Weekly Update for January 27: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Picking up immediately after the events of “Resident Evil: Retribution,” Alice (Milla Jovovich) is the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity’s final stand against the undead. Now, she must return to where the nightmare began: the Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse. (Press materials)

Sophie and the Rising Sun — Written and Directed by Maggie Greenwald

Set in the autumn of 1941 in a fishing village in South Carolina, “Sophie and the Rising Sun” tells the compelling story of interracial lovers, Sophie Willis and Grover Ohta (Julianne Nicholson and Takashi Yamaguchi), swept up in the tides of history. As World War II rages in Europe, Mr. Ohta appears in town badly beaten under mysterious circumstances. Sophie quickly becomes transfixed by Mr. Ohta, and a friendship born of their mutual love of art blossoms into a delicate and forbidden courtship. As their secret relationship evolves, the war escalates tragically. And when Pearl Harbor is bombed, a surge of misguided patriotism, bigotry, and violence sweeps through the town, threatening Mr. Ohta’s life. (Press materials)

Read Maggie Greenwald’s guest post on Women and Hollywood.

Find screening info here.

The Lure — Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska (Opens February 1 in NY)

In this bold, genre-defying horror-musical mashup, a pair of carnivorous mermaid sisters (Marta Mazurek and Michalina Olszanska) are drawn ashore in an alternate ’80s Poland to explore the wonders and temptations of life on land. Their tantalizing siren songs and otherworldly aura make them overnight sensations as nightclub singers in the half-glam, half-decrepit fantasy world of Smoczynska’s imagining. In a visceral twist on Hans Christian Andersen’s original “Little Mermaid” tale, one sister falls for a human, and as the bonds of sisterhood are tested, the lines between love and survival get blurred. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

The Woman in the Septic Tank 2

Eugene Domingo is back as “Eugene Domingo” in this much-anticipated follow-up to the independent box-office hit movie, “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank.” Together with her director/writer (Kean Cipriano), her line producer (Cai Cortez) and their rookie production assistant (Khalil Ramos), Eugene prepares for her comeback vehicle after a long sabbatical from movie-making. Rainier proposes “The Itinerary,” a heartbreaking anatomy of a crumbling marriage as told through a couple’s trip to Baguio, their former honeymoon location. Eugene Domingo is excited by the project but she has other ideas in mind. In the film-within-the-film, we see Eugene’s absurd suggestions and recommendations — changing Rainier’s script by employing the poetics of the Pinoy romantic comedy genre into what is supposedly a realistic portrayal of love and marriage. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Films About Women Currently Playing

Starless Dreams (Documentary)
Bakery in Brooklyn
20th Century Women
Underworld: Blood Wars — Directed by Anna Foerster
Hidden Figures — Co-Written by Allison Schroeder
Toni Erdmann — Written and Directed by Maren Ade (Opens in NY and LA)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
The Bad Kids (Documentary)
Julieta
Jackie
Things to Come — Written and Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve
Moana — Co-Written by Pamela Ribon
Arrival
The Love Witch — Written and Directed by Anna Biller
Elle
The Eagle Huntress
The Handmaiden

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

None.

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

The Bye Bye Man — Directed by Stacy Title
Vince Giordano: There’s a Future in the Past (Documentary) — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Amber Edwards

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

A Dog’s Purpose — Written by Cathryn Michon

“A Dog’s Purpose” shares the soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love. (Press materials)

I Am Michael — Co-Written by Stacey Miller (Also Available on VOD)

In 2007, Michael Glatze (James Franco), the gay-rights advocate who embodied queer identity, shocked his friends and followers when he publicly renounced his homosexuality. What could have led to such an extreme change of belief? “I Am Michael” depicts the years when an idealistic Michael, with his long-term partner, empowered a new generation of gay youth through their writing and films. When a nerve-racking brush with death triggers his need to reconcile faith and sexuality, Michael embarks on a zealous search for answers that eventually leads him to Christianity and the absolute conviction that “homosexuality is death.” (Sundance Institute)

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

The Red Turtle — Co-written by Pascale Ferran
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone — Written by Andrea Gyertson Nasfell
The Sunshine Makers (Documentary) — Co-written by Connie Littlefield
Alone in Berlin — Co-Written by Bettine von Borries (Also Available on VOD)
Sleepless — Co-Written by Andrea Berloff
Office Christmas Party — Co-Written by Laura Solon
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them — Written by J.K. Rowling
Bad Santa 2 — Co-Written by Shauna Cross
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children — Written by Jane Goldman

TV Premieres This Week

Z: The Beginning of Everything — Created by Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin (Premieres January 27 on Amazon)

Based on the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, played by Christina Ricci (“Monster”). The story starts before the brilliant, beautiful, and talented Southern Belle meets then-unpublished writer F. Scott Fitzgerald (Gavin Stenhouse/David Hoflin) and moves through their turbulent love affair and their marriage. (Press materials)

Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter (Premieres January 27 on Amazon)

“Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter” is presented by Studio Ghibli and narrated by Gillian Anderson. The daughter of a professional robber, Ronja (Teresa Gallagher) realizes the complicated nature of her father’s profession when she befriends Birk (Kelly Adams), the child of a rival tribe. She struggles to balance this friendship with her family relationship but comes to understand that differences can be overcome with the help of love and understanding. (Press materials)

555 (Anthology Series) — Co-Created by Kate Berlant (Premieres January 31 on Vimeo)

“555” is an anthology miniseries of five short films that unfold in a stark, humid, surreality of Hollywood. These short, cinematic fairy tales are set in tinsel town, where status is everything and the stakes are high. The backdrop is big dreams, and in the foreground, the humiliations of clawing one’s way toward them. (Press materials)

Powerless (Premieres February 2 on NBC)

Emily Locke (Vanessa Hudgens) lands her dream job as Director of Research and Development for Wayne Security in Charm City, home to superheroes and villains and citizens fed up with the collateral damage of their constant fighting. Full of confidence and big ideas, Emily quickly learns that her aspirations far exceed those of her new boss (Alan Tudyk) and officemates (Danny Pudi, Christina Kirk, and Ron Funches), so it will be up to her to lead the team toward their full potential and the realization that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

The Monster (DVD, Available Now)
The Handmaiden (DVD/VOD, Available Now)
I’m Not Ashamed — Written by Philipa A. Booyens, Robin Hanley, Kari Redmond, and Bodie Thoene (DVD/VOD, Available Now)
Antibirth (Netflix, January 30)
The Watermelon Woman — Written and Directed by Cheryl Dunye (DVD/VOD, January 31)
Dr. Feelgood: Dealer or Healer? — Directed by Eve Marson; Co-written by Eve Marson and Sara Goldblatt (VOD, January 31)
Mother with a Gun (Documentary) (Netflix, January 31)