Weekly Update for June 29: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING THIS WEEK

Woman Walks Ahead – Directed by Susanna White (Also Available on DirecTV)

Based on true events, “Woman Walks Ahead” tells the story of Catherine Weldon (Jessica Chastain), a widowed artist from New York who, in the 1890s, traveled alone to North Dakota to paint a portrait of Chief Sitting Bull (Michael Greyeyes). Her arrival at Standing Rock is welcomed with open hostility by a US Army officer (Sam Rockwell), who has stationed troops around the Lakota reservation to undermine Native American claims to the land. As Catherine and Sitting Bull grow closer, and as their friendship — and his life — are threatened by imperious government forces, Catherine must contend with the violence that underlies her position. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Susanna White.

Dark River – Written and Directed by Clio Barnard (U.S. Release)

“Dark River”

Following the death of her father, Alice (Ruth Wilson) returns home to Yorkshire for the first time in 15 years to claim the tenancy of the family farm she believes is rightfully hers. Once there she encounters her older brother, Joe (Mark Stanley), a man she barely recognizes, worn down by years of struggling to keep the farm going whilst caring for their sick father. Joe is thrown by Alice’s sudden arrival, angered by her claim, and finds her presence increasingly impossible to deal with. Battling to regain control in a fraught and fragile situation, Alice must confront traumatic memories and family betrayals to find a way to restore the farm and salvage the bond with her brother before both are irrevocably lost. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Clio Barnard.

The Bookshop – Written and Directed by Isabel Coixet (Opens in the UK)

“The Bookshop”

Leaving grief and a dead husband in the past, Florence (Emily Mortimer) takes life into her own hands by opening a bookshop in Hardborough, a quiet Anglian town, and one sheltered from the social and sexual revolutions taking place in the faraway urban centers. Through the dissemination of classic contemporary works of fiction, such as Nabokov’s “Lolita” and Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” she stirs long buried feelings in the townsfolk, and in particular in the reclusive Mr. Brundish (Bill Nighy), with whom she subsequently strikes up a deep bond. But her actions bring the wrath of the controlling, vengeful Violet Gamart (Patricia Clarkson), a local social doyenne who is jealously affronted by the changes our heroine has affected. (Press materials)

Hover – Written by Cleopatra Coleman (Available on VOD July 3)

“Hover”

“Hover” takes place in the near future, where environmental strain has caused food shortages around the world. Technology provides a narrow path forward, with agricultural drones maximizing the yield from what land remains. Two compassionate care providers, Claudia (Cleopatra Coleman) and her mentor John (Craig muMs Grant), work to assist the sick farmland inhabitants in ending their lives. When John dies under mysterious circumstances, a group of localshelp Claudia to uncover a deadly connection between the health of her clients and the technology they are using. (Press materials)

Love All You Have Left (Opens in LA)

“Love All You Have Left”: Matt Sivertson/Dongo Productions

“Love All You Have Left” is the story of a woman (Caroline Amiguet) who is distraught after the death of her young daughter. One day, when she goes to investigate a noise in her attic, she finds a teenage girl living there who says her name is Anne Frank. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Summer of ’67 – Written and Directed by Sharon Wilharm

“Summer of ’67”

Based on real life events, “Summer of ’67” brings to life the turbulent times of the ’60s, and the struggles faced by the men and women impacted by the Vietnam War. Young wife and mother Milly (Rachel Schrey) is forced to live with her mother-in-law while her husband Gerald (Cameron Gilliam) is away on the USS Forrestal. Kate (Bethany Davenport) must choose between Peter (Christopher Dalton), her high school sweetheart, and Van (Sam Brooks), her new hippie boyfriend. Ruby Mae (Sharonne Lanier) finally finds true love with Reggie (Jerrold Edwards), only to have him whisked away by the draft. Each woman faces the question of whether or not their man will return, and even if he does, willlife as they know it ever be the same? (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Tau – Written by Noga Landau (Available on Netflix)

Held captive in a futuristic smart house, a woman (Maika Monroe) hopes to escape by befriending the A.I. program that controls the house. (Press materials)

Fireworks (Opens July 3)

“Fireworks”

Shy Norimichi (Masaki Suda) and fast-talking Yusuke (Mamoru Miyano), are goo-goo-eyed over the same elusive classmate, Nazuna (Suzu Hirose). But Nazuna, unhappy over her mother’s decision to remarry and leave their countryside town, plans to run away and has secretly chosen Norimichi to accompany her. When things don’t go as planned, Norimichi discovers that a glowing multi-color ball found in the sea has the power to reset the clock and give them a second chance to be together. But each reset adds new complications and takes them farther and farther away from the real world — until they risk losing sight of reality altogether. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

FILMS DIRECTED BY WOMEN OPENING THIS WEEK

“Leave No Trace”

Leave No Trace – Directed by Debra Granik; Written by Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini

Will (Ben Foster) and his teenage daughter, Tom (Thomasin McKenzie), have lived off the grid for years in the forests of Portland, Oregon. When their idyllic life is shattered, both are put into social services. After clashing with their new surroundings, Will and Tom set off on a harrowing journey back to their wild homeland. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Debra Granik.

**The 7:50 screenings of “Leave No Trace” at New York’s Angelika Film Center will be followed by an in-person Q&A with director Debra Granik. Click here for tickets.**

Find additional screening info here.

Love, Cecil (Documentary) – Directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland (Opens in NY)

“Love, Cecil”: Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s

Set and costume designer, photographer, writer, and painter Cecil Beaton was not only a dazzling chronicler, but an arbiter of his time. His world is one of utter fascination: from the Bright Young Things, to the front lines of war, to the international belle monde, and the pages of Vogue, to his relationship with the Royal Family, and his alleged affair with Greta Garbo — her picture was discovered in his bedroom among those of two of his male lovers — Beaton embodied the cultural and political changes of the 20th century. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Lisa Immordino Vreeland.

Find screening info here.

Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story (Documentary) – Directed by Tiffany Bartok (Opens in Chicago; Opens in LA July 20)

“Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story”

A pioneer of contour techniques, makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin’s meteoric rise to fame in the ’80s and ’90s was legendary. Iconic clients, friends, and family retrace his life, career, and mysterious death at the height of his fame in 2002. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Tiffany Bartok.

Find screening info here.

Recovery Boys (Documentary) – Directed by Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Available on Netflix)

“Recovery Boys”

In the heart of America’s opioid epidemic, four men attempt to reinvent their lives and mend broken relationships after years of drug abuse. “Recovery Boys” is an intimate look at the strength, brotherhood, and courage that it takes to overcome addiction and lays bare the internal conflict of recovery. In an effort to break the cycle of generational addiction and trauma, the young men let go of painful pasts as they live in the present, and build a new community in a farming-based rehab. After rehab, they experience life’s trials and tribulations sober, but struggle to find their place and purpose in an often unforgiving society. In today’s world, where shocking statistics about the opioid crisis make headlines daily, “Recovery Boys” gives a deeply personal look into the unseen lives of those working toward transformation. (Press materials)

TV PREMIERES THIS WEEK

“The Forest”

The Forest – Created by Delinda Jacobs (Premieres June 29 on Netflix)

In a small and quiet village in the Ardennes, a 16-year-old girl disappears in the forest in the middle of the night. Captain Gaspard Deker (Samuel Labarthe), former military and freshly arrived, leads the investigation with Virginie Musso (Suzanne Clément), the local police officer. Soon enough, the leads multiply and one after another the villagers are listed as suspects. (Press materials)

Kiss Me First (Premieres June 29 on Netflix)

“Kiss Me First: Channel 4

“Kiss Me First” is a thriller that moves between the real and virtual animated worlds. When Leila (Tallulah Haddon) stumbles across Red Pill, a secret paradise hidden on the edges of her favorite game, she meets Tess (Simona Brown). Tess is everything that Leila is not: hedonistic, impulsive, and insatiable. So when Tess turns up in Leila’s real life uninvited, Leila’s world is forever changed. But then a member of Red Pill mysteriously disappears and Leila begins to suspect that maybe Red Pill isn’t the digital Eden its creator Adrian (Matthew Beard) claims it to be. Now, Leila’s real journey begins. (Press materials)

Harvey Street Kids – Co-Created by Aliki Theofilopoulos (Premieres June 29 on Netflix)

“Harvey Street Kids”

From its never-ending games of kickball to the infinite flavors of its ice cream truck to the greatest climbing tree in the universe, every day on Harvey Street feels like a Saturday. And that’s largely thanks to the Harvey Girls — Audrey, Lotta, and Dot (Lauren Lapkus, Stephanie Lemelin, and Kelly McCreary) — the block’s self-appointed guardians and the world’s bestest BFFs. They will do whatever it takes to keep Harvey Street the best block, to never grow up, and transform every afternoon into a wild adventure. (Press materials)

The Comedy Lineup: Part 1 (Anthology) – Co-Written by Michelle Buteau, Taylor Tomlinson, Sam Jay, and Sabrina Jalees (Premieres July 3 on Netflix)

Quick wit takes on a whole new meaning when a group of fiercely funny, emerging comicstake the mic for a series of 15-minute stand-up sets, filmed live in front of an intimate crowd at Atlanta’s historic Terminal West. The eclectic mix of comedians bring fresh takes on life’s issues, big and small, in a series of solo sets. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD RELEASING THIS WEEK

“Blockers”

Bees Make Honey (VOD, July 2)
Alex & The List – Co-Written by Kristen D’Alessio (DVD, July 3)
American Socialist: The Life and Times of Eugene Victor Debs (Documentary) – Co-Written by Elizabeth Schwartz (VOD/DVD, July 3)
Blockers – Directed by Kay Cannon (VOD/DVD, July 3)
The Female Brain – Directed by Whitney Cummings; Co-Written by Whitney Cummings and Louann Brizendine (VOD/DVD, July 3)
Finding Your Feet – Co-Written by Meg Leonard (VOD/DVD, July 3)
Ismael’s Ghosts – Co-Written by Julie Peyr and Léa Mysius (VOD/DVD, July 3)
Minutes to Midnight – Co-Written by Victoria Dadi (VOD, July 3)
Where is Kyra? – Written by Darci Picoult (VOD/DVD, July 3)
You Were Never Really Here – Written and Directed by Lynne Ramsay (VOD, July 3)