FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING THIS WEEK

What Will People Say – Written and Directed by Iram Haq

Sixteen-year-old Nisha (Maria Mozhdah) lives a double life. When out with her friends, she’s a normal Norwegian teenager. At home with her family, she is the perfect Pakistani daughter. But when her father (Adil Hussain) catches her alone with her boyfriend in her room, Nisha’s two worlds brutally collide. To set an example and escape the judgment of their peers, her parents send Nisha against her will to a small town in Pakistan to live with extended family. There, in an unfamiliar country surrounded by people she barely knows, Nisha must adapt to a rigid culture that denies her the freedoms she once enjoyed. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Iram Haq.

Eighth Grade (Opens in NY and LA)

“Eighth Grade”

Thirteen-year-old Kayla (Elsie Fisher) endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year before she begins high school. (Press materials)

Pin Cushion – Written and Directed by Deborah Haywood (Opens in the UK; Opens in the U.S. July 20)

Super close mother Lyn (Joanna Scanlan) and daughter Iona (Lily Newmark) are excited for their new life in a new town. Determined to make a success of things after a tricky start, Iona becomes “best friends” with Keely, Stacie, and Chelsea. Used to being Iona’s bestie herself, Lyn feels left out. So Lyn also makes friends with Belinda, her neighbor. As much as Lyn and Iona pretend to each other that things are going great, things aren’t going great for either of them. Iona struggles with the girls, who act more like frenemies than friends, and Belinda won’t give Lyn her stepladders back. Both mother and daughter retreat into fantasy and lies. (Press materials)

The Butterfly Tree – Written and Directed by Priscilla Cameron (Opens in the UK)

“The Butterfly Tree”

Evelyn (Melissa George), a burlesque queen, bewitches single dad Al (Ewen Leslie), and his teenage son, Fin (Ed Oxenbould), with her zest for life. When father and son discover they are competing for the affections of the same woman, old wounds are reopened over the death of Fin’s mother. Through the vivacious Evelyn, Fin learns the power of forgiveness, and relinquishes his goddess in return for a family. In this seductive and heart-warming story, both men will discover the power of selfless love. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Priscilla Cameron.

FILMS DIRECTED BY WOMEN OPENING THIS WEEK

A Second Chance – Directed by Susanne Bier (Opens in LA)

Andreas and Simon are both police officers and best friends. They both lead very different lives. Andreas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is in a loving marriage with his beautiful wife and their newborn. Simon (Ulrich Thomsen) is divorced and often spends his free nights getting drunk in seedy city bars. One morning they respond to a call from a neighbor about a violent domestic dispute. Arriving at the home of a couple of junkies, Andreas discovers a baby abandoned in a closet. A young father himself, the case becomes a traumatic experience and will have dramatic and unexpected repercussions in his private life. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Susanne Bier.

Dark Money (Documentary) – Co-Written and Directed by Kimberly Reed (Opens in NY)

“Dark Money”

“Dark Money,” a political thriller, examines one of the greatest present threats to American democracy: the influence of untraceable corporate money on our elections and elected officials. The film takes viewers to Montana — a frontline in the fight to preserve fair elections nationwide — to follow an intrepid local journalist working to expose the real-life impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Through this gripping story, “Dark Money” uncovers the shocking and vital truth of how American elections are bought and sold. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

The Devil’s Doorway – Co-Written and Directed by Aislinn Clarke (Also Available on VOD)

What unholy terrors lurk behind the walls of a secretive Irish convent? Northern Ireland, 1960: Father Thomas Riley (Lalor Roddy) and Father John Thornton (Ciaran Flynn) are dispatched by the Vatican to investigate reports of a miracle — a statue of the Virgin Mary weeping blood — at a remote Catholic asylum for “immoral” women. Armed with 16mm film cameras to record their findings, the priests instead discover a depraved horror show of sadistic nuns, satanism, and demonic possession. Supernatural forces are at work here, but they are not the doing of God. Inspired by the infamous true histories of Magdalene Laundries — in which “fallen women” were held captive by the Irish Catholic Church — this found footage occult shocker is a chilling encounter with unspeakable evil. (Press materials)

Angels on Tap – Directed by Trudy Sargent (Opens in LA)

We’ve all heard of cop bars and gay bars and even newspaper bars, the haven of ink-stained wretches. But never before has anyone realized there’s a bar where angels get to unwind and be themselves.  It’s only at Gabriel’s where angels get to let down their hair and engage in that time-honored tradition of griping about the job. As we discover when a reporter’s car breaks down and he seeks shelter in the bar at the bottom of a freeway off-ramp, being an angel isn’t all puffy clouds and harp recitals. The problem, it seems, is that each angel has a certain area of human endeavor to oversee, everything from fine arts to food and beverages, from traveling to technology. Having to constantly deal with human beings is bad enough, but what makes it even worse is that they can’t quit and sign on with another outfit….and they certainly can’t tell the boss to take the job and shove it! (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

TV PREMIERES THIS WEEK

Hidden (Premieres July 16 on Acorn TV)

When a young woman’s body turns up with evidence that she had been held prisoner, the investigation leads DI Cadi John (Sian Reese-Williams, “Requiem”) to a string of disappearances in a remote yet striking corner of Wales. (Press materials)

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (Documentary) – Directed by Marina Zenovich (Premieres July 16 on HBO)

A funny, intimate, and heartbreaking portrait of one of the world’s most beloved and inventive comedians, “Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind” is told largely through Williams’ own words, and celebrates what he brought to comedy and to the culture at large, from the wild days of late-1970s LA to his death in 2014. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Marina Zenovich.

Girl Got Game (Documentary) (Premieres July 18 on The CW)

“Girl Got Game”

The special follows CLG Red, one of the few all-women teams in the highly competitive world of eSports and the first to land a major sponsor. The team, including Stephanie “missharvey”; Klaudia “klaudia”; Christine “potter”; Benita “bENITA”; and Diane “di”, lives together in a team-sponsored house, and we follow them as they try to prove they’re the world’s preeminent all-female gaming team. The team faces unexpected setbacks and new challenges as they prepare to play the first-person shooter game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in one of the biggest eSports tournaments in the world, the IEM Tournament in Poland. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD RELEASING THIS WEEK

“Disobedience”

Disobedience – Co-Written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (DVD, July 17)
The Housemaid (VOD/DVD, July 17)
I Feel Pretty – Co-Written and Co-Directed by Abby Kohn (VOD/DVD, July 17)
Tully – Written by Diablo Cody (VOD, July 17)
Truth or Dare – Co-Written by Jillian Jacobs (VOD/DVD, July 17)
Sharp Edges (Documentary) – Directed by Sandra Luckow (VOD, July 17)
You Were Never Really Here – Written and Directed by Lynne Ramsay (VOD/DVD, July 17)
Different Flowers – Written and Directed by Morgan Dameron (DVD, July 19)

PICKS OF THE WEEK FROM WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD

ON WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD THIS WEEK

Sandra Oh in “Killing Eve”

Christina Applegate to Star in Liz Feldman’s Netflix Series “Dead to Me”
2018 Emmy Nominations: Tiffany Haddish, Sandra Oh, Issa Rae, and More
Bruna Papandrea Developing Karin Slaughter Novel for TV, Lesli Linka Glatter to Direct
Trailer Watch: Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie Rule in “Mary Queen of Scots”
Viola Davis-Starrer “Widows” to Open London Film Festival
Julie Taymor’s “Across the Universe” Returns to Theaters
Unfinished Jane Austen Novel “Sandition” Coming to PBS’ “Masterpiece”
Trailer Watch: The Whole Family’s a Suspect in Agatha Christie’s “Ordeal by Innocence”
Frankie Shaw Signs Overall Deal with ABC Signature Studios
Mimi Leder to Direct and Produce Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston’s Apple Series
Trailer Watch: Keira Knightley Tries to Escape Her Husband’s Shadow in “Colette”
Irish Theaters Implement Gender Equality Policies
TIFF’s Share Her Journey Campaign Announces Female Creator Initiative and Producer Program
All-Female Jury Will Preside Over Taormina Film Festival’s Competition
Rosario Dawson to Topline USA Network P.I. Pilot “Briarpatch”
Disney and UN’s Girl Up Launch Female Filmmaker Project
Debra Granik Working on Doc About Life After Incarceration
Showtime Orders Amanda de Cadenet Pilot
Reese Witherspoon and Hello Sunshine Move Towards VOD
Trailer Watch: Chloë Grace Moretz Goes to Gay Conversion Camp in “The Miseducation of Cameron Post”
Karen Gillan’s Directorial Debut “The Party’s Just Beginning” Acquired by The Orchard
Tiffany Haddish, Hannah Gadsby, and “Glow” Creators to Receive Just for Laughs Awards
Janet Mock Makes History, Becomes First Trans WOC to Write and Direct TV Episode
Tiffany Haddish to Topline BFF Comedy “Limited Partners”
Trailer Watch: Friendships Are At Stake in Season 6 of “Orange Is the New Black”
Teaser Watch: Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone Serve Queen Olivia Colman in “The Favourite”
Trailer Watch: Issa and Molly Vow to Know Better and Do Better in “Insecure’s” Third Season
Women in Film & TV International Elects New Board and Prez
Guest Post: Why Making a Sci-Fi Film Inspired Me to Fight Destiny and Sexism
Trailer Watch: A Ballerina Has a Groundbreaking Vision in Hulu Doc “Ballet Now”
BFI Celebrates Joan Crawford with Two-Month ProgramTrailer Watch: A Cancer Survivor Needs a New Identity in “Hope Springs Eternal”

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