Films About Women Opening This Week

Viktoria — Written and Directed by Maya Vitkova (Opens in NYC)

Maya Vitkova’s debut feature “Viktoria,” follows three generations of women in the final years of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria and the early years of the transition to democracy. The film focuses on reluctant mother Boryana (Irmena Chichikova) and her daughter, Viktoria (played by Daria and Kalina Vitkova), who in one of the film’s surreal, magical touches is born without an umbilical cord. Though unwanted by her mother, Viktoria is named the country’s Baby of the Decade and is showered with gifts and attention until the disintegration of the East Bloc. Despite throwing their worlds off balance, the resulting political changes also allow for the possibility of reconciliation. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Maya Vitkova.

The Wait (L’attesa) — Co-Written by Ilaria Macchia

Amidst the large rooms of an old villa marked by time, Anna (Juliette Binoche), emerging from a sudden bereavement, spends her days in solitude. The rugged and beautiful Sicilian countryside surrounds the house and isolates her while the fog, which is slowly climbing the slopes of Mount Etna, prevents the eye seeing any distance. Only the footsteps of Pietro (Giorgio Colangeli), the handyman, break the silence. And all of a sudden Jeanne (Lou de Laâge) appears, a young woman who claims to be the girlfriend of Giuseppe, Anna’s son (Giovanni Anzaldo). He invited her to Sicily to spend a few days’ holiday together. Anna was unaware of Jeanne’s existence. And Giuseppe is not there. But his things are all there, in his room. Soon, very soon he will return, is what Anna says, unable to reveal a truth that for her cannot be spoken. The days pass, the two women slowly get to know each other, and together they begin to wait for Easter, when Giuseppe will finally come home, and a great traditional procession will be held in the village. (Press materials)

Mother’s Day — Co-Written by Anya Kochoff and Lily Hollander

Bringing together Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, and Julia Roberts along with Jason Sudeikis, “Mother’s Day” is a celebration of mothers everywhere. This big-hearted comedy invites us all to enjoy the laughter, tears, and love as three generations come together in the week leading up to Mother’s Day. (Press materials)

Sacrifice

Disturbing secrets lie buried in the bogs of a remote island in this spellbinding thriller. Shortly after surgeon Tora Hamilton (Radha Mitchell) moves with her husband (Rupert Graves) to the Shetland Islands — 100 miles off the coast of Scotland — she makes an unnerving discovery: the body of a young woman with strange symbols carved into her flesh and her heart ripped out. When what at first appears to be the remains of a victim of an ancient ritual turns out to be a fresh corpse, Tora is plunged into a dangerous mystery that may be connected to the dark myths of the island’s folklore. (Press materials)

Pali Road — Co-Written by Victoria Arch

A young doctor (Michelle Chen) wakes up from a car accident and discovers she is married to another man (Sung Kang) and living a life she can’t remember. Her search for the truth to her past life will lead her to question everyone around her and her entire existence. (Press materials)

Films About Women Currently Playing

• Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt (Documentary) — Directed by Ada Ushpiz
• The Huntsman: Winter’s War
• Nina — Written and Directed by Cynthia Mort
• Sworn Virgin — Directed by Laura Bispuri; Written by Laura Bispuri and Francesca Manieri
• Eva Hesse (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Marcie Begleiter (Opens in LA May 13)
• Queen Mimi (Documentary)
• The Meddler — Written and Directed by Lorene Scafaria
• Sky — Directed by Fabienne Berthaud; Co-Written by Fabienne Berthhaud and Lucy Allwood
• Hostile Border — Written and Co-Directed by Kaitlin McLaughlin (Also available on VOD)
• Wedding Doll
• The Boss — Co-Written by Melissa McCarthy
• Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles — Written and Directed by Chantal Akerman
• Sold
• God’s Not Dead 2
• April and the Extraordinary World
• My Big Fat Greek Greek Wedding 2 — Written by Nia Vardalos
• Krisha
• The Bronze — Co-Written by Melissa Rauch
• The Divergent Series: Allegiant
• Lolo — Directed by Julie Delpy; Written by Julie Delpy and Eugenie Grandval
• Hello, My Name is Doris — Co-Written by Laura Terruso
• Marguerite — Co-Written by Marcia Romano
• 10 Cloverfield Lane
• Eye in the Sky
• Miracles From Heaven — Directed by Patricia Riggen
• Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
• Zootopia
• Cemetery of Splendour
• The Witch
• The 5th Wave — Co-Written by Susannah Grant

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

3rd Street Blackout — Co-Written and Directed by Negin Farsad (Opens in NY)

Negin Farsad and Jeremy Redleaf play Mina and Rudy, an incredibly tech-savvy couple (she is a neuroscientist and TED-talker and he is an app developer) who have recently begun living together in a Third Street tenement walk-up. Since they do absolutely everything on computers and a host of other digital devices, their biggest issue is whose Netflix queue will take precedence over the other’s. Then, when Hurricane Sandy hits, they are shocked to discover that they can no longer use their prior — and primary — modes of communication. When they have a spat and Rudy decamps to Brooklyn, they are each forced to resort to new (meaning old) ways of connecting to people and, with the help of friends, neighbors, and assorted East Village denizens, they try to make their way back to one another. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Negin Farsad.

Gayby Baby (Documentary) — Directed by Maya Newell (Opens in NYC, LA, Chicago, North Carolina, Miama, and San Francisco; Opens wide May 1)

Kids being raised by same-sex couples are growing in numbers worldwide. We are in a Gayby-Boom. But who are these kids? What do they think about having same-sex parents? And do they face different issues to other kids? At a time when the world is debating marriage equality, these questions are more pertinent than ever. Told from the perspective of the kids, “Gayby Baby” is intimate and sometimes humorous account of four children and their families. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Maya Newell.

Ratchet & Clank — Co-Directed by Jericca Cleland

Two unlikely heroes struggle to stop a vile alien named Chairman Drek (voiced by Paul Giamatti) from destroying every planet in the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet (James Arnold Taylor) is the last of his kind, a foolhardy “Lombax” who has grown up alone on a backwater planet with no family of his own. Clank (David Kaye) is a pint-sized robot with more brains than brawn. When the two stumble upon a dangerous weapon capable of destroying entire planets, they must join forces with a team of colorful heroes called The Galactic Rangers in order to save the galaxy. Along the way, they will learn about heroism, friendship, and the importance of discovering one’s own identity. (Press materials)

The American Side — Co-Written and Directed by Jenna Ricker (Opens in NYC)

Thrust into a world populated by a whiskey-swilling raconteur (Robert Forster), strangely bonded siblings (Matthew Broderick and Camilla Belle) and a dubious government agent (Janeane Garofalo), Charlie Paczynski (Greg Stuhr) joins the quest for a long-lost design by enigmatic genius Nikola Tesla. Every door Paczynski forces open raises the stakes. Reminiscent of the conspiracy thrillers of the 70s and packed with nods to Hitchcock and classic noir, “The American Side” is a jigsaw puzzle mystery, climaxing under the roar of the Falls as the final piece snaps into place. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Jenna Ricker.

A Beautiful Planet (Documentary) — Directed by Toni Myers

This documentary about humanity’s relationship with Earth includes footage from the International Space Station and is narrated by Jennifer Lawrence. (Rotten Tomatoes)

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

• Elvis & Nixon — Directed by Liza Johnson; Co-Written by Hanala Sagal
• The Adderall Diaries — Written and Directed by Pamela Romanowsky
• Echo Park — Directed by Amanda Marsalis; Written by Catalina Aguilar Mastretta (Also available on Netflix)
• Rio, I Love You- Co-Directed by Nadine Labaki; Co-Written by Nadine Labaki and Elena Soarez
• The Invitation — Directed by Karyn Kusama (Also available on VOD)
• Standing Tall — Directed by Emmanuelle Bercot; Written by Emmanuelle Bercot and Marcia Romano
• Catching the Sun (Documentary) — Directed by Shalini Kantayya
• Sweet Bean — Written and Directed by Naomi Kawase
• City of Gold (Documentary) — Directed by Laura Gabbert
• Kung Fu Panda 3 — Co-Directed by Jennifer Yuh

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

None

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

• Barbershop: The Next Cut — Co-Written by Tracy Oliver
• Meet the Blacks — Co-Written by Nicole DeMasi
• My Golden Days — Co-Written by Julie Peyr
• The Young Messiah — Co-Written by Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh
• London Has Fallen — Co-Written by Katrin Benedikt
• Race — Co-Written by Anna Waterhouse

TV Premieres This Week

Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw (Documentary) — Co-Written by Sharon Wood (Premieres May 3 on LOGO)

“Mind/Game” intimately chronicles the athletic accomplishments and personal setbacks of Chamique Holdsclaw, a three time NCAA champ and Number One draft pick in the WNBA. The film follows her decision, despite public stigma, to become an outspoken mental health advocate. Still, she would face dramatic, unexpected challenges to her own recovery. Narrated by Glenn Close, “Mind/Game” tells a powerful story of courage, struggle, and redemption. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

• Joy — Story by Annie Mumolo (DVD, May 3)
• Emelie (DVD, May 3)
• A Royal Night Out (DVD, May 3)
• The Wave I Ride (Documentary) — Co-Written and Directed by Devyn Bisson (VOD, Available Now)