This July offers many new films by and about women to discover on VOD and streaming platforms, and — as some films make their tentative return to cinemas — in movie theaters, too.
Book-ending the month are three documentaries about extraordinary musicians, their paths to success, and their cultural impact. Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni’s “Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind” profiles the Canadian icon’s journey — all the way from choir boy to star — with intimacy and honesty. “Suzi Q” tells the story of how Suzi Quatro changed rock and roll for women when she became the first female bass player to become a massive rock star. And Sue Williams’ “Denise Ho: Becoming the Song” similarly examines the trials and triumphs of the titular Hong Kong singer and political activist. The latter two are out July 1; “Gordon Lightfoot” will be available July 29.
The month will also see a number of gripping horror films, including Natalie Erika James’ “Relic” (July 10), starring Emily Mortimer in a tale of three generations of women seemingly haunted in their family home; and Romola Garai’s directorial debut, “Amulet” (July 24), about a former soldier who too finds himself in a house of horrors. Elsewhere, the sinister “Saint Maud,” written and directed by Rose Glass, hits theaters July 17. It focuses on hospice nurse Maud (Morfydd Clark) whose holy quest is thrown into disarray by her new patient.
Also dealing with religious themes, but on a lighter note, Karen Maine’s “Yes, God, Yes” (July 24) follows Alice (Natalia Dyer), a religious Midwestern teenager plagued by guilt over having discovered masturbation.
The hotly anticipated latest film from Gina Prince-Bythewood, “The Old Guard,” adapted from the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name, launches on Netflix July 10. It follows a group of immortal mercenaries, led by Charlize Theron’s Andy, and joined by the newly initiated Nile (Kiki Layne).
For fans of period pieces, there’s Marjane Satrapi’s inventive biopic of Marie Curie, “Radioactive” (July 24), starring Rosamund Pike as the famous scientist; and Jessica Swale’s “Summerland” (July 31), in which a reclusive writer (Gemma Arterton) reluctantly takes in a young evacuee during World War II.
Here are the women-centric, women-directed, and women-written films debuting this July. All descriptions are from press materials unless otherwise noted.
July 1
“Denise Ho: Becoming the Song” (Documentary) – Directed by Sue Williams (Available via Virtual Cinemas)
Denise Ho: Becoming the Song”
“Denise Ho: Becoming the Song” profiles the openly gay Hong Kong singer and human rights activist Denise Ho. Drawing on unprecedented, years-long access, the film explores her remarkable journey from commercial Cantopop superstar to outspoken political activist, an artist who has put her life and career on the line to support the determined struggle of Hong Kong citizens to maintain their identity and freedom.
“Suzi Q” (Documentary) (One Night Virtual Premiere) (Available on VOD July 3)
“Suzi Q”
Before Suzi Quatro burst on the music world in 1973, there were almost no women in rock, and absolutely none who played bass and sang lead vocals and led the band and rocked out and reached millions of people around the world, re-writing the rule book for the expected image of women in rock & roll. Singer, songwriter, bass player, bandleader, actress, radio-presenter, poet – there is only one Suzi Q, the pint-sized, leather-clad rocker who has sold more than 50 million records and in 2019 released a new album, celebrating 53 years as a working musician.
Under the Riccione Sun – Written by Caterina Salvadori, Enrico Vanzina, and Ciro Zecca (Available on Netflix)
While vacationing on the beaches of Riccione, a group of teens become friends and help each other manage romantic relationships and summer crushes.
July 2
Lynn + Lucy (Available on BFI Player in the UK)
“Lynn + Lucy”
Lynn (Roxanne Scrimshaw) and Lucy (Nichola Burley) are life-long best friends, their relationship as intense as any romance. Neither has ventured far from where they grew up. Lynn, who married her first boyfriend and whose daughter is fast growing up, is delighted when the charismatic, volatile Lucy has her first baby, a boy. Lucy, however, does not react to motherhood as Lynn expects. Soon, they find their friendship tested in the most extreme circumstances.
July 3
“John Lewis: Good Trouble” (Documentary) – Directed by Dawn Porter (Also Available on VOD and via Virtual Cinemas)
“John Lewis: Good Trouble”: Magnolia Pictures
Using interviews and rare archival footage, “John Lewis: Good Trouble” chronicles Lewis’ 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health-care reform, and immigration. Using present-day interviews with Lewis, now 80 years old, Dawn Porter explores his childhood experiences, his inspiring family, and his fateful meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957. In addition to her interviews with Lewis and his family, Porter’s primarily cinéma verité film also includes interviews with political leaders, Congressional colleagues, and other people who figure prominently in his life.
“Desperados” – Directed by LP; Written by Ellen Rapoport (Available on Netflix)
“Desperados”: Cate Cameron/NETFLIX
A panicked young woman (Nasim Pedrad) and her two best friends (Anna Camp and Sarah Burns) fly to Mexico to delete a ranting email she sent to her new boyfriend. On arrival, they run into her former beau (Lamorne Morris), who soon gets caught up in their frantic scheme.
“One Thousand Stories: The Making of a Mural” (Documentary) – Directed by Tasha Van Zandt (Available via Virtual Cinemas)
“One Thousand Stories: The Making of a Mural” follows the artist JR in the creation of his first video mural project, The Chronicles of San Francisco. The mural reflects a city in which the individual spirit of thousands of residents cohere into a unique and ever-changing whole.
“Elliott Erwitt: Silence Sounds Good” (Documentary) – Directed by Adriana Lopez Sanfeliu (Available via Virtual Cinemas)
Elliott Erwitt has joked that he’s been around so long, most editors think he’s dead. The 91-year-old Magnum photographer has made iconic images of the Civil Rights movement, the Cuban Revolution, not to mention celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, and dogs. “Elliott Erwitt: Silence Sounds Good” finds the laconic visual legend very much alive and snapping as he travels back to Cuba for the first time since his iconic Newsweek photos of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in a funny and humanistic portrait of one of the greatest living photographers.
July 7
“Elvis from Outer Space” – Written and Directed by Tracy Wuischpard and MZ Silverman (Available on VOD)
Ladies and gentlemen, the King of Rock N’ Roll from Outer Space has blasted into Vegas from the far side of the Universe to compete in an Elvis impersonation contest with the best in town! But just as he is on the verge of victory, he mysteriously vanishes. Who’s behind the disappearance? The mafia? The CIA? Or the aliens he left behind?
July 8
“Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado” (Documentary) – Directed by Cristina Costantini and Kareem Tabsch (Available on Netflix)
“Mucho Mucho Amor”
Every day for decades, Walter Mercado — the iconic, gender non-conforming astrologer — mesmerized 120 million Latino viewers with his extravagance and positivity. Then he vanished from the public eye. “Mucho Mucho Amor” captures Walter’s final two years, when the pioneering icon grappled with aging and his legacy, as he prepared for one last star-studded spectacle.
Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly (Documentary) – Directed by Cheryl Haines and Gina Leibrecht (Available via Virtual Cinemas)
While under house arrest in Beijing, Ai Weiwei remotely transformed Alcatraz, a former island penitentiary and current national park, into a remarkable expression of socially engaged art. “Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly” aims to inspire viewers to take action in the struggle for human rights at home and abroad. It starts with a simple and direct expression of empathy: the sending of a postcard.
July 9
“The Beach House” (Available on Shudder)
Escaping to his family’s beach house to reconnect, Emily (Liana Liberato) and Randall (Noah Le Gros) find their off-season trip interrupted by Mitch and Jane Turner (Jake Weber and Maryann Nagel), an older couple acquainted with Randall’s estranged father. Unexpected bonds form as the couples let loose and enjoy the isolation, but it all takes an ominous turn as increasingly strange environmental phenomena begin to warp their peaceful evening. As the effects of an infection become evident, Emily struggles to make sense of the contagion before it’s too late.
July 10
“The Old Guard” – Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Available on Netflix)
“The Old Guard”: Netflix
Led by a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron), a covert group of tight-knit mercenaries with a mysterious inability to die have fought to protect the mortal world for centuries. But when the team is recruited to take on an emergency mission and their extraordinary abilities are suddenly exposed, it’s up to Andy and Nile (KiKi Layne), the newest soldier to join their ranks, to help the group eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Greg Rucka, “The Old Guard” is a gritty, grounded, action-packed story that shows living forever is harder than it looks.
“Relic” – Directed by Natalie Erika James; Written by Natalie Erika James and Christian White (Also Available on VOD)
“Relic”
When elderly mother Edna (Robyn Nevin) inexplicably vanishes, her daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) and granddaughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) rush to their family’s decaying country home, finding clues of her increasing dementia scattered around the house in her absence. After Edna returns just as mysteriously as she disappeared, Kay’s concern that her mother seems unwilling or unable to say where she’s been clashes with Sam’s unabashed enthusiasm to have her grandma back. As Edna’s behavior turns increasingly volatile, both begin to sense that an insidious presence in the house might be taking control of her. All three generations of women are brought together through trauma and a powerful sense of strength and loyalty to face the ultimate fear together.
“Olympia” (Documentary) (Available via Virtual Cinemas)
“Olympia”
In the same vein as Albert Maysles’ “Iris,” this sublimely intimate fly on the wall verité documentary tells a heart-wrenching story of a woman becoming her own woman, on her own terms, to assert a gigantic creative force into the world. Rebelling against her old world, panty-sniffing, suspicious Greek mother to assert her strong sexual drive, fighting the feeling she was “too ethnic” amid the Boston Brahmin at BU, and starting her own theater company in New Jersey instead of waiting for the phone to ring, Olympia Dukakis models how to live life with blazing courage.
“First Cow” – Directed by Kelly Reichardt; Written by Kelly Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond (Available on VOD)
“First Cow”
A taciturn loner and skilled cook (John Magaro) has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon Territory, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee) also seeking his fortune; soon the two collaborate on a successful business, although its longevity is reliant upon the clandestine participation of a nearby wealthy landowner’s prized milking cow.
July 16
“Fatal Affair” – Written by Rasheeda Garner and Peter Sullivan (Available on Netflix)
“Fatal Affair”: Netflix
Ellie (Nia Long) tries to mend her marriage with her husband (Stephen Bishop) after a brief encounter with an old friend, David (Omar Epps), only to find that David is more dangerous and unstable than she’d realized.
July 17
“Saint Maud” – Written and Directed by Rose Glass
“Saint Maud”
“Saint Maud” is a chilling and boldly original vision of faith, madness, and salvation in a fallen world. Maud (Morfydd Clark), a newly devout hospice nurse, becomes obsessed with saving her dying patient’s soul — but sinister forces, and her own sinful past, threaten to put an end to her holy calling.
“Flannery” (Documentary) – Directed by Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco (Available via Virtual Cinemas)
Winner of the first-ever Library of Congress/Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, “Flannery” is the lyrical, intimate exploration of the life and work of author Flannery O’Connor, whose distinctive Southern Gothic style influenced a generation of artists and activists. With her family home at Andalusia — the Georgia farm where she grew up and later wrote her best known work — as a backdrop, a picture of the woman behind her sharply aware, starkly redemptive style comes into focus.
“Blessed Child” (Documentary) – Directed by Cara Jones; Written by Cara Jones, Jean Kawahara, and Josh Alexander (Available on VOD)
“Blessed Child”
More than a decade after leaving the Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church (the “Moonies”), through a trove of never before seen footage from within the church and extraordinary home videos of her family’s upbringing alongside Reverend Moon and his disciples, filmmaker Cara Jones attempts to finally break free from the religious cult which dominated her childhood. “Blessed Child” is one daughter’s attempt to unpack the legacy of the decisions her parents made while challenging assumptions — hers and ours — about cults and family.
“A Most Beautiful Thing” (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Mary Mazzio (Opens in Select Theaters)
“A Most Beautiful Thing”
“A Most Beautiful Thing,” narrated by Common, chronicles the first African American high school rowing team in this country — made up of young men, many of whom were in rival gangs from the West Side of Chicago — all coming together to row in the same boat.
“A Nice Girl Like You” – Written by Andrea Marcellus (Available on VOD)
Based on a true story, “A Nice Girl Like You” follows Lucy Neal (Lucy Hale), a violinist who is thrown for a loop when she is dumped by her boyfriend after he accuses her of being “pornophobic.” In order to prove him wrong, Lucy creates a rather wild sex-to-do list, sending her and her best friends (Mindy Cohn, Jackie Cruz, and Adhir Kalyan) on a whirlwind and hysterical journey of self-discovery, friendship, and new love.
“The Sunlit Night” – Written by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight (Available on VOD)
“The Sunlit Night”: Sundance Institute
“The Sunlit Night” follows an aspiring painter (Jenny Slate) from New York City to the farthest reaches of Arctic Norway for an assignment she hopes will invigorate her work and expand her horizons. In a remote village, among the locals, she meets a fellow New Yorker (Alex Sharp), who has come in search of a proper Viking funeral only to find that the Chief (Zach Galifianakis) is but a re-enactor from Cincinnati. The eclectic crew ranges from “home” to “lost,” within the extreme and dazzling landscape of the Far North. Under a sun that never quite sets, and the high standards of an unforgiving mentor, Frances must navigate between ambition, desire, obligation, and risk in order to find a way forward.
“My Brothers’ Crossing” – Written by Edna Janeen White
“My Brothers’ Crossing” is the true story about a tragic accident that happened in August 2015. In remote southwest Virginia, during the time when we were experiencing riots and racial hate crimes, an African-American man is involved in a horrific accident which claims the lives of Bobby and Pam Clark — a Caucasian couple. What followed was a community rising up, blind to our different heritages, to heal and show incredible forgiveness in the wake of this tragedy.
July 21
“Holy Trinity” – Written and Directed by Molly Hewitt (Available on VOD)
Trinity (Molly Hewitt) is an independent, sex-positive millennial working as a dominatrix in Chicago. After an incident huffing her drug of choice — a mysterious aerosol can from the ubiquitous Glamhag brand — she finds herself with a newfound gift for speaking to the dead. Confused and more than a little curious about this strange turn of events, Trinity seeks the counsel of a colorful cast of characters, from priests and drag queens to a witch and more, all of whom teach her their unique spiritual practices.
July 24
“Radioactive” – Directed by Marjane Satrapi (Available on Amazon Prime)
“Radioactive”
From the 1870s to the modern era, “Radioactive” is a journey through Marie Curie’s (Rosamund Pike) enduring legacies – her passionate relationships, scientific breakthroughs, and the consequences that followed for her and for the world. After meeting fellow scientist Pierre Curie (Sam Riley), the pair go on to marry and change the face of science forever by their discovery of radioactivity. The genius of the Curies’ world-changing discoveries and the ensuing Nobel Prize propels the devoted couple into the international limelight. “Radioactive” is a visionary depiction of the transformative effects and ensuing fallout of the Curies’ work and how this shaped the defining moments of the 20th Century.
“Amulet” – Written and Directed by Romola Garai (Also Available on VOD)
“Amulet”: PMKBNC
An ex-soldier (Alec Secareanu), living homeless in London, is offered a place to stay at a decaying house inhabited by a young woman (Carla Juri) and her dying mother (Anah Ruddin). As he starts to fall for her, he cannot ignore his suspicion that something sinister is going on.
“Yes, God, Yes” – Written and Directed by Karen Maine (Available via Virtual Cinemas and Select Drive-ins) (Available on VOD July 28)
“Yes, God, Yes”
In the Midwest in the early ’00s, 16-year-old Alice (Natalia Dyer) has always been a good Catholic girl. But when an AOL chat turns racy, she discovers masturbation and becomes guilt-ridden. Seeking redemption, she attends a mysterious religious retreat to try and suppress her urges, but it isn’t easy, especially after a cute boy starts flirting with her. Alice’s sense of shame is spiraling when she uncovers a shocking truth about the retreat’s most devout. Desperate and confused, she flees and meets an unlikely ally who offers an alternative view of what it means to be good. For the first time, Alice realizes she can decide for herself what to believe and finally gets the release she needs.
“Offering to the Storm” (Available on Netflix)
In Pamplona, capital of Navarra, Amaia Salazar (Marta Etura) is called in to investigate the death of a still-born baby girl and the arrest of the child’s father. The investigation of this case will take Amaia and her team to discover some procedural irregularities in similar cases that occurred in the nearby valley of Batzán many years ago and that reveal an unusually high number of cases for such a small area.
“The Kissing Booth 2” (Available on Netflix)
Elle Evans (Joey King) just had the most romantic summer of her life with her reformed bad-boy boyfriend Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi). But now Noah is off to Harvard, and Elle heads back to high school for her senior year. She’ll have to juggle a long-distance relationship, getting into her dream college with her best friend Lee (Joel Courtney), and the complications brought on by a close friendship with a handsome, charismatic new classmate named Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez). When Noah grows close to a seemingly-perfect college girl (Maisie Richardson-Sellers), Elle will have to decide how much she trusts him and to whom her heart truly belongs.
July 29
“Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind” (Documentary) – Directed by Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni
With unprecedented access to the artist, directors Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni chart Gordon Lightfoot’s profound evolution from Christian choirboy to troubled troubadour, international star, and beloved Canadian icon with five Grammy nominations and over 10 million albums sold. The film is an intimate and emotional examination of Lightfoot’s relationship to his music while intertwining his indelible legacy and unpacking key songs within the cultural history of folk and rock music along the way.
July 31
“Summerland” – Written and Directed by Jessica Swale (Also Available on VOD)
“Summerland”: Michael Wharley
Alice (Gemma Arterton), a reclusive writer, is resigned to a solitary life on the seaside cliffs of Southern England while World War II rages across the channel. When she opens her front door one day to find she’s to adopt a young London evacuee named Frank (Toby Osmond), she’s resistant. It’s not long, however, before the two realize they have more in common in their pasts than Alice had assumed.
“Black Is King” (Visual Album) – Written and Directed by Beyoncé (Available on Disney+)
“Black Is King”: Travis Matthews
This visual album from Beyoncé reimagines the lessons of “The Lion King” for today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns. The voyages of Black families, throughout time, are honored in a tale about a young king’s transcendent journey through betrayal, love, and self-identity. His ancestors help guide him toward his destiny, and with his father’s teachings and guidance from his childhood love, he earns the virtues needed to reclaim his home and throne.
“The Fight” (Documentary) – Directed by Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman, and Eli Despres (Also Available on VOD)
“The Fight”
When a mother is separated from her child, a soldier is threatened to lose his career, a young woman’s right to choose is imperiled at the pleasure of a government official, and the ability to exercise our basic right to vote is threatened, the consequences can be devastating to us and to future generations. “The Fight” is an inspiring, emotional insider look at how these important battles are fought and the legal gladiators on the front lines fighting them, celebrating the unsung heroes who fiercely work to protect our freedoms.
“Save Yourselves!” – Written and Directed by Eleanor Wilson and Alex Fischer
“Save Yourselves!”: Matt Clegg
Jack (John Reynolds) and Su (Sunita Mani) are a hip Brooklyn couple who are so dependent on technology, they can’t put down their phones. Fearing their scrolling may impact their connection to each other, they seize the chance to head to an isolated cabin in the woods, vowing to unplug from the outside world for one week. Sheltered from texts and push notifications, they are blissfully unaware that the planet is under attack. As strange events unfold, they must figure out a way back to civilization — or what’s left of it.
