Weekly Update for February 9: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

The Female Brain — Directed by Whitney Cummings; Co-Written by Whitney Cummings and Louann Brizendine (Also Available on VOD)

What makes a woman swipe right for Mr. Wrong and left for Mr. Right? Co-writer-director Whitney Cummings (“2 Broke Girls”) stars as no-nonsense neuroscientist Julia, whose research into the biochemistry of the female brain is illustrated by three couples: newlyweds Zoe (Cecily Strong) and Greg (Blake Griffin), whose career troubles seep into their relationship; Lisa (Sofia Vergara) and Steven (Deon Cole), who are looking to spice up their stuck-in-a-rut marriage; and Lexi (Lucy Punch), who can’t help trying to change her boyfriend Adam (James Marsden). Meanwhile, the straight-laced Julia’s own synapses start to fire when a handsome new subject (Toby Kebbell) joins her study. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Whitney Cummings.

Becks — Co-Directed by Elizabeth Rohrbaugh; Co-Written by Elizabeth Rohrbaugh and Rebecca Drysdale (Also Available on VOD)

Inspired by the real life of singer-songwriter Alyssa Robbins, the film follows a Brooklyn musician named Becks (Lena Hall) who, after a crushing breakup with her girlfriend, moves back in with her Midwestern mother (Christine Lahti). As she navigates her hometown, playing for tip money in her old friend Dave’s (Dan Fogler) bar, an unexpected relationship begins to take shape. Driven by an original score by Robbins, the film’s musical numbers bring a unique new voice to the American movie musical. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Elizabeth Rohrbaugh.

Seeing Allred (Documentary) — Directed by Sophie Sartain and Roberta Grossman (Available on Netflix)

As sexual-violence allegations grip the nation, “Seeing Allred” provides a candid look at one of the most public crusaders against the war on women. Through rare archival footage and revealing interviews with both her supporters and critics, this fascinating biographical portrait examines Gloria Allred’s personal trauma and assesses both her wins and setbacks on high-profile cases against Bill Cosby and Donald Trump. (Press materials)

La Boda de Valentina — Co-Written by Issa López

Valentina (Marimar Vega) seems to have the perfect life in New York, with a perfect job and a perfect boyfriend, Jason Tate (Ryan Carnes), far, far away from her scandalous political family in Mexico. When Jason proposes to her and wants to go to home to meet the family she has been keeping a secret, her two worlds clash. Adding to the hilarious chaos, her family brings her ex, Angel (Omar Chaparro), into the picture and convinces Valentina to go along with a sham marriage to him in an effort to stop further negative press as her father runs for re-election. In the end, Valentina must choose where her heart belongs. (Press materials)

Basmati Blues (Also Available on VOD)

Dr. Linda Watt (Brie Larson) is a sheltered but brilliant young scientist who is sent on a work trip to India. She is welcomed by almost everyone, and embraces a world she is unfamiliar with. Linda is assigned a guide, an ambitious young bureaucrat (Saahil Sehgal) who immediately takes a liking to her. But when Linda meets Rajit (Utkarsh Ambudkar), a rebellious college student forced to drop out by lack of funds, there’s instant chemistry. And through their playful antagonism, Linda’s eyes are ultimately opened to the fact she has unknowingly become part of a destructive plan against the farmers. When she and the villagers discover her company’s greedy agenda, they work together to fight against the abusive agricultural giant. (Press materials)

Still/Born (Also Available on VOD)

Mary (Christie Burke), a new mother, gives birth to two twins but only one of them is alive. While taking care of her surviving child, Adam, she suspects that something, a supernatural entity, has chosen him and will stop at nothing to take him from her. (Press materials)

Black Hollow Cage (Also Available on VOD)

A girl who lives secluded in a house in the woods with only the company of her father and a wolfhound finds among the trees a mysterious cubic device with the ability to change the past. (Press materials)

The Ninth Cloud — Written and Directed by Jane Spencer (February 12 Only in the UK)

A dark existential comedy about a young woman trying to find answers to the meaning of existence, who runs into a whole pack of strange characters in London — from bohemian struggling artists to monied British aristocrats, with all their varying agendas — as she tries to help an impoverished immigrant child. (Press materials)

Double Lover (Opens February 14)

Chloé (Marine Vacth), a fragile young woman, falls in love with her psychoanalyst, Paul (Jérémie Renier). A few months later she moves in with him, but soon discovers that her lover is concealing a part of his identity. (Press materials)

Tehran Taboo (Opens February 14)

In this gorgeously animated drama, the lives of several strong-willed women and a young musician intersect. Their stories reveal the hypocrisies of modern Iranian society, where sex, drugs, and corruption coexist with strict religious law. In the bustling metropolis of Tehran, avoiding prohibitions has become an everyday sport and breaking taboos can be a means of personal emancipation. Nevertheless, women invariably end up on the bottom rung of the social order. A young woman needs an operation to “restore” her virginity. A judge in the Islamic Revolutionary Court exhorts favors from a prostitute in exchange for a favorable ruling. And the wife of an imprisoned drug addict is denied the divorce she needs in order to live independently. (Press materials)

Monster Family — Co-Written by Catharina Junk and Kirstie Falkous (Also Available on VOD)

The Wishbone family is far from happy. With a struggling bookshop, an overworked husband, and two misunderstood teenagers, Emma (Emily Watson) is at her wit’s end trying to be the perfect mom. After dragging her family to a costume party on Halloween night, they are cursed by an evil witch and transformed into a Vampire, a Mummy, a Werewolf, and Frankenstein’s monster. Now Emma will fight to keep her Monster Family together and uncover the secret of their curse — eventually leading them to the Prince of Darkness himself, Dracula! (Press materials)

Films About Women Currently Playing

Winchester
A Fantastic Woman
Scorched Earth (Also Available on VOD)
Please Stand By (Also Available on VOD)
Like Me
Desolation
Mary and the Witch’s Flower — Co-Written by Riko Sakaguchi
Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba (Documentary)
Ridge Runners
The Post — Co-Written by Liz Hannah
Proud Mary
Vazante — Co-Written and Directed by Daniela Thomas
Pitch Perfect 3 — Directed by Trish Sie; Co-Written by Kay Cannon
In the Fade
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Insidious: The Last Key
In Between — Written and Directed by Maysaloun Hamoud
Molly’s Game
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water — Co-Written by Vanessa Taylor
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Alexandra Dean
The Breadwinner — Directed by Nora Twomey; Written by Anita Doron and Deborah Ellis
Big Sonia (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Leah Warshawski
Thelma
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Lady Bird — Written and Directed by Greta Gerwig
Novitiate — Written and Directed by Margaret Betts
Jane (Documentary)
The Florida Project

Films Directed By Women Opening This Week

None.

Films Directed By Women Currently Playing

Forever My Girl — Written and Directed by Bethany Ashton Wolf
Freak Show — Directed by Trudie Styler; Co-Written by Beth Rigazio (Also Available on VOD)
Goldbuster — Directed by Sandra Kwan Yue Ng
The Party — Written and Directed by Sally Potter (UK)
Faces Places (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Agnès Varda
Loving Vincent — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Dorota Kobiela

Films Written By Women Opening This Week

“The 15:17 to Paris”: Warner Bros. Pictures

The 15:17 to Paris — Written by Dorothy Blyskal

In the early evening of August 21, 2015, the world watched in stunned silence as the media reported a thwarted terrorist attack on Thalys train #9364 bound for Paris — an attempt prevented by three courageous young Americans traveling through Europe. The film follows the course of the friends’ lives, from the struggles of childhood through finding their footing in life, to the series of unlikely events leading up to the attack. Throughout the harrowing ordeal, their friendship never wavers, making it their greatest weapon and allowing them to save the lives of the more than 500 passengers on board. (Press materials)

Films Written By Women Currently Playing

Before We Vanish — Co-Written by Sachiko Tanaka
The Music of Silence — Co-Written by Anna Pavignano (Also Available on VOD)
The Insult — Co-Written by Joëlle Touma
The Greatest Showman — Co-Written by Jenny Bicks

TV Premieres This Week

“Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars”: AccuSoft Inc.

Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars (Documentary) — Directed by Lili Fini Zanuck (Premieres February 10 on Showtime)

From an early age, Eric Clapton was captivated by the blues. As he says of his lifelong fascination: “It was always one man with his guitar versus the world. He was completely alone and had no options other than to just sing and play to ease his pain.” In this unflinching and deeply personal documentary, Lili Fini Zanuck traces Clapton’s five-decade career as he reflects candidly on how his life experiences were channeled into music. Through an extensive archive of performances and home movies, along with audio interviews from those who knew him best — George Harrison and Steve Winwood, among others — we come away with a deeper sense of what inspired the legendary musician and his unforgettable work. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Lili Fini Zanuck.

Behind the Movement (TV Movie) — Written by Katrina O’Gilvie (Premieres February 11 on TV One)

“Behind the Movement” is a unique and fast-paced retelling of how Rosa Parks’ (Meta Golding) refusal to give up her seat launched the history-making Montgomery Bus Boycott. The film will reveal the untold story of how a group of everyday people decided this incident was the right time to take a stand for their civil rights and demand equal treatment. (Press materials)

Private Eyes — Co-Created by Shelley Eriksen (Premieres February 11 on ION)

Ex-pro hockey player Matt Shade (Jason Priestley) irrevocably changes his life when he decides to team up with fierce P.I. Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson) to form an unlikely investigative powerhouse. Through their new partnership, Shade is forced to examine who he has become and who he wants to be. Ongoing episodes find Shade and Angie investigating high-stakes crimes in the worlds of horse racing, fine dining, Toronto’s vibrant hip-hop scene, scandalous literature, magic clubs, and more. (Press materials)

The Radical Story of Patty Hearst (Documentary Special) (Premieres February 11 on CNN)

“The Radical Story of Patty Hearst”: CNN

The transformation of Patty Hearst from kidnapped heiress to terrorist is a saga of privilege, celebrity, and violence that gripped the nation. Over 40 years later, firsthand accounts shed light on one of the most bizarre stories in modern American history. This six-part documentary series includes unprecedented access to Patty’s comrades and confidants and explores who Patty Hearst really is: victim or villain? (Press materials)

Atomic Homefront (Documentary) — Directed by Rebecca Cammisa (Premieres February 12 on HBO)

“Atomic Homefront” exposes the lasting toxic effects nuclear waste can have on communities. Focusing on a group of moms-turned-advocates in St. Louis and filmed over the course of three years beginning in 2014, the documentary looks at two communities seeking answers from corporations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other government agencies. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Rebecca Cammisa.

This Close — Co-Created and Co-Written by Shoshannah Stern (Premieres February 14 on Sundance Now)

An original dramedy about the lives of two deaf best friends. Kate (Shoshannah Stern) is newly engaged and Michael (Josh Feldman) is attempting to move on from his ex-fiance. Together the two navigate the difficulties and beauty of being deaf in this world. (Press materials)

Stargate Origins — Directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan (Premieres February 15 on Stargate Command)

Young Catherine Langford (Ellie Gall) embarks on an unexpected adventure to unlock the mystery of what lies beyond the Stargate in order to save the Earth from darkness. (Press materials)

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