Weekly Update for September 8: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Home Again — Written and Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer

“Home Again” stars Reese Witherspoon as Alice Kinney in a modern romantic comedy. Recently separated from her husband (Michael Sheen), Alice decides to start over by moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles with her two young daughters. During a night out on her 40th birthday, Alice meets three aspiring filmmakers who happen to be in need of a place to live. Alice agrees to let the guys stay in her guest house temporarily, but the arrangement ends up unfolding in unexpected ways. Alice’s unlikely new family and new romance comes to a crashing halt when her ex-husband shows up, suitcase in hand. “Home Again” is a story of love, friendship, and the families we create. And one very big life lesson: Starting over is not for beginners. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

Lipstick Under My Burkha — Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava; Written by Alankrita Shrivastava, Suhani Kanwar, and Gazal Dhaliwal (Opens in NY and LA)

Set in the crowded lanes of small town India, a burkha-clad college girl (Plabita Borthakur) struggles with issues of cultural identity and her aspirations to be a pop singer. A young two-timing beautician (Aahana Kumra) seeks to escape the claustrophobia of her small town. An oppressed housewife and mother of three (Konkona Sen Sharma) lives the alternate life of an enterprising saleswoman. And a 55-year-old widow (Ratna Pathak Shah) rediscovers her sexuality through a phone romance. Trapped in their worlds, they claim their desires through secret acts of rebellion. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Alankrita Shrivastava.

Find screening info here.

Motherland (Documentary) — Directed by Ramona S. Diaz (Opens in NY; Opens September 22 in LA)

“Motherland” takes us into the heart of the planet’s busiest maternity hospital in one of the world’s poorest and most populous countries: the Philippines. The film’s viewer, like an unseen outsider dropped unobtrusively into the hospital’s stream of activity, passes through hallways, enters rooms, and listens in on conversations. At first, the surrounding people are strangers, but as the film continues, it’s absorbingly intimate, rendering the women at the heart of the story increasingly familiar. In a hospital that is literally bursting with life, we witness the miracle and wonder of the human condition. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Ramona S. Diaz.

Find screening info here.

Year by the Sea (Opens in NY; Opens September 15 in LA)

After 30 years as a wife and mother, an empty nester (Karen Allen) retreats to Cape Cod rather than follow her relocated husband (Michael Cristofer) to Kansas. Intent to rediscover herself but plagued with guilt, she questions her decision until stumbling upon a spirited mentor (Celia Imrie). Supported by her literary agent (S. Epatha Merkerson) and a host of locals, including a sexy fisherman (Yannick Bisson), our heroine learns to embrace the ebb and flow of life — ultimately discovering the balance between self and sacrifice, obligation and desire. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Karen Allen.

Find screening info here.

The Unknown Girl

Adèle Haenel stars as Jenny Davin, a talented doctor who refuses to open the door of her practice to a mysterious late-night caller. The next morning, she learns that the caller was a girl who has been found dead, and that the police have no way to identify her. Shocked and guilt-stricken by the news, Jenny resolves to discover the name of the young girl so that she will not be buried anonymously — so that she won’t disappear as if she had never lived. (Press materials)

Fallen — Co-Written by Kathryn Price and Nichole Millard (Also Available on VOD)

“Fallen”: Destination Films and Vertical Entertainment

Luce (Addison Timlin) is just an ordinary teen girl until a shocking accident sends her to a mysterious reform school for misfit and eclectic teenagers. There, she meets two students, Daniel (Jeremy Irvine) and Cam (Harrison Gilbertson). Torn between the instant electrifying connection she feels with Daniel and the attracting force of Cam, Luce is quickly pulled into a passionate love triangle. As she tries to piece together deeply fragmented memories, she is left with a feeling of undeniable longing for her one true love. The revelation of a love story that has been going on for centuries will shatter the boundaries between heaven and earth. (Press materials)

Anti Matter (Also Available on VOD)

“Anti Matter” is a sci-fi noir take on the “Alice in Wonderland” tale. Ana (Yaiza Figueroa), an Oxford PhD student, finds herself unable to build new memories following an experiment to generate and travel through a wormhole. The story follows her increasingly desperate efforts to understand what happened, and to find out who — or what — is behind the rising horror in her life. (Press materials)

Twenty Two (Documentary)

“Twenty Two” follows the lives of the elderly survivors who were forced into sex slavery as “Comfort Women” by the Japanese during World War II. At the time of filming, only 22 of these women were still alive to tell their story; through their own personal histories and perspectives, they tell a tale that should never be forgotten to generations unaware of the brutalization that occurred. (Press materials)

Napping Princess

The year is 2020, three days before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics. While she should be studying for her exams, Kokone Morikawa (voiced by Mitsuki Takahata) is often dozing off, stuck between reality and a dream world full of fantastic, motorized contraptions. But after her father, a talented but mysterious mechanic, is arrested for stealing technology from a powerful corporation, it’s up to Kokone and her childhood friend Morio (voiced by Chris Niosi) to save him. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

#REALITYHIGH — Co-Written by Jana Savage (Available on Netflix)

When nerdy high schooler Dani (Nesta Cooper) finally attracts the interest of her longtime crush, she lands in the cross hairs of his ex, a social media celebrity. (Press materials)

Heroin(e) (Documentary) — Directed by Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Available on Netflix September 12)

This documentary follows three women — a fire chief, a judge, and a street missionary — as they battle West Virginia’s devastating opioid epidemic. (Press materials)

Beach Massacre at Kill Devil Hills (Opens September 12)

A young woman retreats to her parent’s summer beach home with her friends on the weekend her abusive ex-husband is released from prison, but their idyllic getaway is short-lived. (Press materials)

Clowntergeist (Opens September 12) (Also Available on VOD)

Emma (Brittany Belland), a college student with a crippling fear of clowns, must come face to face with her worst fear when an evil spirit in the body of a clown is summoned. (Press materials)

Films About Women Currently Playing

The Vault (Also Available on VOD)
Dalida — Written and Directed by Lisa Azuelos
Kill Me Please — Written and Directed by Anita Rocha Da Silveira
Heat and Dust (Theatrical Re-Release) — Written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Unlocked (Also Available on VOD)
The Layover
Dolores (Documentary)
Tulip Fever
Served Like a Girl (Documentary) — Co-Written and Directed by Lysa Heslov
Polina — Written and Co-Directed by Valérie Müller
Leap! — Co-Written by Carol Noble
Unleashed (Also Available on VOD)
The Villainess
The Teacher
Whitney: Can I Be Me (Documentary)
Marjorie Prime
Patti Cake$
The Glass Castle
Ingrid Goes West
Annabelle: Creation
Once Upon a Time
A Life in Waves (Documentary)
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
Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge — Directed by Marie Noelle; Written by Marie Noelle and Andrea Stoll
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
Paris Can Wait — Written and Directed by Eleanor Coppola
Hidden Figures — Co-Written by Allison Schroeder

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

Trophy (Documentary) — Co-Directed Christina Clusiau (Opens in NY and LA)

This in-depth look into the powerhouse industries of big-game hunting, breeding, and wildlife conservation in the U.S. and Africa unravels the complex consequences of treating animals as commodities. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Christina Clusiau.

Find screening info here.

School Life (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Neasa Ní Chianáin (Opens in NY and LA) (Also Available on VOD)

This observational documentary follows a year in the lives of two inspirational teachers at Headfort, the only primary-age boarding school in Ireland. Housed in an 18th century estate, school life embraces tradition and modernity. For John, rock music is just another subject alongside Maths, Scripture, and Latin, taught in a collaborative and often hilarious fashion. For his wife, Amanda, the key to connecting with children is the book, and she uses all means to snare the young minds. For nearly half a century these two have shaped thousands of minds, but now the unthinkable looms: What would retirement mean? What will keep them young if they leave? (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Company Town (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Natalie Kottke-Masocco and Erica Sardarian

“Company Town” is an investigative documentary following one man’s mission to save his town in Crossett, Arkansas, polluted by Georgia-Pacific, one of the nation’s largest paper and chemical plants and owned by Charles Koch and David Koch. They produce Brawny paper towels, Angel Soft toilet paper, and Dixie cups. Neighbors work for the mill and are sick with cancer. “Company Town” represents hidden towns across America battling illness and pollution by Big Business. (Press materials)

Nobody’s Watching — Directed by Julia Solomonoff; Written by Julia Solomonoff and Christina Lazaridi

Nico (Guillermo Pfening) was a successful actor with a bright future in Argentina. Now living in New York City and struggling to get by doing odd jobs, he has to balance his old glamorous image with his new circumstances when friends from Buenos Aires come to visit. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Julia Solomonoff.

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

Spettacolo (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Chris Shellen
I Do… Until I Don’t — Written and Directed by Lake Bell
Viceroy’s House — Written and Directed by Gurinder Chadha; Co-Written by Moira Buffini
Beach Rats — Written and Directed by Eliza Hittman
Lemon — Co-Written and Directed by Janicza Bravo (Also Available on VOD)
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

The Limehouse Golem — Written by Jane Goldman (Also Available on VOD)

The city of London is gripped with fear as a serial killer — dubbed The Limehouse Golem — is on the loose and leaving cryptic messages written in his victims’ blood. With few leads and increasing public pressure, Scotland Yard assigns the case to Inspector Kildare (Bill Nighy) — a seasoned detective with a troubled past and a sneaking suspicion he’s being set up to fail. Faced with a long list of suspects, including music hall star Dan Leno (Douglas Booth), Kildare must get help from a witness who has legal troubles of her own (Olivia Cooke) so he can stop the murders and bring the killer to justice. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

Second Nature — Co-Written by J.C. Ford (One Week Only in Seattle)

One woman (Collette Wolfe) fighting the odds. One womanizer (Sam Huntington) on a winning ticket. One magic mirror to turn it all around. In the small town of Louisburg, the most unusual mayor’s race is about to go down. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

True to the Game — Written by Nia Hill

Based on Terri Woods’ best-selling novel, “True to the Game” is the love story of Quadir Richards (Columbus Short), a charismatic drug lord, and Gena Rollins (Erica Peeples), a young girl from the projects of Philly. (Press materials)

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

Extraordinary — Co-Written by Cheryl McKay
Logan Lucky — Written by Rebecca Blunt
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

TV Premieres This Week

“Top of the Lake: China Girl”: Lisa Tomasetti/SundanceTV/See-Sa

Greenhouse Academy — Co-Written by Paula Yoo (Premieres September 8 on Netflix)

“Greenhouse Academy”: Ronen Akerman / Netflix

“Greenhouse Academy” is a live action, suspenseful drama series set in an elite boarding school in Southern California called “The Greenhouse.” Students are divided into two rival houses that must join forces to conquer challenges when an evil plot is uncovered. (Press materials)

Top of the Lake: China Girl — Co-Created, Co-Written, and Co-Directed by Jane Campion (Premieres September 10 on SundanceTV)

“China Girl” serves as the follow-up to Jane Campion’s acclaimed 2013 miniseries. Star Elisabeth Moss returns as Detective Robin Griffin — joined by Nicole Kidman and “Game of Thrones’” Gwendoline Christie — for a new mystery that takes place in Sydney, Australia, where the body of an Asian girl washes up on the beach. The six-hour miniseries will air across three consecutive nights, with additional chapters on September 11 and 12. (Press materials)

Newton’s Law — Created by Deborah Cox and Fiona Eagger (Premieres September 11 on Acorn TV)

The “Upstairs Downstairs” of legal dramas follows Josephine Newton (Claudia Karvan) as she juggles the high-powered barrister’s world of Knox Chambers and the haphazard legal tangles of her former solicitor’s office. (Press materials)

Riviera (Premieres September 14 on Sundance Now)

This intoxicating thriller follows the moral descent of American art dealer Georgina Clios (Julia Stiles), whose idyllic life is shattered when her billionaire husband (Iwan Rheon) is killed in mysterious circumstances. But his death leads Georgina into the shadowy, criminal underworld that lurks beneath dazzling fortunes. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

Beatriz at Dinner (VOD/DVD, September 12)
Buena Vista Social Club: Adios (Documentary) — Directed by Lucy Walker (DVD, September 12)
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City (DVD, September 12)
Fun Mom Dinner — Directed by Alethea Jones; Written by Julie Rudd (DVD/VOD, September 12)
The Hatred (DVD, September 12)
I Love You Both — Co-Written by Kristin Archibald (DVD, September 12)
Strange Weather — Written and Directed by Katherine Dieckmann (DVD, September 12)