Weekly Update for May 19: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Everything, Everything — Directed by Stella Meghie

What if you couldn’t touch anything in the outside world? Never breathe in the fresh air, feel the sun warm your face, or kiss the boy next door? “Everything, Everything” tells the unlikely love story of Maddy (Amandla Stenberg), a smart, curious, and imaginative 18-year-old who, due to an illness, cannot leave the protection of the hermetically sealed environment within her house, and Olly (Nick Robinson), the boy next door who won’t let that stop them. Maddy is desperate to experience the much more stimulating outside world, and the promise of her first romance. Gazing through windows and talking only through texts, she and Olly form a deep bond that leads them to risk everything to be together… even if it means losing everything. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

Paint It Black — Co-Written and Directed by Amber Tamblyn (Opens in NY and LA)

“Paint It Black” is the story of the aftermath of Michael’s (Rhys Wakefield) death, and Josie’s (Alia Shawkat) struggle to hold onto the true world he shared with her. As Josie searches for the key to understanding his death, she finds herself both repelled and attracted to Michael’s pianist mother, Meredith (Janet McTeer), who holds Josie responsible for her son’s torment. Soon, the two women find themselves drawn into a twisted relationship reflecting equal parts distrust and blind need. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Amber Tamblyn.

Find screening info here.

Icaros: A Vision — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Leonor Caraballo (Opens in NY)

Her medical options exhausted, an American woman (Ana Cecilia Stieglitz) travels to the Amazon in search of a miracle. Thanks to a young ayahuasca shaman who is losing his eyesight, she learns instead to confront her “susto”: the disease of fear. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

AWOL — Directed by Deb Shoval; Written by Deb Shoval and Karolina Waclawiak (Opens in NY) (Available on VOD May 23)

Lola Kirke (“Mistress America”) shines as Joey, an aimless high school graduate searching for a way out of Pennsylvania coal country. A visit to an Army recruiting office appears to provide a path. However, a chance encounter with magnetic Rayna (Breeda Wool, “UnREAL”), a slyly seductive housewife and mother neglected by her long-haul trucker husband, changes Joey’s trajectory irrevocably. As Joey falls more in love with Rayna, clouded judgment leads her down a path she can’t turn back from. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Deb Shoval.

Find screening info here.

The Woman Who Left (Opens at the Lincoln Center in NY)

After discovering that her fellow inmate Petra (Shamaine Buencamino) framed her for the murder of which she stood accused, Horacia Somorostro (Charo Santos-Concio) struggles between reconciliation and revenge: planning the murder of her ex-boyfriend Rodrigo (Michael De Mesa) — who paid Petra to frame her and is now an affluent criminal — and providing comfort to abuse victims like Hollanda (John Lloyd Cruz), a transgender prostitute. Inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s 1872 short story “God Sees the Truth, But Waits.” (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Devil’s Domain (Available on VOD May 30)

After becoming the victim of vicious cyber bullies, Lisa (Madi Vodane) makes a deal with the devil to exact revenge on her tormentors. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

The Inland Road — Written and Directed by Jackie Van Beek (Opens May 23)

Teenage runaway Tia (Gloria Popata) hitches a ride on an isolated country road. When the car crashes with fatal consequences, Tia finds she has nowhere to go. Seeking out the family of the crash victim, Tia moves onto the farm of fellow survivor Will (David Elliot) and his pregnant wife Donna (Chelsie Preston Crayford). When Donna’s bereaved six-year-old niece Lily (Georgia Spillane) also comes to stay, Tia finds a purpose in helping the girl come to terms with her father’s death. But as Tia’s bonds with Will and Lily deepen, her presence threatens the family’s delicate balance. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Jackie Van Beek.

Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Linda Saffire (Opens May 24 in NY)

“Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan” offers an intimate portrait of prima ballerina Wendy Whelan as she prepares to leave New York City Ballet after a record-setting three decades with the company. As the film opens, Whelan is 46, battling a painful injury that has kept her from the ballet stage, and facing the prospect of her impending retirement from the company. What we see, as we journey with her, is a woman of tremendous strength, resilience, and good humor. We watch Whelan brave the surgery that she hopes will enable her comeback to NYCB and we watch her begin to explore the world of contemporary dance, as she steps outside the traditionally patriarchal world of ballet to create “Restless Creature,” a collection of four contemporary vignettes forged in collaboration with four young choreographers. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Linda Saffire.

Find screening info here.

Films About Women Currently Playing

Snatched — Written by Katie Dippold
Paris Can Wait — Written and Directed by Eleanor Coppola
The Wedding Plan — Written and Directed by Rama Burshtein
Tracktown — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Alexi Pappas (Also Available on VOD)
Urban Hymn (Also Available on VOD)
Dead Awake
Hounds of Love (Also Available on VOD)
Manifesto
Like Crazy — Co-Written by Francesca Archibugi
A Woman’s Life — Co-Written by Florence Vignon
Tomorrow Ever After — Written and Directed by Ela Thier
The Circle
A Moving Image (UK)
Letters from Baghdad (Documentary) — Directed by Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum (UK)
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City (Documentary)
Unforgettable — Directed by Denise Di Novi; Co-Written by Christina Hodson
A Quiet Passion
Maudie — Directed by Aisling Walsh; Written by Sherry White (Canada)
Colossal
Their Finest — Directed by Lone Scherfig; Written by Gaby Chiappe
The Zookeeper’s Wife — Directed by Niki Caro; Written by Angela Workman
Ghost in the Shell
God Knows Where I Am (Documentary)
The Levelling — Written and Directed by Hope Dickson Leach
Beauty and the Beast
A Woman, a Part — Written and Directed by Elisabeth Subrin
Personal Shopper
The Last Word
Hidden Figures — Co-Written by Allison Schroeder
Toni Erdmann — Written and Directed by Maren Ade
The Eagle Huntress

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

Wakefield — Written and Directed by Robin Swicord (Available on VOD May 26)

Who among us has never wanted to walk away from it all? It is a cold fact of modern life that, some days, everything becomes too much. For Howard Wakefield (Bryan Cranston), New York City lawyer, husband, and father of two, the overwhelming impulse to just leave arises one night as he stands in his own suburban driveway. Howard, however, does not run far. Inspired (or led?) by a raccoon, he enters the attic of his two-car garage, and proceeds to hide there for weeks. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Robin Swicord.

Find tickets and screening info here.

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

“Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe”: Dor Film

Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe — Co-Written and Directed by Maria Schrader
The Drowning — Directed by Bette Gordon
Risk (Documentary) — Directed by Laura Poitras
3 Generations — Directed by Gaby Dellal; Written by Gaby Dellal and Nikole Beckwith
Buster’s Mal Heart — Written and Directed by Sarah Adina Smith
Mr. Chibbs (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Jill Campbell
Obit. (Documentary) — Directed by Vanessa Gould
Tomorrow (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Mélanie Laurent
Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Lydia Tenaglia
Heal the Living — Co-Written and Directed by Katell Quillévéré
Alive and Kicking (Documentary) — Directed by Susan Glatzer; Written by Susan Glatzer and Heidi Zimmerman (Also Available on VOD)
Glory — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Kristina Grozeva
David Lynch: The Art Life (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Cezanne and I — Written and Directed by Danièle Thompson
Viceroy’s House — Directed by Gurinder Chadha; Co-Written by Moira Buffini (UK)
Jasper Jones — Directed by Rachel Perkins (Australia)
A United Kingdom — Directed by Amma Asante

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

Champion — Written by Missy Reed and Sarah Inabnit

Dirt track racer Sean Weathers (Andrew Cheney) was at the top of his game — an unstoppable career, scores of fans, and an adoring daughter. When a rivalry with another racer turns personal, the ego that propelled him to success causes a tragedy, sending his life into a tailspin. Jack Reed (Gary Graham) was attempting to make up for past mistakes. He had prospered as a businessman but failed as a family man. In a sudden turn of events, his chances for reconciliation are ripped from his grasp. Sean and Jack’s lives collide, and an unexpected bond forms between them. Working through a painful journey of healing together, they each learn about second chances and the true freedom only forgiveness can offer. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Hindi Medium — Co-Written by Zeenat Lakhani

“Hindi Medium” is a light-hearted romantic film about a young couple, Raj and Mita (Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar) who live in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, with aspirations to move into English-speaking society for their daughter’s sake. The film traces their trials and tribulations on this journey and the impact it has on their relationship on their family. (Press materials)

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

Love Off the Cuff — Co-Written by Yee-sum Luk
The Promise — Co-Written by Robin Swicord
Free Fire — Co-Written by Amy Jump
Tommy’s Honour — Co-Written by Pamela Marin
Smurfs: The Lost Village — Written by Stacey Harman and Pamela Ribon
A Dog’s Purpose — Written by Cathryn Michon
The Red Turtle — Co-written by Pascale Ferran

TV Premieres This Week

The Keepers (Docuseries) (Premieres May 19 on Netflix)

A seven-part docuseries about the unsolved murder of a nun, Sister Cathy Cesnik, and the horrific secrets and pain that linger nearly five decades after her death. (Press materials)

Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally: Summer of 69: No Apostrophe (Comedy Special) — Co-Written by Megan Mullally and Wendy Molyneux (Premieres May 19 on EPIX)

In “Summer of 69: No Apostrophe,” Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally are yanking the britches right off of their marriage, while exposing the salacious details of their fiery union for all the world to enjoy through song, funny talking, heavy ribaldry, light petting, and an astonishing final act of completion. (Press materials)

Dark Angel (TV Movie) — Co-Written by Gwyneth Hughes (Premieres May 21 on PBS)

Starring “Downton Abbey’s” Joanne Froggatt, “Dark Angel” tells the story of Mary Ann Cotton: loving wife, mother, and serial murderer. Faced with abject poverty and an ailing husband, Mary Ann is ruthlessly determined to pursue a better life. (Press materials)

Princess Diana: Her Life — Her Death — The Truth (Documentary Special) (Premieres May 22 on CBS)

Hosted by Gayle King, this two-hour special will delve into the four separate investigations the U.K. and France conducted after Princess Diana’s death. It will also explore her life through the eyes of her sons and her impact on Great Britain and the world. (Press materials)

Dirty Dancing (Musical Special) — Written by Jessica Sharzer (Premieres May 24 on ABC)

Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances “Baby” Houseman (Abigail Breslin) falls in love with the camp’s dance instructor, Johnny Castle (Colt Prattes, “Rock of Ages”) and nothing is ever the same for anyone in the Houseman family. The special three-hour filmed musical event features the story from the beloved 1987 romantic drama, diving deeper into the iconic characters, showcasing their progression, and tackling social themes like race, women’s rights, and the socio-economic division in the country at that time. (Press materials)

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