Features, Films, Women Directors, Women Writers

Weekly Update for June 9: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

“Brown Girls”
“Megan Leavey”

Films About Women Opening This Week

Megan Leavey — Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite; Co-Written by Pamela Gray and Annie Mumolo

“Megan Leavey” is both a story of war and a story of love. Megan (Kate Mara) is a woman at the end of her rope. She joins the Marines and winds up in a K9 unit with a problematic and intense dog, Rex. They become partners in more ways than one. While women weren’t supposed to be on the front lines, Megan and Rex were actually in front of the front lines searching for IEDs. Megan and Rex were inseparable, and once Megan left the Marines she worked for years to adopt Rex after he was decommissioned. She fought as if her life depended on it all the way to Congress and was finally able to bring him home to be with her until he died. A wonderful, emotional film directed by the award-winning director of “Blackfish,” Gabriela Cowperthwaite. (Melissa Silverstein)

Find screening info here.

Beatriz at Dinner

“Beatriz at Dinner”

Beatriz (Salma Hayek), an immigrant from a poor town in Mexico, has drawn on her innate kindness to build a career as a health practitioner in Southern California. Don Strutt (John Lithgow) is a real estate developer whose cutthroat tactics have made him a self-made, self-satisfied billionaire. When these two polar opposites meet at a dinner party, their worlds collide and neither will ever be the same. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

As Good As You — Directed by Heather de Michele; Written by Gretchen M. Michelfeld (Opens in LA)

“As Good As You”

Jo (Laura Heisler) is having a bad year. She has major writer’s block, a rather dire caffeine addiction, and is deeply mourning the untimely death of her beautiful wife. To top it all off, her biological alarm clock is ringing off the wall. In an attempt to address the latter issue, Jo asks her late-partner’s brother, Jamie (Bryan Dechart), to be her sperm donor. Craziness ensues in the form of a visit to the fertility clinic’s psychologist (Annie Potts), and a love triangle with her two best friends (Raoul Bhaneja and Anna Fitzwater). “As Good As You” is a serious comedy about trying to grieve the right way, and maybe growing up a bit in the process. (Press materials)

Moka (Opens June 14)

“Moka”

To find the driver of the vintage mocha-colored Mercedes which she thinks hit her son and devastated her life, Diane Kramer (Emmanuelle Devos) embarks on a trip to take revenge. She goes to Évian, where she has learned the driver of the Mercedes lives, but she now has to face another woman, Marlene (Nathalie Baye) — beauty salon proprietor and owner of the car. In order to get closer to her, Diane pretends to be a potential buyer for the car, but the path of revenge is more tortuous and complicated than it seems. (Press materials)

Films About Women Currently Playing

“Wonder Woman”

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
Didi’s Dreams
Love, Kennedy
Beautiful Accident
Berlin Syndrome — Directed by Cate Shortland
The Women’s Balcony — Written by Shlomit Nehama
Hermia & Helena
Everything, Everything — Directed by Stella Meghie
Icaros: A Vision — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Leonor Caraballo
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
Hounds of Love (Also Available on VOD)
Manifesto
Like Crazy — Co-Written by Francesca Archibugi
Tomorrow Ever After — Written and Directed by Ela Thier
The Circle
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City (Documentary)
Unforgettable — Directed by Denise Di Novi; Co-Written by Christina Hodson
A Quiet Passion
Maudie — Directed by Aisling Walsh; Written by Sherry White (Canada)
Colossal
Their Finest — Directed by Lone Scherfig; Written by Gaby Chiappe
The Zookeeper’s Wife — Directed by Niki Caro; Written by Angela Workman
God Knows Where I Am (Documentary)
The Levelling — Written and Directed by Hope Dickson Leach
Beauty and the Beast
A Woman, a Part — Written and Directed by Elisabeth Subrin
Personal Shopper
Hidden Figures — Co-Written by Allison Schroeder

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

“Raising Bertie”

Raising Bertie (Documentary) — Directed by Margaret Byrne

Set in Bertie County, a rural African American-led community in Eastern North Carolina, “Raising Bertie” takes audiences deep into the emotional lives of three boys — Reginald “Junior” Askew, David “Bud” Perry, and Davonte “Dada” Harrell — over six years as they come of age. “Raising Bertie” movingly weaves the young men’s stories together as they try to define their identities, interconnecting narratives of family, youthful innocence, first love, systemic racism, educational inequity, poverty and unemployment, and the will to succeed in the face of formidable odds. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

P.S. Jerusalem (Documentary) — Directed by Danae Elon (Opens in LA)

“P.S. Jerusalem”

Filmmaker Danae Elon began to film her three young sons the moment she and her partner Philip decided to leave New York and return to Jerusalem. The decision was prompted by the death of her father, leading Israeli intellectual and writer Amos Elon. It was his dying wish that Danae not return, but her attachment to the place she always called home was stronger. On a journey back Danae’s camera captures her three young boys growing up, asking endless questions, and confronting the reality around them. The place she once saw as “home” challenges her relationship with her partner and the future of her kids. It is through the prism of parenthood, children, and a family that the story of this film exposes a deep, complex, and painful portrait of Jerusalem today. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Danae Elon.

Find screening info here.

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

“Band Aid”

Band Aid — Written and Directed by Zoe Lister-Jones (Also Available on VOD)
Ascent (Experimental) — Written and Directed by Fiona Tan
Wakefield — Written and Directed by Robin Swicord (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
Mr. Chibbs (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Jill Campbell
Obit. (Documentary) — Directed by Vanessa Gould
Tomorrow (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Mélanie Laurent
Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Lydia Tenaglia
Alive and Kicking (Documentary) — Directed by Susan Glatzer; Written by Susan Glatzer and Heidi Zimmerman (Also Available on VOD)
Glory — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Kristina Grozeva
David Lynch: The Art Life (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Cezanne and I — Written and Directed by Danièle Thompson
Jasper Jones — Directed by Rachel Perkins (Australia)

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

“I Love You Both”

I Love You Both — Co-Written by Kristin Archibald (Also Available on VOD)

Twins Krystal and Donny (real life siblings Doug and Kristin Archibald) have been codependent for 28 years, still living together in a converted one-bedroom house. When they both meet and start dating the same guy (Lucas Neff), they remain in denial until he picks only one of them, forcing them to confront that they can no longer live the same life. With nowhere to turn for advice except each other and their only two friends — Linda (Artemis Pebdani), Krystal’s co-worker, and their mother (real life mom Charlene Archibald) — the twins are finally forced to look for answers from within. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Awakening the Zodiac — Co-Written by Jennifer Archer (Also Available on VOD)

In 1968 one of the deadliest serial killers in U.S. history disappeared without a trace. His identity and cryptic messages remained unsolved for decades…until now. After a fortune-seeking couple (Shane West and Leslie Bibb) uncovers a 40-year-old film reel depicting two gruesome murders taken by the killer himself, they set out to solve the mystery and claim the $100,000 reward. But the situation quickly changes, as the hunters become the hunted. (Press materials)

Radio Dreams — Co-Written by Aida Ahadiany (Opens in LA)

“Radio Dreams”

Hamid (actor/musician Mohsen Namjoo) immigrates to the U.S. to pursue his writing career and the American Dream. Instead, he winds up working at a small Iranian radio station. Meanwhile, the owners of the station try to cash in on Hamid’s only program that they see fit for commercial success — the bringing together of an on-air jam session with Kabul Dreams and their long-time idols, Metallica. The ensuing collision between artistic integrity and crass commercialism resonates with hilarity and a poignant message, as Hamid fights to maintain a balance between his ambitions and his moral compass. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

“3 Idiotas”

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
Free Fire — Co-Written by Amy Jump
Tommy’s Honour — Co-Written by Pamela Marin
Smurfs: The Lost Village — Written by Stacey Harman and Pamela Ribon
The Red Turtle — Co-written by Pascale Ferran

TV Premieres This Week

“Claws”

An American Girl Story: Summer Camp, Friends for Life (TV Movie) — Written and Directed by Alison McDonald (Premieres June 9 on Amazon)

“An American Girl Story: Summer Camp, Friends for Life”

When a group of friends arrive at summer camp and have their tech devices taken away, they are confident that the summer is doomed. However, things take an exciting turn when a camp counselor sends them on a great and mysterious adventure. (Press materials)

My Only Love Song — Co-Created by Soo-Jin Kim (Premieres June 9 on Netflix)

When things don’t go her way during a shoot for her new show, a top actress runs away in an old van that guides her on a time-traveling journey. (Press materials)

Claws — Co-Executive Produced by Rashida Jones and Janine Sherman Barrois (Premieres June 11 on TNT)

“Claws” is a midnight-dark, wickedly funny meditation on female badness set in a South Florida nail salon. It follows the rise of five diverse and treacherous manicurists working at the Nail Artisan of Manatee County salon, where there is a lot more going on than silk wraps and pedicures. “Claws” is about good women caught in bad places with worse men. It’s the story of hardworking women trying to get by in this economy, set against the surreal, bright, gritty landscape of Florida and the luscious, absurd, extreme excesses of the crime world. (Press materials)

AFI Lifetime Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Diane Keaton (Premieres June 15 on TNT)

Ellen DeGeneres, Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Morgan Freeman, and Steve Martin will help honor the 45th AFI Life Achievement Award recipient, Diane Keaton, at a gala tribute. (Deadline)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

“Prevenge”

3 Generations — Directed by Gaby Dellal; Written by Gaby Dellal and Nikole Beckwith (DVD/VOD, June 13)
Alone in Berlin — Co-Written by Bettine von Borries (DVD/VOD, June 13)
Don’t Knock Twice (DVD/VOD, June 13)
Prevenge — Written and Directed by Alice Lowe (DVD/VOD, June 13)
Table 19 (DVD/VOD, June 13)
Two Women — Directed by Vera Glagoleva; Written by Olga Pogodina and Svetlana Grudovich (DVD/VOD, June 13)
Was it Rape Then? (Short) — Directed by Kari Lee Cartwright (Vimeo, Available Now)

Women and Hollywood in the News

“Wonder Woman” Director’s Success May Rewrite Script for Female Filmmakers (Real Clear Life)
Rape Culture in Hollywood (Radio interview KPFA)
What Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” Success Means for Women in Hollywood (The Wrap)
“Wonder Woman” conquering Box Office a sign Hollywood sexism outdated? (Reuters)
Three Reasons “Wonder Woman” Has Already Made History (Five Thirty Eight)

Picks of the Week from Women and Hollywood

Cross-Post: Parents in the Palais: An Open Letter to the Cannes Film Festival
“Wonder Woman” Director Patty Jenkins Makes History
June 2017 Film Preview
Rising Up: June’s VOD and Web Series Picks

On Women and Hollywood This Week

Penélope Cruz-Starrer “The Queen of Spain” Acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films
Film Society of Lincoln Center to Host Jane Campion Retrospective
Cher Musical to Hit Broadway in 2018
Bebe Neuwirth to Receive The Players’ Helen Hayes Award
Trailer Watch: Naomi Watts Can’t Control Her Impulses in “Gypsy”
Guest Post: I Used an All-Female Crew to Shoot My Movie and Was Called Sexist
Zoe Saldana Developing American Adaptation of Israeli Reality Show “Mothers”
Winfrey, Witherspoon, Kidman, Lange, and More Talk Hollywood’s Double Standards and Portraying Trauma in THR Roundtable
Naomi Alderman Wins Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction for “The Power”
Human Rights Watch FF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander — “Muhi — Generally Temporary”
Pamela Yates’ “500 Years” Acquired by Paladin
Cyndi Lauper Writing Music and Lyrics for “Working Girl” Stage Musical
Zoe Lister-Jones on Hiring an All-Female Crew for Her Directorial Debut “Band Aid”
Freeform Orders “Misfits” Reboot Pilot From Diane Ruggiero-Wright
Lauren Graham to Adapt YA Novel “Windfall” for the Screen
Cross-Post: Parents in the Palais: An Open Letter to the Cannes Film Festival
Rashida Jones Named SAG-AFTRA Foundation Actors Inspiration Winner
Patty Jenkins Is Not Attached to the “Wonder Woman” Sequel
Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington Team Up For “24–7” from Screenwriter Sarah Rothschild
Sundance’s Pocket-Sized London Fest Lacks Women Directors But Screens Solid Female-Led Films
Karen Gillan to Receive Rising Star Award at the Maui Film Festival
Idina Menzel to Lead Reading of “Jagged Little Pill” Musical
Script About Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp Acquired by Amazon
Trailer Watch: Holly Hunter Deals with Trauma and Betrayal in “Strange Weather”
“Divergent” Author Veronica Roth’s Next Film Adaptation to Tackle Mental Illness
Web Series “Brown Girls” Is Coming to HBO
Trailer Watch: Abbi and Ilana Resist and Persist in “Broad City” Season 4
Cartoonist Lynda Barry Receives Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award
Cyndi Lauper to Receive Logo Trailblazer Honors for Her LGBT Activism
Lynn Nottage’s New Play “Mlima’s Tale” to Premiere Off Broadway in 2018
“Wonder Woman” Director Patty Jenkins Makes History
Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters Sign New Three-Year Overall Deal with ABC
Trailer Watch: Salma Hayek Takes on a Trump-Like Figure in “Beatriz at Dinner”
“Wonder Woman” Takes Flight at the Box Office
Spec Script from “Underground” Co-Creator Misha Green Goes to Netflix
“Letters from Baghdad” Directors on Spy, Explorer, and Political Powerhouse Gertrude Bell
“Women Who Kill” and “Woman on Fire” Acquired by FilmRise
Interview: Theater Director Rebecca Taichman on Her First Broadway Show “Indecent”
All-Female Shakespeare Stage Trilogy to Receive UK Theatrical Release
June 2017 Film Preview
Rachel Perkins’ Toni Collette-Starrer “Jasper Jones” Acquired by Film Movement
Rising Up: June’s VOD and Web Series Picks

Weekly Reads from Around the Internet

We Need More Female Characters Like Nora Durst of “The Leftovers” by Lindsay Zoladz (The Ringer)

Why I Cried Through the Fight Scenes in “Wonder Woman” by Meredith Woerner (The LA Times)

“Dear White People” Director Tina Mabry Talks Diversity and TV vs. Film by Mekeisha Madden Toby (Variety)

No Redemption for the Reverend: Ongoing Abuse in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” by Evette Dionne (Bitch Media)

Follow Women and Hollywood on Twitter @WomenaHollywood and Melissa Silverstein @melsil.

To contact Women and Hollywood, email melissa@womenandhollywood.com.

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