Weekly Update for May 4: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Angels Wear White — Written and Directed by Vivian Qu (Opens in NY; Opens in LA May 18)

In a small seaside town, two schoolgirls are assaulted by a middle-aged man in a motel. Mia (Vicky Chen), a teenager who was working at reception that night, is the only witness. For fear of losing her job, she says nothing. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Wen (Meijun Zhou), one of the victims, finds that her troubles have only just begun. Trapped in a world that offers them no safety, Mia and Wen will have to find their own way out. (Press materials)

Tully — Written by Diablo Cody

Marlo (Charlize Theron), a mother of three including a newborn, is gifted a night nanny by her brother (Mark Duplass). Hesitant to the extravagance at first, Marlo comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully (Mackenzie Davis). (Press materials)

Find screening info and tickets here.

RBG (Documentary) — Directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen

At the age of 84, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But without a definitive Ginsburg biography, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior’s rise to the nation’s highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans — until now. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Betsy West and Julie Cohen.

Find screening info here.

The Desert Bride — Written and Directed by Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato (Opens in NY; Opens in LAMay 11)

Fifty-four-year-old Teresa (Paulina García) has worked for decades as a live-in maid with a family in Buenos Aires. When the family sells the house, she is forced to take a job in the distant town of San Juan. Although feeling uncomfortable with traveling, she embarks on a journey through the desert. During her first stop, in the land of the miraculous “Saint Correa,” she loses her bag with all her belongings. This unexpected incident leads her to cross paths with El Gringo (Claudio Rissi), a traveling salesman and the only person who can help Teresa find her bag. What seemed like the end of her world will ultimately prove her salvation. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato.

Find screening info here.

Everything Else — Written and Directed by Natalia Almada (Opens in NY)

“Everything Else” explores the interior life of Doña Flor (Adriana Barraza), a 63-year-old bureaucrat living in Mexico City, as she awakens from her bureaucratic malaise, and yearns to become visible again. Inspired by Hannah Arendt’s idea that bureaucratic dehumanization is a brutal form of violence, the story ultimately becomes a mesmerizing contemplation on solitude. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Natalia Almada.

Find screening info here.

The Guardians — Co-Written by Marie-Julie Maille and Frédérique Moreau (Opens in NY; Opens in LAMay 11)

1915. The men are at the front, and the women must take on the role of guardians of the farms. A mother, Hortense (Nathalie Baye), a tireless worker, hires Francine (Iris Bry), a young orphan from welfare services to support her, because her own daughter is reluctant to obey. Mutual respect and admiration flourish between Hortense and Francine. But to save the unity of her family, Hortense will have to sacrifice this girl, and pay the price. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc

France, 1425. In the midst of the Hundred Years’ War, the young Jeannette (Lise Leplat Prudhomme), at the still tender age of 8, looks after her sheep in the small village of Domremy. One day, she tells her friend Hauviette how she cannot bear to see the suffering caused by the English. Madame Gervaise, a nun, tries to reason with the young girl, but Jeannette is ready to take up arms for the salvation of souls and the liberation of the Kingdom of France. Carried by her faith, she will become Joan of Arc. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Films About Women Currently Playing

Duck Butter — Co-Written by Alia Shawkat (Also Available on VOD)
Ava — Written and Directed by Sadaf Foroughi
Kings — Written and Directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Let the Sunshine In — Directed by Claire Denis; Written by Claire Denis and Christine Angot (Also Available on VOD)
Disobedience — Co-Written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Little Pink House — Written and Directed by Courtney Moorehead Balaker
I Feel Pretty — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Abby Kohn
Lou Andreas-Salomé: The Audacity to be Free — Directed by Cordula Kablitz-Post; Written by by Cordula Kablitz-Post and Susanne Hertel
After Auschwitz (Documentary)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (UK)
Funny Cow (UK)
Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (Documentary) — Directed by Sophie Fiennes
The Judge (Documentary) — Directed by Erika Cohn
This Is Our Land
The Miracle Season — Co-Written by Elissa Matsueda
Where Is Kyra? — Written by Darci Picoult
Pandas
Gemini
Finding Your Feet — Co-Written by Meg Leonard
Acrimony
Tomb Raider — Co-Written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet
Unsane
Midnight Sun
Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (Documentary) — Directed by Lorna Tucker (UK)
I Got Life! — Co-Written and Directed by Blandine Lenoir (UK)
Mary Magdalene — Written by Helen Edmundson and Philippa Goslett (UK)
A Wrinkle in Time — Directed by Ava DuVernay; Written by Jennifer Lee
Claire’s Camera
Red Sparrow
Oh Lucy! — Written and Directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi
Dark River — Written and Directed by Clio Barnard (UK)
Tehran Taboo
A Fantastic Woman
The Post — Co-Written by Liz Hannah
In Between — Written and Directed by Maysaloun Hamoud
The Shape of Water — Co-Written by Vanessa Taylor
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Alexandra Dean
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

Altered Perception — Directed by Kate Rees Davies

A drug that alters perceptions during trauma and stress is being advertised as a cure for socio-political tensions. Several couples volunteer for human trials but end up with more than they bargained for. (Press materials)

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

“You Were Never Really Here”: Alison Cohen Rosa/Amazon

Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story (Documentary) — Directed by Ashley Bell; Co-Written by Ashley Bell and Fernanda Rossi
The Rider — Written and Directed by Chloé Zhao
Zama — Written and Directed by Lucrecia Martel
You Were Never Really Here — Written and Directed by Lynne Ramsay
Blockers — Directed by Kay Cannon
Outside In — Co-Written and Directed by Lynn Shelton (Also Available on VOD)
Keep the Change — Written and Directed by Rachel Israel
Itzhak (Documentary) — Directed by Alison Chernick
The Party — Written and Directed by Sally Potter
Forever My Girl — Written and Directed by Bethany Ashton Wolf

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

Alex & The List — Co-Written by Kristen D’Alessio (Also Available on VOD)

Alex (Patrick Fugit), a lovable, unassuming dog trainer is in love with a great woman, Katherine (Jennifer Morrison) — smart, talented, and from a good family. Katherine adores Alex’s quirky sense of humor, honesty, and capacity to listen. Having decided to pop the question, Alex is blindsided when Katherine produces a detailed list of well-thought-out “improvements” she feels will tweak Alex on their way to becoming the ideal couple. Alex instinctively rejects the suggestion that he needs to change anything. But with the threat of a new competitor, Alex decides to “do the list.” Guided by a coterie of friends, Alex’s journey has him reconsider and question his beliefs, values, and world. (Press materials)

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

“In the Last Days of the City”: Big World Pictures

In the Last Days of the City — Co-Written by Rasha Salti
Truth or Dare — Co-Written by Jillian Jacobs
Pacific Rim Uprising — Co-Written by Kira Snyder and Emily Carmichael
Ismael’s Ghosts — Co-Written by Léa Mysius and Julie Peyr
A Bag of Marbles — Co-Written by Alexandra Geismar
Love, Simon — Co-Written by Elizabeth Berger
The Leisure Seeker — Co-Written by Francesca Archibugi
The Greatest Showman — Co-Written by Jenny Bicks

TV Premieres This Week

A Little Help with Carol Burnett — Created by Carol Burnett (Premieres May 4 on Netflix)

Carol Burnett is back. In this funny and endearing series, she will be joined by a group of the most honest and unfiltered people in the world — a gaggle of straight talking, entertaining five to nine-year-old kids. These very opinionated “experts” weigh-in on a variety of relatable and humorous dilemmas brought in by everyday adults. Each episode will feature a celebrity contributor brave enough to bring in their own dilemma for the kids to comment on in front of a live audience. (Press materials)

Diablo Guardián (Premieres May 5 on Amazon)

Based on Xavier Velasco’s award-winning novel, Diablo Guardián tells the story of Violetta (Paulina Gaitan), a young woman who flees her native Mexico to start anew in New York City. But instead of a living a dream, Violetta is awoken to a harsh reality when she runs out of money, sending her into the arms of the villainous Nefastófeles. (Press materials)

Sweetbitter — Created by Stephanie Danler (Premieres May 6 on Starz)

“Sweetbitter” tells the story of Tess (Ella Purnell), a 22-year-old who arrives in New York City ready to pursue a new life. When she finds herself interviewing for a position at one of the best restaurants in the city, she thinks she’s found a steady income and a safe place to wait. But Tess is quickly intoxicated by the chaotic, adrenalized world behind-the-scenes, tasting expensive wine, exploring dive bars, and learning who she can trust. Based on Stephanie Danler’s novel of the same name. (Press materials)

Vida — Created by Tanya Saracho (Premieres May 6 on Starz)

“Vida” is a half-hour drama series focusing on two Mexican-American sisters from the Eastside of Los Angeles who couldn’t be more different or distanced from each other. Circumstances force them to return to their old neighborhood, where they are confronted by the past and surprising truth about their mother’s identity. (Press materials)

Keeping Faith — Co-Directed by Pip Broughton (Premieres May 7 on Acorn TV)

Fun-loving Faith Howells (Eve Myles) is drawn into a mystery when her husband and business partner, Evan (Bradley Freegard), disappears. He leaves for work, but never arrives. His sudden absence strikes deep into the heart of this tiny Welsh community and forces Faith to come back from extended maternity leave to defend a hopeless vagrant on shoplifting charges. As increasingly-desperate Faith searches for clues, she discovers new revelations about Evan’s private life and questions how well she really knows the man she loves. (Press materials)

A Dangerous Son (Documentary) — Directed by Liz Garbus (Premieres May 7 on HBO)

One in 10 American children suffer from serious emotional disturbance and more than 17 million have experienced a psychiatric disorder. “A Dangerous Son” focuses on three families in crisis, each struggling with a child’s severe mental illness while desperately seeking treatment in the face of limited resources and support; exposing cracks in a system that fails too many families, with potentially devastating consequences for the child or for others. (Press materials)

Motherland — Co-Created by Sharon Horgan, Helen Linehan, and Holly Walsh (Premieres May 10 on Sundance Now)

Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin) always wanted her kids to be brought up like she was — by her mother. But instead her mom has abandoned her, so now she is thrown head first into the Motherland, where it’s sink or swim. While she struggles with work and life she meets a full array of hands-on parents including the “Alpha Moms” headed by Amanda (Lucy Punch), who is the Queen Bee: everything is organized, vacuum-packed, and sterile — even the kitchen chalkboard is a statement of success. At the other end of the spectrum is single mom Liz (Diane Morgan), who is low energy but full of life hacks. She has learned to do things her way. Then there’s Kevin (Paul Ready). He’s the stay-at-home Dad who embraces the Motherland with gusto — much to the irritation of the other mothers. (Press materials)