By Jenna Dorsi and Camryn Garrett
September is an exciting month for films from women with different stories, backgrounds, and experiences. From crowd-pleasers about women turning the tables on powerful men to biopics about American legends, this month brings a variety of female-driven and – made films.
“Jinn” (September 6) kicks the month off with its first New York run. Written and directed by Nijla Mu’min and based on her own experiences, “Jinn” is the coming of age story of a black teen whose carefree life is upended when her mother converts to Islam.
One of the most anticipated films this month is Lorene Scafaria’s “Hustlers” (September 13). The story, adapted from a viral New York Magazine article by Jessica Pressler, follows a group of former strip club employees who scam dozens of their Wall Street clients. The pic’s ensemble cast includes Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Cardi B, Keke Palmer, Julia Stiles, Lili Reinhart, and Lizzo.
Also releasing on September 13 is Stella Meghie’s “The Weekend,” which follows a comedian who becomes romantically entangled with her ex, his new girlfriend, and another guest during a weekend getaway at a bed and breakfast.
Later, Jill Culton’s “Abominable” (September 27) uses stunning animation to tell the story of three kids who help a magical Yeti return to his family and avoid the clutches of those intent on capturing him. From Universal, the movie takes place in Shanghai and counts the legendary Tsai Chin among its voice cast.
September 27 will also see the premieres of two biopics about women in the spotlight. “Judy” focuses on Judy Garland’s (Renée Zellweger) five-week run of sell-out concerts in 1968 London. Meanwhile, Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann’s 1920s-set “Sister Aimee” is the story of a famed evangelist who stages her own disappearance.
Here are all of the women-centric, women-directed, and women-written films premiering this September. All descriptions are from press materials unless otherwise noted.
September 2
“Untouchable” (Documentary) – Directed by Ursula Macfarlane (Available on Hulu)
Ursula Macfarlane’s documentary gives context to the Harvey Weinstein scandal with the use of interviews with former employees, who re-examine what they thought they knew, and the women who Weinstein allegedly harmed, who give their painfully frank accounts of what the abuse did to their lives – physically, emotionally, professionally, and financially. Compelling interviews with Rosanna Arquette, Hope D’Amore, Paz de la Huerta, Erika Rosenbaum, and others underline how the wounds Weinstein allegedly inflicted and the shame and guilt that have festered for years continue to blight lives. Through the power of personal storytelling, “Untouchable” emphasizes the vital importance of the #MeToo movement and the entertainment industry’s long overdue cultural reckoning.
September 3
“K-12” – Written and Directed by Melanie Martinez (Opens in LA)
“K-12” sees Melanie Martinez starring as Cry Baby, a strong and sensitive girl who is sent off to a disturbing sleep-away school hidden underneath a grandiose façade. Luckily, she has a sweet and unapologetic best friend who sticks up for her when she gets bullied by the other students, whose brains are under control by the Principal and his wicked staff. With the help of the magical friends they meet along the way, as well as an Angelic Spirit Guide, they are able to gain the strength they need to fight off the school’s belligerent patriarchal conditioning.
September 6
“Jinn” – Written and Directed by Nijla Mu’min (One Week Only in NY)
“Jinn”: Park Circus
Summer (Zoe Rennee), a carefree, 17-year-old Black girl, finds herself navigating complex questions of faith, family, sexuality, and identity when her mother converts to Islam. The story draws on some of the filmmaker’s own experiences to fashion a bittersweet portrait of a young woman finding her way in the world. (BAM)
“I’m Leaving Now” (Documentary) – Directed by Lindsey Cordero and Armando Croda (Opens in NY)
Felipe Hernández, an undocumented immigrant, combs the streets of New York City collecting cans to survive on the margins of society. After 16 years of hard living, he makes plans to return to Mexico, but discovers his family has squandered his money and are in debt. Felipe must decide how much more he can sacrifice for a family he no longer knows.
“Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” (Documentary)
“Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice”: Telling Pictures
At the height of unprecedented success, Linda Ronstadt, a restless and adventurous artist, turned away from pop music to explore an astonishing variety of musical styles, from American standards to country to classical operetta, before circling back to her family roots with traditional Mexican canciones. Withstanding constant pressure from a risk-averse industry, Ronstadt insisted on following her musical instincts. Today, Ronstadt has Parkinson’s disease, and her magnificent singing voice has been silenced. But rather than letting that voice be lost to history, “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” tells Ronstadt’s story through her own words and music.
“Edie” – Written by Elizabeth O’Halloran (Opens in NY and LA)
“Edie”: Arrow Films
83-year-old Edie (Sheila Hancock) believes that it is never too late to pack an old camping bag, leave her life behind, and embark on an adventure she never got to have: climbing the imposing Mount Suilven in Scotland.
“Satanic Panic” – Directed by Chelsea Stardust (Also Available on VOD)
“Satanic Panic”: Aperture Entertainment
A pizza delivery girl at the end of her financial rope (Hayley Griffith) has to fight for her life — and her tips — when her last order of the night turns out to be high-society Satanists in need of a virgin sacrifice.
September 13
“Hustlers” – Written and Directed by Lorene Scafaria
“Hustlers”: Annapurna Pictures
Inspired by a New York Magazine article by Jessica Pressler that went viral, the story centers around a group of former strip club employees, led by an aging dancer (Jennifer Lopez) and an ambitious single mother (Constance Wu), while they lie, steal, and hustle dozens of their Wall Street clients as the sex industry bottoms out during the late-2000s financial crisis.
“The Weekend” – Written and Directed by Stella Meghie (Also Available on VOD)
“The Weekend”: Lionsgate
In this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, Zadie (Sasheer Zamata, “Saturday Night Live”) goes on an insane weekend getaway with her ex, Bradford (Tone Bell, “The Flash”), and his new girlfriend (DeWanda Wise, “She’s Gotta Have It”). At the B&B run by her nosy mom (Kym Whitley, “Deliver Us from Eva”), Zadie feels like a third wheel until handsome Aubrey (Y’lan Noel, “The First Purge”) shows up. Suddenly jealous, Bradford tries to sabotage Zadie’s budding romance with Aubrey — with hilarious results!
“Can You Keep a Secret?” – Directed by Elise Duran (Also Available on VOD)
“Can You Keep A Secret?”: Vertical Entertainment
On the way home from a botched client meeting, Emma (Alexandra Daddario) mistakenly reveals all her deepest secrets to a handsome stranger sitting next to her when her plane hits turbulence. At least, she thought he was a stranger — until she later meets Jack (Tyler Hoechlin), her company’s young CEO, who now knows every humiliating detail about her.
“Riot Girls” – Directed Jovanka Vuckovic; Written by Katherine Collins (Also Available on VOD)
“Riot Girls”: Clique Pictures
After a mysterious illness has killed all adults, the town of Potter’s Bluff has been divided into two rival factions: the “East Side,” made up of scrappy scavengers living amongst the ruins, and the “West Side,” which hoards its wealth in the former high school and is ruled by brutal dictator, Jeremy (Munro Chambers, “Degrassi: The Next Generation”). When Jack (Alexandre Bourgeois, “Departure”), an Eastsider, is forced to kill two Westsiders while on a scavenging mission, he is captured and taken back to the West Side, where he awaits public execution. Jack’s sister, Nat (Madison Iseman), and her best friend, Scratch (Paloma Kwiatkowski), must cross into dangerous territory if they hope to save him.
“Cracked Up” (Documentary) – Directed by Michelle Esrick (Opens in NY; Opens September 20 in LA)
In “Cracked Up,” we witness the impact that childhood trauma can have over a lifetime through the incredible story of award-winning actor, comedian, master impressionist, and “Saturday Night Live” star Darrell Hammond. Hammond is famous for his impressions of Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Sean Connery, and more, but few know his true story. Hammond performed brilliantly on live TV, but behind the scenes he struggled with debilitating flashbacks, self injury, alcohol, and drugs, and was once taken out of “SNL” in a straight jacket. He was misdiagnosed for 40 years with different mental illnesses and put on a long list of medications. After a suicide attempt, Hammond finally met the doctor who gave him the proper diagnosis of “childhood trauma.” Courageously transparent, Hammond takes us through his past and present day experiences with incredible resilience, vulnerability, wisdom, and humor.
“Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements” (Documentary) – Directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky (Opens in NY; Opens September 20 in LA)
“Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements”: Abramorama
Irene Taylor Brodsky builds on her powerful first feature, “Hear and Now,” by delving into an intergenerational exploration of living with deafness. Brodsky’s son Jonas began losing his hearing as a baby and underwent cochlear-implant surgery as a toddler. Now 11 years old, Jonas has adjusted to a world with sound and is learning to play Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Brodsky’s parents also have cochlear implants, but unlike Jonas, the majority of their lives were shaped by silence. While Jonas explores what silence means to him, his grandfather grapples with a new transition of his own.
“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.
September 18
“Midnight Traveler” (Documentary) – Written by Emelie Mahdavian (Opens in NY)
“Midnight Traveler”: Lutfallah Bakhtary
When the Taliban puts a bounty on Afghan director Hassan Fazili’s head, he is forced to flee with his wife and two young daughters. Capturing their uncertain journey, Fazili shows firsthand the dangers facing refugees seeking asylum and the love shared between a family on the run.
September 19
“Malibu Road” – Written by Emilia Bogdanova, Montgomery Markland, and Ryan Placchetti
Dr. Raymond Forrester (Montgomery Markland), professor of psychology at UCLA, takes student and Hollywood starlet Dorothy Crowder (Lillian Solange Beaudoin) to a Malibu hotel of questionable reputation. The two ingest LSD, sent in a mysterious package to Forrester, and become some of the first Americans to go on a psychedelic experience. The experience takes a turn for the deadly during New Year’s Eve 1960 and now the duo must rediscover reality or be trapped in an endless cycle of sex, drugs, and murder in “paradise.”
September 20
“Britt-Marie Was Here” – Directed by Tuva Novotny; Written by Tuva Novotny, Anders Frithiof August, and Øystein Karlsen
“Britt-Marie Was Here”: SF Studios
Britt-Marie (Pernilla August), a woman in her 60s, decides to leave her husband and start anew. Having been housewife for most of her life and and living in the small backwater town of Borg, there isn’t many jobs available and soon she finds herself coaching a youth soccer team.
“Coming Up For Air” – Written by Deborah Staples and Roger Rapoport
When single mom Anna Russell (Deborah Staples), a ceramics artist, discovers that her son, Stan (Chase Yi), a star college athlete and academic star, is unraveling, she must act quickly to avoid tragedy. In denial and further and further out of reach, Stan suddenly disappears. Anna must find him on a journey that highlights the importance of mental health, high stakes athletics vs. academic excellence, and what it takes to be a loving and devoted parent.
“Bloodline” – Written by Avra Fox-Lerner, Henry Jacobson, and Will Honley
Evan (Seann William Scott) values family above all else, and anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. But when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
September 25
“Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” (Documentary) – Directed by Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, and Edward Burtynsky
“Anthropocene: The Human Epoch”: Anthropocene Films
“Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” follows the research of an international body of scientists, the Anthropocene Working Group which, after nearly 10 years of research, is investigating how the Holocene Epoch gave way to the Anthropocene Epoch in the mid-20th century as a result of the profound and lasting changes humankind has made to the Earth. From concrete seawalls in China that now cover 60 percent of the mainland coast to the biggest terrestrial machines ever built in Germany, to psychedelic potash mines in Russia’s Ural Mountains, to metal festivals in the closed city of Norilsk, to the devastated Great Barrier Reef in Australia and massive marble quarries in Carrara, the film traverses the globe using state of the art camera techniques to document the evidence and experience of human planetary domination. At the intersection of art and science, “Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” witnesses a critical moment in geological history — bringing a provocative and unforgettable experience of our species’ breadth and impact.
September 27
“Abominable” – Directed by Jill Culton and Todd Wilderman; Written by Jill Culton
“Abominable”: DreamWorks Animation
When teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in a modern Chinese city, she and her mischievous friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish (Eddie Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) to help Everest get home.
“Sister Aimee” – Written and Directed by Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann (Available on VOD October 1)
“Sister Aimee”: Asleep in the Sea Productions
In 1920s America, sensational evangelist Sister Aimee Semple McPherson (Anna Margaret Hollyman) has pulled off her latest marvel: vanishing in plain sight of a devout disciple! Except that this disappearance was a cleverly orchestrated ploy to run away with her lover, a married writer named Kenny (Michael Mosley). Outfitted with new identities and a courageous guide named Rey (Andrea Suarez Paz), Aimee and Kenny head for Mexico, searching for inspiration and adventure. When Aimee tires of Kenny’s literary ineptitude, she enlists Rey’s help to ditch him in the desert. Yet getting Aimee back to Los Angeles — where the news, the police, and her devotees are anxiously searching for her — will take a real miracle.
“Judy”
“Judy”: BBC Films
It’s the winter of 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) arrives in Swinging London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town. It has been 30 years since she shot to global stardom in “The Wizard of Oz“, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians, and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of love seem undimmed as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), her soon-to-be fifth husband. Featuring some of her best-known songs, the film celebrates the voice, the capacity for love, and the sheer pizzazz of “the world’s greatest entertainer.”
