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

Films About Women Opening This Week

A Wrinkle in Time — Directed by Ava DuVernay; Written by Jennifer Lee

A reimagining of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic novel that takes Meg Murry (Storm Reid) and her brilliant brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), along with their friend Calvin (Levi Miller), on an unexpected journey into alternate dimensions on a mission to bring home their father (Chris Pine). Traveling via a wrinkling of time and space known as “tessering,” they are soon transported to worlds beyond their imagination where they must confront a powerful evil. To make it back home to Earth, Meg must look deep within herself, and embrace her flaws to harness the strength necessary to defeat the darkness closing in on them. (Press materials)

Find screening info and tickets here.

Thoroughbreds

Childhood friends Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Amanda (Olivia Cooke) reconnect in suburban Connecticut after years of growing apart. Lily has turned into a polished, upper-class teenager, with a fancy boarding school on her transcript, and a coveted internship on her resume; Amanda has developed a sharp wit and her own particular attitude but all in the process of becoming a social outcast. Though they initially seem completely at odds, the pair bond over Lily’s contempt for her oppressive stepfather, Mark (Paul Sparks), and as their friendship grows, they begin to bring out one another’s most destructive tendencies. Their ambitions lead them to hire a local hustler, Tim (Anton Yelchin), and take matters into their own hands to set their lives straight. (Press materials)

Find screening info and tickets here.

Meditation Park — Written and Directed by Mina Shum (Opens in Canada) (Also Available on Netflix)

Devoted wife and mother, 60-year-old Maria Wang’s (Cheng Pei Pei) life is altered when she discovers an orange thong in her husband’s pants pocket, forcing her to confront how powerless she truly is. Her efforts to find out the truth send her on an unexpected journey of liberation. (Press materials)

Claire’s Camera (Opens in NY)

Claire (Isabelle Huppert) is a school teacher with a camera (that might be magical), on her first visit to the Cannes Film Festival. She happens upon a film sales assistant, Manhee (Kim Minhee), recently laid off after a one-night stand with a film director (Jung Jinyoung). Together, this unlikely pair become detectives of sorts, as they wander around the seaside resort town, working to better understand the circumstances of Manhee’s firing — and developing new outlooks on life in the process. (Press materials)

Girls vs Gangsters — Co-Written and Directed by Chun-Chun Wong (Opens in NY and LA)

A wild bachelorette weekend in a foreign city spins hilariously out of control. After a drinking contest with some questionable local spirits, three friends (Ivy Chen, Fiona Sit, and Ning Chang) wake up naked on a beach to discover two are handcuffed to a locked suitcase, one has a strange new tattoo, and none of them have any clue what happened the night before. When they soon find themselves pursued by local gangsters, their only shot at making it home — and to the altar — is to piece together the previous night’s events while on the run. (Press materials)

Los Angeles Overnight (Opens in LA)

“Los Angeles Overnight”: High Noon Films

After years of futile struggle on LA’s grueling audition circuit, would-be actress Priscilla Anders (Arielle Brachfeld) is bitterly contemplating a permanent return to her humdrum hometown — until one fateful morning in the diner where she waitresses. When Priscilla overhears seedy regulars discuss a bizarre riddle that hints at hidden loot, she recruits the lovelorn mechanic Benny (Azim Rizk) to help crack the code that could fund her Hollywood ambitions. But as the pair encounter a host of colorful-but-dangerous criminals it becomes clear the loot is hot, hefty, and blood-soaked. (Press materials)

Films About Women Currently Playing

Red Sparrow
Oh Lucy! — Written and Directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi
Dance Academy: The Movie — Written by Samantha Strauss
Don’t Talk to Irene (Also Available on VOD)
The Lullaby — Written by Tarryn-Tanille Prinsloo (Also Available on VOD)
Gnome Alone — Co-Written by Zina Zaflow
Annihilation
Dark River — Written and Directed by Clio Barnard (UK)
Hannah
Finding Your Feet — Co-Written by Meg Leonard (UK)
November
The Boy Downstairs — Written and Directed by Sophie Brooks
The Silent Child (Short) — Written by Rachel Shenton
Heroin(e) (Short Documentary) — Directed by Elaine McMillion Sheldon
Traffic Stop (Short Documentary) — Directed by Kate Davis
Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (Short Documentary)
La Boda de Valentina — Co-Written by Issa López
Double Lover
Tehran Taboo
Winchester
A Fantastic Woman
Mary and the Witch’s Flower — Co-Written by Riko Sakaguchi
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
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Lady Bird — Written and Directed by Greta Gerwig
Jane (Documentary)
The Florida Project

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

Itzhak (Documentary) — Directed by Alison Chernick (Opens in NY; Opens in LA March 16)

From Shubert to Strauss, Bach to Brahms, Mozart to… Billy Joel, Itzhak Perlman’s violin playing transcends mere performance to evoke the celebrations and struggles of real life. This enchanting documentary looks beyond the sublime musician to see the polio survivor whose parents emigrated from Poland to Israel, and the young man who struggled to be taken seriously as a music student when schools saw only his disability. As charming and entrancing as the famous violinist himself, “Itzhak” is a portrait of musical virtuosity seamlessly enclosed in warmth, humor, and above all, love. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Alison Chernick.

Find screening info here.

Viva Kino! (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Lia Beltrami

Riding through the missions founded by a Jesuit in the 17th century, Maria, a young Rodeo instructor, discovers the origins of the devotion spread throughout Mexico and the United States to Father Kino, recognized as the founder of Arizona. (Press materials)

Our Blood Is Wine (Documentary) — Directed by Emily Railsback (Opens in LA)

Filmmaker Emily Railsback and award-winning sommelier Jeremy Quinn provide intimate access to rural family life in the Republic of Georgia as they explore the rebirth of 8,000-year-old winemaking traditions almost lost during the period of Soviet rule. By using unobtrusive iPhone technology, Railsback brings the voices and ancestral legacies of modern Georgians directly to the viewer, revealing an intricate and resilient society that has survived regular foreign invasion and repeated attempts to erase Georgian culture. The revival of traditional winemaking is the central force driving this powerful, independent, and autonomous nation to find its 21st century identity. (Press materials)

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

Werewolf — Written and Directed by Ashley McKenzie
The Party — Written and Directed by Sally Potter
Western — Written and Directed by Valeska Grisebach
Negative Space (Short Animation) — Co-Directed by Ru Kuwahata
Watu Wote: All of Us (Short) — Directed by Katja Benrath; Written by Julia Drache
Edith + Eddie (Short Documentary) — Directed by Laura Checkoway
Forever My Girl — Written and Directed by Bethany Ashton Wolf
Faces Places (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Agnès Varda

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

“The Leisure Seeker”: Sony Pictures Classics

The Leisure Seeker — Co-Written by Francesca Archibugi

Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland star as a runaway couple going on an unforgettable journey in the faithful old RV they call “The Leisure Seeker,” travelling from Boston to The Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West. They recapture their passion for life, and their love for each other, on a road trip that provides revelation and surprise right up to the very end. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Shining Moon — Co-Written by Victoria Wharfe McIntyre

A jobless gay actor is offered the dream role of a lifetime in a feature film, but he must play an elderly drag. He will be forced to overcome his fears and prejudices to better understand himself and others. (Press materials)

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

Eat Me — Written by Jacqueline Wright (Also Available on VOD)
The 15:17 to Paris — Written by Dorothy Blyskal
Before We Vanish — Co-Written by Sachiko Tanaka
The Insult — Co-Written by Joëlle Touma
The Greatest Showman — Co-Written by Jenny Bicks

TV Premieres This Week

Collateral (Miniseries) — Directed by S.J. Clarkson (Premieres March 9 on Netflix)

Investigating the murder of a pizza delivery man, a London detective (Carey Mulligan) uncovers a tangled conspiracy involving drug dealers, smugglers, and spies. (Press materials)

The Departure (Documentary) — Co-Written and Directed by Lana Wilson (Premieres March 11 on WORLD Channel)

Award-winning director Lana Wilson’s second film follows Ittetsu Nemoto who, after a youth filled with drinking and partying, was in a near fatal motorcycle accident. The accident made Ittetsu realize just how precious life was and he became a Zen Buddhist monk whose life’s work is to save people from committing suicide. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Lana Wilson.

Jane (Documentary) (Premieres March 12 on National Geographic)

Using a trove of unseen footage, “Jane” tells the story of Jane Goodall’s early explorations, focusing on her groundbreaking field work, her relationship with cameraman and husband Hugo van Lawick, and the chimpanzees that she studied. (Press materials)

100 Years (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Melinda Janko (Premieres March 13 on WORLD Channel)

“100 Years” is the compelling story of how Elouise Cobell, a petite Blackfeet warrior from Montana, and great-granddaughter of the legendary Mountain Chief, prevailed against the U.S Government. Elouise Cobell’s relentless pursuit of justice led her to find remedy for over half a million Native American account holders whose funds were held by the U.S. government in trust for a century. (Press materials)

Tabula Rasa — Created by Veerle Baetens and Malin-Sarah Gozin (Premieres March 15 on Netflix)

A psychological thriller about Mie (Veerle Baetens), a young woman with amnesia who is locked up in a secure psychiatric hospital. Mie is visited by Detective Inspector Wolkers (Gene Bervoets), who claims she was the last person seen with the vanished Thomas Spectre. As a witness and prime suspect, she appears to be the sole key in this mysterious disappearance. Mie can’t be released from the hospital until Thomas is found. In order to solve the puzzle and find Thomas, Mie has to reconstruct her lost memories and find her way back through the dark labyrinth of her recent past. The more she remembers, the more she starts to mistrust not only the people around her but also herself. Are these new memories real or mere figments of her imagination in a desperate attempt to fill in the blanks? (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

Nowhere in Africa — Written and Directed by Caroline Link (DVD, Available Now)
Smear (Short) — Directed by Kate Herron; Written by Kate Herron and Briony Redman (Vimeo, Available Now)
Children of the Corn: Runaway (VOD/DVD, March 13)
I, Tonya (VOD/DVD, March 13)
The Shape of Water — Co-Written by Vanessa Taylor (VOD/DVD, March 13)
Spettacolo (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Chris Shellen (DVD, March 13)