By Tatiana McInnis and Shayna Maci Warner
2020 has been an exercise of endurance, unspeakable loss, tragedy, anxiety, and rage, the scale of which cannot be addressed in any piece of writing. Many truths have been exposed this year, including that we are deeply invested in the stories we tell about our world — and other worlds! Many of us sought and found solace on screen, whether through binge-watching, virtual cinemas, or Zoom. While the challenging truths and issues laid bare in 2020 will not leave us when the clock strikes midnight on the 31st, we are hopeful about the stories we will tell, hear, and see in 2021.
Premiering January 1, Roseanne Liang’s “Shadow in the Cloud” follows Chloë Grace Moretz as Captain Maude Garrett, a female flight captain navigating the challenges of WWII air warfare and the sexism of her crew.
Viewers can get an in-depth look at the life, loves, and career of beloved star Audrey Hepburn in Helena Coan’s “Audrey” (January 5). In a similar vein, they can learn more about an acclaimed artist and the eccentric collectors who will do anything to get ahold of his work with Oeke Hoogendijk’s “My Rembrandt” (January 6). Meanwhile, Yu Gu’s “A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem” (January 26) chronicles two former NFL cheerleaders’ legal fight for fair pay.
The month rounds out with two family dramas, Fernanda Valadez’s “Identifying Features” and Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s “Our Friend,” both out January 22. The former sees a Mexican woman trying to find out what happened to her son, who crossed the border into the U.S. and hasn’t been heard from since. “Our Friend” is about a family rocked by their matriarch’s terminal cancer diagnosis, and the friend who offers to help them in their time of need.
Here are the women-centric, women-directed, and women-written films debuting in January. All descriptions are from press materials unless otherwise noted.
January 1
“Shadow in the Cloud” – Directed by Roseanne Liang; Written by Roseanne Liang and Max Landis (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
In the throes of World War II, Captain Maude Garrett (Chloë Grace Moretz) joins the all-male crew of a B-17 bomber with a top-secret package. Caught off guard by the presence of a woman on a military flight, the crew tests Maude’s every move. Just as her quick wit is winning them over, strange happenings and holes in her backstory incite paranoia surrounding her true mission. But this crew has more to fear — lurking in the shadows, something sinister is tearing at the heart of the plane. Trapped between an oncoming air ambush and an evil lurking within, Maude must push beyond her limits to save the hapless crew and protect her mysterious cargo.
January 5
“Audrey” (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Helena Coan (Available on VOD)
Actress, humanitarian, and recognized as a film and fashion icon, Audrey Hepburn was undoubtedly one of the greatest legends from the Golden Age of Hollywood. This in-depth documentary looks back at the life, loves, and career of this enigmatic star.
“Gun and a Hotel Bible” – Directed by Alicia Joy LeBlanc and Raja Gosnell (Available on VOD)
Spend one hour in one desperate man’s life when Pete (Bradley Gosnell) comes “face-to-face” with everything he once believed in. Gideon — being, ya know, a bible — doesn’t get out much. Still, he has plenty to say, but Pete’s heard it all before, and he’s more than ready to spar with the “Word of God.” As ideas about morality, the Bible, and God fly, the clock ticks. Gideon and Pete battle and bond as they are forced to deal with their inadequacies. Unfortunately, time is short — when all hope is lost, can the lost find hope?
January 6
“My Rembrandt” (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Oeke Hoogendijk (Available in Virtual Cinemas)
Rembrandt’s paintings have lost none of their appeal in the 350 years since his death. Collectors worldwide cherish the magic of the Dutch master’s work. This entertaining documentary shows the passion of a variety of Rembrandt enthusiasts. An eccentric, aristocratic Scot is looking for the ultimate place to hang his beloved portrait of a woman reading, and an animated Amsterdam art dealer has his eye out for a second chance to discover a “new” Rembrandt — this descendant of an old merchant family, whose ancestor was once painted by Rembrandt himself, has got something to prove. An ambitious American businessman and his wife proudly make “their” Rembrandts available to the Louvre, and the Rothschild family’s decision to put Rembrandt’s wedding portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit on the market threatens to provoke a diplomatic row between the Netherlands and France. “My Rembrandt” provides fascinating insight into what makes the work of this Dutch master technically so extraordinary, and why different people are so deeply affected by his oeuvre, or a specific work. Meanwhile, centuries after Rembrandt’s death, his paintings are still a source of drama and gripping plot twists.
January 8
“If Not Now, When?” – Directed by Meagan Good and Tamara Bass; Written by Tamara Bass (Available on VOD)
“If Not Now, When?”
Four friends (Meagan Holder, Mekia Cox, Tamara Bass, and Meagan Good), who met in high school and are bonded by an event, are suddenly forced back together when one of them suffers a crisis. It’s a story of love, forgiveness, and the incredible bond between women.
“I Blame Society” – Directed by Gillian Wallace Horvat; Written by Gillian Wallace Horvat and Chase Williamson (Available in Virtual Cinemas)
“I Blame Society”
A struggling filmmaker senses her peers are losing faith in her ability to succeed, so she decides to prove herself by finishing her last abandoned film — and committing the perfect murder.
January 14
“Hunted” – Written by Léa Pernollet and Vincent Paronnaud (Available on Shudder)
A French woman (Lucie Debay) working in Belgium decides to blow off some steam at a bar. She meets a charming man and decides to leave the bar with him. Yet things quickly take a turn when she realizes this man is a psychopath and he has an accomplice. She will have to fight to escape the fate these men have planned for her.
January 15
“The Delivered” (Available on VOD)
Set on an isolated farm in Shropshire in 1657, this is the story of Fanny Lye (Maxine Peake), a woman who learns to transcend her oppressive marriage and discover a new world of possibility — albeit at great personal cost. Living a life of Puritan stricture with her husband and young son, Fanny Lye’s world is shaken to its core by the unexpected arrival of two strangers in need, a young couple closely pursued by a ruthless sheriff and his deputy.
“The Dig” – Written by Moira Buffini (In Theaters; Available on Netflix January 29)
“The Dig”
As WWII looms, a wealthy widow (Carey Mulligan) hires an amateur archaeologist (Ralph Fiennes) to excavate the burial mounds on her estate. When they make a historic discovery, the echoes of Britain’s past resonate in the face of its uncertain future.
“Film About a Father Who” (Documentary) – Directed by Lynne Sachs (Available in Virtual Cinemas)
Over a period of 35 years between 1984 and 2019, filmmaker Lynne Sachs shot 8mm and 16mm film, videotape, and digital images of her father, Ira Sachs Sr., a bon vivant and pioneering businessman from Park City, Utah. “Film About a Father Who” is her attempt to understand the web that connects a child to her parent and a sister to her siblings. With a nod to the Cubist renderings of a face, Sachs’ cinematic exploration of her father offers simultaneous, sometimes contradictory, views of one seemingly unknowable man who is publicly the uninhibited center of the frame yet privately ensconced in secrets. In the process, Sachs allows herself and her audience inside to see beyond the surface of the skin, the projected reality. As the startling facts mount, Sachs as a daughter discovers more about her father than she had ever hoped to reveal.
“One Night in Miami…” – Directed by Regina King (Available on Amazon Prime Video)
“One Night in Miami…”
On one incredible night in 1964, four icons of sports, music, and activism gathered to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. When underdog Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), soon to be called Muhammad Ali, defeats heavy weight champion Sonny Liston at the Miami Convention Hall, Clay memorialized the event with three of his friends: Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge). Based on the award-winning play of the same name, “One Night In Miami…” is a fictional account inspired by the historic night these four formidable figures spent together. It looks at the struggles these men faced and the vital role they each played in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the 1960s. More than 40 years later, their conversations on racial injustice, religion, and personal responsibility still resonate.
“Double Dad” – Directed by Cris D’Amato; Written by Thalita Rebouças, Renato Fagundes, Marcelo Andrade, and João Paulo Horta (Available on Netflix)
While her mom is away, a teen sneaks out of the hippie commune where she lives and embarks on a life-changing adventure to discover who her father is.
“MLK/FBI” (Documentary) – Written by Laura Tomaselli and Benjamin Hedin (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
“MLK/FBI” is the first film to uncover the extent of the FBI’s surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Based on newly discovered and declassified files, utilizing a trove of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and unsealed by the National Archives, as well as revelatory restored footage, the documentary explores the government’s history of targeting Black activists, and the contested meaning behind some of our most cherished ideals.
January 20
“The Salt of Tears” – Written by Arlette Langmann, Philippe Garrel, and Jean-Claude Carrière (Available in Virtual Cinemas)
“The Salt of Tears”
This typically French take on toxic masculinity places one handsome young cad amid three vulnerable women, mixes in a heady dose of narcissism, and sprinkles in some de rigueur male compartmentalization. Impulsive and rakish, Luc (Logann Antuofermo) is in Paris only briefly to become certified as a cabinetmaker – but long enough to ensorcel a beautiful young woman he picks up at a bus stop. Soon he’s juggling three relationships, but really only one – with his own ego. (Film Forum)
January 22
“Identifying Features” – Directed by Fernanda Valadez; Written by Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero (Available in Virtual Cinemas)
“Identifying Features”
Middle-aged Magdalena (Mercedes Hernandez) has lost contact with her son after he took off with a friend from their town of Guanajuato to cross the border into the U.S., hopeful to find work. Desperate to find out what happened to him—and to know whether or not he’s even alive—she embarks on an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous journey to discover the truth. At the same time, a young man named Miguel (David Illescas) has returned to Mexico after being deported from the U.S., and eventually his path converges with Magdalena’s.
“Our Friend” – Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
“Our Friend” tells the inspiring and extraordinary true story of the Teague family — journalist Matt (Casey Affleck), his vibrant wife Nicole (Dakota Johnson), and their two young daughters — and how their lives are upended by Nicole’s heartbreaking diagnosis of terminal cancer. As Matt’s responsibilities as caretaker and parent become increasingly overwhelming, the couple’s best friend Dane Faucheux (Jason Segel) offers to come and help out. As Dane puts his life on hold to stay with his friends, the impact of this life altering decision proves greater and more profound than anyone could have imagined.
“Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time” – Written and Directed by Lili Horvát (In Theaters)
“Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time”
Márta (Natasa Stork), a 40-year-old neurosurgeon, falls in love. She leaves her shining American career behind and returns to Budapest to start a new life with the man. But the love of her life claims that they have never met before.
“So My Grandma’s A Lesbian!” – Written and Directed by Ángeles Reiné (Available on Netflix)
“So My Grandma’s A Lesbian”
Eva (Ingrid García Jonsson), a successful lawyer living in Edinburgh, returns home to try and stop her grandmother from marrying her lifelong friend, Celia (Rosa Maria Sardà), and turning her and her whole family’s life upside down. Somewhere in between the mix ups, white lies, robberies, traffic accidents, media sensationalism, and frankly deranged situations, Eva will slowly come to understand what the important things in her life really are.
January 26
“A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem” (Documentary) – Directed by Yu Gu; Written by Elizabeth Ai (Available on VOD)
“A Woman’s Work”
Football and feminism collide in this feature documentary that follows two former NFL cheerleaders who file class-action lawsuits against their teams and the league alleging wage theft and illegal employment practices. After more than 50 years of pervasive silence, these young women expose the gender inequality at the heart of America’s favorite pastime, while facing exile from their communities and the job they love. Their fight is a microcosm of the battle women wage across all industries today.
January 29
“Finding ‘Ohana” – Directed by Jude Weng; Written by Christina Strain (Available on Netflix)
“Finding Ohana”
Two Brooklyn siblings’ (Kea Peahu and Alex Aiono) summer in a rural Oahu town takes an exciting turn when a journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an adventure, leading them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage.
“Palmer” – Written by Cheryl Guerriero (Available on Apple TV+)
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) returns home to put his life back together — and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie’s past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
