Films About Women Opening This Week
It’s Christmas Eve in Tinseltown, and Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn’t been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra (Mya Taylor), both transgender prostitutes, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles. (Press materials)
Twinsters (Documentary) — Co-Directed and Written by Samantha Futerman
In February 2013, Anaïs Bordier, a French fashion student living in London, stumbled upon a YouTube video featuring Samantha Futerman, an actress in Los Angeles, and was struck by their uncanny resemblance. After discovering they were born on the same day in Busan, Korea and both put up for adoption, Anaïs reached out to Samantha via Facebook. In “Twinsters,” we follow Samantha and Anaïs’ journey into sisterhood, witnessing everything from their first meeting, to their first trip back to Korea where their separation took place. “Twinsters” explores the meaning of family and connection through a story that would have been impossible just 10 years ago without social media. (Press materials)
Read our interview with Samantha Futerman.
Stations of the Cross — Co-Written by Anna Bruggemann
Though from the outside Maria (Lea van Acken) lives in the modern world, her family and her heart are faithful to a Catholic radicalism that requires sacrifice and devotion at every turn. As she struggles to balance her own desires with the dictates of her family’s faith, she makes ever-more perilous sacrifices, attempting to please a God she worships unquestioningly in the pious hopes of curing the autistic younger brother she adores. (Press materials)
Mad Women
Young and beautiful, Nevada Smith (Kelsey Lynn Stokes) craves to find a place for herself in a family of overachievers. Her mother is running for political office, her father is a successful dentist and her older sister is working overseas. In addition, the family is still grieving the death of a sister who died at a young age. When her mother discovers she has cancer and her father is suddenly sent to prison, Nevada is overwhelmed with the emotional need to comfort her mother. (Press materials)
Read our interview with cinematographer Valentina Caniglia.
Films Directed by Women Opening This Week
Strangerland — Directed by Kim Farrant and Co-Written by Fiona Seres
A family finds their dull life in a rural outback town rocked after their two teenage children disappear into the desert, sparking disturbing rumors of their past. Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes and Hugo Weaving star. (Press materials)
Read our interview with Kim Farrant.
Meet Me in Montenegro (Also available on VOD) — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Linnea Saasen
In this globe-trotting, funny romance, two ex-lovers, a Norwegian dancer (Linnea Saasen) and an American filmmaker (Alex Holdridge), meet by chance during a visit to Berlin, and their affair is rekindled in spite of the fact that they are both moving to opposite ends of the earth in forty-eight hours. (Press materials)
Read our interview with Linnea Saasen.
Återträffen (The Reunion) — Co-Directed and Co-Written by Anna Odell
Swedish artist Anna Odell invites us to a grim class reunion with a twist. What happens when old hierarchies and truths are questioned from an unexpected voice? The film investigates how far, too far reality is. (Press materials)
Films Written by Women Opening This Week
10,000 Km — Co-Written by Clara Roquet
A couple (played by Natalia Tena and David Verdaguer) split between Los Angeles and Barcelona struggles to remain connected as technology threatens to tear them apart. (Press materials)
TV Premiering This Week
Masters of Sex (Showtime) — Created by Michelle Ashford — July 12
William Masters and Virginia Johnson are known as pioneers of the science of human sexuality. Their research shoots them to fame on a trajectory that takes them from humble beginnings in the Midwest to the cover of Time magazine. Masters is a brilliant scientist who is out of touch with his own feelings. Johnson is a divorced mother who is ahead of her time on many fronts, including her determination to have a meaningful career. (Press materials)
Ray Donovan (Showtime) — Created by Ann Biderman — July 12
Ray Donovan is a “fixer” for Hollywood’s elite. He is the go-to guy that the city’s celebrities, athletes and business moguls call to make their problems disappear. It’s a much more lucrative job than his previous work as a ruthless South Boston thug, vaulting him within reach of the truly wealthy and powerful. But no amount of money or the expensive things it can buy can completely mask Ray’s past, a past that continues to haunt him. (Press materials)
My Depression (The Up and Down and Up of It) (HBO) (Documentary) — Co-Directed and Co-Written by Elizabeth Swados — July 13
Famed Broadway writer, director and composer Elizabeth Swados has struggled with depression her whole life. In “My Depression (The Up and Down and Up of It),” she shares her experiences with this often-misunderstood condition to make a difficult and sometimes taboo topic more accessible and understandable. Based on Swados’ graphic memoir “My Depression: A Picture Book,” and featuring the voices of Sigourney Weaver (as Swados), Steve Buscemi, Fred Armisen and Dan Fogler, this animated musical documentary debutsMonday, July 13 (9–9:30 pm ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. (Press materials)
I Am Jazz (TLC) — July 15
“I Am Jazz” tells the story of Jazz Jennings, a transgender teen. (Press materials)
VOD/DVD Releasing This Week
The Breakup Girl — Written and Directed by Stacy Sherman (VOD)
24 Days (DVD) — July 13
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (DVD) — July 14
Dawn Patrol — Co-Written by Rachel Long (DVD) — July 14
See all movies by and about women playing here.
