Films About Women Opening This Week
Women and Hollywood Pick of the Week: 52 Tuesdays — Directed and Co-Written by Sophie Hyde (Opening in New York)
Sophie Hyde’s ambitious directorial debut chronicles a teenage girl (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) adjusting to her lesbian mother’s (Del Herbert-Jane) decision to embark on a female-to-male transition. Hyde’s approach to telling this story is unique: the director shot chronologically on each Tuesday, every week, for a year. The cast received a new script each week so they didn’t know what to expect next — and could very convincingly portray that uncertainty onscreen. (Laura Berger)
A Girl Like Her — Written and Directed by Amy S. Weber
Sophomore year has been a nightmare for Jessica Burns (Lexi Ainsworth). Relentlessly harassed by her former friend Avery Keller (Hunter King), Jessica doesn’t know what she did to deserve the abuse from one of South Brookdale High’s most popular and beautiful students. But when a shocking event changes both of their lives, a documentary film crew, a hidden digital camera, and the attention of a reeling community begin to expose the powerful truth. (Press materials)
A Wolf at the Door
When Sylvia (Fabíula Nascimento) discovers her six-year-old daughter has been picked up at school by an unknown woman, police summon her husband Bernardo (Milhem Cortaz) to the station for questioning. There, Bernardo confesses his extra-marital affair with the beautiful, young Rosa (Leandra Leal), whom detectives believe to be involved in the kidnapping. Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Coimbra’s suspenseful debut feature captures the heightened anxiety of every parent’s worst nightmare, casting a light upon the cruelties of which humans are capable. (Press materials)
Backcountry (Opening in LA)
Based on a true story, “Backcountry” follows an urban couple who go camping in the Canadian wilderness — where unimaginable beauty sits alongside our most primal fears. Alex (Jeff Roop) is a seasoned outdoorsman while Jenn (Missy Peregrym), a corporate lawyer, is not. After much convincing, and against her better judgment, she agrees to let him take her deep into a provincial park to one of his favorite spots — the secluded Blackfoot Trail. Terror, horror, will, and survival become paramount. (Press materials)
Films About Women Currently Playing
The Divergent Series: Insurgent
She’s Lost Control — Written and Directed by Anja Marquardt
Lily and Kat — Co-Written by Megan Platts
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Cinderella — Co-Written by Aline Brosh McKenna
It Follows
Allure
October Gale — Written and Directed by Ruba Nadda
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
X/Y (streaming on VOD)
Maps to the Stars
Bluebird
Farewell to Hollywood (doc) — Co-Directed and Co-Written by Regina Nicholson
Everly (streaming on VOD)
Fifty Shades of Grey — Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson; Written by Kelly Marcel
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Ronit Elkabetz
Jupiter Ascending
Girlhood — Written and Directed by Celine Sciamma
Still Alice
Two Days, One Night
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1
Films Directed by Women Opening This Week
Serena — Directed by Susanne Bier
The North Carolina mountains at the end of the 1920s: George and Serena Pemberton (Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence), love-struck newlyweds, begin to build a timber empire. Serena soon proves herself to be equal to any man: overseeing loggers, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving a man’s life in the wilderness. With power and influence now in their hands, the Pembertons refuse to let anyone stand in the way of their inflated love and ambitions. However, once Serena discovers George’s hidden past and faces an unchangeable fate of her own, the Pemberton’s passionate marriage begins to unravel, leading toward a dramatic reckoning. (Press materials)
Read Women & Hollywood’s interview with Susanne Bier.
The Riot Club (In theaters and on VOD) — Directed by Lone Scherfig; Written by Laura Wade
Set amongst the privileged elite of Oxford University, the film follows Miles and Alistair (Max Irons and Sam Claflin), two ambitious first-year students eager to explore all the fun on offer, while toying with social pressures and the desire to “belong.” They’re soon recruited to join the infamous Riot Club, where futures are created or destroyed over the course of a single evening. The Club promises luxury, decadence, and revelry, but soon descends into a shocking orgy of violence. A visceral exploration of a hidden world — both seductive and depraved — “The Riot Club” is an unexpected and stirring vision of the discord within this “civilized” group of bright young boys. (Press materials)
Read Women & Hollywood’s interview with Lone Scherfig.
Films Directed by Women Currently Playing
Amour Fou — Directed by Jessica Hausner
Treading Water — Co-Written and Directed by Analeine Cal Y Mayor (Playing in NYC)
McFarland, USA — Directed by Niki Caro; Co-Written by Bettina Gilois
Above and Beyond (doc) — Directed by Roberta Grossman
Selma — Directed by Ava DuVernay
Citizenfour (doc) — Directed by Laura Poitras
Films Written by Women Currently Playing
Chappie — Co-Written by Terri Tatchell
Strange Magic — Co-Written by Irene Mecchi
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies — Co-Written by Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh
