Weekly Update for February 16: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

The Boy Downstairs — Written and Directed by Sophie Brooks (Opens in NY; Opens in LA February 23)

Diana (Zosia Mamet) moves back to New York City after a few years abroad and finds the perfect Brooklyn apartment for a fresh start. Yet on the first night in her new home, she discovers that her ex-boyfriend Ben (Matthew Shear) lives in the apartment below hers. After an awkward reunion, Diana proclaims her intentions for a genuine friendship. But as old wounds are opened, both Diana and Ben are forced to confront the true nature of their feelings. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Sophie Brooks.

Irreplaceable You — Directed by Stephanie Laing; Written by Bess Wohl (Available on Netflix)

A stunning cancer diagnosis spurs Abbie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) to seek a future girlfriend for fiancé and childhood sweetheart Sam (Michiel Huisman), who’s clueless when it comes to dating. (Press materials)

The Housemaid (Also Available on VOD)

Vietnam, 1953: Linh (Nhung Kate), a poor, orphaned young woman, finds employment as a housemaid in a crumbling rubber plantation presided over by the emotionally fragile French officer Sebastien Laurent (Jean-Michel Richaud). Soon, a torrid love affair develops between the two — a taboo romance that rouses the ghost of Laurent’s dead wife, who won’t rest until blood flows. (Press materials)

Women-Centric 2018 Oscar-Nominated Short Films (Currently Playing in Limited Release)

The Silent Child — Written by Rachel Shenton

“The Silent Child” centers around a deaf four-year-old girl named Libby. She is born into a middle class family and lives in a world of silence until a caring social worker teaches her the gift of communication. (Press materials)

Heroin(e) (Documentary) — Directed by Elaine McMillion Sheldon

Three women in Huntington, West Virginia fight to break the cycle of addiction one life at a time. (Press materials)

Traffic Stop (Documentary) — Directed by Kate Davis (Also Airing on HBO February 19)

In 2015, African-American schoolteacher Breaion King was stopped for a minor traffic violation in Austin, Texas — and what should have been a routine encounter quickly escalated into a harrowing arrest that was captured in detail by police dash cams. “Traffic Stop” illuminates timely, resonant issues of race and law enforcement while offering an intimate portrait of one woman in the wake of her traumatic arrest. (Press materials)

Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (Documentary)

Mindy Alper is a tortured and brilliant 56-year-old artist who is represented by one of Los Angeles’ top galleries. Acute anxiety, mental disorder, and devastating depression have caused her to be committed to mental institutions, undergo electro shock therapy, and survive a 10 year period without the ability to speak. Her hyper self-awareness has allowed her to produce a lifelong body of work that expresses her emotional state with powerful psychological precision. Through interviews, reenactments, the building of an eight and a half foot papier-mache bust of her beloved psychiatrist, and examining drawings made from the time she was a child, we learn how she has emerged from darkness and isolation to a life that includes love, trust, and support. (Press materials)

Find Oscar Shorts screening info here.

The Scent of Rain & Lightning

When a young woman in the Midwest learns her parents’ killer has been released from jail, rumblings in her small town suggest he may be innocent. She begins questioning the police investigation and witnesses, and uncovers her own family secrets to piece together the shocking truth. Based on the bestselling novel by Nancy Pickard. (Press materials)

A Wish for Giants (Opens February 17)

Sophie (Naysa Altmeyer), a young volunteer, meets her kindred spirit in Roxie (Alexa Mechling), a girl with a life threatening medical condition and a unique wish to meet Bigfoot. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Films About Women Currently Playing

The Female Brain — Directed by Whitney Cummings; Co-Written by Whitney Cummings and Louann Brizendine (Also Available on VOD)
Becks — Co-Directed by Elizabeth Rohrbaugh; Co-Written by Elizabeth Rohrbaugh and Rebecca Drysdale (Also Available on VOD)
Seeing Allred (Documentary) — Directed by Sophie Sartain and Roberta Grossman (Also Available on Netflix)
La Boda de Valentina — Co-Written by Issa López
Basmati Blues (Also Available on VOD)
Still/Born (Also Available on VOD)
Black Hollow Cage (Also Available on VOD)
Double Lover
Tehran Taboo
Monster Family (Also Available on VOD)
Winchester
A Fantastic Woman
Please Stand By
Like Me
Mary and the Witch’s Flower — Co-Written by Riko Sakaguchi
Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba (Documentary)
Ridge Runners
The Post — Co-Written by Liz Hannah
Proud Mary
Vazante — Co-Written and Directed by Daniela Thomas
My Art — Written and Directed by Laurie Simmons
Pitch Perfect 3 — Directed by Trish Sie; Co-Written by Kay Cannon
In the Fade
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Insidious: The Last Key
In Between — Written and Directed by Maysaloun Hamoud
Molly’s Game
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water — Co-Written by Vanessa Taylor
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Alexandra Dean
The Breadwinner — Directed by Nora Twomey; Written by Anita Doron and Deborah Ellis
Big Sonia (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Leah Warshawski
Thelma
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Lady Bird — Written and Directed by Greta Gerwig
Novitiate — Written and Directed by Margaret Betts
Jane (Documentary)
The Florida Project

Films Directed By Women Opening This Week

The Party — Written and Directed by Sally Potter (Opens in NY and LA)

Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) has just been appointed to a key ministerial position in the shadow cabinet — the crowning achievement of her political career. She and her husband Bill (Timothy Spall) plan to celebrate this with a few close friends. As the guests arrive at their home in London, the party takes an unexpected turn when Bill suddenly makes some explosive revelations that take everyone present by surprise. Love, friendships, and political convictions are soon called into question in this hilarious comedy of tragic proportions. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Sally Potter.

Find screening info here.

Western — Written and Directed by Valeska Grisebach (Opens in NY)

“Western” follows a group of German construction workers installing a hydroelectric plant in remote rural Bulgaria. The foreign land awakens the men’s sense of adventure, but tensions mount when Meinhard (Meinhard Neumann), the strong, silent newcomer to the group, starts mixing with the local villagers. The two sides speak different languages and share a troubled history. Can they learn to trust each other — or is the stage being set for a showdown? (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Valeska Grisebach.

Women-Directed 2018 Oscar-Nominated Short Films (Currently Playing in Limited Release)

Negative Space (Animation) — Co-Directed by Ru Kuwahata

Based on a 150-word poem by Ron Koertge, “Negative Space” is a short animated film that depicts a father-and-son relationship through the art of packing a suitcase. (Press materials)

Watu Wote: All of Us — Directed by Katja Benrath; Written by Julia Drache

For almost a decade Kenya has been targeted by terrorist attacks of the Al-Shabaab. An atmosphere of anxiety and mistrust between Muslims and Christians is growing. Until, in December 2015, Muslim bus passengers showed that solidarity can prevail. (Press materials)

Edith + Eddie (Documentary) — Directed by Laura Checkoway

Edith and Eddie, ages 96 and 95, are America’s oldest interracial newlyweds. Their love story is disrupted by a family feud that threatens to tear the couple apart. (Press materials)

Find Oscar Shorts screening info here.

Films Directed By Women Currently Playing

Forever My Girl — Written and Directed by Bethany Ashton Wolf
Freak Show — Directed by Trudie Styler; Co-Written by Beth Rigazio (Also Available on VOD)
Faces Places (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Agnès Varda
Loving Vincent — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Dorota Kobiela

Films Written By Women Opening This Week

None.

Films Written By Women Currently Playing

“The 15:17 to Paris”: Warner Bros. Pictures

The 15:17 to Paris — Written by Dorothy Blyskal
Before We Vanish — Co-Written by Sachiko Tanaka
The Insult — Co-Written by Joëlle Touma
The Greatest Showman — Co-Written by Jenny Bicks

TV Premieres This Week

Soft Focus with Jena Friedman (Comedy Special) — Created by Jena Friedman; Directed by Anu Valia (Premieres February 18 on Adult Swim)

Sometimes hard issues need a light touch. “Soft Focus with Jena Friedman” is a live-action comedic human-interest program where fact and fiction blend in a harmonious union of what the f***. (Press materials)

X Company — Co-Created by Stephanie Morgenstern (Premieres February 19 on Ovation)

An emotionally driven adventure drama, set in the thrilling and dangerous world of WWII espionage and covert operations. It follows the stories of five highly skilled young recruits — Canadian, American and British — torn from their ordinary lives to train as agents in Camp X, an ultra-secret training facility on the shores of Lake Ontario. Inspired by remarkable true stories, “X Company” is about the origin of spycraft. It’s an aspirational world, combining glamour, grit, and gadgets. It’s about the birth of mass propaganda, the first fights against terror, and the heroes that led the charge to change our world. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

Novitiate — Written and Directed by Margaret Betts (VOD, February 20)
The Florida Project (DVD, February 20)
The Girl Without Hands (DVD, February 20)
I Am Somebody: Three Films by Madeline Anderson (Documentary Anthology) — Directed by Madeline Anderson (VOD/DVD, February 20)

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