Films About Women Opening This Week
Maggie’s Plan — Written and Directed by Rebecca Miller (Opens in LA and NY)
Greta Gerwig’s name is now pretty much synonymous with oddball comedies, but she continuously offers a fresh take on characters who just can’t seem to get it right. Here, she plays Maggie, and like the title suggests, Maggie has a plan — in fact, she has a several of them. Maggie is eager to have a baby, but her past romantic failures have convinced her that she’s better off searching for a sperm donor than a father. This is her first plan, and just like all the others, it goes awry. Maggie ends up romantically entangled with a hotshot professor (Ethan Hawke) who has been overshadowed by his more successful academic wife (a hilarious Julianne Moore). “Maggie’s Plan” premiered at TIFF, where Artistic Director Cameron Bailey told us that the film’s neurotic characters and New York setting would inevitably draw comparisons to “Woody Allen territory and Noah Baumbach territory” (Baumbach and Gerwig have, incidentally, collaborated multiple times), but writer-director Rebecca Miller is able to bring something different to the table, especially in her portrayal of Hawke’s character. (Laura Berger)
Ma ma (Opens in NY; Opens in LA and Miami May 27)
In “Ma ma,” Penelope Cruz delivers a powerful and dynamic performance as a woman diagnosed with breast cancer who goes on an emotional journey filled with tragedy and miracles alike. (Press materials)
Films About Women Currently Playing
- Sunset Song
- Love & Friendship
- Black Girl (Restored Print)
- 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
- The Wait (L’attesa) — Co-Written by Ilaria Macchia
- Mother’s Day — Co-Written by Anya Kochoff and Lily Hollander
- 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
- 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
- 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
Weiner (Documentary) — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Elyse Steinberg
This riveting Sundance winner chronicles the ill-fated 2013 mayoral campaign of Anthony Weiner, the long-serving New York Congressman who made headlines for a sexting scandal that led to his resignation. Most viewers know going into the film that “Weiner” is not a comeback story. And while we know the tragicomic outcome of the race, “Weiner” remains gripping throughout. The filmmakers were allowed unprecedented access, and even those who followed the highly publicized sexcapades closely will no doubt learn a great deal about Weiner as well as Huma Abedin, his wife, who is a key advisor to Hillary Clinton. “Weiner” will make you laugh, cringe, and maybe even feel sympathy for a man whose political legacy has been wholly devalued as a result of his poor judgement and the public’s insatiable appetite for tawdriness and seeing powerful figures “get theirs.” (Laura Berger)
Unlocking the Cage (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Chris Hegedus (Opens May 25)
“Unlocking the Cage” looks at animal rights lawyer Steven Wise and his fight to change the way cognitively complex animals are recognized and protected by law. Wise and his passionate team of advocates and lawyers argue on behalf of a series of unusual plaintiffs, chimpanzees who live in captive squalor or are subjects of experimentation, attempting to change the status of these intelligent beings from “things” with no rights to “persons” with legal protections. A moving and intimate look at an enterprise that could forever transform and enlarge our legal system, “Unlocking the Cage” raises provocative legal and philosophical questions, making the case for closing the gap between humans and our most intelligent animal neighbors. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Chris Hegedus.
Song of Lahore (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Opens in NY and LA; Also available on DVD, VOD, and Digital HD)
“Song of Lahore” follows several Pakistani musicians and asks if there is still room for them in a society roiled by conflict. Featuring the music of the Sachal Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
Films Directed by Women Currently Playing
- Money Monster — Directed by Jodie Foster
- Love Thy Nature (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Sylvie Rokab
- Memoria — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Nina Ljeti
- 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
None
Films Written by Women Currently Playing
- High-Rise — Written by Amy Jump
- 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
Lady Dynamite — Co-Created by Pam Brady and Maria Bamford (Premieres May 20 on Netflix)
“Lady Dynamite” is slapstick and profane and packed with cameos from other comedians with impeccable timing; it’s also fueled by its star’s real struggle with Bipolar 2, her repeat hospitalizations for it, and the everyday challenges of making a living as an entertainer in the crazy-making and misogynist world of L.A. while trying to stay healthy and sane. (Sara Stewart)
Read Women and Hollywood’s review of “Lady Dynamite.”
The Return (Documentary) — Directed by Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway (Premieres May 23on PBS)
This deeply moving film, which won the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival last month, examines unprecedented criminal sentencing reforms. The film asks: At a moment of reckoning on mass incarceration, what can California’s experiment teach the nation? (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway.
VOD/DVD Releasing This Week
How to Be Single — Co-Written by Abby Kohn and Dana Fox (DVD, May 24)
Memoria — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Nina Ljeti (VOD and DVD, May 24)
Princess — Written and Directed by Talim Shalom Ezer (VOD, May 24)
