FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING
The Rhythm Section – Directed by Reed Morano
Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively) is an ordinary woman on a path of self-destruction after her family is tragically killed in a plane crash. When Stephanie discovers that the crash was not an accident, she enters a dark, complex world to seek revenge on those responsible and find her own redemption.
Find screening info here.
The Assistant – Written and Directed by Kitty Green (Opens in NY and LA)
“The Assistant”
There are many shitty jobs in this world, but assistant to a high-powered Hollywood player has got to be one of the worst — because those jobs are not always about actual work. Now I know assistants all across the globe pick up dry cleaning and schedule doctor’s appointments. However, in Kitty Green’s first narrative feature, “The Assistant,” the dour titular character (Julia Garner) shuttles a young woman new to the city up to a hotel for a meeting with her boss, whom we never see. After a few short months, the assistant realizes she has the shittiest of shitty jobs and figures out that something horrible is going on. So she does what she can and goes to HR, but everyone she works with is involved in a full blown cover-up. Their complicity is worn on their sleeves. We all know this movie is about Harvey Weinstein, the women he terrorized, and the people who protected him. With his trial happening right now, “The Assistant” is not only extremely prescient, it feels like an urgent call to arms. (Melissa Silverstein)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Kitty Green.
Find screening info here.
Miss Americana (Documentary) – Directed by Lana Wilson (Also Available on Netflix)
I came out of Lana Wilson’s Taylor Swift doc “Miss Americana” with an appreciation for this young woman. We get to see her writing songs, traveling, and singing for hordes of adoring fans, but the crux of the film is her transformation from “good girl” to an openly political person. The key to her shift is being sexually harassed and groped, and the lawsuit she brought against the perpetrator. Following that trial she starts to reckon with her power as a role model and begins to figure out how to use her following to help influence the 2018 election in her home state of Tennessee. There is a price to be paid for speaking out, but she decides it’s worth it to be true to herself. (MS)
Find screening info here.
37 Seconds – Written and Directed by Hikari (Available on Netflix)
“37 Seconds”
Yuma (Mei Kayama) is a young Japanese woman who suffers from cerebral palsy. Torn between her obligations towards her family and her dream to become a manga artist, she struggles to lead a self-determined life.
The Wonderland – Written by Miho Maruo
On the day before her birthday, young Akane (Mayu Matsuoka) meets the mysterious alchemist Hippocrates (Masachika Ichimura), who brings her through a basement and into a fantastical world full of magic and color. He reveals that this world is in danger, and as the “Green Goddess” it is her destiny and responsibility to save it. The only problem? Akane just wants to go home.
Find screening info here.
Gul Makai – Written by Bhaswati Chakrabarty
“Gul Makai” is a story of courage that overcame fear and oppression. The film traces the courageous journey and struggle of Nobel laureate Malala Yousufzai (Reem Shaikh) from her humble upbringing in the Swat Valley to her becoming the champion for free education for all.
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING
Goalie – Directed by Adriana Maggs; Written by Adriana Maggs and Jane Maggs
The life of a professional hockey player was not always a glamorous one. For legendary goaltender Terry Sawchuk (Mark O’Brien), each save means one more gash to his unmasked face and one more drink to numb the pain. Even with a wife and seven children at home, he is haunted by the void left from his childhood which he tried to fill with cheering crowds. Sawchuk traveled across the country, racking up 103 shutouts and 400 stitches to his face, proving that this is a man who lives, breathes, and dies a goalie.
The Traitor – Written by Valia Santella, Ludovica Rampoldi, Marco Bellocchio, and Francesco Piccolo
“The Traitor”
“The Traitor” tells the true story of Tommaso Buscetta (Pierfrancesco Favino), the man who brought down the Cosa Nostra. In the early 1980s, an all out war rages between Sicilian mafia bosses over the heroin trade. Tommaso Buscetta, a made man, flees to hide out in Brazil. Back home, scores are being settled and Buscetta watches from afar as his sons and brother are killed in Palermo, knowing he may be next. Arrested and extradited to Italy by the Brazilian police, Buscetta makes a decision that will change everything for the Mafia: he decides to meet with Judge Giovanni Falcone and betray the eternal vow he made to the Cosa Nostra.
TV PREMIERES
Luna Nera – Created by Francesca Manieri, Laura Paolucci, and Tiziana Triana (Premieres January 31 on Netflix)
In 17th-century Italy, a teenager learns about her destiny among a family of witches, just as her boyfriend’s father hunts her down for witchcraft.
Shakira in Concert: El Dorado World Tour (Concert Documentary) (Premieres January 31 on HBO Latino)
Following the hugely successful release of her Grammy-winning album “El Dorado,” Shakira returns to the world stage with her most celebrated show yet. The famed Colombian vocalist performs before a sold-out crowd at the Los Angeles Forum. This electrifying concert film also features documentary segments and an exclusive look at Shakira’s most recent tour.
Lamp Life (Short) – Directed by Valerie LaPointe (Premieres January 31 on Disney+)
“Lamp Life” is a new short focused on Bo Peep (Annie Potts) with a plot that fills in what she got up to between “Toy Story 2” and her reappearance, battle-hardened and missing an arm, in “Toy Story 4.” (Newsweek)
Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer (Docuseries) – Directed by Trish Wood; Written by Carolyn Saunders and Richard O’Regan (Premieres January 31 on Amazon Prime)
After nearly 40 years of silence, Elizabeth Kendall and her daughter Molly share their experiences with unsettling new details about Ted Bundy.
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code (Documentary) – Directed by Judith Helfand (Premieres February 3 on PBS)
“Cooked: Survival By Zip Code”
Twenty-five years after the 1995 Chicago heat wave, “Cooked: Survival by Zip Code” examines the events that led to the deaths of 739 people, mostly Black and in the poorest neighborhoods of the city. The film arrives at a time of growing calls across the country to declare racism a public health crisis and to reinvest in communities ravaged by the long-term impact of structural racism.
The Pharmacist (Docuseries) – Directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst (Premieres February 5 on Netflix)
In 1999, after losing his son in a drug-related shooting in New Orleans and lacking answers from police, a small town pharmacist, Dan Schneider, beats the odds when he embarks on a dogged pursuit to find and bring his son’s killer to justice. But months later, the ripple effects of his son’s addiction and tragic death would find him again when a troubling number of young, seemingly healthy people begin visiting Dan’s pharmacy with high-dose prescriptions for OxyContin. Sensing a crisis long before the opioid epidemic had gained nationwide attention, Dan stakes a mission: save the lives of other sons and daughters within his community. Then take the fight to Big Pharma itself.
Briarpatch (Premieres February 6 on USA)
“Briarpatch”
An investigator (Rosario Dawson) returns home to solve the death of her sister from a car-bombing. The search for a killer unravels a system of corruption in her small border town.
Katy Keene (Premieres February 6 on The CW)
“Katy Keene”: The CW
Fashion legend-to-be Katy Keene (Lucy Hale), singer/songwriter Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), performer Jorge Lopez/Ginger (Jonny Beauchamp), and “It Girl” Pepper Smith (Julia Chan) chase their 20-something dreams in New York City.
Tommy (Premieres February 6 on CBS)
Emmy-winner Edie Falco stars in “Tommy” as a former high-ranking NYPD officer who becomes the first female chief of police for Los Angeles. A true blue New Yorker, Abigail “Tommy” Thomas uses her unflinching honesty and hardball tactics to keep social, political, and national security issues from hindering effective law enforcement in the Southland.
VOD/STREAMING RELEASES
“Last Christmas”
High Strung Free Dance – Written by Janeen Damian and Michael Damian (VOD, February 4)
Last Christmas – Written by Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings (VOD, February 4)
Toy Story 4 – Written by Stephany Folsom and Andrew Stanton (Disney+, February 5)
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BLOG
Filmmaker Leya Hale Named 2020 Recipient of Sundance Institute Merata Mita Fellowship
Submit Now: Breaking Through the Lens Financing Event at Cannes
SAG-AFTRA Publishes Standards for Use of Intimacy Coordinators
Berlinale 2020: 33 Percent of Competition Titles Are Women-Directed
Director Ulrike Ottinger Will Be Honored at Berlinale 2020
Zawan Mahmoud & Viviane Charlestin Receive Horizon Award for Emerging Women Directors at Sundance
Research: More WOC Festival Programmers Means More WOC Directors Screening Films
“Little Women” and “Fleabag” Score USC Scripter Awards
“Congratulations To Those Men” Film Series Spotlighting Women Directors to Screen at Nitehawk Cinema
Eímear Noone Will Make History as the First Woman to Conduct at the Oscars
Note: All descriptions are from press materials, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Women and Hollywood on Twitter @WomenaHollywood and Melissa Silverstein @melsil.
To contact Women and Hollywood, email melissa@womenandhollywood.com.
