Films About Women Opening This Week
The DUFF (Women and Hollywood’s Pick of the Week)
A definite case of “don’t judge a movie by its title,” “The DUFF” — which wincingly stands for “Designated Ugly Fat Friend” — is actually a rather sweet and hilarious teen comedy that gets a lot right about high-school life today. In my review for TheWrap, I wrote, “Few films have focused on a girl being forced to accept that she doesn’t look like what most guys want. That’s a big part of [its] freshness…. There’s no doubt that ‘The DUFF’ is clever, funny and quotable enough to become this decade’s ‘Mean Girls.’ Watch your back, Regina George — there’s a new queen bee in town.” (Inkoo Kang)
Drunktown’s Finest — Directed and Written by Sydney Freeland
“Drunktown’s Finest” is the coming-of-age story of three young Native Americans — a college-bound Christian girl raised by white parents, a rebellious and lost father-to-be, and a promiscuous yet gorgeous transsexual — as they struggle to escape the hardships of life on the Navajo reservation. This film portrays modern Native American youths struggling to find their place in the world, but more importantly reveals the same struggles that many young Americans face while growing up in small town U.S.A. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Sydney Freeland.
My Way (doc) — Co-Directed by Dominique Mollee
“My Way” begins with the conventional “small-town girl livin’ in a lonely (corporate) world.” Yet instead of taking the midnight train, Rebekah Starr trades her briefcase for a Les Paul, grabs her sassy Estonian tambourine-banging sidekick Annika, and hits the highway. Destination: the Sunset Strip. When Rebekah’s marriage falls apart in real time, we realize her dream is not a whim, but a burning passion for music that comes with its share of real-world sacrifices. Her contagious optimism acts as the film’s throughline, hoping to inspire anyone feeling trapped by their circumstances. (Press materials)
Films About Women Currently Playing
Fifty Shades of Grey — Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson; Written by Kelly Marcel
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Ronit Elkabetz
Butterfly Girl (doc) — Directed by Cary Bell
Jupiter Ascending
The Price of Honor (doc) — Co-Directed by Neena Nejad; Written by Leah Welch
Love, Rosie — Written by Juliette Towhidi
Girlhood — Written and Directed by Celine Sciamma
Gloria — Written by Sabina Berman
The Boy Next Door — Written by Barbara Curry
Cake
Big Muddy
Mommy
The Duke of Burgundy
Appropriate Behavior — Written and Directed by Desiree Akhavan
Still Alice
Annie — Co-Written by Aline Brosh McKenna
Two Days, One Night
Big Eyes
The Babadook — Written and Directed by Jennifer Kent
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1
Films Directed by Women Opening This Week
McFarland, USA — Directed by Niki Caro; Co-Written by Bettina Gilois
Kevin Costner is a football coach without a team in “McFarland, USA,” a sports drama that is as much about class and race as it is about sports. Niki Caro, the director of “Whale Rider” and “North Country,” brings us this touching, feel-good drama of a football coach-turned-track coach who inspires an entire town to reach beyond the expectations of what they can achieve. (Melissa Silverstein
Approaching the Elephant (doc) — Directed by Amanda Rose Wilder
Amanda Rose Wilder’s acclaimed feature debut dives head first into the inaugural year of the Teddy McArdle Free School in New Jersey, where all classes are voluntary and rules are determined by vote — adults and children have an equal say. Wilder is there from the beginning to the end of the school year, documenting and observing founder Alex Khost and an indelible cast of outspoken young personalities, as they form relationships, explore their surroundings, and intensely debate rule violations, until it all comes to a head. (Press materials)
Films Directed by Women Currently Playing
Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine (doc) — Written and Directed by Michele Josue
The Voices — Directed by Marjane Satrapi
Above and Beyond (doc) — Directed by Roberta Grossman
Selma — Directed by Ava DuVernay
Unbroken — Directed by Angelina Jolie
Citizenfour (doc) — Directed by Laura Poitras
Films Written by Women Currently Playing
Strange Magic — Co-Written by Irene Mecchi
Spare Parts — Written by Elissa Matsueda
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies — Co-Written by Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh
On DVD and VOD This Week
