The festival scene is heating up this month, with Venice, Telluride, and Toronto premiering a bevy of potential awards contenders. Thankfully, there’s also plenty to look forward to screening and streaming closer to home. “The Woman King” is making its world premiere at TIFF, but will be hitting theaters September 16, just one week after its debut in the Great North. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s latest stars Viola Davis as a general leading an all-female unit of warriors in the 1800s.
Other high profile releases this month include Olivia Wilde’s follow-up to “Booksmart,” “Don’t Worry Darling” (September 23), a psychological thriller led by Florence Pugh. Ana de Armas is eyeing her first Oscar nom with “Blonde” (September 16), a portrait of Marilyn Monroe based on Joyce Carol Oates’ book of the same name.
Last seen in Mariama Diallo’s “Master,” a horror pic that deals with racism on a college campus, Regina Hall is teaming up with another woman director on “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” (September 2), Adamma Ebo’s satire about the disgraced first lady of a megachurch.
“What We Leave Behind” (September 23), the winner of SXSW’s Louis Black Lone Star Award and the Fandor New Voices Award, sees director Iliana Sosa paying tribute to her grandfather and following his efforts to build a house in rural Mexico. Docs launching this month also include Eva Vitija’s “Loving Highsmith” (September 2), an ode to the trailblazing author behind “The Price of Salt” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” Patricia Highsmith, and Kathryn Ferguson’s “Nothing Compares” (September 23), a look inside the life and career of another controversial artist, Irish singer Sinéad OʼConnor.
These are the women-centric, women-directed, and women-written films set to debut in September. All descriptions are from press materials unless otherwise noted.
September 2
“Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.” – Written and Directed by Adamma Ebo (In Theaters and Available on Peacock)
“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.”: Sundance Institute
“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” is a satirical comedy starring Regina Hall as Trinitie Childs — the proud first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch, who together with her husband Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown), once served a congregation in the tens of thousands. But after a scandal forces their church to temporarily close, Trinitie and Lee-Curtis must reopen their church and rebuild their congregation to make the biggest comeback that commodified religion has ever seen.
“Loving Highsmith” (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Eva Vitija (In Theaters)
“Loving Highsmith” is a unique look at the life of celebrated American author Patricia Highsmith, focusing on Highsmith’s quest for love and her troubled identity through her personal diaries and the intimate reflections of her lovers, friends, and family. The film sheds new light on her life and writing, the best known of which were adapted for the big screen: “Strangers on a Train,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” and “Carol,” a partially autobiographical novel and the first lesbian story with a happy ending in 1950s America. But Highsmith herself was forced to lead a double life and had to hide her vibrant love affairs from her family and the public, reflecting on the ever-present subject only in her unpublished writings. Beautifully interweaving archival material of Highsmith and her most famous adaptations with excerpts from her unpublished writing voiced by actress Gwendoline Christie (“Game of Thrones”), “Loving Highsmith” is a vivid, touching portrait of one of our most fascinating and complex writers.
“Burial” (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
Set during the waning days of World War II, “Burial” tells the fictional story of a small band of Russian soldiers tasked with delivering the crated remains of Hitler back to Stalin in Russia. En route, the unit is attacked by German “Werewolf” partisans and picked off one-by-one. An intrepid female intelligence officer leads her surviving comrades in a last stand to ensure their cargo doesn’t fall into the hands of those who would hide the truth forever.
“Our American Family” (Documentary) – Directed by Hallee Adelman and Sean King O’Grady (In Theaters)
Addiction is an all-encompassing force, in not only of the lives of the afflicted, but also those around them. “Our American Family” provides an honest, unfiltered look at a close-knit Philadelphia family dealing with generational substance abuse. Captured at a pivotal “nothing to lose” moment, for over the course of a year, five family members tired of life with addiction struggle to transcend their crippling histories. What will it take to shift this entrenched, wrenching pattern in their lives? Will they be able to make significant shifts to help their next generation? The members of “Our American Family” invite us into their lives to find hope and to explore what’s possible. Though they often falter, their familial loyalty is powerful, demonstrating how through love and dedication people can rise out of the deepest depths.
“Blind Ambition” (Documentary) – Written by Madeleine Ross, Robert Coe, and Paul Murphy (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
“Blind Ambition” follows four friends who have conquered the odds to become South Africa’s top sommeliers, after escaping starvation and tyranny in their homeland of Zimbabwe. Driven by relentless optimism, a passion for their craft, and a sense of national pride, they form Zimbabwe’s first national wine tasting team and set their sights on the coveted title of “World Wine Tasting Champions.”
“The Book of Delights” – Directed by Marcela Lordy; Written by Marcela Lordy and Josefina Trotta (Available on VOD)
Lóri (Simone Spoladore) is a lonely and melancholy woman who divides her time between her tasks as an elementary school teacher and her romantic relationships, which are always quick and superficial. By chance, she meets the Argentine Ulisses (Javier Drolas), a renowned professor of philosophy, self-centered and provocative. Even though Ulisses doesn’t understand anything about women, it is with him that Lóri will learn to love and face her own loneliness. The film brings Clarice Lispector’s novel “Uma Aprendizagem ou O Livro dos Prazeres” to our days.
“The Harbinger” – Written by Amy Mills and Will Klipstine (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
Hoping to escape their past, Daniel (Will Klipstine) and Theresa Snyder (Amanda MacDonald) move their troubled young daughter Rosalie (Madeleine McGraw) to a quaint Midwestern town, but they are followed by the evil they tried to leave behind. When locals begin to die, the Snyders turn to a Native American seer (Irene Bedard) and uncover a legend that may hold the key to saving their family, or a path to a grisly end for them and all they hold dear.
September 6
“Diorama” – Written and Directed by Tuva Novotny (Available on Netflix)
As miscommunication and temptations abound, a couple’s once-passionate marriage slowly unravels, narrated through humorous dioramas.
“A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff” – Directed by Alicia J. Rose; Written by Alicia J. Rose and Alicia Jo Rabins (Available on VOD)
A hybrid of musical memoir and narrative fantasy, “A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff” tells the story of Madoff and the system that allowed him to function for decades through the eyes of musician/poet Alicia Jo Rabins, who watches the financial crash from her ninth floor studio in an abandoned office building on Wall Street. Fueled by her growing obsession, real-life interviews transform into music videos, ancient spiritual texts become fevered fantasies of synchronized swimming, and a vivid, vulnerable work of art is born from the unique perspective of an artist watching the global financial collapse up close.
“Poughkeepsie Is for Lovers” – Directed by Kelley Van Dilla and Bill Connington (Available on VOD)
The near future: A couple practices their escape plan from New York City in case of nuclear attack. Their flight to safety takes them to a place even less safe. When your relationship is in trouble, it feels like the end of the world.
September 7
“After Ever Happy” – Directed by Castille Landon; Written by Sharon Soboil (In Theaters)
The fourth film of the “After” franchise finds Tessa (Josephine Langford) and Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) at a crossroads: Does Tessa continue trying to save him and their relationship, or is it time to save herself? While Hardin remains in London after his mother’s wedding and sinks deeper into darkness, Tessa returns to Seattle and endures a tragedy. If they want their love to survive, they’ll need to work on themselves first. But will their paths lead them back to each other?
September 9
“True Things” – Directed by Harry Wootliff; Written by Harry Wootliff, Deborah Kay Davies, and Molly Davies (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
“True Things”: The Bureau
Bored by the daily tedium of her office job, Kate (Ruth Wilson) is sleepwalking through life when a chance sexual encounter with a charismatic stranger (Tom Burke) awakens her. High on infatuation and the exhilaration of this new relationship, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to this mysterious new man. Hoping he will provide the escape she so desperately desires, she embarks on an emotionally dangerous journey that slowly begins to consume her.
“The Bengali” (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Kavery Kaul (In Theaters)
Fatima Shaik embarks upon an unlikely quest when she travels from New Orleans, the city of her birth, to India, home of her grandfather Shaik Mohamed Musa. An African-American writer whose family has lived in Louisiana for four generations, she travels with Kolkata-born American filmmaker Kavery Kaul to a part of India where no African-American (or American) has ever gone. Her search for the past is fraught with uncertainty, as she looks for her grandfather’s descendants, the land he claimed to own, and the truth about this legendary figure in her family. Tempered with hope, fear, and unexpected encounters between strangers, “The Bengali” reaches across seemingly insurmountable cultural divides to reclaim timeless themes of family.
“About Fate” – Written by Tiffany Paulsen (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
Margot Hayes (Emma Roberts) and Griffin Reed (Thomas Mann) may well be the perfect couple. The only trouble is they’ve never met and they’re both about to tie the knot with someone else. But all that is about to change when fate places them in each other’s lives and opens their eyes to true love.
“Hold Me Tight” (In Theaters)
Adapted from a stage play by Claudine Galéa, “Hold Me Tight” stars Vicky Krieps as Clarisse, a mother coping with great emotional upheaval, and Arieh Worthalter (Girl) as Marc, the husband she leaves behind. Krieps gives a riveting performance as a woman on the run from her family for reasons that aren’t immediately clear. Mathieu Amalric’s sophisticated narrative alternates between scenes of Clarisse’s road trip and of Marc as he cares for their two children, Paul, and Lucie, a pianist prodigy. While giving clues along the way, Amalric keeps viewers uncertain as to the reality of what they’re seeing until the film’s final moments.
September 16
“The Woman King” – Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood; Written by Dana Stevens (In Theaters)
“The Woman King” is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Inspired by true events, “The Woman King” follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Oscar-winner Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. Some things are worth fighting for.
“Do Revenge” – Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson; Written by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and Celeste Ballard (Available on Netflix)
“Do Revenge”: Kim Simms/Netflix
Drea (Camila Mendes) is at the peak of her high school powers as the Alpha it-girl on campus when her entire life goes up in flames after her sex tape gets leaked to the whole school, seemingly by her boyfriend and king of the school, Max (Austin Abrams). Eleanor (Maya Hawke) is an awkward new transfer student who is angered to find out that she now has to go to school with her old bully, Carissa (Ava Capri), who started a nasty rumor about her in summer camp when they were 13. After a clandestine run-in at tennis camp, Drea and Eleanor form an unlikely and secret friendship to get revenge on each other’s tormentors.
“The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales” (Documentary) – Directed by Abigail E. Disney and Kathleen Hughes (In Theaters; Available on VOD September 23)
Abigail Disney looks at America’s dysfunctional and unequal economy and asks why the American Dream has worked for the wealthy, yet is a nightmare for people born with less. Using her family’s story, Disney explores how this systemic injustice took hold and imagines a way toward a more equitable future.
“The Silent Twins ” – Directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska; Written by Andrea Seigel (In Theaters)
“The Silent Twins”
“The Silent Twins” is the astounding true story of twin sisters who only communicated with one another. As a result, they created a rich, fascinating world to escape the reality of their own lives. Based on the best-selling book “The Silent Twins,” the film stars Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance.
“The African Desperate” – Directed by Martine Syms; Written by Martine Syms and Rocket Caleshu (In Theaters)
“The African Desperate” tracks one very long day for Palace Bryant (Diamond Stingily), a newly minted MFA grad whose final day of art school becomes a real trip. Palace is not going to the fucking graduation party! She hates the woods. If this were a reality show, she would be the person who was not here to make friends. Palace needs to get home, back to Chicago from upstate New York. But that means surviving a hazy, hilarious, and hallucinatory night-long odyssey, stumbling from academic critiques to backseat hookups. The feature debut from renowned artist Martine Syms, “The African Desperate” brings her razor-sharp satire and vivid aesthetic invention to a riotous coming-of-age comedy.
“Blonde” (In Theaters; Available on Netflix September 28)
Based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates, “Blonde” boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe (Ana de Armas). From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, “Blonde” blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.
“Riotsville, U.S.A.” (Documentary) – Directed by Sierra Pettengill (In Theaters)
Welcome to “Riotsville, U.S.A.,” a turning point in American history where the protest movements of the late 1960s came into conflict with increasingly militarized police departments. Focusing on unearthed military training footage of Army-built model towns called “Riotsvilles,” where military and police were trained to respond to civil disorder in the aftermath of the Kerner Commission created by President Lyndon B. Johnson, director Sierra Pettengill’s kaleidoscopic all-archival documentary reconstructs the formation of a national consciousness obsessed with maintaining law and order by any means necessary. Drawing insight from a time similar to our own, “Riotsville, U.S.A.” pulls focus on American institutional control and offers a compelling case that if the history of race in America rhymes, it is by design.
“God’s Country” (In Theaters)
“God’s Country”
A Black former police officer turned professor (Thandiwe Newton) in a rural college town is drawn into an escalating battle of wills that puts her most deeply held values to the test in this modern Western.
“Pearl” – Written by Mia Goth and Ti West (In Theaters)
Filmmaker Ti West returns with another chapter from the twisted world of “X,” in this astonishing follow-up to the year’s most acclaimed horror film. Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl (Mia Goth) must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions all collide, in the stunning, technicolor-inspired origin story of “X’s” iconic villain.
“Land of Dreams” – Directed by Shirin Neshat and Shoja Azari (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
Simin (Sheila Vand) is an Iranian woman on a journey to discover what it means to be a free American. She works for the Census Bureau which, in an effort to control its citizens, has begun a program to record their dreams. Unaware of this devious plot, Simin is torn between her compassion for those whose dreams she is recording and a truth she must find within.
“Four Winters” (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Julia Mintz (In Theaters)
“All I owned was a rifle, a leopard coat, and my camera,” says Faye Schulman, whose clandestine photographs of Jewish partisans living in the forests of Eastern Europe documented their efforts to disrupt the Nazi killing machine by blowing up bridges, derailing trains, and smuggling Jews. The image of Schulman with an ammunition belt slung over her fashionable shoulder like a bandito is only one of many jaw-dropping moments in Julia Mintz’s riveting directorial debut. Some of the last surviving partisans tell stories of cold, hunger, and fear, but also of their capacity for courage, altruism, resourcefulness, and barbarism. (Film Forum)
September 23
“Don’t Worry Darling” – Directed by Olivia Wilde; Written by Katie Silberman (In Theaters)
“Don’t Worry Darling”
Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. The 1950s societal optimism espoused by their CEO, Frank (Chris Pine) — equal parts corporate visionary and motivational life coach — anchors every aspect of daily life in the tight-knit desert utopia. While the husbands spend every day inside the Victory Project Headquarters, working on the “development of progressive materials,” their wives — including Frank’s elegant partner, Shelley (Gemma Chan) — get to spend their time enjoying the beauty, luxury, and debauchery of their community. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause. But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in this paradise?
“On the Come Up” – Directed by Sanaa Lathan; Written by Kay Oyegun (Available on Paramount+)
“On the Come Up”: Erika Doss/Paramount Players
Starring newcomer Jamila C. Gray, “On the Come Up” is the story of Bri, a 16-year-old gifted rapper, who attempts to take the battle rap scene by storm in order to lift up her family and do right by the legacy of her father – a local hip hop legend whose career was cut short by gang violence. But when her first hit song goes viral for all the wrong reasons, she finds herself torn between the authenticity that got her this far and the false persona that the industry wants to impose upon her.
“Catherine Called Birdy” – Written and Directed by Lena Dunham (In Theaters; Available on Prime Video October 7)
The year? 1290. In the Medieval English village of Stonebridge, Lady Catherine, known as Birdy (Bella Ramsey), is the youngest child of Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott) and the Lady Aislinn (Billie Piper). Her playground is Stonebridge Manor, a house that, like the family, has seen better days. Financially destitute and utterly greedy, Rollo sees his daughter as his path out of financial ruin by marrying her off to a wealthy man for money and land. But Birdy, like all the great teen heroines, is spirited, clever, and adventurous, and ready to put off any suitor that comes calling in increasingly ingenious ways. Her imagination, defiance, and deep belief in her own right to independence put her on a collision course with her parents. When the vilest suitor of all arrives, they are presented with the ultimate test of love for their daughter.
“Nothing Compares” (Documentary) – Directed by Kathryn Ferguson (In Theaters; Premieres on Showtime September 30)
“Nothing Compares”: Andrew Catlin
“Nothing Compares” charts Sinéad OʼConnorʼs phenomenal rise to worldwide fame, and examines how she used her voice at the height of her stardom before her iconoclastic personality led to her exile from the pop mainstream. Focusing on Sinéad’s prophetic words and deeds from 1987 to 1993, the film presents an authored, richly cinematic portrait of this fearless trailblazer through a contemporary feminist lens. The archive-led documentary features era-defining music videos and concert performances alongside previously unseen footage from this period. The film is underpinned by a new interview with Sinéad herself, in which she reflects on events in her own words, and from a present-day perspective. Intimate first-hand contributor interviews add to the tapestry with additional insights from contemporary artists, musicians, and social commentators introducing broader themes of Irish history, politics, and global activism, all the while reflecting on Sinéad’s artistry, impact, and legacy.
“What We Leave Behind (Documentary) – Directed by Iliana Sosa (In Theaters; Available on Netflix September 30)
At the age of 89, Julián takes one last bus ride to El Paso, Texas, to visit his daughters and their children — a lengthy trip he has made without fail every month for decades. After returning to rural Mexico, he quietly starts building a house in the empty lot next to his home. In the absence of his physical visits, can this new house bridge the distance between his loved ones? Over several years, director Iliana Sosa films her grandfather’s work, gently sifting through Julián’s previously unspoken memories brought up by the construction project and revealing both the daily pragmatism and poetry of his life. “What We Leave Behind” unfolds as a love letter to her grandfather, as well as an intimate exploration of her own relationship with him and his homeland.
“Lou” – Directed by Anna Foerster; Written by Maggie Cohn and Jack Stanley (Available on Netflix)
“Lou”: Liane Hentscher / Netflix
Thinking she’d put her dangerous past behind her, Lou (Allison Janney) finds her quiet life interrupted when a desperate mother (Jurnee Smollett) begs her to save her kidnapped daughter. As a massive storm rages, the two women risk their lives on a rescue mission that will test their limits and expose dark and shocking secrets from their pasts.
“Carmen” – Written and Directed by Valerie Buhagiar (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
Set in a sun-dappled village in Malta in the 1980s, Natascha McElhone gives a career-best performance as a 50-year-old woman finding a new start in life through romance. In a small Mediterranean village, Carmen has looked after her brother, the local priest, for her entire life. When the Church abandons Carmen, she is mistaken for the new priest. Carmen begins to see the world, and herself, in a new light.
“Railway Children” – Written by Jemma Rodgers and Daniel Brocklehurst (In Theaters)
Inspired by one of the most beloved British family films of all time, “Railway Children” is an enchanting, moving, and heart-warming adventure for a new generation. 1944: As life in Britain’s cities becomes increasingly perilous, three evacuee children – Lily (Beau Gadsdon), Pattie (Eden Hamilton), and Ted (Zac Cudby) Watts – are sent by their mother from Salford to the Yorkshire village of Oakworth. There to meet them on the train station platform are Bobbie Waterbury (Jenny Agutter, reprising her iconic role in the original film), her daughter, Annie (Sheridan Smith), and grandson Thomas (Austin Haynes), and with their help the evacuees are soon settling into their new life in the countryside. When the children discover injured American soldier Abe (KJ Aikens), hiding out in the railyard at Oakworth Station, they are thrust into a dangerous quest to assist their new friend who, like them, is a long way from home.
September 30
“Hocus Pocus 2” – Directed by Anne Fletcher; Written by Jen D’Angelo (Available on Disney+)
“Hocus Pocus 2”: Disney
This live-action, long awaited sequel to the perennial Halloween classic brings back the delightfully wicked Sanderson sisters (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy) for more comedic mayhem. It’s been 29 years since someone lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the 17th-century sisters, and they are looking for revenge. Now it is up to three high-school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow’s Eve.
“The Good House” – Directed by Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky; Written by Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky, and Thomas Bezucha (In Theaters)
“The Good House” follows Hildy Good (Sigourney Weaver), a wry New England realtor and descendant of the Salem witches, who loves her wine and her secrets. Her compartmentalized life begins to unravel as she rekindles a romance with her old high-school flame, Frank Getchell (Kevin Kline), and becomes dangerously entwined in one person’s reckless behavior. Igniting long-buried emotions and family secrets, Hildy is propelled toward a reckoning with the one person she’s been avoiding for decades: herself.
“God’s Creatures” – Directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
“God’s Creatures”
In a windswept fishing village, a mother (Emily Watson) is torn between protecting her beloved son (Paul Mescal) and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community in this tense, sweepingly emotional epic.
“Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon” – Written and Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
Kate Hudson and Jun Jong Seo star in this mind-bending thriller from visionary director Ana Lily Amirpour (“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”). When a struggling single mother (Hudson) befriends a mysterious mental institute escapee with supernatural powers (Jong Seo), she sees a lucrative opportunity to make some fast cash. But when they draw the attention of a detective (Craig Robinson), their luck starts to run out as the cops close in on their crime-spree.
“InHospitable” (Documentary) – Directed by Sandra Alvarez; Written by Sandra Alvarez and Stacy Goldate (In Theaters and Virtual Cinemas)
“InHospitable” follows patients and activists as they band together in an effort to stop UPMC, a multi-billion-dollar nonprofit hospital system, from making vital care unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable patients in western Pennsylvania. Few are aware that in the past several years many nonprofit hospitals around the country have been building healthcare empires and amassing huge amounts of wealth and political power at the expense of the surrounding residents. The story of “InHospitable” illustrates this alarming trend and turns the lens on the seemingly unwinnable battle between the Goliath UPMC and the patients, hospital workers, community activists, labor leaders, journalists, and politicians — almost all of them women — who built a grassroots movement to literally fight for their lives.
“Art & Krimes By Krimes” (Documentary) – Directed by Alysa Nahmias (In Theaters)
While locked up for six years in federal prison, artist Jesse Krimes secretly creates monumental works of art — including an astonishing 30-foot mural made with prison bed sheets, hair gel, and newspaper. He smuggles out each panel piece-by-piece with the help of fellow artists, only seeing the mural in totality upon coming home. As Jesse’s work captures the art world’s attention, he struggles to adjust to life outside, living with the threat that any misstep will trigger a life sentence. Featuring visual artists Jesse Krimes, Russell Craig, Jared Owens, and Gilberto Rivera.
“Vesper” – Directed by Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper; Written by Kristina Buozyte, Bruno Samper, and Brian Clark (In Theaters and Available on VOD)
Set after the collapse of the Earth’s ecosystem, “Vesper” follows the titular headstrong 13-year-old girl (Raffiella Chapman), who uses her survival skills to subsist in the remnants of a strange and dangerous world with her ailing father, Darius (Richard Brake). When Vesper finds a mysterious woman, Camellia (Rosy McEwen), alone and disoriented after an aerial crash, she agrees to help find her missing companion in exchange for safe passage to the Citadel, the dark central hub where oligarchs live in comfort thanks to state-of-the-art biotechnology. Vesper soon discovers that her brutal neighbor, Jonas (Eddie Marsan), is searching for Camellia, who is harboring a secret that could change all of their lives forever. Forced into a dangerous adventure, Vesper must rely on her wits and bio-hacking abilities to unlock the key to an alternate future.
“My Best Friend’s Exorcism” – Written by Jenna Lamia (Available on Prime Video)
Surviving the teenage years isn’t easy, especially when you’re possessed by a demon. It’s 1988, and best friends Abby (Elsie Fisher) and Gretchen (Amiah Miller) are navigating boys, pop culture, and a paranormal force clinging to Gretchen like a pair of neon leg warmers. With assistance from overly-confident mall exorcist Christian Lemon (Christopher Lowell), Abby is determined to compel the demon back to the pits of hell — if it doesn’t kill Gretchen first. At turns horrifying and hilarious, “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” pays homage to 1980s pop-culture with a totally timeless tale of terror and true friendship.
