Weekly Update for August 19: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

A Tale of Love and Darkness — Written and Directed by Natalie Portman

“A Tale of Love and Darkness” is based on the memories of Amos Oz, growing up in Jerusalem in the years before Israeli statehood with Arieh, his academic father (Gilad Kahana), and Fania (Natalie Portman), his dreamy, imaginative mother. They were one of many Jewish families who moved to Palestine from Europe during the 1930s and 40s to escape persecution. Unhappy in her marriage and intellectually stifled, Fania would make up stories of adventures (like treks across the desert) to cheer herself up and entertain 10-year-old Amos (Amir Tessler). When independence didn’t bring the renewed sense of life that Fania had hoped for, she slipped into solitude and sadness. As Amos witnessed the birth of Israel, he had to come to terms with his own new beginning. (Press materials)

Thelma and Louise — Written by Callie Khouri (25th Anniversary Screenings)

Louise Sawyer (Susan Sarandon) and her best friend Thelma Dickerson (Geena Davis) are getting ready to relive that wild weekend turned epic adventure as “Thelma & Louise” returns to more than 400 theaters nationwide this Sunday, August 21, with a repeat performance Wednesday, August 24. (Press materials)

Ixcanul (Opens in NY)

María (María Mercedes Coroy), a 17-year-old Kaqchikel Maya, lives with her parents on a coffee plantation at the foot of an active volcano. She is set to be married to the farm’s foreman. But María longs to discover the world on the other side of the mountain, a place she cannot even imagine. And so she seduces a coffee-harvester who wants to escape to the USA. When this man leaves her behind, María discovers her own world and culture anew. (Berlinale)

Mia Madre — Co-Written by Valia Santella

A harried filmmaker (Margherita Buy) tries to juggle the demands of her latest movie with a personal life in shambles. The star of her film, a bombastic American actor (John Turturro), presents nothing but headaches and her crew is close to mutiny. Away from the shoot, Margherita tries to hold her life together as her mother’s illness progresses and her teenage daughter grows ever more distant. (Press materials)

Kate Plays Christine (Documentary) (Opens August 24 in NY)

Actress Kate Lyn Sheil prepares to tackle a challenging role — stepping into the shoes of Christine Chubbuck, a real-life news reporter who killed herself on national television in 1974. (Press materials)

Films About Women Currently Playing

Florence Foster Jenkins
My King (Mon Roi) — Co-Written and Directed by Maïwenn
The Model
Equity — Directed by Meera Menon; Written by Amy Fox
Bad Moms
Miss Sharon Jones! (Documentary) — Directed by Barbara Kopple
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie — Directed by Mandie Fletcher; Written by Jennifer Saunders
Summertime — Directed by Catherine Corsini; Written by Catherine Corsini and Laurette Polmanss
Lights Out
Nerve — Written by Jessica Sharzer
Ghostbusters — Co-Written by Katie Dippold
Our Little Sister
The Innocents — Directed by Anne Fontaine; Co-Written by Anne Fontaine, Sabrina B. Karine, and Alice Vial
The Shallows
Adult Life Skills — Written and Directed by Rachel Tunnard (Playing in the UK)
Finding Dory
The Witness (Documentary)
Me Before You — Directed by Thea Sharrock; Written by Jojo Moyes
Alice Through the Looking Glass — Written by Linda Woolverton
Presenting Princess Shaw (Documentary) (Also Available on VOD)
Maggie’s Plan — Written and Directed by Rebecca Miller
Sunset Song
Love & Friendship
Dark Horse (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Louise Osmond
The Meddler — Written and Directed by Lorene Scafaria

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

A Small Good Thing (Documentary) — Directed by Pamela Tanner Boll (Opens in Santa Fe)

“A Small Good Thing” explores what it takes to live a good life at the beginning of this new century. This film follows six people who, despite economic concerns and high levels of stress, have found more meaning in their lives, a closer bond with their families and communities, and a deeper connection to themselves and the natural world. (Press materials)

No Asylum: The Untold Chapter of Anne Frank’s Story (Documentary) — Co-Written and Directed by Paula Fouce (Opens in LA)

Anne Frank’s father, Otto’s, recently discovered letters reveal new information about the family’s struggle to obtain visas to save themselves from the clutches of the Nazis. Something of a prequel to Anne’s iconic diary, “No Asylum” shares unknown details of the Frank family’s story before they went into hiding in the attic, and is a call to action for tolerance and respect. (Press materials)

In Search of Perfect Consonance (Short Documentary) — Directed by Ruby Yang (Opens in LA)

Twenty-five years ago, China was at war with Vietnam, the Chinese and the Japanese were at loggerheads, and relations across the Taiwan Strait were frosty. “In Search of Perfect Consonance” profiles the Asian Youth Orchestra, set up against this backdrop with the aim of connecting the region’s young people through music. As we watch the budding musicians of today’s Asia learn to work together, we are reminded of the higher ideals that music inspires. (Press materials)

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

Abortion: Stories Women Tell (Documentary) — Directed by Tracy Droz Tragos
Disorder — Written and Directed by Alice Winocour (Also Available on VOD)
When Two Worlds Collide (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Heidi Brandenburg
Five Nights in Maine — Written and Directed by Maris Curran (Also Available on VOD)
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You (Documentary) — Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
Our Kind of Traitor — Directed by Susanna White

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

None

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

Blood Father — Co-Written by Andrea Berloff
The Lost Arcade (Documentary) — Co-Written by Irene Chin
Nine Lives — Co-Written by Gwyn Lurie
The Infiltrator — Written by Ellen Brown Furman
The BFG — Written by Melissa Mathison

TV Premieres This Week

Boy in the Attic (TV Movie) — Written by Christine Conradt (Premieres August 20 on Lifetime)

When Callie (Abbie Cobb) and her mom Rachel (Gina Holden) inherit an old house, Callie is shocked to discover a stranger in the attic, Michael (Max Lloyd-Jones), who has been hiding and living in it for months. Callie agrees to keep his hiding place a secret from everyone, including her mom. But when she finds out that he has been falsely accused of murder, she must decide if she will risk everything to protect him. (Press materials)

Wild Oats (TV Movie) — Co-Written by Claudia Myers (Premieres August 22 on Lifetime)

After her husband’s passing, Eva (Shirley MacLaine) faces life on her own for the very first time. With her doting daughter Crystal (Demi Moore) reminding her of her age every day, Eva can’t help but feel her best days have come and gone. When she receives a life insurance check erroneously made out for five million dollars instead of the expected $50,000, Eva and her best friend Maddie (Jessica Lange) decide to live life to the fullest and head for the adventure of a lifetime in Spain. But when the insurance company realizes their mistake, will they be able to recover the money before Eva and Maddie spend it all? (Press materials)

Too Close to Home (Series Premieres August 22 on TLC)

When Anna (Danielle Savre) leaves her trailer park home in Alabama in a cloud of dust, she cuts all ties with her family and buries every element of her checkered past. Her friends in Washington think she comes from a wealthy family and know nothing of her real upbringing. Suddenly, the real Anna is exposed when she causes a major political scandal and makes national headlines for her part in an affair with one of the nation’s most powerful players. With nowhere to turn, she’s forced to find sanctuary in the only place she has left — home. (Deadline)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

The Huntsman: Winter’s War (DVD, August 23)
Ratchet & Clank — Co-Directed by Jericca Cleland (DVD, August 23)
Weiner (Documentary) — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Elyse Steinberg (DVD, August 23)
Indigo Children (DVD, August 23)
The Alley Cat — Written and Directed by Marie Ullrich (DVD and VOD, Available Now)
Sunset Song (DVD, August 23)