FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING
Crazy Rich Asians – Written by Adele Lim and Peter Chiarelli (Opens August 15)
“Crazy Rich Asians” follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick’s family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Being on Nick’s arm puts a target on Rachel’s back, with jealous socialites and, worse, Nick’s own disapproving mother (Michelle Yeoh) taking aim. And it soon becomes clear that while money can’t buy love, it can definitely complicate things. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
Skate Kitchen – Directed by Crystal Moselle; Written by Crystal Moselle, Jen Silverman, and Aslihan Unaldi
“Skate Kitchen”
Camille (Rachelle Vinberg), an introverted teenage skateboarder from Long Island, meets and befriends an all-girl, New York City-based skateboarding crew called Skate Kitchen. She falls in with the in-crowd, has a falling-out with her mother, and falls for a mysterious skateboarder guy (Jaden Smith), but a relationship with him proves to be trickier to navigate than a kickflip. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Crystal Moselle.
Find screening info here.
Madeline’s Madeline – Directed by Josephine Decker; Written by Josephine Decker and Donna di Novelli (Opens in NY; Opens in LA August 17)
“Madeline’s Madeline”
Madeline (Helena Howard) has become an integral part of a prestigious physical theater troupe. When the workshop’s ambitious director (Molly Parker) pushes the teenager to weave her rich interior world and troubled history with her mother (Miranda July) into their collective art, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. The resulting battle between imagination and appropriation rips out of the rehearsal space and through all three women’s lives. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Josephine Decker.
Find screening info here.
The Swan – Written and Directed by Ása Helga Hjörleifsdótirr (Opens in NY)
“The Swan”
In contemporary rural Iceland, a wayward nine-year old girl, Sól (Gríma Valsdóttir), is sent to distant countryside relatives for a summer to work and to mature. Nature seems endless there, the animals soulful but the people harsh. All except the mysterious farmhand Jón (Thor Kristjansson), who — same as Sól herself — likes words better than people. But the farmer’s daughter Ásta (Þuríður Blær Jóhannsdóttir) has a claim on Jón as well, and soon Sól becomes entangled in a drama she hardly can grasp. This summer marks Sól’s rite of passage into the murky waters of adulthood, and the wild nature in us all. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Available on Netflix)
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”
London, 1946. Juliet (Lily James), a charismatic and free-spirited writer receives a letter from a member of a mysterious literary club started in Nazi-occupied Guernsey. Her curiosity piqued, Juliet decides to visit the island. There she meets the delightfully eccentric members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, including Dawsey (Michiel Huisman), the rugged and intriguing farmer who wrote her the letter. As the secrets from their wartime past unfold, Juliet’s growing attachment to the island, the book club, and her affection for Dawsey will change the course of her life forever. (Press materials)
Elizabeth Harvest (Also Available on VOD)
Elizabeth (Abbey Lee), a beautiful young newlywed, arrives at the palatial estate of her brilliant scientist husband, Henry (Ciaran Hinds). Ensconced in modernist luxury with an obedient — if slightly unsettling — house staff (Carla Gugino and Matthew Beard), she has seemingly everything she could want. But one mystery tantalizes her: what is behind the locked door to Henry’s laboratory that he has forbidden her to enter? When an inquisitive Elizabeth dares to find out, everything she thought she knew about her husband — and about herself — will change. (Press materials)
Hope Springs Eternal – Written by Stephanie Mickus (Also Available on VOD)
“Hope Springs Eternal”
Hope Gracin (Mia Rose Frampton) is known as “the girl dying of cancer” and has fully embraced this identity. Posting YouTube videos, having fun with friends, an Australian boyfriend, and being popular have been the results of this identity — until her tests show that she is cured. Hope, unsure of what her new future holds, hides the truth. But as what happens with most secrets, the truth comes out. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
Along Came the Devil – Written by Heather DeVan and Jason DeVan (Also Available on VOD)
Ashley (Sydney Sweeney) is sent to live with her estranged Aunt Tanya (Jessica Barth). While in her old hometown she has visions of her deceased mom, driving her to contact the spirit world. Ashley unknowingly unearths a demonic force, which leaves her loved ones fighting for her soul. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
BuyBust
“BuyBust”: Well Go USA
After surviving the slaughter of her entire squad in a drug raid compromised by dirty cops, anti-narcotics special operative Nina Manigan (Anne Curtis) is eager to go head-to-head with the drug cartels that hold a bloody grip on Manila. But when her new mission in the city’s most dangerous slum goes south, the angry civilians turn on her squad. Trapped between a brutal drug gang and hordes of bloodthirsty citizens, their only option is to fight their way out, turning one claustrophobic street at a time into a symphony of apocalyptic violence. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING
“Church & State”: Blue Fox Entertainment
Church & State (Documentary) – Directed by Holly Tuckett and Kendall Wilcox; Written by Holly Tuckett, Jennifer Lynn Dobner, Kendall Wilcox, and Torben Bernhard (Also Available on VOD)
A surprise federal court ruling in 2013 legalized gay marriage for Utah — triggering a fierce battle in a state where Mormon Church values control the Legislature and every aspect of public life. (Press materials)
Summer of 84 – Directed by Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, and Yoann-Karl Whissell
“Summer of 84”: Gunpowder & Sky
Summer, 1984: The perfect time to be 15 years old and free. But when neighborhood conspiracy theorist Davey Armstrong (Graham Verchere) begins to suspect his police officer neighbor might be the serial killer all over the local news, he and his three best friends begin an investigation that soon turns dangerous. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Anouk Whissell.
Find screening info here.
Cielo (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Alison McAlpine (Opens August 15)
“Cielo” is a cinematic reverie on the crazy beauty of the night sky, as experienced in the Atacama Desert, Chile, one of the best places on our planet to explore and contemplate its splendor. Planet Hunters in the Atacama’s astronomical observatories and the desert dwellers who work the land and sea share their evocative visions of the stars and planets, their mythic stories, and existential queries with remarkable openness and a contagious sense of wonder. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Alison McAlpine.
TV PREMIERES
“Ordeal by Innocence”
Insatiable – Created by Lauren Gussis (Premieres August 10 on Netflix)
For years, Patty (Debby Ryan) has been bullied, ignored, and underestimated by those around her because of her weight. But now that she finds herself suddenly thin, Patty is out for payback against anyone who has ever made her feel bad about herself. Bob Armstrong (Dallas Roberts), a disgraced attorney whose true passion is coaching beauty pageant contestants, is the only one who sees Patty’s potential, and takes her under his wing — first as a legal client, and then as a pageant contestant whom he coaches toward becoming the top pageant queen in the country. But Bob and his wife Coralee (Alyssa Milano) have no idea how deep Patty’s rage goes, or how far she will go to exact revenge on anyone who has ever wronged her. (Press materials)
The House of Flowers (Premieres August 10 on Netflix)
In this dark comedy, a wealthy matriarch (Verónica Castro) tries to maintain her family’s facade of perfection after her husband’s mistress exposes their dirty secrets. (Press materials)
Ordeal by Innocence (Miniseries) – Directed by Sandra Goldbacher; Written by Sarah Phelps (Premieres August 10 on Amazon)
Christmas 1954. Wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll (Anna Chancellor) is murdered at her family estate, Sunny Point. Her adopted son, Jack Argyll (Anthony Boyle), is arrested for her murder. He vehemently protests his innocence. (Press materials)
VOD/STREAMING RELEASES
“Porcupine Lake”
Girl Code (Short) – Directed by Casey Gates; Written by Jessica Jacobs and Casey Gates (Vimeo, Available Now)
2036 Origin Unknown (VOD, August 13)
Destined to Ride – Directed by Anna Elizabeth James; Written by Anna Elizabeth James and Brennan Elizabeth Peters (VOD, August 14)
Higher Power – Written by Julia Fair and Matthew Charles Santoro (VOD, August 14)
Porcupine Lake – Written and Directed by Ingrid Veninger (VOD, August 14)
Snapshots – Directed by Melanie Mayron; Written by Jan Miller Corran and Katherine Cortez (VOD, August 14)
The Children Act (DirecTV, August 16)
PICKS OF THE WEEK FROM WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD
TIFF’s Documentary Program Includes Films from Rashida Jones, Alexis Bloom, & More
Exclusive: Teens Bond During Cancer Treatment in “Hope Springs Eternal” Clip
TIFF Announces Platform Program: Karyn Kusama, Carol Morley, & More
NYFF Announces Main Slate and It’s 13 Percent Women-Directed
Trans & Nonbinary Communities Demand Better Representation in Open Letter, 47 Orgs Sign
Apply Now: 2019 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship
“Sex and the City and Us” Author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong on the Show’s Legacy
Watch: Gemma Arterton Auditions Felicity Jones & More for Humiliating “Leading Lady Parts”
“Never Goin’ Back” Writer-Director Augustine Frizzell on Her Love Letter to Female Friendship
The Bonds Between Us: Crowdfunding Picks
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