Weekly Update for May 11: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Breaking In

“Breaking In”

Gabrielle Union stars as a woman who will stop at nothing to rescue her two children being held hostage in a house designed with impenetrable security. No trap, no trick, and especially no man inside can match a mother with a mission when she is determined on breaking in. (Press materials)

Find screening info and tickets here.

Life of the Party – Co-Written by Melissa McCarthy

“Life of the Party”: Hopper Stone/Warner Bros.

When her husband suddenly dumps her, longtime dedicated housewife Deanna (Melissa McCarthy) turns regret into re-set by going back to college — landing in the same class and school as her daughter, who’s not entirely sold on the idea. Plunging headlong into the campus experience, the increasingly outspoken Deanna — now Dee Rock — embraces freedom, fun, and frat boys on her own terms, finding her true self in a senior year no one ever expected. (Press materials)

Find screening info and tickets here.

The Seagull (Opens in NY and LA)

“The Seagull”

An aging actress named Irina Arkadina (Annette Bening) pays summer visits to her brother Pjotr Nikolayevich Sorin (Brian Dennehy) and her son Konstantin (Billy Howle) on a country estate. On one occasion, she brings Boris Trigorin (Corey Stoll), a successful novelist, with her. Nina (Saoirse Ronan), a free and innocent girl on a neighboring estate, falls in love with Trigorin. Trigorin lightly consumes and rejects Nina, just as the actress all her life has consumed and rejected her son, who loves Nina. The victims are destroyed while the sophisticates continue on their way. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

The Escape (Opens in NY and LA) (Also Available on VOD)

“The Escape”

A woman sets out to reclaim her life in this stirring, emotionally rich look at what it means to start over. Tara (Gemma Arterton), a housewife and mother in suburban London, is living a life that is no longer hers: it belongs to her loving but overworked and self-absorbed husband (Dominic Cooper), her young son and daughter, and the numbing routine of housework and childcare. In desperate need of a change, Tara one day makes a bold decision. Armed with a one-way ticket to Paris, she leaves everything behind to rediscover herself in a new city — but walking out on your life isn’t so simple. (Press materials)

Revenge – Written and Directed by Coralie Fargeat (Also Available on VOD)

“Revenge”

Jen (Matilda Lutz) is enjoying a romantic getaway with her wealthy boyfriend which is suddenly disrupted when his sleazy friends arrive for an unannounced hunting trip. Tension mounts in the house until the situation abruptly — and viciously — intensifies, culminating in a shocking act that leaves Jen left for dead. Unfortunately for her assailants, Jen survives and reemerges with a relentless, wrathful intent: revenge. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Coralie Fargeat.

Beast

“Beast”

Moll (Jessie Buckley) is 27 and still living at home, stifled by the small island community around her and too beholden to her family to break away. When she meets Pascal (Johnny Flynn), a free-spirited stranger, a whole new world opens up to her and she begins to feel alive for the first time, falling madly in love. Finally breaking free from her family, Moll moves in with Pascal to start a new life. But when he is arrested as the key suspect in a series of brutal murders, she is left isolated and afraid. Choosing to stand with him against the suspicions of the community, Moll finds herself forced to make choices that will impact her life forever. (Press materials)

The Kissing Booth (Available on Netflix)

When Elle Evans (Joey King), a pretty late-bloomer who’s never-been-kissed, decides to run a kissing booth at her high school’s Spring Carnival, she unexpectedly finds herself locking lips with her secret crush — the ultimate bad boy, Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi). Sparks fly, but there’s one little problem: Noah just happens to be the brother of her best friend, Lee, (Joel Courtney) and is absolutely off limits according to the rules of their friendship pact. Elle’s life is turned upside down when she realizes that she must ultimately make a choice: follow the rules or follow her heart. (Press materials)

GRRRL: Beauty Is the Beast (Documentary) (Opens May 15)

“GRRRL” is a documentary film that promotes sisterhood and female body positivity. The film features 10 women with extraordinary stories of overcoming mental and physical traumas brought on by female body standards common in today’s society. “GRRRL” explores not only the problems but also reveals the driving forces behind them. (Press materials)

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

“Boom for Real”

Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat (Documentary) – Directed by Sara Driver

“Boom for Real” explores the pre-fame years of the celebrated American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and how New York City, its people, and tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970s and ’80s shaped his vision. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Mountain (Documentary) – Co-Written and Directed by Jennifer Peedom (Opens in NY; Opens in LA May 25)

“Mountain”

“Mountain” is a dazzling exploration of our obsession with mountains. Only three centuries ago, climbing a mountain would have been considered close to lunacy. The idea scarcely existed that wild landscapes might hold any sort of attraction. Peaks were places of peril, not beauty. Why, then, are we now drawn to mountains in our millions? “Mountain” shows us the spellbinding force of high places — and their ongoing power to shape our lives and our dreams. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

The Last Horsemen of New York (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Mary Haverstick (Available on VOD May 15)

“The Last Horsemen of New York” is a documentary feature that follows leaders of the horse carriage industry as they fight a mayor who has vowed to eliminate them on day one of his term. Cameras captured the struggle for 2 years, with the working class carriage drivers under assault from animal rights activists and politicos funded by billionaire real estate developers with an eye on the stables. Christina Hansen and Stephen Malone, the two industry spokespeople, are thrust by necessity into the limelight and find themselves in a bare knuckle brawl in a city known for political hardball. This saga has captured the headlines of every New York paper and launched investigations into the mayoral election and financing surrounding this issue. Joined by Liam Neeson, the carriage drivers and their horses remain on the street, but in a changing world the question remains: for how long? The film’s exploration of money and influence in elections is even more timely now than when filming began. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

What Haunts Us (Documentary) – Directed by Paige Tolmach (Opens in NY and LA)

“What Haunts Us”: Kennedy/Marshall Company & Matt Tolmach Productions

The 1979 class of Porter Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina graduated 49 boys. Within the last 35 years, six of them have died by suicide. When Paige Goldberg Tolmach gets word that another former student from her beloved high school has killed himself, she decides to take a deep dive into her past in order to uncover the surprising truth and finally release the ghosts that haunt her hometown to this day. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Paige Tolmach.

One October (Documentary) – Directed by Rachel Shuman; Written by Annie Bruno and Whitney Henry-Lester (Also Available on VOD)

“One October” is a lyrical time capsule that offers a window into the shifting heart of New York City. Filmed entirely in October of 2008, a time when gentrification is rapidly displacing the working and middle classes, Wall Street is plummeting, and Senator Obama is making his first presidential bid, the story begins with Clay Pigeon, an intrepid radio host who takes to the streets of New York City to talk to everyday citizens who are facing the uncertainty of change. “One October” charts the chasm between one’s desires and one’s means, explores the urgent need to conserve the old amid the glorification of the new, and affirms the notion that a varied streetscape is essential to the health of a dynamic metropolis. Seen from our current vantage point, the film is also a remarkable time capsule that foreshadows the roiling political upheaval spreading across the country today. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

American Dream: Detroit (Documentary) – Co-Directed by Christina Kline (May 15 Only)

“American Dream: Detroit” tells the story of Detroit’s greatest glory through its devastating downfall, and shines a bright light on the heroic commitments and community initiatives now being made to come back stronger than ever. This is the story of the American Dream. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

“Lu Over the Wall”

Lu Over the Wall – Co-Written by Reiko Yoshida

Kai (Shôta Shimoda) is talented but adrift, spending his days sulking in a small fishing village after his family moves from Tokyo. His only joy is uploading songs he writes to the internet. When his classmates invite him to play keyboard in their band, their practice sessions bring an unexpected guest: Lu (Christine Marie Cabanos), a young mermaid whose fins turn to feet when she hears the beats, and whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance — whether they want to or not. As Kai spends more time with Lu, he finds he is able to tell her what he is really thinking, and a bond begins to form. But since ancient times, the people in the village have believed that mermaids bring disaster and soon there is trouble between Lu and the townspeople, putting the town in grave danger. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

The Assassin’s Code – Co-Written by Valerie Grant (Also Available on VOD)

A rookie detective (Justin Chatwin), the son of a dead disgraced cop, works to solve his first major case while under the watchful eye of a ghost-like assassin (Peter Stormare). (Press materials)

Higher Power – Co-Written by Julia Fair (Also Available on VOD)

When the universe decides what it wants, it’s powerless to resist. With his family’s life at stake, Joseph Steadman (Ron Eldard) finds himself the unwilling test subject of a maniacal scientist in a battle that could save the world, or destroy it. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

TV Premieres This Week

“Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife”: Ken Woroner/Netflix

Evil Genius (Docuseries) – Co-Directed by Barbara Schroeder (Premieres May 11 on Netflix)

The truth behind an extraordinary criminal case, known as the “pizza bomber heist,” is brought to light in the four-part Netflix original documentary series “Evil Genius.” In 2003 in Erie, Pennsylvania, a robbery gone wrong and a terrifying public murder capture the nation’s attention, and a bizarre collection of Midwestern hoarders, outcasts, and lawbreakers play cat-and-mouse with the FBI. Eventually, a middle-aged mastermind named Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong — once a town beauty, now a woman grappling with mental illness — is arrested. But 15 years later, “Evil Genius” proves there’s more to the conspiracy and murders than was ever thought. (Press materials)

Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife (Comedy Special) – Written by Ali Wong (Premieres May 13 on Netflix)

Two years after giving birth to her daughter, a very pregnant Ali Wong returns to Netflix in her second original stand-up comedy special, “Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife.” The always unapologetic and nasty first time mom gets real on why having kids is not all it’s cracked up to be, including the challenges of breastfeeding, balancing family and career post-pregnancy, and why all women deserve three years of paid maternity leave. (Press materials)

Little Women (Miniseries) – Directed by Vanessa Caswill; Written by Heidi Thomas (Premieres May 13 on PBS)

“Little Women”

Loved by generations of women worldwide, “Little Women” is a truly universal coming of age story. Set against the backdrop of the Civil War, the story follows sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March (Maya Hawke, Willa Fitzgerald, Annes Elwy, and Kathryn Newton) on their journey from childhood to adulthood. With the help of their mother, Marmee (Emily Watson), and while their father is away at war, the girls navigate what it means to be a young woman: from sibling rivalry and first love, to loss and marriage. (Press materials)

Girl Power! (Documentary Special) – Narrated by Chinasa Ogbuagu (Premieres May 13 on Nat Geo Wild)

Watch as females lead their armies into battle, dominate the mating game, defend their babies to the death, and of course, when the mood strikes them, bite their lovers’ heads off. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

“The Honor List”

The Honor List – Directed by Elissa Down; Written by Marilyn Fu (VOD, May 11; DVD, May 15)
Apartment 212 – Co-Written by Kathryn Gould (DVD, May 15)
Beyond the Sun – Written and Co-Directed by Graciela Rodriguez Gilio (VOD, May 15)
Coming to My Senses (Documentary) – Co-Written by Nadia Gill (VOD, May 15)
Creedmoria – Written and Directed by Alicia Slimmer (VOD, May 15)
Island Zero – Written by Tess Gerritsen (VOD, May 15)
Landing Up – Written by Stacey Maltin (VOD/DVD, May 15)
Submergence – Written by Erin Dignam (DVD, May 15)