FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING
Varda by Agnès (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Agnès Varda (Opens in the UK)
Whether in front of the camera or behind it, Agnès Varda was a visual storyteller who eschewed convention and prescribed approaches to drama. In “Varda by Agnès” – Varda’s final film – she offers a personal insight into her oeuvre, using excerpts from her work to illustrate her unique artistic visions and ideas.
Find screening info here.
Above the Shadows – Written and Directed by Claudia Myers (Also Available on VOD)
After nearly 10 years of fading into the shadows, Holly (Olivia Thirlby) spends her life invisible to most people. She then discovers that an ex-MMA fighter named Shayne (Alan Ritchson) can still see her. After discovering that it was partly her fault that Shayne has lost everything, she makes it a point to correct her mistakes before she fades away forever.
Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell (Documentary) (Opens in NY)
“Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell”
Thirty years in the making, “Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell” continues to follow one of the most indelible subjects of “Streetwise,” a groundbreaking documentary on homeless and runaway teenagers. Erin Blackwell, aka Tiny, was introduced in filmmaker Martin Bell, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and journalist Cheryl McCall’s earlier film as a brash 14-year-old living precariously on the margins in Seattle. Now a 44-year-old mother of 10, Blackwell reflects with Bell on the journey they’ve experienced together, from Blackwell’s struggles with addiction to her regrets to her dreams for her own children, even as she sees them being pulled down the same path of drugs and desperation.
Find screening info here.
Rosie
“Rosie”
“Rosie” tells the story of a mother trying to protect her family after their landlord sells their rented home and they become homeless. Over 36 hours, Rosie (Sarah Greene) and her partner (Moe Dunford) strive to find somewhere to stay while shielding their young family from the reality of the situation around them. “Rosie” examines how, even in times of crises, the love and strength of a family can endure.
Luz
“Luz”
Luz (Luana Velis), a young cabdriver, drags herself into the brightly lit entrance of a run-down police station. A demonic entity follows her, determined to finally be close to the woman it loves.
Gwen (Opens in the UK)
In the stark beauty of 19th-century Snowdonia, a young girl tries desperately to hold her home together, struggling with her mother’s mysterious illness, her father’s absence, and a ruthless mining company encroaching on their land. A growing darkness begins to take grip of her home, and the suspicious local community turns on Gwen (Eleanor Worthington-Cox) and her family.
This Changes Everything (Documentary) (Screening in Select Theaters July 22 Only)
“This Changes Everything”
Told first-hand by some of Hollywood’s leading voices in front of and behind the camera, “This Changes Everything” takes an incisive look into the history, empirical evidence, and systemic forces that foster gender discrimination and thus reinforce disparity in our culture. Most importantly, the film seeks pathways and solutions from within and outside the industry, as well as around the world.
Find screening info here.
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING
Streetwise (Documentary) (Theatrical Re-Release) – Written by Cheryl McCall (Opens in NY)
Seattle, 1983. Taking their camera to the streets of what was supposedly America’s most livable city, filmmaker Martin Bell, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and journalist Cheryl McCall set out to tell the stories of those society had left behind: homeless and runaway teenagers living on the city’s margins. Born from a Life magazine exposé by Mark and McCall, the Academy Award-nominated “Streetwise” follows an unforgettable group of at-risk children — including iron-willed 14-year-old Tiny, who would become the project’s most haunting and enduring face, along with the pugnacious yet resourceful Rat and the affable drifter DeWayne — who, driven from their broken homes, survive by hustling, panhandling, and dumpster diving. Granted remarkable access to their world, the filmmakers craft a devastatingly frank, nonjudgmental portrait of lost youth growing up far too soon in a world that has failed them.
Find screening info here.
The Great Hack (Documentary) – Directed by Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer (Opens July 24) (Also Available on Netflix)
“The Great Hack”
“The Great Hack” uncovers the dark world of data exploitation, offering astounding access to the personal journeys of key players in the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data scandal. Data has surpassed oil as the world’s most valuable asset. It’s being weaponized to wage cultural and political warfare. People everywhere are in a battle for control of our most intimate personal details. “The Great Hack” forces us to question the origin of the information we consume daily. What do we give up when we tap that phone or keyboard and share ourselves in the digital age?
TV PREMIERES
On Her Shoulders (Documentary) – Directed by Alexandria Bombach (Premieres July 22 on PBS)
“On Her Shoulders”
During their 2014 genocide of the Yazidi people, ISIS killed Nadia Murad’s older brothers and mother. The terrorist group captured Nadia, raped her, and enslaved her — and did the same to thousands of other Yazidi women. Nadia managed to escape and, as “On Her Shoulders” chronicles, became the voice of the Yazidi people and a symbol of the world’s refugee crisis. She’s addressed the UN, visited fellow Yazidi refugees, and advocated to the press and international governments on behalf of her people. Nadia is a hero, but one living in the real world. Despite the global acclaim and the Nobel Peace Prize, her home is gone and so are most of her loved ones. The world is still largely indifferent to the plight of refugees, and even sympathetic governments are slow to approve and enact any change. Yet Nadia has vowed to continue her work until all Yazidis have a peaceful, safe home to call their own. “On Her Shoulders” is honest about social justice: it’s frustrating and moves at a glacial pace, but must be attained. Nadia is willing to give up everything for it, and so should we. (Rachel Montpelier)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Alexandria Bombach.
Who Killed Garrett Phillips? (Two-Part Documentary) – Directed by Liz Garbus; Written by Karen K.H. Sim (Premieres July 23 on HBO)
On Oct. 24, 2011, 12-year-old Garrett Phillips was murdered in his home in Potsdam, a small town in upstate New York. Police quickly zeroed in on a suspect in this unthinkable crime: Oral “Nick” Hillary, a black man in the mostly white community who was a soccer coach at Clarkson University and the ex-boyfriend of Garrett’s mother, Tandy Cyrus. “Who Killed Garrett Phillips?” looks at the case from the initial investigation through the arrest and numerous legal twists and turns that culminated in Hillary’s trial for murder five years after the crime.
Another Life (Premieres July 25 on Netflix)
“Another Life”: Netflix
After a massive alien artifact lands on Earth, Niko Breckinridge (Katee Sackhoff) leads an interstellar mission to track down its source and make first contact.
VOD/STREAMING RELEASES
Alita: Battle Angel – Written by Laeta Kalogridis, Robert Rodriguez, and James Cameron (VOD, July 23)
Hail Satan? (Documentary) – Directed by Penny Lane (VOD, July 23)
PICKS OF THE WEEK FROM WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD
Lynch: IMDb
Outfest 2019 Preview: The Lesbian Herstory Archives, Young Love, Family Drama, & More
You Must Remember This: Crowdfunding Picks
Foreign-Language Oscar Picks: Algeria Selects Mounia Meddour’s “Papicha”
Locarno 2019: Women-Directed Films Comprise 28% of Main Lineup
Cristela Alonzo Announces Memoir Release and Stand-Up Tour
Emmy Nominations 2019: “Killing Eve,” “Fleabag,” “When They See Us,” & More
Heidi Schreck’s “What the Constitution Means to Me” Recoups Investment
Lashana Lynch Is the New 007
“The Farewell” Edges Out “Avengers: Endgame” For This Year’s Biggest Theater Average
Why “Big Little Lies” Fucking Over Andrea Arnold Feels Especially Frustrating
Note: All descriptions are from press materials, unless otherwise noted.
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