Films About Women Opening This Week
Alex of Venice — Co-Written by Jessica Goldberg and Katie Nehra (simultaneously releasing to VOD)
In “Alex of Venice,” workaholic environmental attorney Alex Vedder (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is forced to reinvent herself after her husband (Chris Messina) suddenly leaves the family. Dealing with an aging father (Don Johnson) who still aspires to succeed as an actor, an eccentric sister (Katie Nehra) and an extremely shy son (Skylar Gaertner), Alex is bombarded with everything from the mundane to hilariously catastrophic events without a shoulder to lean on. Realizing she will thrive with or without her husband, Alex discovers her hidden vulnerability as well as her inner strength as she fights to keep her family intact in the midst of the most demanding and important case of her career. (Press materials)
Félix & Meira
Winner of Best Canadian Feature at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, “Félix & Meira” is the story of an unconventional romance between two people living vastly different realities mere blocks away from one another. Each lost in their everyday lives, Meira (Hadas Yaron), a Hasidic Jewish wife and mother, and Félix (Martin Dubreuil), a secular loner mourning the recent death of his estranged father, unexpectedly meet in a local bakery in Montreal’s Mile End district. What starts as an innocent friendship becomes more serious as the two wayward strangers find comfort in one another. As Felix opens Meira’s eyes to the world outside of her tight-knit Orthodox community, her desire for change becomes harder for her to ignore, ultimately forcing her to choose: remain in the life that she knows or give it all up to be with Félix. (Press materials)
Monkey Kingdom (doc)
Life is an adventure for Maya, the clever and resourceful blonde-bobbed monkey in “Monkey Kingdom,” Disneynature’s new feature film set among ancient ruins in the storied jungles of South Asia. Maya’s world is forever changed when she welcomes her son, Kip, into her complicated extended family. Like all families, Maya’s has more than its share of colorful personalities — and she’s determined to give her son a leg up in the world. When their longtime home at Castle Rock is taken over by powerful neighboring monkeys, Maya’s whole family retreats, and she uses her street smarts and ingenuity to uncover untapped resources amidst strange new creatures and unsettling surroundings. Ultimately, they will all have to work together to reclaim Castle Rock, where Maya can hopefully realize her dreams of her son’s future. Narrated by Tina Fey. (Press materials)
Films About Women Currently Playing
The Sisterhood of Night — Directed by Caryn Waechter and Written by Marilyn Fu
Clouds of Sils Maria
Effie Gray — Written by Emma Thompson
About Elly
Woman in Gold
52 Tuesdays — Written and Co-Directed by Sophie Hyde
A Girl Like Her — Written and Directed by Amy S. Weber
A Wolf at the Door
Backcountry
The Divergent Series: Insurgent
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Cinderella — Co-Written by Aline Brosh McKenna
It Follows
Everly (streaming on VOD)
Fifty Shades of Grey — Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson; Written by Kelly Marcel
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Ronit Elkabetz
Still Alice
Films Directed by Women Opening This Week
Antarctic Edge: 70° South (doc) — Directed by Dena Seidel
Dena Seidel’s documentary not only offers rare, beautifully shot footage of West Antarctic Pennisula’s rapidly changing environment, studying the connections that reveal the concrete impact of climate change; it is also a one-of-a-kind collaboration between the Rutgers University Film Bureau and the Rutgers Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences and contains interviews and insights from some of the world’s leading ocean researchers. It is a fascinating look at their life’s work trying to understand how to maintain our planet. (Press materials)
The Road Within — Written and Directed by Gren Wells
Vincent (Robert Sheehan), a young man with Tourette’s syndrome, faces drastic changes after his mother dies. Because his politician father is too ashamed of the disorder to have Vincent accompany him on the campaign, Vincent is shuttled off to an unconventional clinic. There he finds unexpected community with an obsessive-compulsive roommate and an anorexic young woman, and romance eventually — and uneasily — follows. One of Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch,” screenwriter Gren Wells makes her directorial debut with this ambitious yet light-hearted coming-of-age tale about the potent medicine we all carry within ourselves. The film is packed with a talented ensemble, from emerging talents Zoë Kravitz, Dev Patel and Sheehan to beloved veterans Kyra Sedgwick and Robert Patrick. (Press materials)
Read Women & Hollywood’s interview with director Gren Wells
Films Directed by Women Currently Playing
The Hand That Feeds (doc) — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Rachel Lears
Serena — Directed by Susanne Bier
Amour Fou — Directed by Jessica Hausner
The Riot Club (streaming on VOD) — Directed by Lone Scherfig; Written by Laura Wade
McFarland, USA — Directed by Niki Caro; Co-Written by Bettina Gilois
Selma — Directed by Ava DuVernay
Citizenfour (doc) — Directed by Laura Poitras
Films Written by Women Opening This Week
Cas & Dylan — Written by Jessie Gabe
When 61-year-old self-proclaimed loner and terminally ill Dr. Cas Pepper (Richard Dreyfuss) reluctantly agrees to give 22-year-old social misfit Dyland Morgan (Tatiana Maslany) a very short lift home, the last thing he anticipates is that he will strike her angry boyfriend with his car, find himself on the lam and ultimately drive across the country with an aspiring young writer determined to help him overcome his own bizarre case of suicide-note writer’s block. But as fate would have it, that is exactly what happens. Suddenly Cas’s solo one-way trip out West isn’t so solo. With Dylan at his side, the two take off on an adventure that will open their eyes to some of life’s lessons — both big and small. (Press materials)
Films Written by Women Currently Playing
Chappie — Co-Written by Terri Tatchell
Strange Magic — Co-Written by Irene Mecchi
VOD/DVD Releasing This Week
Life Inside Out — Directed by Jill D’Agnencia
You’re Not You — Co-Directed by Shana Feste
