FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING
Late Night – Directed by Nisha Ganatra; Written by Mindy Kaling (Opens in Select Theaters; Opens Wide June 14)
“Late Night” is the movie I have been waiting for. Emma Thompson — in a role unlike any she has had before — plays veteran late-night talk show host Katherine Newbury. She’s the only woman in late night, and the network wants to push her out. She has to face a lot of things about herself, including the fact she has never been able to keep a female writer on her staff, and all the men are basically the same: privileged white guys. In walks Mindy Kaling’s Molly Patel, who happens to be in the right place at the right time and winds up on Katherine’s writing staff. Molly upends — in a good way — the host and her writing team. “Late Night” is political without being polemical. It’s hysterically funny and also quite moving. If you are an Emma Thompson fan you will wonder why the fuck someone hasn’t written a role like this for her before. She’s just that good. (Melissa Silverstein)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Nisha Ganatra.
Find screening info here.
Dark Phoenix
“Dark Phoenix”
Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into a Dark Phoenix. Now the X-Men will have to decide if the life of a team member is worth more than all the people living in the world.
Find screening info here.
Ghost Fleet (Documentary) – Directed by Shannon Service and Jeffrey Waldron
“Ghost Fleet” follows a small group of activists who risk their lives on remote Indonesian islands to find justice and freedom for the enslaved fishermen who feed the world’s insatiable appetite for seafood. Bangkok-based Patima Tungpuchayakul, a Thai abolitionist, has committed her life to helping these “lost” men return home. Facing illness, death threats, corruption, and complacency, Patima’s fearless determination for justice inspires her nation and the world.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Shannon Service.
Find screening info here.
Funan – Written by Magali Pouzol and Denis Do (Opens in NY; Opens in LA June 14)
“Funan”
Set in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge’s four-year regime, “Funan” is primarily about a woman’s struggle to hold on to her own humanity. Chou, voiced by Bérénice Bejo, is living with her husband, three-year-old son, and extended family when the Angkar — the Khmer Rouge’s communist party — invades their city and forces them to evacuate to labor camps. Chou is separated from her son in transit and doesn’t know if she’ll ever see him again. Inspired by the experiences of co-writer-director Denis Do’s mother, “Funan” follows Chou and her family as they are put to work, tortured, berated, and starved by the Angkar. This beautifully animated film is a hard watch, but a great one. It eloquently argues that violence and persecution aren’t just physically and emotionally damaging — they also have the power to destroy a person’s own sense of self. (Rachel Montpelier)
Find screening info here.
Elisa & Marcela – Directed by Isabel Coixet; Written by Isabel Coixet and Narciso de Gabriel (Available on Netflix)
“Elisa & Marcela”: Netflix
1885. Elisa (Natalia de Molina) and Marcela (Greta Fernández) meet at the school where they both work. What begins as a close friendship ends in a romantic relationship that they must keep secret. Marcela’s parents are suspicious and send her abroad for a couple of years. When she returns, the reunion with Elisa is magical and they decide to share a life together. Now the focus of social pressure and gossip, they decide to map out a plan. Elisa will leave town for a time in order to come back disguised as Mario and be able to marry Marcela. But nothing will be that easy for this forbidden love.
I Am Mother (Available on Netflix)
A teenage girl (Clara Rugaard) is raised underground by a kindly robot, “Mother” (Rose Byrne), designed to repopulate the earth following the extinction of humankind. But their unique bond is threatened when an inexplicable stranger arrives with alarming news.
Katie Says Goodbye (Also Available on VOD)
Katie (Olivia Cooke), a kindhearted 17-year-old in the American Southwest, turns to prostitution to fulfill her dream of a new life in San Francisco.
Rock My Heart (Available on Netflix)
Jana (Lena Klenke), a thrill-seeking teenage girl with a heart defect, bonds with a rowdy black stallion and fights to ride in a race despite her life-threatening illness.
The 3rd Eye 2 – Written by Riheam Junianti and Fajar Umbara (Available on Netflix June 13)
Working in an orphanage, Alia (Jessica Mila) meets teen Nadia (Nabilah Ratna Ayu Azalia), who says she hears a strange voice in the walls. When they try to find the source, things go very wrong.
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING
Framing John DeLorean – Directed by Sheena M. Joyce and Don Argott; Written by Alexandra Orton and Dan Greeney (Also Available on VOD)
“Framing John DeLorean” recounts the extraordinary life and legend of the controversial automaker, tracing his meteoric rise through the ranks of General Motors, his obsessive quest to build a sports car that would conquer the world, and his shocking fall from grace on charges of cocaine trafficking. Interweaving a treasure trove of archival footage with dramatic vignettes, “Framing John DeLorean” is a gripping look at a man who gambled everything in his pursuit of the American Dream.
Leto – Written by Lily Idova, Kirill Serebrennikov, Ivan Kapitonov, and Mikhail Idov (Opens in NY; Opens in LA June 21)
“Leto”
Leningrad, in the summer, early ‘80s. Smuggling LPs by Lou Reed and David Bowie, the underground rock scene is boiling ahead of the Perestroika. Mike (Roman Bilyk) and his beautiful wife, Natasha (Irina Starshenbaum), meet with young Viktor Tsoï (Teo Yoo). Together with friends, they will change the trajectory of rock ‘n roll music in the Soviet Union.
Pachamama – Written by Patricia Valeix, Nathalie Hertzberg, Olivier de Bannes, Juan Antin, and Christophe Poujol (Available on Netflix)
When a sacred statue is taken from his Andean village, a spirited boy who dreams of becoming a shaman goes on a brave mission to get it back.
TV PREMIERES
“Tales of the City”: Nino Munoz/ Netflix
Tales of the City – Developed by Lauren Morelli (Premieres June 7 on Netflix)
The Barbary Lane boarding house of “Tales of the City” is now inhabited by a pair of wannabe Insta-famous twins and other millennials, including an MVP Ellen Page and a couple navigating one partner’s gender transition — but it’s still defined by community, acceptance, and hero worship of Olympia Dukakis’ landlady, Anna Madrigal. The two central arcs of Lauren Morelli’s Netflix revival are Mary Ann Singleton’s (Laura Linney) attempts to reconnect with Page’s Shawna, the daughter she abandoned, and Anna coming to terms with her own past. Those storylines will pique your interest, but the real draw of “Tales of the City” is — as it always was — the haven of Barbary Lane. In a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under attack, it’s uplifting to see a series anchored by genuine love of people on all points of the gender and sexuality spectrum. (RM)
XY Chelsea (Documentary) (Premieres June 7 on Showtime)
A look at the life and career of Chelsea Manning, a trans woman soldier in the United States Army, who was sentenced to serve 35 years at an all-male military prison for leaking information about the country’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Big Little Lies – Directed by Andrea Arnold (Season 2 Premieres June 9 on HBO)
“Big Little Lies”: Jennifer Clasen/HBO
The darkly comedic drama will continue to explore the malignancy of lies, the durability of friendships, the fragility of marriage and, of course, the vicious ferocity of sound parenting. Multiple characters will be dealing with Perry’s death, and the prospect of moving past a life-altering event. In short: Things could get messy. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, Zoë Kravitz, and Meryl Streep.
Straight Forward (Premieres June 10 on Acorn TV)
After a family member is murdered, con woman Silvia (Cecilie Stenspil) decides to get even by robbing the crime boss behind the hit. But things go awry, and she has to flee to New Zealand and start a completely different life.
To A More Perfect Union: U.S. v Windsor (Documentary) – Directed by Donna Zaccaro (Premieres June 10 on World Channel)
“To A More Perfect Union: U.S. v Windsor” tells a moving story of love, marriage, and a fight for equality of one of our most basic human rights. The film chronicles unlikely heroes, octogenarian Edie Windsor and her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, on their quest for justice. Edie was in a 40+ year relationship with the love of her life, Thea Spyer. Upon Spyer’s death, Edie was forced to pay a huge estate tax bill because the federal government denied federal benefits to same-sex couples. Windsor sued the United States Government over this offensive lack of recognition, making her a renowned LGBTQ civil rights advocate.
Ice on Fire (Documentary) – Directed by Leila Conners (Premieres June 11 on HBO)
“Ice on Fire” is an eye-opening documentary that focuses on many never-before-seen solutions designed to slow down our escalating environmental crisis. The film goes beyond the current climate change narrative and offers hope that we can actually stave off the worst effects of global warming.
VOD/STREAMING RELEASES
“The Mustang”: Focus Features
Before Homosexuals (Documentary) – Written by Betsy Kalin, JoAnn Wypijewski, and John Scagliotti (VOD, June 11)
Captive State – Written by Erica Beeney and Rupert Wyatt (VOD, June 11)
Do Something: The Jeffrey Modell Story (Documentary) – Directed by Lisa Binns; Written by Lisa Binns and Robbyn Footlick (VOD, June 11)
Five Feet Apart – Written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis (VOD, June 11)
The Mustang – Directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre; Written by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Mona Fastvold, and Brock Norman Brock (VOD, June 11)
PICKS OF THE WEEK FROM WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD
Tayari Jones Wins the Women’s Prize for Fiction
Apply Now: Oxford Film Fest’s Female Filmmaker Retreat
Quotes of the Day: Taraji P. Henson and Ellen Pompeo Get Candid About Race and Fair Pay
Binge Worthy: Crowdfunding Picks
Apply Now for the Inaugural Disney Launchpad: Shorts Incubator
Tony Nominee Lilli Cooper on the Evolution of Her Character in Broadway’s “Tootsie”
NBC Introduces Its First Below-the-Line Diversity Initiatives
The Academy to Honor Lina Wertmüller and Geena Davis
June 2019 Film Preview
Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Starting a Prod. Company Focused on Stories By/About Women
Note: All descriptions are from press materials, unless otherwise noted.
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