Films About Women Opening This Weekend
Carrie — Directed by Kimberly Peirce
Peirce’s modernized version of the classic stars Chloe Grace Moretz as Carrie, an ostracized teen, who learns that she has telekinetic powers that get
wildly out of hand alongside dealing with her nightmare of a mother played by the amazing and frightening Julianne Moore. Moretz plays Carrie with a kind
of rabid ferality that emanates in all her scenes — her wanting to be a normal teenage girl echoes throughout. With an excellent supporting teen cast (Ansel
Elgort and Portia Doubleday are standouts), Peirce uses modern day to heighten Carrie’s outcast status, so when the inevitable happens, it feels even more
tragic. Classic lines (“dirty pillows” anyone?) and scenes alongside Peirce’s interpretation of the text (she expands more on Stephen King’s novel than
DePalma’s 1976 film version) make the film very much her own including a standout opening scene and a nail-biting climax. (Kerensa Cadenas)
Read interview with director Kimberly Peirce
.
Camille Claudel 1915
Juliette Binoche gives a mesmerizing performance as the brilliant sculptress, protege of Auguste Rodin (and later his mistress), and sister of the
Christian/mystic poet Paul Claudel — who, by 1915, was confined to a remote, church-run asylum for the mentally ill near Avignon. Dumont’s rigorous,
hypnotic portrait suggests that Camille’s intense creativity and bohemian mores were on an inevitable, tragic collision course with her conventional
Christian family and the expectations of early 20th century French society. (Press Materials)
Paradise — Written and Directed by Diablo Cody
After surviving a plane crash a young conservative woman suffers a crisis of faith. (IMDB) Read our i
nterview with Diablo Cody — Director of Paradise
.
Haunter
In this reverse ghost story, teenager Lisa Johnson and her family died in 1986 under sinister circumstances but remain trapped in their house, unable to
move on. Over a period of six “days”, Lisa must reach out from beyond the grave to help her present-day, living counterpart, Olivia, avoid the same fate
Lisa and her family suffered. (Press Materials)
Peaches Does Herself — Written and Directed by Peaches
Peaches Does Herself is an electro rock opera stage show that recounts a mythical history of Peaches and follows her journey from bedroom musician-wannabe
to rock star. After being given advice by a 65-year-old stripper, Peaches begins to make sexually forthright music. Her popularity quickly grows, and she
soon becomes what her fans expect her to be — transsexual. Along her journey, Peaches falls in love with a beautiful she-male, but before long she gets her
heart broken and must set out on a path to self-discovery. In the film, songs from Peaches’ four official albums are woven into an invented biography based
on the misconceptions surrounding Peaches’ shocking image. (Press Materials)
Films About Women Currently Playing
A River Changes Course
— Directed by Kalyanee Mann (doc)
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane
Grace Unplugged
I Used to be Darker — Co-Written by Amy Belk
Enough Said — Written and Directed by Nicole Holofcener
Haute Cuisine
Wadjda — Haifaa Al-Mansour
Touchy Feely — Written and Directed by Lynn Shelton
Populaire
Good Ol’ Freda
The Patience Stone
In A World…
— Written and Directed by Lake Bell
Blue Jasmine
The Heat
— Written by Katie Dippold
Films Directed by Women Opening This Weekend
American Promise — Co-Directed by Michele Stephenson
American Promise is not just a movie. It’s a call to action. It’s a study of young African American boys and education. Filmmakers Joe Brewster &
Michele Stephenson turn the camera on themselves and their son Idris along with Idris’ friend Seun Summers, documenting their journey through their entire
educational process until college. The boys both start out as scholarship students at Dalton, and excel at first, but then as they age, the separation
happens and the boys begin to struggle compared to the other students. The film shows incredibly dedicated parents pushing their sons, each in their own
way. The boys take divergent education paths after middle school and we see Seun in a public school lost in a sea of kids and Idris still getting pushed
and struggling at Dalton. This is a film that is important because it illuminates what we know, that there is a crisis for African American boys and the
key is education. (Melissa Silverstein)
Films Directed by Women Currently Playing
Symphony of Soil — Directed by Koons Garcia (doc)
Zero Charisma — Co-Directed by Katie Graham
Running Wild: The Life of Dayton O. Hyde — Directed by Suzanne Mitchell (doc)
Shepard & Dark — Directed by Treva Wurmfeld (doc)
Blackfish — Directed by Gabriela Coperthwaite (doc)
Films Written by Women Currently Playing
Before Midnight — Co-Written by Julie Delpy
Films By and About Women on DVD/And Or On Demand
