FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING
Adult Life Skills – Written and Directed by Rachel Tunnard (Also Available on VOD)
Anna (Jodie Whittaker) is stuck: she’s approaching 30, living like a hermit in her mum’s garden shed, and wondering why the suffragettes ever bothered. She spends her days making videos using her thumbs as actors — thumbs that bicker about things like whether Yogi Bear is a moral or existential nihilist. But Anna doesn’t show these videos to anyone and no one knows what they are for. A week before her birthday her mum serves her an ultimatum — she needs to move out of the shed, get a haircut that doesn’t put her gender in question, and stop dressing like a homeless teenager. Naturally, Anna tells her mum to “back the f-off.” However, when her school friend comes to visit, Anna’s self-imposed isolation becomes impossible to maintain. Soon she is entangled with a troubled eight-year-old boy obsessed with Westerns, and the local estate agent whose awkward interpersonal skills continually undermine his attempts to seduce her.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Rachel Tunnard.
Find screening info here.
Egg – Directed by Marianna Palka; Written by Risa Mickenberg (Also Available on VOD)
“Egg”
Two art-school friends confront each other about their different visions of motherhood during an incendiary dinner party in this satirical drama. One is a successful artist who intends to become a parent via surrogate (Alysia Reiner), while the other is a trophy wife who defends the virtues of traditional motherhood (Christina Hendricks).
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Marianna Palka.
Find tickets and screening info here.
Close – Directed by Vicky Jewson; Written by Vicky Jewson and Rupert Whitaker (Available on Netflix)
“Close”: Netflix
Close, an adrenaline-pumping action thriller is inspired by the life of the world’s leading female bodyguard, Jacquie Davis. The film stars Noomi Rapace as Sam, a counter-terrorist expert used to war zones, who takes on the job of protecting Zoe (Sophie Nélisse), a young and rich heiress — a babysitting job. But a violent attempted kidnapping forces the two to go on the run. Now they’ve got to take some lives — or lose theirs.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Vicky Jewson.
Unbridled – Written by Bonne Barton
Sarah (Tea McKay) is abused and emotionally abandoned by her mother, Karen (Dey Young), who struggles with alcoholism and looks the other way when her abusive boyfriend, Roger (Eric Roberts), secretly involves Sarah in an illicit sex traffic ring. When Roger is finally arrested, Sarah is sent away to an equine therapy academy where young women like her find hope and healing. There, Sarah meets an abused, skittish horse named Dreamer; together, the two walk the difficult road to healing and redemption, ultimately learning that love is the most powerful force on earth.
Find screening info here.
The 5 Browns: Digging Through the Darkness (Documentary) (Screens January 23-29 in NY)
“The 5 Browns: Digging Through the Darkness” takes an intimate look at The 5 Browns, a group of sibling pianists who experienced a meteoric rise to stardom only to be devastated years later by the tragic realization that all the three sisters — Desirae, Deondra, and Melody — had been sexually abused by their father and manager.
Find screening info here.
Girl (Also Available on Netflix)
Determined 15-year-old Lara (Victor Polster) is committed to becoming a professional ballerina. With the support of her father, she throws herself into this quest for the absolute at a new school. Lara’s adolescent frustrations and impatience are heightened as she realizes her body does not bend so easily to the strict discipline because she was born a boy.
An Acceptable Loss (Also Available on VOD)
“An Acceptable Loss”: IFC Films
Former top U.S. security adviser Elizabeth “Libby” Lamm (Tika Sumpter) is threatened by associates from her dark past, including Rachel Burke (Jamie Lee Curtis), a steely, commanding politician with an unwavering knack for achieving her goals. Colluding with Rachel is Adrian (Jeff Hephner), an unyielding, patriotic chief of staff. Martin (Ben Tavassoli) harbors another type of obsession with Libby in this story of betrayal and regret.
Split Lip (Opens in LA)
In the underground world of contract killers, mistakes cannot be tolerated. Set (Dorée Seay), a young brutal fighter with an icy exterior, finds out the hard way when one mistake sends her on a treacherous journey to clear her name. Hunted by her mentor (Dejean Brown) and a whole roster of psychopaths, including the infamous Ghetty (Eli Godfrey), she stumbles into the friendship of a curious stranger (Christopher Labadie) and his overprotective sister (Maryam Cné). With a world of violence at her heels, and a ticking clock on her life, Set fights with everything she has to see her journey’s end.
Soni (Available on Netflix)
While fighting crimes against women in Delhi, a short-fused policewoman (Geetika Vidya Ohlyan) and her level-headed female boss (Saloni Batra) grapple with gender issues in their own lives.
IO (Available on Netflix)
Sam (Margaret Qualley), one of the last survivors on a post-cataclysmic Earth, is a young scientist dedicated to finding a way for humans to adapt and survive, rather than abandon their world. But with the final shuttle scheduled to leave the planet for a distant colony, her determination to stay is rocked by the arrival of another survivor, Micah (Anthony Mackie). She must decide whether to journey with him to join the rest of humanity and begin life anew, or stay to fight for Earth’s survival.
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING
“Who Will Write Our History”: Katahdin Production
Who Will Write Our History (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Roberta Grossman (Opens in NY; Opens February 1 in LA)
Led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum and known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, a clandestine group of journalists, scholars, and community leaders in the Warsaw Ghetto vowed to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda not with guns or fists but with pen and paper. Now, for the first time, their story is told.
Find screening info here.
St. Bernard Syndicate – Written by Lærke Sanderhoff
Two men head to China to make money selling Saint Bernard Dogs in this oddball comedy film. One of the pair has recently learned he has ALS. and wants to seize the day, the other sees a potential business opportunity and a partner with the funds to make it happen. Together they head off on a clueless assignment where this unlikely pairing do anything but thrive.
What Is Democracy? (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Astra Taylor (Currently Playing in Limited Release)
“What Is Democracy?”
Coming at a moment of profound political and social crisis, “What Is Democracy?” reflects on a word we too often take for granted. Astra Taylor’s idiosyncratic, philosophical journey spans millennia and continents: from ancient Athens’ groundbreaking experiment in self-government to capitalism’s roots in medieval Italy; from modern-day Greece grappling with financial collapse and a mounting refugee crisis to the United States reckoning with its racist past and the growing gap between rich and poor. Featuring celebrated theorists, trauma surgeons, activists, factory workers, asylum seekers, and former prime ministers, this urgent film connects the past and the present, the emotional and the intellectual, the personal and the political, in order to provoke and inspire. If we want to live in democracy, we must first ask what the word even means.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Astra Taylor.
Find screening info here.
TV PREMIERES
“Carmen Sandiego”
Carmen Sandiego (Premieres January 18 on Netflix)
Based on the character from the popular game show, this animated series focuses on Carmen Sandiego (Gina Rodriguez), a super thief who lives a thrilling and mysterious life.
Butterfly (Premieres January 18 on Hulu)
“Butterfly”: Ben Blackall
Eleven-year-old Max (Callum Booth-Ford) identifies as a girl and wants to live her life as Maxine. Her estranged parents, Vicky (Anna Friel) and Stephen (Emmett J. Scanlan), attempt to work out how best to cope with and support this huge life decision.
Justice (Premieres January 21 on Netflix)
In a classic tale of following your own heart and not what your parents expect of you, this international drama follows a young woman who pursues a career as a defense attorney on her own rather than joining her father’s firm. (Thrillist)
The Other Two – Created by Sarah Schneider and Chris Kelly (Premieres January 24 on Comedy Central)
“The Other Two”: Jon Pack
An aspiring actor (Drew Tarver) and his sister (Helene Yorke), a former professional dancer, try to find their place in the world while wrestling with their feelings about their 13-year-old brother Chase’s (Case Walker) sudden rise to internet fame.
VOD/STREAMING RELEASES
“The Hate U Give”
Hillbilly (Documentary) – Directed by Sally Rubin and Ashley York; Written by Sally Rubin, Ashley York, and Silas House (VOD, Available Now)
The Hate U Give – Written by Audrey Wells (VOD, January 22)
I Am Not a Witch – Written and Directed by Rungano Nyoni (VOD, January 22)
Wild Honey (VOD, January 22)
WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD IN THE NEWS
Insiders Question If John Lasseter Has Reformed Enough to Merit Skydance Hiring(Variety)
John Lasseter’s Second Chance: Will He Survive at Skydance? (The Hollywood Reporter)
Yes, Those Award Show Protest Speeches Do Work (Bloomberg)
PICKS OF THE WEEK FROM WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD
Women Directed 60 Percent of Films Screening in Competition at SXSW 2019
Berlinale 2019: 41% of Films Eligible for Top Honors in Competition Are Women-Directed
Upholding Gender Parity Pledge, Cannes Unveils Selection Committee for the First Time
Book Excerpt: “Writing the TV Drama Series”
Women in Animation President Marge Dean Pens Open Letter About Skydance and John Lasseter
Writer to Watch: Marquita Robinson of “GLOW” and “You’re the Worst”
Box Office Report: “On the Basis of Sex” Hits $10.6M, “Beale Street” $7.7M, & More
In Loving Memory of Nancy Schwartz Sternoff
“On the Basis of Sex” Director Mimi Leder on Finding Inspiration and Common Ground with RBG
Note: All descriptions are from press materials, unless otherwise noted.
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