Weekly Update for August 18: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Patti Cake$ (Opens in Limited Release)

In a coming-of-age story straight out of Jersey, an unlikely rapper (Danielle Macdonald) finds her voice as a one-of-a-kind hip-hop legend in the making in “Patti Cake$.” Set in gritty strip-mall suburbia, “Patti Cake$” chronicles an underdog’s quest for fame and glory with humor, raw energy, and some unforgettable beats. (Press materials)

Marjorie Prime

Eighty-six-year-old Marjorie (Lois Smith) spends her final, ailing days with a computerized version of her deceased husband (Jon Hamm). With the intent to recount their life together, Marjorie’s “Prime” relies on the information from her and her kin to develop a more complex understanding of his history. As their interactions deepen, the family begins to develop ever diverging recounts of their lives, drawn into the chance to reconstruct the often painful past. “Marjorie Prime” shines a light on an often-obscured corner in the world of artificial intelligence and its interactions with mortality, and forces us to ask, “If we had the opportunity, how would we choose to rebuild the past, and what would we decide to forget?” (Press materials)

Whitney: Can I Be Me (Documentary) (U.S. Release)

Six-time Grammy winner Whitney Houston was one of the most successful female recording artists of all time, but after a troubled marriage to singer Bobby Brown and many years of struggling with addiction, she died suddenly and tragically at age 48. With never-before-seen footage, candid interviews, and gripping performance highlights of many of Houston’s greatest hits, “Whitney: Can I Be Me” will offer a raw and uncensored look at Houston, exploring the impact her life and death had on the people around her and the world of music. (Press materials)

The Queen of Spain (Available on VOD August 29)

Penelope Cruz stars as the famous movie star Macarena Granada, who flees the glitz and glamour of 1950s Hollywood to return to her roots in Spain where she has signed on to star in an epic film as Queen Isabella of Spain. (Press materials)

What Happened to Monday — Co-Written by Kerry Williamson (Available on Netflix)

In a not so distant future, where overpopulation and famine have forced governments to undertake a drastic “One Child Policy,” seven identical sisters live a hide-and-seek existence pursued by the Child Allocation Bureau. The Bureau, directed by the fierce Nicolette Cayman (Glenn Close), enforces a strict family-planning agenda that the sisters outwit by taking turns assuming the identity of one person: Karen Settman (Noomi Rapace). Taught by their grandfather (Willem Dafoe), who raised and named them, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday each can go outside once a week as their common identity, but are only free to be themselves in the prison of their own apartment. That is until, one day, Monday does not come home… (Press materials)

The Ice Cream Truck — Written and Directed by Megan Freels Johnston (Opens in Limited Release) (Also Available on VOD)

Mary’s husband gets relocated for work which allows her to move back to her suburban hometown. As her family ties up loose ends back home, Mary (Deanna Russo) moves into their new house all alone and… waits. Yet in this idealistic world, something seems very odd. The Ice Cream Man, a symbol of youth and good times, starts killing some of her neighbors and Mary soon learns that the suburbs are scarier in more ways than she ever imagined. (Press materials)

Films About Women Currently Playing

“The Glass Castle”: Jake Giles Netter/Lionsgate

The Glass Castle
Ingrid Goes West
Planetarium — Co-Written and Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski
Annabelle: Creation
Once Upon a Time
A Life in Waves (Documentary)
In This Corner of the World — Co-Written by Chie Uratani
Catastrópico
Kidnap
Step (Documentary) — Directed by Amanda Lipitz
Atomic Blonde
From the Land of the Moon — Co-Written and Directed by Nicole Garcia
Women Who Kill — Written and Directed by Ingrid Jungermann
The Girl Without Hands
The Untamed
The Midwife
Landline — Directed by Gillian Robespierre; Written by Gillian Robespierre and Elisabeth Holm
Girls Trip — Co-Written by Tracy Oliver
Wish Upon — Written by Barbara Marshall
Lady Macbeth — Written by Alice Birch
Birthright: A War Story (Documentary) — Directed by Civia Tamarkin; Written by Civia Tamarkin and Luchina Fisher
The Little Hours
The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Documentary (Documentary)
Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge — Directed by Marie Noelle; Written by Marie Noelle and Andrea Stoll
The Beguiled — Written and Directed by Sofia Coppola
Rough Night — Co-Written and Directed by Lucia Aniello
Maudie — Directed by Aisling Walsh; Written by Sherry White
47 Meters Down (Also Available on VOD)
Lost in Paris — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Fiona Gordon
Megan Leavey — Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite; Co-Written by Pamela Gray and Annie Mumolo
Beatriz at Dinner
Moka
Wonder Woman — Directed by Patty Jenkins
Letters from Baghdad (Documentary) — Directed by Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum
Love, Kennedy
The Women’s Balcony — Written by Shlomit Nehama
Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Linda Saffire
Paris Can Wait — Written and Directed by Eleanor Coppola
The Wedding Plan — Written and Directed by Rama Burshtein
Manifesto
Hidden Figures — Co-Written by Allison Schroeder

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

Lemon — Co-Written and Directed by Janicza Bravo (Opens in Limited Release) (Also Available on VOD)

Isaac Lachmann (Brett Gelman) has seen better days. His acting career is tanking, while his colleagues succeed; his blind girlfriend of 10 years plans to leave him; and his own family singles him out as a constant disappointment at their latest reunion. Even as he takes a chance on a new romance, Isaac struggles to define his place in a world that has seemingly turned against him. (Press materials)

Read Women & Hollywood’s interview with Janicza Bravo.

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

Whose Streets? (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Sabaah Folayan
The Farthest (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Emer Reynolds
Detroit — Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Bonni Cohen
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (Documentary) — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Catherine Bainbridge
False Confessions — Co-Directed by Marie-Louise Bischofberger
Swim Team (Documentary) — Directed by Lara Stolman
Pop Aye — Written and Directed by Kirsten Tan
Hare Krishna! The Mantra, The Movement and the Swami Who Started It All (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Jean Griesser and Lauren Ross
Obit. (Documentary) — Directed by Vanessa Gould

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

Logan Lucky — Written by Rebecca Blunt

Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

The Monster Project — Co-Written by Shariya Lynn (Also Available on VOD)

A man joins a documentary film crew to interview real-life monsters, but when the group underestimates the powers they’ve summoned, they must find a way to escape the evil they’ve unleashed. (Press materials)

Zodiac 12: Five Steps of Love — Co-Written by Kimmie Vu

It’s the clash of the incompatible signs when Huy (B Tran), a Sagittarius playboy, meets My (Jun Vu), a zodiac-enthusiast Pisces, and their fates become heart-achingly entangled in a twisted journey of unrequited love. (Press materials)

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

“The Big Sick”: Sarah Shatz/WHILE YOU WERE COMATOSE

After Love — Co-Written by Fanny Burdino and Mazarine Pingeot
The Fencer — Written by Anna Heinämaa
13 Minutes — Co-Written by Léonie-Claire Breinersdorfer
The Big Sick — Co-Written by Emily V. Gordon
Cars 3 — Co-Written by Kiel Murray
Churchill — Written by Alex von Tunzelmann

TV Premieres This Week

The Good Karma Hospital (Premieres August 21 on Acorn TV)

Set in a coastal town in tropical South India, “The Good Karma Hospital” tells the story of junior doctor Ruby Walker (Amrita Acharia), who arrives in India looking for a job and a distraction from her heartbreak. She anticipates the sunshine, the palm trees, and picture-perfect beaches. She’s even prepared for the sacred cows, the tuk-tuks, and the Delhi-belly that everyone warned her about. What she doesn’t expect are the realities of work, life, and even love at an under-resourced and over-worked cottage hospital. (Press materials)

Diana: Her Story (Documentary) (Premieres August 22 on PBS)

In August 2017 it will be 20 years since Princess Diana was killed in a car crash. Since then Diana’s story has changed from an extraordinary episode in the immediate past to one beginning to resemble history. This film tells the story of Diana’s life using a combination of interviews and archival material, including rarely seen filmed conversations with Diana that are unique for their directness and disarming frankness. (Press materials)

Lynne Koplitz: Hormonal Beast (Comedy Special) (Premieres August 22 on Netflix)

Unabashed comedian Lynne Koplitz offers a woman’s take on being crazy, the benefits of childlessness, and the three things all men really want. (Press materials)

The Farthest: Voyager in Space (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Emer Reynolds (Premieres August 23 on PBS)

“The Farthest: Voyager in Space” tells the captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity’s greatest achievements in exploration: NASA’s Voyager mission, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this August. The twin spacecraft — each with less computing power than a cell phone — used slingshot trajectories to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They sent back unprecedented images and data that revolutionized our understanding of the spectacular outer planets and their many peculiar moons. Still going strong four decades after launch, each spacecraft carries an iconic golden record with greetings, music, and images from Earth. A billion years from now, the Voyagers and their golden records will still be sailing on — perhaps the only remaining evidence that humanity ever existed. (Press materials)

Party Boat (TV Movie) — Co-Written by Chelsea Rae Giegerich (Premieres August 24 on Crackle)

“Party Boat” focuses on Max (Brett Davern), who is throwing a 25th birthday party for his best friend, Kiley (Katie Leclerc). When Max finds out Kiley’s boyfriend, Greg (Sung Kang), plans to propose, he embarks on an adventure to win Kiley’s heart and throw his greatest party ever. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

After the Wedding — Written and Directed by Claudia Cifuentes (VOD, August 18)
Scales: Mermaids Are Real (DVD, August 22)

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