FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING
Out of Blue – Written and Directed by Carol Morley (Also Available on VOD)
“Out of Blue”
“Out of Blue,” written and directed by Carol Morley, feels somewhat like a fugue dream. There are so many layers going on within its story. Patricia Clarkson, looking unrecognizable in dark hair, plays Mike Hoolihan, a detective who is tasked with solving the murder of an astrophysicist expert on black holes (Mamie Gummer). Mike’s whole life is seemingly a black hole — with many missing moments and memories that begin to plague her as she searches for the killer. The film is a challenge to memory and a reminder that nothing is as it seems. (Melissa Silverstein)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Carol Morley.
Working Woman – Directed by Michal Aviad; Written by Michal Aviad, Sharon Azulay Eyal, and Michal Vinik (Opens March 27 in NY; Opens April 12 in LA)
Orna (Liron Ben Shlush) is the mother of three young children with a husband struggling to start his own restaurant. To help support her family, Orna returns to the workplace, landing a job with a former army superior, Benny (Menashe Noy), who is now a successful real estate developer. While Orna embraces her new position and tries to balance its demands with her home life, she begins to experience escalating sexual harassment from her boss. Her rapid rise through the ranks and her increasing financial success seem to parallel a pattern of predatory behavior which ultimately brings her career and marital relationship to the brink.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Michal Aviad.
Find screening info here.
Sunset – Written by Clara Royer, László Nemes, and Matthieu Taponier (Opens in NY and LA)
“Sunset”
1913, Budapest, in the heart of Europe. The young Irisz Leiter (Juli Jakab) arrives in the Hungarian capital with high hopes to work as a milliner at the legendary hat store that belonged to her late parents. She is nonetheless sent away by the new owner, Oszkár Brill (Vlad Ivanov). While preparations are under way at the Leiter hat store, to host guests of utmost importance, a man abruptly comes to Irisz, looking for a certain Kálmán Leiter. Refusing to leave the city, the young woman follows Kálmán’s tracks, her only link to a lost past. Her quest brings her through the dark streets of Budapest, where only the Leiter hat store shines, into the turmoil of a civilization on the eve of its downfall.
Find screening info here.
Mirage – Written by Lara Sendim and Oriol Paulo (Available on Netflix)
A space-time continuum glitch allows Vera (Adriana Ugarte) to save a boy’s life 25 years earlier, but results in the loss of her daughter, whom she fights to get back.
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING
“Roll Red Roll”
Roll Red Roll (Documentary) – Directed by Nancy Schwartzman (Opens in NY)
“Is this football town putting its daughters at risk by protecting its sons in a situation like this?” asks one of the characters in “Roll Red Roll,” a documentary exploring the crime that put Steubenville, Ohio, in national headlines. Nancy Schwartzman’s feature investigates how peer pressure, misogyny, and sports machismo factored into the rape of a young woman and its aftermath. “Roll Red Roll” is a brutal reminder of what one character describes as “the complete lack of empathy” shown towards the assaulted teen, known only as Jane Doe. As disturbing as it is, the film is also a testament to the power of women: a true crime blogger who raised awareness about the case features prominently, and the doc includes moving footage from a rally held in Jane Doe’s honor which saw many women standing up and sharing their own stories of assault. (Laura Berger)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Nancy Schwartzman.
Find screening info here.
The Dirt – Written by Amanda Adelson, Rich Wilkes, and Tom Kapinos (Available on Netflix)
Based on the bestselling autobiography from Mötley Crüe, “The Dirt” is an unflinching tale of success and excess as four misfits rise from the streets of Hollywood to the heights of international fame.
TV PREMIERES
Crime Diaries: The Candidate – Directed by Hiromi Kamata and Natalia Beristáin (Premieres March 22 on Netflix)
In 1994, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio’s (Jorge A. Jiménez) assassination sends his dying widow racing to uncover who did it. Based on true events.
Delhi Crime (Premieres March 22 on Netflix)
“Delhi Crime”
As Delhi reels in the aftermath of a gang rape, DCP Vartika Chaturvedi (Shefali Shah) leads a painstaking search for the culprits. Based on the 2012 Nirbhaya case.
Most Beautiful Thing – Created by Heather Roth and Giuliano Cedroni (Premieres March 22 on Netflix)
“Most Beautiful Thing”
After her husband disappears, meek Maria Luiza (Maria Casadevall) turns his property into a bossa nova club and begins to come into her own as an independent woman.
Funny Women of a Certain Age (Comedy Special) – Directed by Cat Solen (Premieres March 23 on Showtime)
Fran Drescher leads a cast of mature women of stand-up in a night of uninhibited comedy. Starring Fran Drescher, Carole Montgomery, Luenell, Lynne Koplitz, Kerri Louise, and Vanessa Hollingshead.
Daze of Justice (Documentary) (Premieres March 24 on WORLD Channel)
“Daze of Justice” is the intimate story of trailblazing Cambodian-American women who break decades of silence, abandoning the security of their American homes on a journey back to resurrect the memory of their murdered loved ones before the UN Special Tribunal prosecuting the Khmer Rouge. The film follows Dr. Leakhena Nou’s research, taking the viewer beyond the Killing Fields. The women find the courage to remember their past; they generate a new vocabulary for reclaiming their experiences, while paving a path that offers the promise of redemption to future generations.
Women, War & Peace II (Documentary Film Series) – Directed by Eimhear O’Neill, Julia Bacha, Geeta Gandbhir, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Gini Reticker (Premieres March 25 on PBS)
“Women, War & Peace”
“Women, War & Peace II” demonstrates how some of the biggest international stories of recent memory are shaped by women. An all-female cast of directors present four never-before-told stories about the women who risked their lives for peace, changing history in the process: “Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs” (Eimhear O’Neill), “The Trials of Spring” (Gini Reticker), “Naila and the Uprising” (Julia Bacha), and “A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers” (Geeta Gandbhir and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy).
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Abigail Disney.
VOD/STREAMING RELEASES
Tracking Edith (Documentary) (VOD, Available Now)
If Beale Street Could Talk (VOD, March 26)
Pennhurst (Documentary) – Directed by Jodie Alexandra Taylor (iTunes, March 26)
We Are Boats (VOD, March 26)
Pendulum – Written and Directed by Lauren Cooney (Dust, March 28)
PICKS OF THE WEEK FROM WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD
“Circle of Steel”
SFIFF Announces 2019 Lineup: “Booksmart,” “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City,” & More
Playwright Bekah Brunstetter on “The Cake,” Working on “This Is Us,” and The Kilroys
Nataki Garrett Becomes Oregon Shakespeare Fest’s First Artistic Director of Color
Director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre Talks About Her New Film “The Mustang”
Hot Docs Announces Full Lineup, Tasha Hubbard’s “nîpawistamâsowin” to Open the Fest
Apply Now: The Lab at Athena Film Festival – LA TV and Screenwriting Labs
Under the Radar: “Circle of Steel” Is a Tender Portrait of Existential Crisis
SXSW Audience Award Winners Include “For Sama” & “Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins”
Lilly Singh Is Getting a Late-Night Show on NBC
Women-Directed Docs Dominate PBS’ “POV” This Season
Note: All descriptions are from press materials, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Women and Hollywood on Twitter @WomenaHollywood and Melissa Silverstein @melsil.
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