Films About Women Opening
Gabrielle — Written and Directed by Louise Archambault
Quebecois director Louise Archambault follows her smart and refreshing debut feature Familia with this tender drama about a developmentally challenged young woman’s (Gabrielle Marion-Rivard) quest for independence and sexual freedom. (TIFF Promotional Material)
Half the Road: The Passion, Pitfalls and Power of Women’s Professional Cycling (doc) — Directed by Kathryn Bertine
Modern society has long believed that women hold up half the sky in terms of equality and progression. So when it comes to the world of professional cycling, why aren’t women receiving half the road? Directed by pro cyclist, author and activist Kathryn Bertine and narrated by former pro cyclist and TV commentator Bob “Bobke” Roll, Half the Road explores the world of women’s professional cycling, focusing on both the love of the sport and the pressing issues of inequality that female athletes face in a male-dominated profession. With footage from some of the world’s most challenging and exciting races to interviews with Olympians, world champions, rookies, coaches, officials, doctors and family members, Half the Road offers a unique insight to the drive, dedication, and passion it takes for a female cyclist to thrive. (Press Materials)
Proxy
The dark underside of female roles are explored in Proxy, in which two women (Alexia Rasmussen and Alexa Havins) do some very demented things to exploit the perks of femininity. In my Los Angeles Times review, I wrote, “The privileges and pathologies of motherhood are the subject of Proxy, Zack Parker’s fascinating, unnerving and endlessly unpredictable thriller.” (Inkoo Kang)
Redwood Highway
Living in a comfortable retirement community in Southern Oregon, estranged from her family, unsatisfied with her surroundings, and generally not happy about life, Marie (Shirley Knight) decides to journey 80 miles on foot to the coast of Oregon to see the ocean for the first time in 45 years and attend her granddaughter’s wedding as an unexpected guest. Along the way, she meets an extraordinary cast of characters and discovers that you’re never too old to learn something about life and about yourself. (Press Materials)
Films About Women Currently Playing
Hateship Loveship — Directed by Liza Johnson
Perfect Sisters
Frankie and Alice — Co-Written by Cheryl Edwards, Mary King, Anna Waterhouse
Helen Alone
Nymphomaniac: Part Two
Under the Skin
Refuge — Written and Directed by Jessica Goldberg
Breathe In
Finding Vivian Maier (doc)
Anita (doc) — Directed by Freida Mock
Divergent — Co-Written by Vanessa Taylor
On My Way — Co-Written and Directed by Emmanuelle Bercot
Veronica Mars — Co-Written by Dianne Ruggiero
Single Mom’s Club
Child’s Pose
Vampire Academy
Gloria
Maidentrip (doc) — Directed by Jillian Schlesinger; Written by Laura Dekker, Penelope Falk, Jillian Schlesinger
Films Directed by Women Opening
Authors Anonymous — Directed by Ellie Kanner
Director Ellie Kanner picks up where Christopher Guest left off, skewering a group of wannabe writers who are left fuming when the least promising among them, Hannah (Kaley Cuoco), unexpectedly lands a book deal. In my Los Angeles Times review, I wrote that “Hannah and [fellow writer] Henry (Chris Klein) enjoy an unexpectedly complex relationship: She’s frustrated her friendship isn’t enough for him, and he feels deceived when he discovers she doesn’t follow her own benignly trite advice.” (Inkoo Kang)
Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Point a la Hache (doc) — Directed by Nailah Jefferson
Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe a la Hache documents the struggles of the residents of Pointe a la Hache, Louisiana, a tight-knit fishing community, as they come together to confront the multinational oil and gas company BP. The oyster fishermen must fight for justice, accountability, and their very existence, following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill — one of the worst manmade environmental disasters in U.S. history. (Nailah Jefferson)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Nailah Jefferson here.
Films Directed by Women Currently Playing
A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power, and Jayson Blair (doc) — Directed by Samantha Grant
Dancing in Jaffa (doc) — Directed by Hilla Medalia
The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (doc) — Co-Directed by Dayna Goldfine and Co-Written by Dayna Goldfine and Celeste Schaefer Snyder
Watermark (doc) — Co-Directed by Jennifer Baichwal
Big Men (doc) — Directed by Rachel Boynton
Films Written by Women Currently Playing
Go With Le Flo — Co-Written by Mea Machrowiak
Goodbye World — Co-Written by Sarah Adina Smith
50 to 1 — Co-Written by Faith Conroy
Pompeii — Co-Written by Janet Scott Batchler
About Last Night — Co-Written by Leslye Headland
Films by and About Women on DVD or on Demand
Bettie Page Reveals All (doc)
