Weekly Update for May 5: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Tomorrow Ever After — Written and Directed by Ela Thier

Shaina (writer-director Ela Thier) is a historian who lives 600 years in the future. Humans, at this point, have cleaned up the planet. War, poverty, pollution, greed, exploitation, depression, loneliness — these are things that she’s read about in history books. And while she studied this dark period of history, in which money was viewed as more precious than people, she has never, in the flesh, seen humans hurt other humans — until now. While visiting a group of physicists who experiment with time travel, Shaina is accidentally left stranded in the year 2015. Here she involves herself with a group of friends who are as lovable as they are flawed. As the harsh realities of their lives unfold, she learns what no history book could have taught her. (Press materials)

Read Ela Thier’s guest post for Women and Hollywood.

Find screening info here.

A Woman’s Life — Co-Written by Florence Vignon (Opens in NY)

Adapted from the novel “Une Vie” by Guy de Maupassant, “A Woman’s Life” is a tale of tormented love embedded in the restrictive social and moral codes of marriage and family in 19th century Normandy. Upon finishing her schooling in a convent, young aristocrat Jeanne (Judith Chemla) marries local Viscount Julien de Lamare (Swann Arlaud), who soon reveals himself to be a miserly and unfaithful husband. As she navigates his chronic infidelity, pressure from her family and community, and the alternating joys and burdens of motherhood, Jeanne’s rosy illusions about her privileged world are slowly stripped away. (Press materials)

Like Crazy — Co-Written by Francesca Archibugi (Opens in NY)

Beatrice (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) is a motor-mouthed fantasist, a self-styled billionaire countess who likes to believe she’s on intimate terms with world leaders. Donatella (Micaela Ramazzotti) is a tattooed introvert, a fragile young woman locked in her own mystery. They are both patients at the Villa Biondi, a progressive but secure psychiatric clinic. “Like Crazy” tells the story of the unpredictable and moving friendship that develops between the two women as they flee the mental institution in search of love and happiness in the open-air nuthouse — the world of sane people. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Lady Bloodfight

Jane (Amy Johnson) is a beautiful but troubled American girl backpacking her way through Hong Kong. When she successfully fends off three thugs trying to rob her, she draws the attention of Shu (Muriel Hofmann), a Wudang champion, who is impressed by her raw street fighting abilities. Shu recruits Jane and trains her to fight in the vicious, all-female, underground martial arts tournament known as “The Kumite.” After months of rigorous preparation, Jane is ready to face off against the deadliest female fighters in the world, including Ling (Jenny Wu), the apprentice of Shu’s nemesis, Wai (Kathy Wu). (Press materials)

Manifesto (Opens in NY May 10)

Already respected as one of the best actresses in film, Blanchett raises the bar even higher by playing 13 different roles in “Manifesto,” embodying some of the most influential and emotional artist manifestos in history. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

Films About Women Currently Playing

The Circle
Below Her Mouth — Directed by April Mullen; Written by Stephanie Fabrizi
Rupture
Voice from the Stone (Also Available on VOD)
Danger Close (Documentary) — Co-Written by Alex Quade
A Moving Image (UK)
Displacement (Also Available on VOD)
Nise: The Heart of Madness — Co-Written by Flávia Castro, Maria Camargo, Chris Alcazar, and Patrícia Andrade
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
Raw — Written and Directed by Julia Ducournau
Before I Fall — Directed by Ry-Russo Young; Written by Maria Maggenti
The Last Word
Lovesong — Co-Written and Directed by So Yong Kim
The Lure — Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska
20th Century Women
Hidden Figures — Co-Written by Allison Schroeder
Toni Erdmann — Written and Directed by Maren Ade
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Julieta
Moana — Co-Written by Pamela Ribon
The Eagle Huntress

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

3 Generations — Directed by Gaby Dellal; Written by Gaby Dellal and Nikole Beckwith

Ray (Elle Fanning) is a teenager who is in the midst of transitioning from female to male. His single mother, Maggie (Naomi Watts), must track down Ray’s biological father (Tate Donovan) to get his legal consent to allow Ray’s transition. Dolly (Susan Sarandon), Ray’s lesbian grandmother, is having a hard time accepting that she now has a grandson. They must each confront their own identities and learn to embrace change and their strength as a family in order to ultimately find acceptance and understanding. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

Risk (Documentary) — Directed by Laura Poitras

Filmed over six years, “Risk” is a complex and volatile character study that collides with a high stakes election year and its controversial aftermath. Cornered in a tiny building for half a decade, Julian Assange is undeterred even as the legal jeopardy he faces threatens to undermine the organization he leads and fracture the movement he inspired. Capturing this story with unprecedented access, Poitras finds herself caught between the motives and contradictions of Assange and his inner circle. In a new world order where a single keystroke can alter history, “Risk” is a portrait of power, betrayal, truth, and sacrifice. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

The Drowning — Directed by Bette Gordon (Opens in NY May 10)

“The Drowning” is the story of a forensic psychologist (Josh Charles) who is haunted by his expert witness testimony that sent a young boy (Avan Jogia) to prison for a chilling murder. When the boy later reappears in his life, he is drawn into a destructive, soul-searching reinvestigation of the case. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

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
Maurizio Cattelan: Be Right Back (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Maura Axelrod
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
The Prison — Written and Directed by Na Hyun
Cezanne and I — Written and Directed by Danièle Thompson
Karl Marx City (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Petra Epperlein
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

Illicit — Co-Written by Lanett Tachel (Opens in Chicago)

Sasha (Shireen Crutchfield) and Guy’s (David Ramsey) marriage is tested when they are independently seduced by sexy, young lovers, both with dark pasts and hidden nefarious agendas. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

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

“Chris Gethard: Career Suicide”: Craig Blankenhorn/HBO

Chris Gethard: Career Suicide (Comedy Special) — Directed by Kimberly Senior (Premieres May 6 on HBO)

In this personal and profoundly funny one man show, comedian Chris Gethard dives deep into his own struggles with mental health, alcoholism, and depression. Through his distinctive comedic perspective, Gethard shares stories ranging from his idiosyncratic therapist Barb to revealing personal experiences. At turns hilarious and revealing, his anecdotes show that despite there being no magic solution, support, family, and jokes can help get you through anything. (Tribeca Film Festival)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Kimberly Senior.

The Last 100 Days of Diana (Documentary Special) (Premieres May 7 on ABC)

In this primetime special, ABC News retraces the events of Princess Diana’s first and last tumultuous summer as a single woman — divorced from Prince Charles — caught between romantic affairs until the moment of her tragic and untimely death in a car accident in Paris. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

Bernie and Rebecca (Short) — Directed by Melissa Kent (Available Now Online)
Handsome: A Netflix Mystery Movie — Co-Written by Andrea Seigel (Netflix, May 5)
Batman & Bill (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Sheena M. Joyce (Hulu, May 6)
A Street Cat Named Bob — Co-Written by Maria Nation (DVD, May 9)
Things to Come — Written and Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve (DVD, May 9)
Kedi (Documentary) — Directed by Ceyda Torun (YouTube Red, May 10)

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