Weekly Update for June 2: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Wonder Woman — Directed by Patty Jenkins

Today the first female superhero movie directed by a woman arrives on the big screen. Gal Gadot takes on the iconic role of Wonder Woman in a moving, funny, action-packed good time. The film starts off on the island of Themyscira, a cloaked, women-only paradise. In drops Steve Trevor (a terrific Chris Pine) and Diana’s (aka Wonder Woman) perfect world is suddenly shattered. The rest of the film is about saving the world from evil, and Wonder Woman kicks some serious ass as she comes into her own as a superheroine. Patty Jenkins delivers the goods and in the process pierces the highest glass ceiling for women in film: the summer blockbuster. (Melissa Silverstein)

Please read: “Wonder Woman” Helps Take a Piece Out of the Glass Ceiling for Women in Film.

Find tickets and screening info here.

Sámi Blood — Written and Directed by Amanda Kernell (Opens in NY; Opens in LA June 30)

Elle Marja (Lene Cecilia Sparrok), 14, is a reindeer-breeding Sámi girl. Exposed to the racism of the 1930s and race biology examinations at her boarding school, she starts dreaming of another life. To achieve this other life, she has to become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Amanda Kernell.

Letters from Baghdad (Documentary) — Directed by Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum (U.S. Premiere) (Opens in NY)

“Letters from Baghdad” tells the extraordinary and dramatic story of Gertrude Bell, the most powerful woman in the British Empire in her day. She shaped the modern Middle East after World War I in ways that still reverberate today. More influential than her friend and colleague Lawrence of Arabia, Bell helped draw the borders of Iraq and established the Iraq Museum. So why has she been written out of history? (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum.

Find screening info here.

Past Life

Based on a true story, “Past Life” tracks the daring 1977 trans-European odyssey of two sisters — one is an introverted, ambitious classical music composer (Joy Rieger), and the other is a combative politics and porn magazine editor (Nelly Tagar). As they try to unravel a disturbing wartime mystery that has cast a foreboding shadow on their entire lives, they realize that freedom from the shackles of the past requires painful sacrifices, as does the struggle to discover one’s unique voice. (Press materials)

Didi’s Dreams

Didi is an actress trying to prove herself to her superstar sister. Chunmei owns a noodle shop and just got dumped by the boy she has fancied forever. When these two distinct lives cross paths, where will fate take them? (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Love, Kennedy

Kennedy Hansen (Tatum Chiniquy) is a funny, loving child but inexplicably she begins to fail. It takes years for the diagnosis… Juvenile Batten Disease, an extremely rare, terrible, and terminal prognosis. There is no cure for Batten Disease and after living only 16 years, Kennedy leaves behind a great legacy of love and friendship. But her story doesn’t end at her death; that’s when the miracles really begin. Based on a true story. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Beautiful Accident

When a single, successful female lawyer (Gwei Lun-Mei) is involved in a highway car accident, she wakes up to find herself in an alternate reality where she’s forced to take on the responsibility of a full time mother and wife, dealing with her demanding architect husband (Chen Kun) and two difficult children. (Press materials)

Films About Women Currently Playing

Berlin Syndrome — Directed by Cate Shortland
The Women’s Balcony — Written by Shlomit Nehama
Hermia & Helena
Everything, Everything — Directed by Stella Meghie
Icaros: A Vision — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Leonor Caraballo
The Woman Who Left
Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Linda Saffire
Snatched — Written by Katie Dippold
Paris Can Wait — Written and Directed by Eleanor Coppola
The Wedding Plan — Written and Directed by Rama Burshtein
Hounds of Love (Also Available on VOD)
Manifesto
Like Crazy — Co-Written by Francesca Archibugi
A Woman’s Life — Co-Written by Florence Vignon
Tomorrow Ever After — Written and Directed by Ela Thier
The Circle
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City (Documentary)
Unforgettable — Directed by Denise Di Novi; Co-Written by Christina Hodson
A Quiet Passion
Maudie — Directed by Aisling Walsh; Written by Sherry White (Canada)
Colossal
Their Finest — Directed by Lone Scherfig; Written by Gaby Chiappe
The Zookeeper’s Wife — Directed by Niki Caro; Written by Angela Workman
Ghost in the Shell
God Knows Where I Am (Documentary)
The Levelling — Written and Directed by Hope Dickson Leach
Beauty and the Beast
A Woman, a Part — Written and Directed by Elisabeth Subrin
Personal Shopper
The Last Word
Hidden Figures — Co-Written by Allison Schroeder

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

Band Aid — Written and Directed by Zoe Lister-Jones (Available on VOD June 9)

“Band Aid,” the refreshingly raw, real, and hilarious feature debut from Zoe Lister-Jones, is the story of a couple, Anna (Lister-Jones) and Ben (Adam Pally), who can’t stop fighting. Advised by their therapist to try and work through their grief unconventionally, they are reminded of their shared love of music. In a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, they decide to turn all their fights into song, and with the help of their neighbor, Dave (Fred Armisen), they start a band. A story of love, loss, and rock and roll, “Band Aid” is a witty and perceptive view of modern love, with some seriously catchy pop hooks to boot. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Zoe Lister-Jones.

Find tickets and screening info here.

Ascent (Experimental) — Written and Directed by Fiona Tan (Opens June 7)

This art film project is in essence a film made entirely with stills; a filmic experiment balancing delicately between documentary and fiction. As the narrative unfolds, unexpected and surprising paths are explored. Together with the two protagonists the viewer climbs Mount Fuji across geographical, temporal, and cultural divides. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Fiona Tan.

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

Wakefield — Written and Directed by Robin Swicord (Also Available on VOD)
Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe — Co-Written and Directed by Maria Schrader
Risk (Documentary) — Directed by Laura Poitras
3 Generations — Directed by Gaby Dellal; Written by Gaby Dellal and Nikole Beckwith
Buster’s Mal Heart — Written and Directed by Sarah Adina Smith
Mr. Chibbs (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Jill Campbell
Obit. (Documentary) — Directed by Vanessa Gould
Tomorrow (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Mélanie Laurent
Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Lydia Tenaglia
Alive and Kicking (Documentary) — Directed by Susan Glatzer; Written by Susan Glatzer and Heidi Zimmerman (Also Available on VOD)
Glory — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Kristina Grozeva
David Lynch: The Art Life (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Cezanne and I — Written and Directed by Danièle Thompson
Jasper Jones — Directed by Rachel Perkins (Australia)
A United Kingdom — Directed by Amma Asante

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

Churchill — Written by Alex von Tunzelmann

Tensions mount for the beleaguered British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Brian Cox) in the days leading up to infamous Allied D-Day landings in Normandy, France in June 1944. Fearful of repeating his deadly mistakes from World War I in the Battle of Gallipoli, exhausted by years of war, plagued by depression and obsessed with his historical destiny, Churchill is reluctant to embark on the large-scale campaign, one that the entire war effort hinges upon. Clashing with his Allied political opponents, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower (John Slattery) and British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery (Julian Wadham), the troubled Churchill receives support and devotion from his wife, the brilliant and unflappable Clementine Churchill (Miranda Richardson). With her strength and shrewdness, Clemmie halts Winston’s physical, mental, and spiritual collapse, and inspires him on to greatness. (Press materials)

3 Idiotas — Co-Written by Martha Higareda

Five years after graduating from college, Felipe (Christian Vázquez) and Beto (Germán Valdés) decide to look for Pancho (Alfonso Dosal), leader of the group, who disappeared without a trace on graduation day. (Press materials)

God of War — Co-Written by Maria Wong

During the 16th century, Japanese pirates proliferate along the Chinese coastline. In 1557, the pirates take over Cengang in Zhejiang. After months of futile advances, Commander Yu (Sammo Hung) finally defeats them under the leadership of newly promoted General Qi (Vincent Zhao). The Pirates, however, manage to escape. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

Champion — Written by Missy Reed and Sarah Inabnit
Love Off the Cuff — Co-Written by Yee-sum Luk
The Promise — Co-Written by Robin Swicord
Free Fire — Co-Written by Amy Jump
Tommy’s Honour — Co-Written by Pamela Marin
Smurfs: The Lost Village — Written by Stacey Harman and Pamela Ribon
The Red Turtle — Co-written by Pascale Ferran

TV Premieres This Week

Daytime Divas — Created by Star Jones (Premieres June 5 on VH1)

Every weekday at noon, Maxine (Vanessa Williams), Mo (Tichina Arnold), Heather (Fiona Gubelmann), Kibby (Chloe Bridges), and Nina (Camille Guaty) — hosts of “The Lunch Hour,” the long-running women’s talk show — gather around the table to discuss life, love, politics, and juicy gossip. But behind the scenes, it’s even juicier — a backstage world filled with power struggles, diva fits, and steamy affairs. Inspired by the book “Satan’s Sisters” by series creator Star Jones. (Press materials)

The Heart Guy — Co-Created by Claudia Karvan (Premieres June 5 on Acorn TV)

Hugh Knight (Rodger Corser) is a rising star in the Sydney heart surgery ranks. He is gifted, charmed, and infallible: a hedonist who — due to his sheer talent — believes he can live outside the rules. But after an incident involving drugs and alcohol, his world comes crashing down. Placed on the Impaired Registrants List for his part in the debacle by the Medical Board, he is banned from surgery and can only work as a local doctor. U.S. debut of the series, known as “Doctor Doctor” in its native Australia. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

The Assignment (VOD/DVD, June 6)
Beauty and the Beast (VOD/DVD, June 6)
Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric (DVD, June 6)
In the Steps of Trisha Brown (Documentary) — Directed by Marie-Hélène Rebois (VOD/DVD, June 6)
The Last Word (DVD, June 6)
Political Animals (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Tracy Wares (VOD/DVD, June 6)
A United Kingdom — Directed by Amma Asante (VOD/DVD, June 6)
The Wedding Invitation — Written and Directed by Rainy Kerwin (VOD, June 6)

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