Weekly Update for January 20: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Starless Dreams (Documentary) (Opens in NY)

A haunting portrait of stolen childhood, “Starless Dreams” plunges us into the lives of seven young teenage girls sharing temporary quarters at a rehabilitation and correction center on the outskirts of Tehran. As the New Year approaches, the girls bond and reveal with disarming and often playful honesty the circumstances and acts that resulted in their incarceration. One girl killed her father; another robbed a bank; still another was arrested for carrying 651 grams of cocaine. But the girls’ sisterly bond brings them to sing and dance with hope, and allows them to share their tears. Outside the prison walls, danger is everywhere, even within their own families. With incredible empathy, “Starless Dreams” delivers an unforgettable cinematic portrayal of restored innocence and humanity. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Bakery in Brooklyn

Vivien and Chloe (Aimee Teegarden and Krysta Rodriguez) have just inherited their Aunt Isabelle’s (Linda Lavin) bakery, a boulangerie that has been a cornerstone of the neighborhood for years. Chloe wants a new image and product, while Vivien wants to make sure nothing changes. Their clash of ideas leads to a peculiar solution: they split the shop in half with a black line in the middle and each runs her business as she sees fit. Things heat up as they’re forced to fight over every customer who walks in the door. The neighborhood is changing as well, turning into an unlikely blend of young hipsters and elderly people who’ve spent their lives there. But Vivien and Chloe will have to learn to overcome their differences and work together as a team in order to save the bakery and everything that truly matters in their lives. (Press materials)

20th Century Women (Opens in Wide Release)

In 1979, a hippie mother (Annette Bening) who feels she’s losing touch with her teenage son recruits two young women (Greta Gerwig and Elle Fanning) to help him grow up. The film lovingly combines his coming-of-age tale with the stories of the women around him him who influence his life. “20th Century Women” is not only an exploration of three very different generations of women, but an exploration of how they’re all perceived as females in the time period. It’s a lovely work with outstanding performances from all especially from hopeful Oscar nominee Bening. (Casey Cipriani)

Films About Women Currently Playing

Claire in Motion — Written and Directed by Annie J. Howell and Lisa Robinson (Also Available on VOD)
Ma — Written and Directed by Celia Rowlson-Hall
Bad Kids of Crestview Academy (Also Available on VOD)
Underworld: Blood Wars — Directed by Anna Foerster
Hidden Figures — Co-Written by Allison Schroeder
Toni Erdmann — Written and Directed by Maren Ade (Opens in NY and LA)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
The Bad Kids (Documentary)
Julieta
Jackie
Things to Come — Written and Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve
Moana — Co-Written by Pamela Ribon
Arrival
The Love Witch — Written and Directed by Anna Biller
Elle
The Eagle Huntress
The Handmaiden

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

None.

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

The Bye Bye Man — Directed by Stacy Title
Strike a Pose (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Ester Gould
Vince Giordano: There’s a Future in the Past (Documentary) — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Amber Edwards

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

The Red Turtle — Co-Written by Pascale Ferran (Opens in NY and LA)

In this dialogue-less film, a man marooned on a desert island tries desperately to escape, until one day he encounters a strange turtle that will change his life. (Press materials)

The Resurrection of Gavin Stone — Written by Andrea Gyertson Nasfell

“The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” tells the story of a former child star turned washed-up and troubled actor. After receiving a 200-hour community service sentence, Gavin Stone (Brett Dalton) pretends to be a Christian so he can play Jesus in a mega-church Easter production in order to fulfill his hours of service. Along the way, he reconnects with his past and builds upon his faith. (Press materials)

The Sunshine Makers (Documentary) — Co-Written by Connie Littlefield

A real-life “Breaking Bad” for the psychedelic set, “The Sunshine Makers” reveals the entertaining, untold story of Nicholas Sand and Tim Scully, the unlikely duo at the heart of 1960s American drug counterculture. United in a utopian mission to save the planet through the consciousness-raising power of LSD, Orange Sunshine, they tried to stay one step ahead of the feds. (Press materials)

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

Alone in Berlin — Co-Written by Bettine von Borries (Also Available on VOD)
Sleepless — Co-Written by Andrea Berloff
A Different American Dream (Documentary) — Co-Written by Jane Wells
Ocean Waves — Written by Kaori Nakamura
Office Christmas Party — Co-Written by Laura Solon
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them — Written by J.K. Rowling
Bad Santa 2 — Co-Written by Shauna Cross
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children — Written by Jane Goldman

TV Premieres This Week

Great Performances: Alicia Keys — Landmarks Live in Concert (Special) (Premieres January 20 on PBS)

“Landmarks Live in Concert” premieres with a native New Yorker from Hell’s Kitchen, Grammy Award-winning artist Alicia Keys. Her collaboration with Jay Z, “Empire State of Mind,” instantly became the City’s newest anthem. In this special recorded over a one-year period, Alicia’s love affair with New York continues as she performs in notable locations all around town, including the City’s world-famous Circle Line harbor tour, the Unisphere in Queens, and Harlem’s Apollo Theater. (Press materials)

Beaches (TV Movie) — Directed by Allison Anders; Co-Written by Nikole Beckwith; Executive-Produced by Denise Di Novi and Alison Greenspan (Premieres January 21 on Lifetime)

In this contemporary remake, “Beaches” follows the serendipitous meeting of two young girls on the Venice Boardwalk, who, though worlds apart in lifestyle, embark on an unexpected and lifelong friendship. CC (Idina Menzel, “Frozen”) is an aspiring singer trying to make it in Los Angeles until she is discovered by a director who gives her her first big shot. Hillary (Nia Long, “The Best Man Holiday”) is the daughter of a prominent civil rights lawyer who struggles to find her own destiny. Their friendship — even with its ups and downs — sustains them for decades. (Press materials)

Secrets of the Six Wives (Documentary Series) — Hosted by Lucy Worsley (Premieres January 22 on PBS)

Historian Lucy Worsley time travels back to the Tudor Court to witness some of the most dramatic moments in the lives of Henry VIII’s six wives. Combining drama based on eyewitness accounts, historical sources, and Lucy’s own contemporary historical comments, Lucy moves seamlessly from the present to the past. In a world run by men where the king had ultimate power, each queen (as well as their ladies in waiting) found their own unique methods of exerting influence. For the first time, it is these women’s stories that Lucy wants to uncover, witness, and explore, as well as offering her own take on Henry himself. (Press materials)

Beware the Slenderman (Documentary) — Directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky; Produced by Irene Taylor Brodsky and Sophie Harris (Premieres January 23 on HBO)

The news horrified the world: Two 12-year-old American girls lured a friend into the Wisconsin woods and stabbed her 19 times in an effort to appease a faceless mythical entity known online as Slenderman. But there’s more to the story than the dark headlines it generated. Delving deep into this shocking crime, the sobering documentary “Beware the Slenderman” examines how an urban myth could take root in impressionable young minds, leading to an unspeakable act. (Press materials)

Cristela Alonzo: Lower Classy (Comedy Special) (Premieres January 24 on Netflix)

The irrepressible Alonzo skewers Latino stereotypes, pricey luxuries, and her mother’s tough-love parenting in a night of sly and infectious comedy. (Press materials)