Weekly Update for May 13: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Sunset Song (Opens in NY, LA, and Toronto)

The film takes place during the early years of the twentieth century, with the conflicts and choices a young woman experiences reflecting the struggle between tradition and change — a struggle that continues to resonate today. Set in a rural community, “Sunset Song” is driven by the young heroine Chris (Agyness Deyn) and her intense passion for life, for the unsettling Ewan (Kevin Guthrie), and for the unforgiving land. WWI reaches out from afar, bringing the modern world to bear on the community in the harshest possible way, yet in a final moment of grace, Chris endures, now a woman of remarkable strength who is able to draw from the ancient land in looking to the future. (Press materials)

Love & Friendship

Set in the opulent drawing rooms of 18th century English society, “Love & Friendship” focuses on the machinations of a beautiful widow, Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale), who, while waiting for social chatter about a personal indiscretion to pass, takes up temporary residence at her in-laws’ estate. While there, the intelligent, flirtatious, and amusingly egotistical Lady Vernon is determined to be a matchmaker for her daughter Frederica (Morfydd Clark) — and herself too, naturally. She enlists the assistance of her old friend Alicia (Chloë Sevigny), but two particularly handsome suitors (Xavier Samuel and Tom Bennett) complicate her orchestrations. With exquisite period detail and a script teeming with bon mots and witty dialogue, “Love & Friendship” is a rare — and rarified — treat. (Press materials)

Black Girl (Restored Print) (Opens in NY May 18)

The New York theatrical premiere run of the new 4K restoration of Ousmane Sembène’s classic of Senegalese cinema, “Black Girl (1966),” will play at BAMcinematek from Wednesday, May 18, through Tuesday, May 24. Both a landmark of world cinema and a devastating indictment of colonialism’s tragic legacy, “Black Girl” was the first African film to receive international acclaim. Senegalese housemaid Diouana (Mbissine Thérèse Diop) is brought to France by the white family she works for, finding herself isolated in an unfamiliar country and trapped in a life of domestic servitude, a situation that the dignified Diouana refuses to accept.

Films About Women Currently Playing

Belladonna of Sadness (Restored Print)
Behind the White Glasses (Documentary)
A Monster With A Thousand Heads — Written by Laura Santulla
Mothers and Daughters — Written by Paige Cameron (Also available on VOD)
A Light Beneath Their Feet — Directed by Valerie Weiss; Written by Moira McMahon
Dark Horse (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Louise Osmond
Viktoria — Written and Directed by Maya Vitkova
The Wait (L’attesa) — Co-Written by Ilaria Macchia
Mother’s Day — Co-Written by Anya Kochoff and Lily Hollander
Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt (Documentary) — Directed by Ada Ushpiz
The Huntsman: Winter’s War
Sworn Virgin — Directed by Laura Bispuri; Written by Laura Bispuri and Francesca Manieri
Eva Hesse (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Marcie Begleiter
The Meddler — Written and Directed by Lorene Scafaria
The Boss — Co-Written by Melissa McCarthy
Sold
God’s Not Dead 2
April and the Extraordinary World
My Big Fat Greek Greek Wedding 2 — Written by Nia Vardalos
Krisha
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
Lolo — Directed by Julie Delpy; Written by Julie Delpy and Eugenie Grandval
Hello, My Name is Doris — Co-Written by Laura Terruso
Marguerite — Co-Written by Marcia Romano
10 Cloverfield Lane
Eye in the Sky
Miracles From Heaven — Directed by Patricia Riggen
Zootopia
The Witch
The 5th Wave — Co-Written by Susannah Grant

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

Money Monster — Directed by Jodie Foster

In her most commercial film to date as a director, Jodie Foster creates a taut thriller for the current American climate. A regular Joe named Kyle (Jack O’Connell) loses all his money after “Money Monster” TV huckster Lee Gates (George Clooney) encourages him and millions of other viewers to invest in a company that loses $800 million in an afternoon. Kyle loses everything and decides to make Lee pay for what he’s done — he brings a gun and a bomb to the studio. The film illuminates what so many people are frustrated with in our culture: that everything is rigged, and the rich get richer and the regular folks get screwed. Julia Roberts plays the show’s director and keeps everyone focused and sane in an extremely volatile situation.(Melissa Silverstein)

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

Love Thy Nature — Written and Directed by Sylvie Rokab (Opens in LA)
Memoria — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Nina Ljeti (Opens in LA)
3rd Street Blackout — Co-Written and Directed by Negin Farsad
Gayby Baby (Documentary) — Directed by Maya Newell (Also available on VOD)
Ratchet & Clank — Co-Directed by Jericca Cleland
The American Side — Co-Written and Directed by Jenna Ricker
A Beautiful Planet (Documentary) — Directed by Toni Myers
Elvis & Nixon — Directed by Liza Johnson; Co-Written by Hanala Sagal
Rio, I Love You — Co-Directed by Nadine Labaki; Co-Written by Nadine Labaki and Elena Soarez
The Invitation — Directed by Karyn Kusama (Also available on VOD)
Sweet Bean — Written and Directed by Naomi Kawase
City of Gold (Documentary) — Directed by Laura Gabbert
Kung Fu Panda 3 — Co-Directed by Jennifer Yuh

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

High-Rise — Written by Amy Jump (Available now on VOD)

“High-Rise” stars Tom Hiddleston as Dr. Robert Laing, the newest resident of a luxurious apartment in a high-tech concrete skyscraper whose lofty location places him amongst the upper class. Laing quickly settles into high society life and meets the building’s eccentric tenants: Charlotte (Sienna Miller), his upstairs neighbor and bohemian single mother; Wilder (Luke Evans), a charismatic documentarian who lives with his pregnant wife Helen (Elisabeth Moss); and Mr. Royal (Jeremy Irons), the enigmatic architect who designed the building. Life seems like paradise to the solitude-seeking Laing. But as power outages become more frequent and building flaws emerge, particularly on the lower floors, the regimented social strata begins to crumble and the building becomes a battlefield in a literal class war. (Press materials)

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

Barbershop: The Next Cut — Co-Written by Tracy Oliver
Meet the Blacks — Co-Written by Nicole DeMasi
My Golden Days — Co-Written by Julie Peyr
London Has Fallen — Co-Written by Katrin Benedikt

TV Premieres This Week

Under the Gun (Documentary) — Directed by Stephanie Soechtig (Premieres on EPIX May 15)

“Under the Gun” examines the events and people who have kept the gun debate fierce and the progress slow, even as gun deaths and mass shootings continue to increase. Through the lens of families impacted by the mass shootings in Newtown, Aurora, Isla Vista, and Tucson, as well as those who experience daily gun violence in Chicago, the documentary looks at why politicians are finding it difficult to act and what is being done at the state and local levels. The film is executive produced and narrated by Katie Couric. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Stephanie Soechtig