By Jenna Dorsi and Camryn Garrett
While the season may be winding down, there are still plenty of films about or made by women to check out this summer. This August offers a wide selection of women-centric and -made pics — of all sizes and genres.
From “Bend It Like Beckham” filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, “Blinded by the Light” opens August 9 in the UK and August 14 in the States. It follows a Pakistani-English kid in 1987 England, an aspiring writer whose life is irrevocably altered when he’s introduced to the music of Bruce Springsteen. The film had a successful debut at Sundance this year, where it landed the biggest deal of the festival.
Writer Andrea Berloff’s directorial debut, “The Kitchen,” opens August 9. Adapted from the comic book series of the same name, it stars Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss as crime wives who start running the operations in Hell’s Kitchen after their mobster husbands are sent to prison.
Several other period dramas are also opening this month, including Jennifer Kent’s follow-up to “The Babadook,” “The Nightingale” (August 2). Set in 1800s Tasmania, it sees an Irish ex-convict teaming up with an indigenous man in order to take revenge against the British colonizers who murdered her family. Then, there is Chanya Button’s “Vita & Virginia” (August 30), which traces the love affair between Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf. The screenplay is written by Button and Eileen Atkins, and is based on the latter’s play.
A bevy of women-directed documentaries will premiere in August as well, including three Sundance award winners. Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang’s “One Child Nation” (August 9) examines China’s controversial One Child policy and its legacy. As a new mother herself, Wang offers a unique perspective on the population control rule, which dictated that Chinese families could have only child. On August 21 Julia Reichert’s latest, “American Factory,” will bow on Netflix. It presents the culture clash that ensued when a Chinese billionaire opened a factory in what was once a General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio. “Jawline,” Liza Mandelup’s portrayal of a rising internet star, hits theaters and Hulu August 23.
For those of you in the mood to laugh, a bunch of comedies will also be opening this month. Jillian Bell plays a train wreck of a millennial who finally decides to get her life in order in “Brittany Runs a Marathon” (August 23). “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” (August 16), based on Maria Semple’s novel, stars Cate Blanchett in the titular role, an eccentric but devoted wife and mother who leaves her family to rediscover her creative self.
Here are all of the women-centric, women-directed, and women-written films debuting this August. All descriptions are from press materials unless otherwise noted.
August 2
“The Nightingale” – Written and Directed by Jennifer Kent
“The Nightingale”: IFC Films
“The Nightingale” is a meditation on the consequences of violence and the price of seeking vengeance. Set during the colonization of Australia in 1825, the film follows Clare (Aisling Franciosi), a 21-year-old Irish convict. Having served her seven-year sentence, she is desperate to be free of her abusive master, Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Claflin), who refuses to release her from his charge. Clare’s husband (Michael Sheasby) retaliates and she becomes the victim of a harrowing crime at the hands of the lieutenant and his cronies. When British authorities fail to deliver justice, Clare decides to pursue Hawkins, who leaves his post suddenly to secure a captaincy up north. Unable to find compatriots for her journey, she is forced to enlist the help of a young Aboriginal tracker, Billy (Baykali Ganambarr), who grudgingly takes her through the rugged wilderness to track down Hawkins. Clare and Billy are hostile towards each other from the outset, both suffering their own traumas and mutual distrust, but as their journey leads them deeper into the wilderness, they must learn to find empathy for one another, while weighing the true cost of revenge.
“Them That Follow” – Written and Directed by Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage
“Them That Follow”: Sundance Institute
In the rugged wilderness of Appalachia, the members of an isolated community of Pentecostal snake handlers led by Pastor Lemuel (Walton Goggins) risk their lives to attest themselves before God. Lemuel’s daughter Mara (Alice Englert) prepares for her upcoming wedding to the young believer her father has singled out for her under the watchful eye of Hope (Olivia Colman), while scrambling to hide a secret that has the potential to drive her father’s church to ruin.
“Otherhood” – Directed by Cindy Chupack; Written by Cindy Chupack and Mark Andrus (Also Available on Netflix)
Three mothers (Patricia Arquette, Angela Bassett, and Felicity Huffman) who are long-time friends and empty nesters decide to drive to New York City to reconnect with their adult sons. In the process, they realize their sons are not the only ones whose lives need to change.
“Animals” – Directed by Sophie Hyde; Written by Emma Jane Unsworth (Opens in the UK)
“Animals”: Cornerstone Films
Would-be writer Laura (Holliday Grainger) and her free-spirited bestie Tyler (Alia Shawkat) share a messy Dublin apartment and a hearty appetite for booze, Molly, and one-night stands. Yet when Laura falls for Jim (Fra Fee), a charming but straitlaced classical pianist, Tyler worries that the party may soon be over.
“Old Boyfriends” (Theatrical Re-Release) – Directed by Joan Tewkesbury (One Week Only in NY)
“Old Boyfriends”: Rialto Pictures
The directorial debut of Joan Tewkesbury, “Old Boyfriends” follows Talia Shire’s clinical psychologist through a process of emotional bottoming-out and stock-taking, deciding after a breakdown to reconnect with exes played by Richard Jordan and John Belushi, her trip down memory lane leading to Keith Carradine as the brother of a girlhood sweetheart. Tewkesbury nimbly moves between registers of romantic comedy and psychodrama, delivering an eccentrically digressive, tonally unpredictable, and roundly revelatory first feature. (Metrograph)
“Coyote Lake” – Directed by Sara Seligman; Written by Sara Seligman and Thomas Bond (Also Available on VOD)
“Coyote Lake”: Cranked Up Films
“Coyote Lake,” inspired by the real life Falcon Lake, is a reservoir on the Rio Grande along a dangerous drug smuggling route that has become synonymous with cartel violence and mysterious disappearances. It is there, on the lake, that Teresa (Adriana Barraza) and her 17-year-old daughter, Ester (Camilla Mendes), run a boarding house where they routinely drug, rob, and drown the unsuspecting drug-runners and human traffickers who stay the night. Teresa justifies the killings to her daughter, claiming they are ridding the world of bad people and saving the stolen money to leave Coyote Lake and start anew. But when they are taken hostage themselves by two intruding cartel gangsters, their dark routine is interrupted. Ester begins to develop feelings for one of their captors, Teresa’s lies are eventually exposed, and their lives are turned on their heads in an explosive and violent conclusion.
“Holiday” – Directed by Isabella Eklöf; Written by Isabella Eklöf and Johanne Algren (Opens in the UK)
The trophy girlfriend of a Danish drug lord (Victoria Carmen Sonne) sets a dangerous game in motion when she seeks the attention of another man, while on vacation with her boyfriend on the Turkish Riviera.
“The Operative”
“The Operative” follows the story of Rachel (Diane Kruger), a rogue spy from Israel’s feared national intelligence force Mossad, who vanishes without a trace while attending her father’s funeral in London. The only clue to her whereabouts is a cryptic phone call she places to her former handler, Thomas (Martin Freeman), who is then summoned from Germany to Israel by Mossad. With Rachel’s life immersed in her assignments as part of a vast espionage effort against Iran’s nuclear program, Thomas must retrace her steps to determine what threats she may now pose to their operation, while also working to protect her.
“Ladyworld” – Directed by Amanda Kramer; Written by Amanda Kramer and Benjamin Shearn
Eight teenage girls become trapped in an endless birthday party after a massive ecological event. The girls’ sanity and psyches dissolve as they run out of food and water. Eventually, they regress to their baser instincts, exploiting each other’s fears and insecurities.
“La Flor” (Opens in NY)
“La Flor”
A decade in the making, “La Flor” is an unrepeatable labor of love and madness that redefines the concept of binge viewing. The same four remarkable actresses — Elisa Carricajo, Valeria Correa, Pilar Gamboa, and Laura Paredes — star in each of the epic film’s six parts. Overflowing with nested subplots and whiplash digressions, “La Flor” shape-shifts from a B-movie to a musical to a spy thriller to a category-defying metafiction to a remake of a very well-known French classic and, finally, to an enigmatic period piece. An adventure in scale and duration, “La Flor” is a wildly entertaining exploration of the possibilities of fiction that lands somewhere close to its outer limits.
“Is That You?”
Living in a modest shack in the Cuban countryside, 13-year-old Lili (Gabriela Ramos) and her mother appear trapped in a meager, suffocating existence by her domineering father, Eduardo. His sudden absence should represent a new freedom for the girl and her mother, but Lili is distraught, and we come to discover just how strong the influence of this monstrous man is over his family. In desperation at losing Eduardo, Lili carries out a ritual taught to her by a spiritualist to help bring him back, leading her to uncover a disturbing truth about her father’s disappearance.
“Leo Da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa” – Written by Anna Manfio, Sergio Manfio, Francesco Manfio, and Davide Stefanato
A young Leonardo Da Vinci (Johnny Yong Bosch) is struggling with his incredible inventions, when a mysterious storyteller comes to town and speaks of a hidden treasure. Leo and his friends embark on an unforgettable adventure.
August 9
“The Kitchen” – Written and Directed by Andrea Berloff
“The Kitchen” stars Oscar nominee Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” “Bridesmaids”), Tiffany Haddish (“Girls Trip”), and Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) as three 1978 Hell’s Kitchen housewives whose mobster husbands are sent to prison by the FBI. Left with little but a sharp ax to grind, the ladies take the Irish mafia’s matters into their own hands — proving unexpectedly adept at everything from running the rackets to taking out the competition, literally.
“Blinded by the Light” – Directed by Gurinder Chadha; Written by Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Sarfraz Manzoor (Opens in the UK; Opens in the U.S. August 14)
“Blinded by the Light”: Bend It Films
Javed (Viveik Kalra) is a British teen of Pakistani descent growing up in 1987 England. Amidst the racial and economic turmoil of the times, he writes poetry as a means to escape the intolerance of his hometown and the inflexibility of his traditional father. But when a classmate introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen, Javed sees parallels to his working-class life in the powerful lyrics. As Javed discovers an outlet for his own pent-up dreams, he also begins to express himself in his own voice.
“One Child Nation” (Documentary) – Directed by Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang
“One Child Nation”: Sundance Institute
China’s One Child Policy, the extreme population control measure that made it illegal for couples to have more than one child, may have ended in 2015, but the process of dealing with the trauma of its brutal enforcement is only just beginning. The sweeping “One Child Nation” explores the ripple effect of this devastating social experiment, uncovering one shocking human rights violation after another — from abandoned newborns, to forced sterilizations and abortions, and government abductions. Co-director Nanfu Wang digs fearlessly into her own personal life, weaving her experience as a new mother and the firsthand accounts of her family members into archival propaganda material and testimony from victims and perpetrators alike, yielding a revelatory and essential record of this chilling, unprecedented moment in human civilization.
“Dora and the Lost City of Gold”
“Dora and the Lost City of Gold”: Paramount Players
Having spent most of her life exploring the jungle with her parents, nothing could prepare Dora (Isabela Moner) for her most dangerous adventure ever: high school. Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots (her best friend, a monkey), Diego (Jeff Wahlberg), a mysterious jungle inhabitant (Eugenio Derbez), and a rag tag group of teens on a live-action adventure to save her parents (Eva Longoria, Michael Peña) and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost city of gold.
“After the Wedding” (Opens in NY and LA)
“After the Wedding”: Sundance Institute
Isabel (Michelle Williams) has dedicated her life to working with the children in an orphanage in Calcutta. Theresa (Julianne Moore) is the multimillionaire head of a media company who lives with her handsome artist husband (Billy Crudup) and their two adorable twin boys in New York. When word comes to Isabel of a mysterious and generous grant for the financially struggling orphanage, she must travel to New York to meet the benefactor — Theresa — in person. And when Isabel is spontaneously invited to Theresa’s daughter’s wedding, Isabel discovers a connection to Theresa that takes her on an unexpected journey into her own past.
“This Changes Everything” (Documentary) (Opens in NY and LA)
“This Changes Everything”: Creative Chaos Ventures
Told first-hand by some of Hollywood’s leading voices behind and in front of the camera, “This Changes Everything” is a feature-length documentary that uncovers what is beneath one of the most confounding dilemmas in the entertainment industry: the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women. It takes an incisive look at the history, empirical evidence, and systemic forces that foster gender discrimination and thus reinforce disparity in our culture. Most importantly, the film seeks pathways and solutions from within and outside the industry, and around the world.
August 14
“Los Reyes” (Documentary) – Directed by Bettina Perut and Iván Osnovikoff
Los Reyes (“The Kings”) is the oldest skatepark in the Chilean capital of Santiago. This story is about the real kings here: Football and Chola, two stray dogs that have made their home in this open space full of hurtling skateboards and rowdy teenagers. The energetic Chola loves to play with the balls she finds lying around. The older dog, Football, looks on impatiently and barks at Chola until she finally drops them. The teenagers around them come from very different, sometimes troubled backgrounds. They each have their own story, which they recount to us in voiceover. In this almost fairy-tale-like film, the phenomenal, dreamlike camerawork centers almost entirely on the subtle interaction between the two dogs, as they play with a ball, a stick, a stone, and each other.
“Adam” – Written by Ariel Schrag
Awkward, self-conscious Adam Freeman (Nicholas Alexander) has just finished his junior year of high school in 2006. When his cool older sister Casey (Margaret Qualley) suggests he visit her in New York for the summer, Adam has visions of meeting a girl and finally gaining some actual life experience. The fantasy doesn’t materialize exactly as expected. Casey has enthusiastically embraced life amidst Brooklyn’s young LGBTQ community and invites Adam to tag along with her to queer bars, marriage equality rallies, and other happenings. When Adam falls at first sight for Gillian (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a smart, beautiful young woman in this new crowd, she mistakenly assumes he is trans. Flummoxed and enamored, he haplessly goes along with her assumption, resulting in an increasingly complex comedy — and tragedy — of errors he’s ill-equipped to navigate.
August 16
“Where’d You Go, Bernadette” – Written by Holly Gent, Richard Linklater, and Vince Palmo
“Where’d You Go, Bernadette”: Annapurna Pictures
Based on the runaway bestseller, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” is an inspiring comedy about Bernadette Fox (Cate Blanchett), a loving mom who becomes compelled to reconnect with her creative passions after years of sacrificing herself for her family. Bernadette’s leap of faith takes her on an epic adventure that jump-starts her life and leads to her triumphant rediscovery.
“Gwen” (Also Available on VOD)
“Gwen”: RLJE Films
Gwen (Eleanor Worthington-Cox) is a young girl desperately trying to hold her home together — struggling with her mother’s mysterious illness, her father’s absence and a ruthless mining company encroaching on their land. As a growing darkness begins to take grip of her home, the local community grows suspicious and turns on Gwen and her family.
“Aquarela” (Documentary) – Written by Aimara Reques and Victor Kossakovsky (Opens in NY and LA)
“Aquarela” takes audiences on a deeply cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water. Filmed at a rare 96 frames-per-second, the film is a visceral wake-up call that humans are no match for the sheer force and capricious will of Earth’s most precious element. From the precarious frozen waters of Russia’s Lake Baikal to Miami in the throes of Hurricane Irma to Venezuela’s mighty Angels Falls, water is “Aquarela’s” main character, with the filmmakers capturing her many personalities in startling visual detail.
“47 Meters Down: Uncaged”
A group of five girls from different backgrounds and countries are united by their lust for life and adventure in the coastal metropolis of Recife. Looking to get off the well-worn tourist trail, they hear about a hidden underwater ruin from a local guide and seize the opportunity to discover their own Atlantis beneath the turquoise waves. Unbeknownst to them, the caves where the forgotten city lies are not completely uninhabited, and as they swim deeper into the submerged labyrinth of caves they enter the territory of the deadliest shark species in the ocean.
“Awake” – Written by Elana Zeltser
On a quiet evening, a shabby beige sedan speeds down a country highway. Dust and gravel fly through the air when suddenly the car slides out of control into a ravine. Later a man wakes up in a hospital bed with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. His nurse Diana (Francesca Eastwood) is unable to find any identification and refers to him as John Doe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). The police barge into the hospital, accusing John of being a serial killer responsible for the murder of several young women in the area. As the Sergeant ushers John into a private room for questioning, he manages to escape with the help of Diana, who is convinced of his innocence. The fugitives then set off for the last crime scene in search of clues and answers to clear John’s name but the benevolent nurse will soon uncover the shocking truth behind the amnesiac’s identity and the web of deceit that will lead him to a final fight for his survival.
August 21
“American Factory” (Documentary) – Directed by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar (Available on Netflix)
“American Factory”: Sundance Institute
In 2014, a Chinese billionaire opened a Fuyao factory in a shuttered General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio. For thousands of locals, the arrival of this multinational car-glass manufacturer meant regaining their jobs — and dignity — after the recession left them high and dry. “American Factory” takes us inside the facility to observe what happens when workers from profoundly different cultures collide. At first, the culture clash is humorous. Transplanted Chinese workers attend trainings on dealing with their peculiarly casual and “chatty” American counterparts. But tensions mount. Slack safety standards and meager wages ignite serious doubts among the American rank and file. Low productivity and talk of unionization trigger a cascade of controls from Chinese management. Meanwhile, something ominous — the specter of job loss from automation — looms.
“Ready or Not”
“Ready Or Not” follows a young bride (Samara Weaving) as she joins her new husband’s (Mark O’Brien) rich, eccentric family (Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell) in a time-honored tradition that turns into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival.
August 23
“Vita & Virginia”- Directed by Chanya Button; Written by Chanya Button and Eileen Atkins (Available on VOD August 30)
“Vita & Virginia”: Blinder Films
Set amidst the bohemian high society of 1920s England, “Vita & Virginia” tells the scintillating true story of a literary love affair that fueled the imagination of one of the 20th century’s most celebrated writers. Vita Sackville-West (Gemma Arterton) is the brash, aristocratic wife of a diplomat who refuses to be constrained by her marriage, defiantly courting scandal through her affairs with women. When she meets the brilliant but troubled Virginia Woolf (Elizabeth Debicki), she is immediately attracted to the famed novelist’s eccentric genius and enigmatic allure. So begins an intense, passionate relationship marked by all-consuming desire, intellectual gamesmanship, and destructive jealousy that will leave both women profoundly transformed and inspire the writing of one of Woolf’s greatest works.
“Jawline” (Documentary) – Directed by Liza Mandelup (Also Available on Hulu)
Liza Mandelup’s feature debut, “Jawline” follows 16-year-old Austyn Tester, a rising star in the live-broadcast ecosystem who built his following on wide-eyed optimism and teen girl lust, as he tries to escape a dead-end life in rural Tennessee.
“Tigers Are Not Afraid” – Written and Directed by Issa López (Opens in NY, LA, and Toronto)
“Tigers Are Not Afraid”: Shudder
A haunting horror fairytale set against the backdrop of Mexico’s devastating drug wars, “Tigers Are Not Afraid” follows a group of orphaned children armed with three magical wishes, running from the ghosts that haunt them and the cartel that murdered their parents.
“Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles” (Documentary) – Written by Valerie Thomas and Max Lewkowicz
“Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles” is the origin story behind one of Broadway’s most beloved musicals, “Fiddler on The Roof,” and its creative roots in early 1960s New York, when “tradition” was on the wane as gender roles, sexuality, race relations, and religion were evolving.
“Give Me Liberty” – Written by Alice Austen and Kirill Mikhanovsky (Opens in NY; Opens in LA August 30)
“Give Me Liberty”: Music Box Films
Medical transport driver Vic (newcomer Chis Galust) is running late, but it’s not his fault. Roads are closed for a protest, and no one else can shuttle his Russian grandfather and his emigre friends to a funeral. The new route uproots his scheduled clients, particularly Tracy (Lauren “Lolo” Spencer), a vibrant young woman with ALS. As the day goes from hectic to off-the-rails, their collective ride becomes a hilarious, compassionate, and intersectional portrait of American dreams and disenchantment.
“Brittany Runs a Marathon”
“Brittany Runs a Marathon”: Sundance Institute
Brittany Forgler (Jillian Bell) is a funny, likable, 27-year-old hot mess of a New Yorker whose trashy nightclub adventures and early-morning walks of shame make her late for work every day. But when she stops by a Yelp-recommended doctor’s office in an attempt to score Adderall, Brittany gets handed a series of diagnoses instead: elevated heart rate, high blood pressure … the list goes on. Suddenly forced to get a grip, Brittany laces up her Converse sneakers and runs one sweaty block. The next day, she runs two. Soon she runs a mile. Brittany finally has direction — but is she on the right path?
“Angel Has Fallen” – Written by Katrin Benedikt, Ric Roman Waugh, Creighton Rothenberger, and Robert Mark Kamen
When there is an assassination attempt on U.S. President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), his trusted confidant, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), is wrongfully accused and taken into custody. After escaping from capture, he becomes a man on the run and must evade his own agency and outsmart the FBI in order to find the real threat to the President. Desperate to uncover the truth, Banning turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name, keep his family from harm, and save the country from imminent danger.
“Freaks”
Kept locked inside the house by her father, seven-year-old Chloe (Lexy Kolker) lives in fear and fascination of the outside world, where Abnormals create a constant threat — or so she believes. When a mysterious stranger offers her a glimpse of what’s really happening outside, Chloe soon finds that while the truth isn’t so simple, the danger is very real.
“Jacob’s Ladder” – Written by Sarah Thorpe and Jeff Buhler (Also Available on VOD)
After the death of his brother in Afghanistan, Jacob Singer (Michael Ealy) is finally getting his life back together. He has a beautiful wife, a newborn child, and a successful career as surgeon in a VA hospital. When a stranger approaches him and tells him that his brother is actually alive and living in an underground shelter with other homeless vets, Jacob’s life starts to unravel. He begins hallucinating, believes he is being followed by violent attackers and becomes paranoid about the truth of what really happened to his brother. When he discovers that his brother is alive and addicted to an experimental drug, he uncovers a secret he never could have been prepared for.
“Tone-Deaf”
After losing her job and imploding her latest dysfunctional relationship, Olive (Amanda Crew) flees the city for the weekend, escaping to the countryside for some peace and self-reflection. She rents an ornate country house from an eccentric widower named Harvey (Robert Patrick). Soon two generations collide with terrifying results as Olive awakens Harvey’s homicidal tendencies and is plunged into a blood-soaked fight for her life.
August 28
“The Miracle of the Little Prince” (Documentary) – Directed by Marjoleine Boonstra; Written by Marjoleine Boonstra, Lies Janssen, and Pieter van Huystee (Opens in NY)
A documentary about passionate translators of the book “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who fight for the preservation of their endangered languages. Next to the Bible, “The Little Prince” is the most translated book in the world. It has been translated in over 300 languages. Why do people from very diverse cultures precisely choose this book to keep their languages and cultures alive?
August 30
“Angel of Mine” – Directed by Kim Farrant (Also Available on VOD)
In this intense thriller, Noomi Rapace (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) stars as a woman on the edge who believes the daughter of a neighbor (Yvonne Strahovski, “The Handmaid’s Tale”) is actually her own.
“Before You Know It” – Directed by Hannah Pearl Utt; Written by Jen Tullock and Hannah Pearl Utt
“Before You Know It”: 1091 Media
Stage manager Rachel Gurner (Hannah Pearl Utt) still lives in her childhood apartment — along with her off-kilter actress sister Jackie (Jen Tullock), eccentric playwright father Mel (Mandy Patinkin), and deadpan preteen niece Dodge (Oona Yaffe) — above the tiny theater they own and operate. Level-headed and turtleneck-wearing Rachel is the only thing standing between her family and utter chaos. Then, in the wake of a sudden family tragedy, Rachel and Jackie learn their presumed-deceased mother is actually alive and thriving as a soap-opera star. Now the sisters’ already-precarious balance turns upside down, and Rachel must figure out how to liberate herself from this surreal imbroglio.
“Official Secrets” – Written by Sara Bernstein, Gregory Bernstein, and Gavin Hood
“Official Secrets”: Sundance Institute
Based on world-shaking true events, “Official Secrets” tells the gripping story of Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley), a British intelligence specialist whose job involves routine handling of classified information. One day in 2003, in the lead up to the Iraq War, Gun receives a memo from the NSA with a shocking directive: the United States is enlisting Britain’s help in collecting compromising information on United Nations Security Council members in order to blackmail them into voting in favor of an invasion of Iraq. Unable to stand by and watch the world be rushed into an illegal war, Gun makes the gut-wrenching decision to defy her government and leak the memo to the press. So begins an explosive chain of events that will ignite an international firestorm, expose a vast political conspiracy, and put Gun and her family directly in harm’s way.
“Santa Girl” – Written by Patricia Harrington (Also Available on VOD)
Santa Claus’ only daughter (Jennifer Stone) wants to experience the “real world” before she must marry the son of Jack Frost, a boy she has never met, and take over the family business. Along with her trusty elf, Cassie Claus sets off to college while trying to keep her magic powers and famous father a secret. At school Cassie is pursued by two boys: Sam, sweetly awkward and J. R., handsome and wealthy. As her impending arranged marriage looms, Cassie struggles with her feelings for Sam and her obligation to her father and Christmas.
“Playmobil: The Movie”
When her younger brother disappears into the colorful and animated world of Playmobil, Marla (Anya Taylor-Joy) is forced to abandon her organized and structured life to rescue him. Finding herself on an incredible and unpredictable adventure within this new world, Marla begins to see potential she never dreamed of.
