Films About Women Opening This Week

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Tina Fey takes on the female midlife crisis and blows up her life by heading to Afghanistan to cover the war. She has no idea what she is doing. But she quickly learns to adapt and soon she is so acclimated that the adrenaline junkie life of getting the story becomes the norm. Fey is funny and gut-wrenching as a woman on a quest to figure out who she is. The movie is a bit of a mess but I didn’t care — I went along on the ride with Tina. (Melissa Silverstein)

Trapped (Documentary) — Directed by Dawn Porter; Written by Sari Gilman and Dawn Porter (Opens in NYC, LA and Washington D.C.)

Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws, like the one recently passed in Texas, are increasingly being passed by states that maintain they insure women’s health. But as clinics are forced to shut their doors, supporters of abortion rights believe the real purpose of these laws is to outlaw abortion. (Athena Film Festival)

Listen to Women and Hollywood’s podcast with Dawn Porter

Zootopia

The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together — a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when optimistic Officer Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), to solve the mystery. (Press materials)

Camino

Set in 1985, war photographer Avery Taggert (Zoë Bell) has built a solid career with her stark and honest imagery, all the while remaining emotionally distant from her subjects. When she embeds in the jungles of Colombia with a squad of missionaries led by a beloved and charismatic Spaniard known as “El Guero” (Nacho Vigalondo), she finds herself in the middle of a conflict as violent as any she’s photographed. One night, she happens upon El Guero committing a heinous atrocity, capturing the vile act on film, an image with the potential to discredit and destroy El Guero. Knowing this brilliant psychopath will employ every tactic at his disposal to destroy that photograph — and the photographer who took it — Avery flees into the harsh jungle with nothing but the camera hanging around her neck to escape from missionaries twisted into violent guerrillas by the madman intent on destroying all enemies. (Press materials)

Emelie

On the eve of their thirteenth wedding anniversary, Dan and Joyce (Chris Beetem and Susan Pourfar) head into the city to celebrate, leaving their three children — adorable Christopher (Thomas Bair), curious middle-child Sally (Carly Adams) and big brother Jacob (Joshua Rush) — at home. However, when Maggie (Elizabeth Jayne), their usual babysitter has to cancel, the Thompsons call upon a new girl, Anna (Sarah Bolger). As the night creeps along, the kids slowly realize that Anna is not exactly who she claims to be. (Press materials)

The Other Side of the Door

A family lives an idyllic existence abroad until a tragic accident takes the life of their young son. The inconsolable mother (Sarah Wayne Callies) learns of an ancient ritual that will bring him back to say a final goodbye. She travels to an ancient temple, where a door serves as a mysterious portal between two worlds. But when she disobeys a sacred warning to never open that door, she upsets the balance between life and death. (Press materials)

Ava’s Possessions (Also available on VOD)

Ava (Louisa Krause) is recovering from demonic possession. With no memory of the past month, she is forced to attend a Spirit Possessions Anonymous support group. As Ava struggles to reconnect with her friends, get her job back and figure out where the huge blood stain in her apartment came from, she is plagued by nightmarish visions — the demon is trying to come back. (Press materials)

Cemetery of Splendour (Opens in NYC)

Soldiers with a mysterious sleeping sickness are transferred to a temporary clinic in a former school. The memory-filled space becomes a revelatory world for housewife and volunteer Jenjira (Jenjira Pongpas Widner), as she watches over Itt (Banlop Lomnoi), a handsome soldier with no family visitors. Jen befriends young medium Keng (Jarinpattra Rueangram) who uses her psychic powers to help loved ones communicate with the comatose men. Doctors explore ways, including colored light therapy, to ease the mens’ troubled dreams. (Press materials)

Films About Women Currently Playing

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (Also streaming on Netflix)
Jack of the Red Hearts — Directed by Janet Grillo; Written by Jennifer Deaton
A Country Called Home — Co-Written and Directed by Anna Axster (Also available on VOD)
The Truth and the Teller — Co-Written by Patty Moynahan and Nevie Owens
The Witch
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Neerja — Co-Written by Sanyukta Shaikh Chawla
How To Be Single — Co-Written by Dana Fox and Abby Kohn
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
All Roads Lead to Rome — Written and Directed by Ella Lemhagen (Also available on VOD)
Jane Got A Gun
The 5th Wave — Co-Written by Susannah Grant
The Boy
The Lady in the Van
The Forest — Co-Written by Sarah Cornwell
Joy — Story by Annie Mumolo
45 Years
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Sisters — Written by Paula Pell
Janis: Little Girl Blue (Documentary) — Directed by Amy Berg
The Danish Girl — Written by Lucinda Coxon
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
Carol — Written by Phyllis Nagy
Mustang — Directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven; Written by Deniz Gamze Ergüven and Alice Winocour
Brooklyn
Grandma

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

They Will Have To Kill Us First (Documentary) — Co-Written and Directed by Johanna Schwartz (Opens in NYC and Westchester County)

“They Will Have To Kill Us First: Malian Music In Exile” is a feature-length documentary following musicians in Mali in the wake of a jihadist takeover and subsequent banning of music. Music, one of the most important forms of communication in Mali, disappeared overnight in 2012 when Islamic extremists groups rose up to capture an area the size of the UK and France combined. But rather than lay down their instruments, Mali’s musicians fought back. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Johanna Schwartz

Here Come the Videofreex! (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Jenny Raskin (Opens in NYC, March 9)

“Here Come the Videofreex!” tells the story of the most radical video collective of the 1960’s and 70’s. It is the quirky tale of ten people’s optimism and creativity, and their vision of what television could have become at a time when the three big networks ruled the TV airwaves. (Press materials)

Watch Women and Hollywood’s exclusive clip of “Here Come the Videofreex!”

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

Marguerite and Julien — Co-Written and Directed by Valerie Donzelli
Songs My Brothers Taught Me — Written and Directed by Chloé Zhao
King Georges (Documentary) — Directed by Erika Frankel (Also Available on VOD)
Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong — Written and Directed by Emily Ting
Providence — Directed by Sharon Wilharm
Kung Fu Panda 3 — Co-Directed by Jennifer Yuh
Yosemite — Written and Directed by Gabrielle Demeestere
Heart of a Dog (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Laurie Anderson

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

London Has Fallen — Co-Written by Katrin Benedikt

The sequel to the worldwide smash hit “Olympus Has Fallen” begins in London, where the British Prime Minister has passed away under mysterious circumstances. His funeral is a must-attend event for leaders of the western world. But what starts out as the most protected event on earth, turns into a deadly plot to kill the world’s most powerful leaders, devastate every known landmark in the British capital and unleash a terrifying vision of the future. Only three people have any hope of stopping it: the President of the United States (Aaron Eckhart), his formidable secret service head (Gerard Butler) and an English MI-6 agent (Charlotte Riley) who rightly trusts no one. (Press materials)

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

Race — Co-Written by Anna Waterhouse
Tumbledown — Written by Desi Van Til
In the Shadow of Women — Co-Written by Caroline Deruas and Arlette Langman
Concussion — Co-Written by Jeanne Marie Laskas
The Good Dinosaur — Written by Meg LeFauve
Room — Written by Emma Donoghue
Labyrinth of Lies/Im Labyrinth des Schweigens — Co-Written by Elisabeth Bartel

TV Premieres This Week

Inducted into more music Halls of Fame than any female recording artist to date, Loretta Lynn (born April 14, 1932) has earned four Grammy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors and a Presidential Medal of Freedom and sold more than 45 million records worldwide. Still going strong after more than 50 years, “The Queen of Country Music” is now the subject of the new documentary “American Masters — Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl,” premiering Friday, March 4 at 9 p.m. on PBS during Women’s History Month as part of the 30th anniversary season of Thirteen’s “American Masters” series. The world premiere broadcast is the same day as the release of Lynn’s first new studio album in over 10 years, “Full Circle.” (Press materials)
A Girl in the River (Documentary) — Directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Premieres March 7 on HBO)

When Louis C.K. flawlessly introduced the Best Documentary, Short Subject category at the Oscars, he said it’s his favorite because “this is the one Academy Award that has the opportunity to change a life.” He was talking about the filmmakers — “these people will not be rich as long as they live. All they do is tell stories that are important” — but in the case of the winner this year, it has the potential to change a great many lives. “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness,” premiering on HBO on March 7, tells the story of Saba, an attempted honor killing victim in Pakistan who survived. (Sara Stewart)

Read Women and Hollywood’s review of “A Girl in the River”

4%: Film’s Gender Problem (Documentary) — Directed by Caroline Suh (Premieres March 8 on EPIX)

“4%: Film’s Gender Problem” is a new, provocative original series of six short films designed to explore the hot-button issues around the striking gender gap in Hollywood. This intimate, revealing series will capture an impressive collection of A-list and creative personalities — both women and men — in the entertainment industry who will share first-person insights, questions and anecdotes about the place of women in Hollywood. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

Room — Written by Emma Donoghue (DVD, Available Now)She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry (Documentary) — Directed by Mary Dore (DVD, Available Now)
A Country Called Home — Co-Written and Directed by Anne Axster (VOD, Available Now)
Ukraine is Not a Brothel (Documentary) — Directed by Kitty Green (VOD, March 8)
The Boy (DVD, Available Now)
Jane B. Par Agnès V. — Written and Directed by Agnès Varda (Blu-ray, March 8)
Coming Home (Blu-Ray and DVD, March 8)
Kung-Fu Master — Directed by Agnès Varda; Written by Agnès Varda and Jane Birkin (Blu-ray, March 8)