Weekly Update for July 7: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Austin Found — Written by Brenna Graziano (Also Available on VOD)

Leanne Miller (Linda Cardellini, “Freaks and Geeks”) is a 36-year-old wife and mother whose hunger for fame and fortune leads her down a dangerous path. A former beauty queen and prom queen, Leanne is fed up with her unglamorously average lifestyle and decides to take matters into her own hands by plotting a scheme to make her family instant celebrities. Teaming up with her ex-boyfriend, Billy (Skeet Ulrich, “Riverdale”), and his ex-con buddy, Jebidiah (Craig Robinson, “The Office”), Leanne conspires to have her 11-year-old daughter, Patty (Ursula Parker, “Louie”), kidnapped for just a month or two. All Leanne has to do is keep the local press (Kristen Schaal, “Bob’s Burgers”) and Sheriff (Patrick Warburton, “A Series of Unfortunate Events”) focused on the case at hand and off hers. What could go wrong? (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

Bronx Gothic (Documentary) (Opens July 12 in NY; Opens in LA July 28)

An electrifying portrait of writer and performer Okwui Okpokwasili and her acclaimed one-woman show, “Bronx Gothic.” Rooted in memories of her childhood, Okwui — who’s worked with conceptual artists like Ralph Lemon and Julie Taymor — fuses dance, song, drama, and comedy to create a mesmerizing space in which audiences can engage with a story about two 12-year-old black girls coming of age in the 1980s. With intimate vérité access to Okwui and her audiences off the stage, “Bronx Gothic” allows for unparalleled insight into her creative process as well as the complex social issues embodied in it. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Films About Women Currently Playing

The Little Hours
The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Documentary (Documentary)
Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge — Directed by Marie Noelle; Written by Marie Noelle and Andrea Stoll
Inconceivable — Written by Chloe King (Also Available on VOD)
Darkness Rising (Also Available on VOD)
Reset
7 From Etheria (Anthology) — Written and Directed by Karen Lam, Heidi Lee Douglas, Arantxa Echevarria, Martha Goddard, Anna Elizabeth James, Barbara Stepansky, and Rebecca Thomson
The Beguiled — Written and Directed by Sofia Coppola
The Bad Batch — Written and Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
Okja (Also Available on Netflix)
Souvenir (UK)
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
Whitney: Can I Be Me (Documentary) (UK)
Megan Leavey — Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite; Co-Written by Pamela Gray and Annie Mumolo
Beatriz at Dinner
Moka
Wonder Woman — Directed by Patty Jenkins
Sámi Blood — Written and Directed by Amanda Kernell
Letters from Baghdad (Documentary) — Directed by Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum
Past Life
Love, Kennedy
The Women’s Balcony — Written by Shlomit Nehama
Hermia & Helena
Everything, Everything — Directed by Stella Meghie
Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Linda Saffire
Snatched — Written by Katie Dippold
Paris Can Wait — Written and Directed by Eleanor Coppola
The Wedding Plan — Written and Directed by Rama Burshtein
Manifesto
Like Crazy — Co-Written by Francesca Archibugi
A Quiet Passion
Colossal
Beauty and the Beast
Hidden Figures — Co-Written by Allison Schroeder

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

Swim Team (Documentary) — Directed by Lara Stolman (Opens in NY; Opens in LA July 21)

In New Jersey the parents of a boy on the autism spectrum take matters into their own hands. They form a competitive swim team, recruiting diverse teens on the spectrum and training them with high expectations and zero pity. What happens next alters the course of the boys’ lives. “Swim Team” chronicles the extraordinary rise of the Jersey Hammerheads, capturing a moving quest for inclusion, independence, and a life that feels winning. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Lara Stolman.

Find screening info here.

The Rehearsal — Directed by Alison Maclean; Written by Alison Maclean and Emily Perkins

New York-based filmmaker Alison Maclean returns to her native New Zealand to tell this potent, emotionally textured coming-of-age story set among a group of budding acting students. Stanley (James Rolleston), a naïve first-year student, meets Isolde (Ella Edward) and begins a sweet, first love affair. Goaded by Hannah (Kerry Fox, “An Angel at My Table”), the charismatic, domineering Head of Acting, Stanley uncovers a talent and ambition he didn’t know he had. When his group hits on a sex scandal that involves Isolde’s tennis prodigy sister as fertile material for their end-of-year show, Stanley finds himself profoundly torn. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Alison Maclean.

500 Years (Documentary) — Directed by Pamela Yates (Opens July 12 in NY)

From a historic genocide trial to the overthrow of a president, “500 Years” tells a sweeping story of mounting resistance played out in Guatemala’s recent history, through the actions and perspectives of the majority indigenous Mayan population, who now stand poised to reimagine their society. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Pamela Yates.

Find screening info here.

Julius Caesar (Filmed Stage Production) — Directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Opens July 12 in the UK)

“Julius Caesar”: donmarwarehouse.com/Helen Maybanks

“Julius Caesar” depicts the catastrophic consequences of a political leader’s extension of his powers beyond the remit of the constitution. As Brutus (Harriet Walter) wrestles with his moral conscience over the assassination of Julius Caesar (Jackie Clune), Mark Antony (Jade Anouka) manipulates the crowd through his subtle and incendiary rhetoric. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Laura Dunn
The Reagan Show (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Sierra Pettengill
All the Rage (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Suki Hawley
In Transit (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Lynn True
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
Raising Bertie (Documentary) — Directed by Margaret Byrne
Band Aid — Written and Directed by Zoe Lister-Jones (Also Available on VOD)
Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe — Co-Written and Directed by Maria Schrader
Risk (Documentary) — Directed by Laura Poitras
Buster’s Mal Heart — Written and Directed by Sarah Adina Smith
Obit. (Documentary) — Directed by Vanessa Gould
Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Lydia Tenaglia
Cezanne and I — Written and Directed by Danièle Thompson

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

None.

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

13 Minutes — Co-Written by Léonie-Claire Breinersdorfer
The Big Sick — Co-Written by Emily V. Gordon
Cars 3 — Co-Written by Kiel Murray
I Love You Both — Co-Written by Kristin Archibald (Also Available on VOD)
Churchill — Written by Alex von Tunzelmann
3 Idiotas — Co-Written by Martha Higareda
God of War — Co-Written by Maria Wong
Champion — Written by Missy Reed and Sarah Inabnit
Smurfs: The Lost Village — Written by Stacey Harman and Pamela Ribon

TV Premieres This Week

The Bold Type — Created by Sarah Watson; Co-Executive Produced by Sarah Watson, Joanna Coles, and Holly Whidden (Premieres July 11 on Freeform)

“The Bold Type” is inspired by the life of “Cosmopolitan” editor in chief, Joanna Coles. The show is a glimpse into the outrageous lives and loves of those responsible for a global women’s magazine. Their struggles are about finding your identity, managing friendships, and getting your heart broken, all while wearing the perfect jeans to flatter any body type. (Press materials)

I’m Sorry — Created by Andrea Savage; Co-Executive Produced by Andrea Savage and Jessica Elbaum (Premieres July 12 on truTV)

Created by and starring Andrea Savage (“Veep,” “Sleeping with Other People”), this half-hour scripted series follows seemingly confident comedy writer, wife, and mom Andrea (Savage), who comically exposes her inner immaturity and neuroses through unexpected life situations. Joining Savage in the first season are series regulars Tom Everett Scott (“Southland”) as Andrea’s straitlaced husband, Mike, and newcomer Olive Petrucci as Andrea and Mike’s inquisitive daughter, Amelia. (Press materials)

Hooten & The Lady — Co-Created by Sarah Phelps; Produced by Caroline Levy (Premieres July 13 on The CW)

Spanning eight hourlong episodes, “Hooten & the Lady” follows two globetrotting treasure hunters who set out to recover priceless legendary artifacts. Hooten (Michael Landes) is a smooth-talking yet foolhardy lone wolf, who often finds himself in sticky situations. Lady Alexandra (Ophelia Lovibond) is an aristocrat and British Museum curator who, despite being straitlaced, is eager to follow in the footsteps of history’s great archaeologists and venture to uncharted lands. Meeting in the thick of the Amazon jungle, they form an unlikely partnership as they travel the globe in pursuit of hidden treasures. (Deadline)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

Alive and Kicking (Documentary) — Directed by Susan Glatzer; Written by Susan Glatzer and Heidi Zimmerman (DVD, July 11)
Love at First Child — Directed by Anne Giafferi; Written by Anne Giafferi and Anne Le Ny (VOD, July 11)
A Quiet Passion (VOD/DVD, July 11)
Sex Doll — Written and Directed by Sylvie Verheyde (VOD/DVD, July 11)
Smurfs: The Lost Village — Written by Stacey Harman and Pamela Ribon (DVD, July 11)
Their Finest — Directed by Lone Scherfig; Written by Gaby Chiappe (VOD/DVD, July 11)
A Woman, a Part — Written and Directed by Elisabeth Subrin (DVD, July 11)