Films About Women Opening This Week
The Second Mother — Written and Directed by Anna Muylaert
August’s only film with a woman-of-color lead looks to be one of this month’s strongest offerings. Written and directed by Brazilian filmmaker Anna Muylaert (“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”), this mother-daughter drama centers on a live-in maid (Brazilian superstar Regina Casé) whose ungrateful grown daughter (Camila Márdila) repeatedly prods her about why she’s okay being treated like a second-class citizen by the family that employs her. After competing at Sundance and the Berlinale, “The Second Mother” won rave reviews from critics. The Hollywood Reporter, for one, praised Muylaert’s “ingeniously constructed screenplay,” which “passes not only the Bechdel test with flying colors but dissects with both chilling precision and humor such matters as class differences, real mothers vs. caretakers and whether privilege and one’s own station are things that can be questioned or changed. (Inkoo Kang)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Anna Muylaert.
Read more about The 5 Women We’re Excited to See This August
Z For Zachariah
In the wake of a nuclear war, a young woman (Margot Robbie) survives on her own, fearing she may actually be the proverbial last woman on earth, until she discovers the most astonishing sight of her life: another human being (Chiwetel Ejiofor). A distraught scientist, he’s nearly been driven mad by radiation exposure and his desperate search for others. A fragile, imperative strand of trust connects them. But when a stranger (Chris Pine) enters the valley, their precarious bond begins to unravel. (Press materials)
When Animals Dream
An outsider in a small coastal community, 19-year-old Marie (Sonia Suhl) lives alone with her parents. She has no one to confide in except Daniel (Jakob Oftebro), a young man mesmerized by her wild nature. When Marie discovers her body undergoing a transformation, she begins searching for answers linked to her family’s hidden past. Her father (Lars Mikkelsen) tries to keep her safe from the watchful and fearful gaze of the townspeople, but something rebellious within Marie cannot be tamed. Soon her search for the truth will send her on a collision course with everyone around her — with the exception of Daniel, who will follow her to the end of the night. (Press materials)
Unsullied
When car trouble strands track star Reagan Farrow (Murray Gray) in the Florida boondocks, she accepts an offer of help from a pair of charming strangers, only to find herself trapped in a brutal backwoods nightmare. Held captive in an isolated cabin, Reagan manages to escape and take refuge in the forest. Relentlessly pursued by the savage sociopaths who kidnapped her, Reagan will need all of her inner strength and resourcefulness in order to survive. (Press materials)
Films About Women Currently Playing
Grandma
Learning to Drive — Directed by Isabel Coixet; Written by Sarah Kernochan
Queen of Earth
After Words
In the Game
Mistress America — Co-Written by Greta Gerwig
Fort Tilden — Co-Directed and Co-Written by Sarah-Violet Bliss
Big Sky (Also available on VOD)
Final Girl
Return to Sender (Also available on VOD) — Co-Written by Patricia Beauchamp
Once I Was a Beehive
Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism — Co-Written by Georgia Byng
Paulette — Co-Written by Bianca Olsen and Laurie Aubanel
Dangerous Company
Ricki and the Flash — Written by Diablo Cody
The Diary of a Teenage Girl — Written and Directed by Marielle Heller
Dark Places
Phoenix
Trainwreck — Written by Amy Schumer
Tangerine
Amy (Documentary)
Inside Out
Spy
Testament of Youth
Tomorrowland
Mad Max: Fury Road
I’ll See You In My Dreams
Iris (Documentary)
Gemma Bovary — Directed by Anne Fontaine
Films Directed by Women Opening This Week
Zipper — Directed and Co-Written by Mora Stephens
A family man (Patrick Wilson) who has it all until he risks losing everything due to his inability to fight off his obsessive temptation for other women. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Mora Stephens.
My Voice, My Life (Documentary) — Directed by Ruby Yang
“My Voice My Life” follows an unlikely group of misfit students from four Hong Kong middle and high schools cast in a musical-theater performance. From low self-esteem to blindness, each student confronts unique personal challenges in the process of developing his or her character. (Press materials)
Turbo Kid — Co-Directed and Co-Written by Anouk Whissell
In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid (Munro Chambers), a young solitary scavenger obsessed with comic books must face his fears and become a reluctant hero when he meets a mysterious girl named Apple (Laurence Leboeuf). Despite their efforts to keep to themselves, Zeus (Michael Ironside), the sadistic and self-proclaimed leader of the Wasteland, plagues The Kid and Apple. Armed with little more than blind faith and an ancient turbocharged weapon, The Kid learns of justice and friendship and embarks on an incredible journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl of his dreams. (Press materials)
Windsor Drive — Directed by Natalie Bible
River Miller (Tommy O’Reilly) is a mentally unstable 27-year-old haunted by the death of his girlfriend, Jordana (Jillian Murray). Trapped by the voices and visions in his head, River’s world begins to crumble, forcing him to move to new surroundings hoping to calm his demons, but when he moves in with Wulf and Ivy (Kyan DuBois and Anna Biani), two vampy hipsters with an agenda of their own, everything falls apart and the murders start again… (Press materials)
I Touched All Your Stuff/A vida privada dos hipopótamos (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Maira Bühler
Christopher Kirk recounts his relationship with a mysterious woman of Japanese-Colombian descent and his fascination with Escobar’s hippos. (Press materials)
Films Directed by Women Currently Playing
Top Spin (Documentary) — Directed by Sara Newens and Mina T. Son
The Park Bench — Directed and Written by Ann LeSchander
Rosenwald (Documentary) — Directed by Aviva Kempner
Ten Thousand Saints — Co-Directed by Shari Springer Berman
Slow Learners — Co-Directed by Sheena M. Joyce
Meru (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelvi
The Lost Key (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Belen Orsini; Co-Written by Fernanda Rossi and Sonia Chocron
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet — Co-Directed by Joan C. Gratz and Nina Paley
Infinitely Polar Bear — Directed and Written by Maya Forbes
The Wolfpack (Documentary) — Directed by Crystal Mosell
Films Written by Women Opening This Week
We Are Your Friends — Co-Written by Meaghan Oppenheimer
Set in the world of electronic music and Hollywood nightlife, an aspiring 23-year-old DJ named Cole (Zac Efron) spends his days scheming with his childhood friends and his nights working on the one track that will set the world on fire. All of this changes when he meets a charismatic but damaged older DJ named James (Wes Bentley), who takes him under his wing. Things get complicated, however, when Cole starts falling for James’ much younger girlfriend, Sophie (Emily Ratajkowski). With Cole’s forbidden relationship intensifying and his friendships unraveling, he must choose between love, loyalty and the future he is destined for. (Press materials)
Films Written by Women Currently Playing
She’s Funny That Way — Co-Written by Louise Stratten
Straight Outta Compton — Co-Written by Andrea Berloff
Amnesiac — Co-Written by Amy Kolquist
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation — Co-Written by Laeta Kalogridis
Terminator: Genisys — Co-Written by Laeta Kalogridis
Jurassic World — Co-Written by Amanda Silver
VOD/DVD Releasing This Week
Felt (DVD) — Co-Written by Amy Everson
The Age of Adaline (VOD)
The Lesson (DVD) — Co-Directed by Kristina Grozeva
Mad Max: Fury Road (DVD)
Baby Girl (VOD and iTunes)
Addicted to Fresno — Directed by Jamie Babbit; Written by Karey Dornetto (VOD)
Courtney Barnett Tour Documentary (VOD)
