Weekly Update for May 18: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Book Club – Co-Written by Erin Simms

Diane (Diane Keaton) is recently widowed after 40 years of marriage. Vivian (Jane Fonda) enjoys her men with no strings attached. Sharon (Candice Bergen) is still working through a decades-old divorce. Carol’s (Mary Steenburgen) marriage is in a slump after 35 years. Four lifelong friends’ lives are turned upside down to hilarious ends when their book club tackles the infamous “Fifty Shades of Grey.” From discovering new romance to rekindling old flames, they inspire each other to make their next chapter the best chapter. (Press materials)

Find screening info and tickets here.

The Hollow Child (Also Available on VOD)

“The Hollow Child”

A troubled foster teen, Samantha (Jessica McLeod), works to expose a dangerous supernatural impostor in her new family and rescue her foster sister. (Press materials)

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

“Cargo”

Cargo – Written and Co-Directed by Yolanda Ramke (Available on Netflix)

Stranded in rural Australia in the aftermath of a violent pandemic, an infected father (Martin Freeman) desperately seeks a new home for his infant child, and a means to protect her from his own changing nature. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Yolanda Ramke.

TV Premieres This Week

“Bombshell”

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Alexandra Dean (Premieres May 18 on PBS)

Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr was known as the world’s most beautiful woman — Snow White and Catwoman were both based on her iconic look. However, her arresting appearance and glamorous life stood in the way of her being given the credit she deserved as an ingenious inventor whose pioneering work helped revolutionize modern communication. An Austrian Jewish emigre who invented a covert communication system to try to help defeat the Nazis, Lamarr was ignored and told to sell kisses for war bonds instead. It was only toward the very end of her life that tech pioneers discovered that it was her concept that is now used as the basis for secure WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth technologies. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Alexandra Dean.

Sando (Premieres May 21 on Acorn TV)

“Sando”

This madcap Australian comedy delivers riotous laughs and outlandish characters. Sacha Horler stars as Victoria “Sando” Sandringham, the CEO of a furniture-store empire, who tries to win back her family, and her business after a lifetime of inappropriate actions. But will her selfishness be a deal breaker? (Press materials)

Tig Notaro: Happy To Be Here (Comedy Special) – Written and Directed by Tig Notaro (Premieres May 22on Netflix)

Notaro on “Conan”

Comedian Tig Notaro brings her signature deadpan silliness to “Tig Notaro: Happy To Be Here.” Filmed at the historic Heights Theater in Houston, Tig tackles the comedic sides of marriage, parenting, and being invited to an Ellen DeGeneres party, then closes the set with a tease that will leave you on the edge of your seat. (Press materials)

The Split – Created and Written by Abi Morgan; Directed by Jessica Hobbs (Premieres May 23 on SundanceTV)

“The Split”: Mark Johnson

Esteemed divorce lawyer Hannah (Nicola Walker) quits the family firm when her mother, Ruth (Deborah Findlay), who is formidable both personally and professionally, refuses her promotion. Landing at a rival firm alongside old flame Christie (Barry Atsma), Hannah navigates scandalous affairs, big-figure settlements, and fraught relationship battles — coming head-to-head with Ruth and her impulsive sister Nina (Annabel Scholey) in the bitter divorce of Goldie (Meera Syal) and multi-millionaire husband Davey (Stephen Tomkinson). Meanwhile, the marriage of younger sister Rose (Fiona Button) looms on the horizon. When their estranged father, Oscar (Anthony Head), returns after 30 years, the sisters are forced to confront their past. Facing the reality of her dad’s abandonment, and reconnecting with “the one who got away,” Hannah begins to question her relationships with the men in her life — including her seemingly contented marriage to the smart and affable Nathan (Stephen Mangan). (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

“I Kill Giants”

The 15:17 to Paris – Written by Dorothy Blyskal (VOD/DVD, May 22)
Beauty Mark (VOD, May 22)
Daphne & Velma – Directed by Suzi Yoonessi; Co-Written by Caitlin Meares (VOD/DVD, May 22)
A Fantastic Woman (VOD/DVD, May 22)
Fatal Crossing – Co-Written by Katherine Yarbrough (VOD, May 22)
I Kill Giants (VOD/DVD, May 22)
On the Beach at Night Alone (DVD, May 22)
Our Blood Is Wine (Documentary) – Directed by Emily Railsback (DVD, May 22)
The Party – Written and Directed by Sally Potter (VOD/DVD, May 22)
Red Sparrow (VOD/DVD, May 22)