From hard-hitting documentaries to coming-of-age dramedies, there are a bevy of films by and about women hitting VOD and streaming platforms in June. Among the pics opening the month are Josephine Decker’s “Shirley” and Mirrah Foulkes’ “Judy & Punch,” both opening June 5. The former centers on the titular “Lottery” writer, whose marriage and mental state become increasingly strained with the arrival of new tenants, while the latter is a feminist reimagining of the Punch and Judy characters.
Pia Hellenthal’s “Searching Eva” (June 2) documents the search for identity, selfhood, and power in an increasingly digital and public age via Adam, a young person who deemed privacy “outdated” when he was a teenager. Similarly depicting a unique story about growing up, Shannon Murphy’s “Babyteeth” (June 19) follows sick teen Milla (Eliza Scanlen) and her first experience with love. Despite her parents’ reservations and instinct to hold on to their daughter, Milla’s feelings reinvigorate her, and fill her with a determination to live life to its fullest.
This month will also see a number of films that examine the legacy of family and the specific relationships between parents and their children. In writer-director Channing Godfrey Peoples’ “Miss Juneteenth” (June 19), a single mom — who used to be a beauty queen — does her best to get her daughter ready for the Miss Juneteenth Pageant. “Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth” (June 16), directed by Jeanie Finlay, follows 30-year-old Freddy’s journey towards building a family. As a gay transgender man, the challenges he faces throughout his experiences of conception, pregnancy, and birth are sui generis, and he is forced to confront society’s expectations toward gender and the idea of family. In “Born in Evin” (June 9), director Maryam Zee investigates her family’s past of persecution and asylum-seeking after the declaration of the Islamic Republic in Iran.
Here are the women-centric, women-directed, and women-written films debuting this June. All descriptions are from press materials unless otherwise noted.
June 2
“The Price of Desire” – Written and Directed by Mary McGuckian (Available on VOD)
“The Price of Desire” tells a triangular tale of insidious chauvinism in a film about the remarkable bisexual Irish artist, architect, and designer Eileen Gray (Orla Brady). Set substantially in and around her most abiding work, the iconic villa E-1027, it explores how the egotistical “Father of Modernism,” Le Corbusier (Vincent Perez) controversially defaced its walls and with that, effaced her moral right to be recognized as its architect, going so far as to erase her actual ownership of the physical house she so lovingly created for her lover, his friend Jean Badovici (Francesco Scianna).
“Feral” – Written by Priscilla Kavanaugh, Jason Mendez, and Andrew Wonder (Available on VOD)
At once an examination of loneliness and the masks we wear to face the world, “Feral” tells the story of Yasmine (Annapurna Sriram), a young woman living in the tunnels underneath Manhattan, struggling to overcome her past as she meets other city dwellers fending for their own lives.
“Searching Eva” (Documentary) – Directed by Pia Hellenthal (Available on VOD)
“Searching Eva”
Adam, 25 — drifter, Berliner, pet-owner, poet, sex worker, virgo, addict, feminist, model — declared privacy an outdated concept at the age of 14. This is the tale of a young person growing up in the age of the internet, turning the search for oneself into a public spectacle. Through his fragmented personalities, you see the emergence of a generation, in which the concept of a fixed identity has grown old.
“The Infiltrators” (Documentary) – Directed by Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera (Available on VOD)
“The Infiltrators” is a docu-thriller that tells the true story of young immigrants who are detained by Border Patrol and thrown into a shadowy for-profit detention center — on purpose. Marco and Viri are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of radical DREAMers who are on a mission to stop unjust deportations. And the best place to stop deportations, they believe, is in detention. However, when Marco and Viri attempt a daring reverse “prison break,” things don’t go according to plan. By weaving together documentary footage of the real infiltrators with re-enactments of the events inside the detention center, “The Infiltrators” tells an incredible and thrilling true story in a genre-defying new cinematic language.
June 5
“Shirley” – Directed by Josephine Decker; Written by Sarah Gubbins (Available on VOD)
“Shirley”
Renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson (Elizabeth Moss) is on the precipice of writing her masterpiece when the arrival of newlyweds upends her meticulous routine and heightens tensions in her already tempestuous relationship with her philandering husband. The middle-aged couple, prone to ruthless barbs and copious afternoon cocktails, begins to toy mercilessly with the naïve young couple at their door.
“Judy & Punch” – Written and Directed by Mirrah Foulkes (Available on VOD)
“Judy & Punch”
In the anarchic town of Seaside, nowhere near the sea, puppeteers Judy (Mia Wasikowska) and Punch (Damon Herriman) are trying to resurrect their marionette show. The show is a hit due to Judy’s superior puppeteering, but Punch’s driving ambition and penchant for whisky lead to an inevitable tragedy that Judy must avenge.
“Parkland Rising” (Documentary) – Directed by Cheryl Horner McDonough (Available via Virtual Cinemas)
“Parkland Rising”
“Parkland Rising” follows the high school students and families who became fierce leaders of a national movement for gun reform following the shooting of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. Cheryl Horner McDonough’s documentary goes behind the news headlines to share the personal and intimate stories of the students leading the movement, as well as the families of victims who are working together to create meaningful change.
June 9
“Born in Evin” (Documentary) – Directed by Maryam Zaree (Available on VOD)
“Born in Evin”
Exactly 40 years have passed since the monarchy of the Shah of Iran was toppled and the Islamic Republic declared. In the 1980s Ayatollah Khomeini, the so-called religious leader, had tens of thousands of political opponents arrested, persecuted, and murdered. Among them the filmmaker’s parents who, after years in prison, managed to seek asylum in Germany. The family never talked about their persecution and imprisonment. With “Born in Evin,” filmmaker Maryam Zaree faces the decades-long silence and explores her own questions about the place and the circumstances of her birth.
June 12
“A Most Beautiful Thing” (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Mary Mazzio (One Week Only in Select Cities)
“A Most Beautiful Thing” 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.
June 16
“The Short History of the Long Road” – Written and Directed by Ani Simon-Kennedy (Available on VOD)
“The Short History of the Long Road”
For teenage Nola (Sabrina Carpenter), home is the open road. Her self-reliant father (Steven Ogg) is her anchor in a life of transience. The pair criss-cross the United States in a lovingly refurbished RV, making ends meet through odd jobs while relishing their independence. A shocking rupture, though, casts Nola out on her own. She makes her way to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in search of a mother she never knew, only for her motorhome to break down unexpectedly. But after forging a bond with an auto body shop owner (Danny Trejo), Nola senses the possibility of mooring her ship in this storm.
“My Father the Spy” (Documentary) (Available on VOD)
As a young Soviet student in 1978, Ieva could not have predicted that a holiday visit to her father, Imants Lešinskis, then working in the Soviet mission at the United Nations in New York City, would irreversibly split her life in two. Entangled in a dark spy game, Ieva is forced to leave her former life behind, never to see her mother or her homeland of Latvia again. Pulling back the curtain on the shady behind-the-scenes world of the Cold War, this film tells a daughter’s dramatic story of her double-agent father, exploring their relationship against the backdrop of events which have their roots over four decades ago. In order to find herself and understand the game she was part of, Ieva sets out on a journey to the past, confronting family secrets, lies, and betrayal.
“Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth” (Documentary) – Directed by Jeanie Finlay (Available on VOD)
“Seahorse”: Danny Burrows
Freddy is 30 and yearns to start a family, but for him this ordinary desire comes with unique challenges — he is a gay transgender man. Deciding to carry his own baby took years of soul searching, but nothing could prepare him for the reality of pregnancy, as both a physical experience and one that challenges society’s fundamental understanding of gender, parenthood, and family. He quickly realizes that what to him feels pragmatic, to others feels deeply confusing and confronting; this was not part of his plan. Against a backdrop of increasing hostility towards trans people the world over, Freddy is forced to confront his own naiveté, mine unknown depths of courage, and lean on every friend and family member who will stand by him. Made with unprecedented access and collaboration over three years, the film follows Freddy from preparing to conceive right through to birth. It is an intimate, audacious and lyrical story for the cinema about conception, pregnancy, birth, and what makes us who we are.
“Vampire Dad” – Directed by Frankie Ingrassia; Written by Frankie Ingrassia and Kathryn M. Moseley (Available on VOD)
Psychologist Dr. Raymond Walenski (Jackson Hurst) is the picture-perfect husband and father until one night when everything changes. Victoria (Grace Fulton), the “Goddess of the Underworld,” bites Raymond and turns him into a vampire. Victoria recruits Raymond to be the therapist for creatures of the netherworld because monsters have feelings, too, and they desperately need his help. Raymond struggles with his beastly nature as he treats bulimic zombies, obsessive-compulsive warlocks, and manic werewolves with their emotional issues. Meanwhile, Raymond’s devoted wife tries to keep their teenage daughter, neighbors, and friends from finding out Raymond’s secret.
“The Etruscan Smile” – Directed by Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun; Written by Sarah Bellwood, Michal Lali Kagan, and Michael McGowan (Available on VOD)
Rory MacNeil (Brian Cox), a rugged old Scotsman, reluctantly leaves his beloved isolated Hebridean island and travels to San Francisco to seek medical treatment. Moving in with his estranged son, Rory sees his life transformed through a newly found bond with his baby grandson.
June 19
“Miss Juneteenth” – Written and Directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples (Also Available on VOD)
“Miss Juneteenth”: Sundance Institute
A former beauty queen turned hard working single mom (Nicole Beharie) prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the Miss Juneteenth pageant, hoping to keep her from repeating the same mistakes in life that she made.
“Babyteeth” – Directed by Shannon Murphy; Written by Rita Kalnejais (Also Available on VOD)
“Babyteeth”
When seriously ill teenager Milla (Eliza Scanlen) falls madly in love with small-time drug dealer Moses (Toby Wallace), it’s her parents’ (Essie Davis and Ben Mendelsohn) worst nightmare. But as Milla’s first brush with love brings her a renewed lust for life, traditional morals go out the window, leaving her parents wanting to hold tighter to their little girl. Milla soon teaches everyone in her orbit — her parents, Moses, a sensitive music teacher, a budding child violinist, and a disarmingly honest, pregnant neighbor — how to live like you have nothing to lose. What might have been a disaster for the Finlay family instead leads to letting go and finding grace in the glorious chaos of life.
“Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy” (Documentary) – Directed by Elizabeth Carroll (Available on VOD)
“Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy”
Featuring extensive interviews with Diana Kennedy and famed chefs José Andrés, Rick Bayless, Gabriela Camara, and Alice Waters, “Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy” provides an intimate look at the leading expert on Mexican cuisine. The author of nine acclaimed cookbooks and a two-time James Beard Award winner, Diana is called the “Julia Child of Mexico,” but the feisty cook prefers “The Mick Jagger of Mexican Cuisine.”
“Mr. Jones” – Directed by Agnieszka Holland; Written by Andrea Chalupa (Available on VOD)
In March 1933, Welsh journalist Gareth Jones (James Norton) takes a train from Moscow to Kharkov in the Ukraine. He disembarks at a small station and sets off on foot on a journey through the country where he experiences firsthand the horrors of a famine. Everywhere there are dead people, and everywhere he goes he meets henchmen of the Soviet secret service who are determined to prevent news about the catastrophe from getting out to the general public. Supported by Ada Brooks (Vanessa Kirby), a New York Times reporter, Jones succeeds in spreading the shocking news in the West, thereby putting his powerful rival, the Pulitzer Prize-winning, pro-Stalin journalist Walter Duranty (Peter Sarsgaard), firmly in his place.
June 26
“The Audition” – Directed by Ina Weisse; Written by Ina Weisse and Daphne Charizani (Available via Virtual Cinemas)
Anna Bronsky (Nina Hoss) is a violin teacher at a music-focused high school. Despite the opposition of all other teachers, Anna drives through the admission of a student, Alexander (Ilja Monti), in whom she detects a remarkable talent. Committed, she prepares him for the intermediate exam and neglects her family. Her colleague Christian (Jens Albinus), with whom she has an affair, persuades her to join a quintet. When she fails during their joint concert, the pressure mounts and she focuses all her attention on Alexander. Come the day of the exam, events take a tragic turn.
June 30
“Scheme Birds” (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin (Available on VOD)
“Scheme Birds”: Ellinor Hallin
“Scheme Birds” bursts with the frustration of a generation of Scots let down by society’s promises. We see the fading steel town through the eyes of Gemma, a soon-to-be mother on the verge of adulthood. In a place where you “either get knocked up or locked up,” Gemma carves out brief moments of tenderness amidst the violence of her local scheme.
