from leaders in journalism, politics, academia, advocacy and technology.
Among the film’s participants and experts are Katie Couric, Lisa Ling, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Amy Klobuchar, Jameela Jamil, Gretchen Carlson, Reshma Saujani, Frances Haugen, Dr. Safiya Noble and many others, alongside a group of young women whose experiences remain at the heart of the story.
What makes Rise Up especially relevant today is its focus on how technology has changed the landscape. The film explores a world in which harassment can follow young people home through their phones, manipulated imagery can be created and distributed at unprecedented speed, and women who enter public life may face extraordinary levels of online abuse.
Siebel Newsom describes technology as one of today’s most powerful cultural communicators while arguing that it can also be weaponized against women’s mental health, safety and power. Her film ultimately calls not simply for awareness, but for cultural and systemic change that allows girls and women to participate fully and safely in public life.
The documentary arrives at ReadingFilmFEST following its premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, where it screened to sold-out audiences.
Miss Representation: Rise Up fits naturally within the spirit of independent film festivals: films that entertain, certainly, but also films that challenge audiences to talk, question and look at familiar issues differently.
The Hollywood Times is proud to be a media partner of ReadingFilmFEST and looks forward to bringing our readers more coverage from the festival as it approaches November 6–8, 2026, in Reading, Pennsylvania.
— Valerie Milano
Publisher/Senior Editor
The Hollywood Times
