Weekly Update for November 21: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING

The Favourite – Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (Opens in NY and LA November 23)

Set in the early 18th century, we take a closer look at the reign of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), now a temperamental ruler in poor health. Her friend, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz), helps her with the day-to-day demands of the kingdom. When a new servant named Abigail (Emma Stone) comes to work for them, Sarah takes her under her wing, and Abigail quickly becomes close to the Queen. But Abigail has loftier ambitions than being a servant, and she will do whatever it takes to see them fulfilled. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Becoming Astrid – Directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen; Written by Pernille Fischer Christensen and Kim Fupz Aakeson (Opens in NY and LA November 23)

“Becoming Astrid”

The teenaged Astrid Lindgren (Alba August) leads a carefree life with her family in rural Sweden. Eager to break free from her strict religious upbringing, she accepts an internship at a local newspaper where she attracts the attention of its married editor, Blomberg (Henrik Rafaelsen). When Astrid becomes pregnant, she is forced to leave her childhood home for Copenhagen to secretly give birth to a son, Lasse, whom she reluctantly leaves with a foster mother, Marie (Trine Dyrholm). Astrid goes into self-imposed exile in Stockholm, refusing Blomberg’s offer of marriage but saving up her paltry salary for visits to see her son. When Marie falls ill, Astrid uses her imagination and flair for storytelling to reconnect with her child. In spite of her struggles, she emerges with a newfound courage that will form the foundation of a vast and beloved body of work. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

¡Las Sandinistas! (Documentary) – Directed by Jenny Murray (Opens in NY)

¡Las Sandinistas!

Going by history books and from pop culture, you’d think that men started and finished every revolution. “¡Las Sandinistas!” brings the women of Nicaragua’s 1979 Sandinista Revolution front and center. Jenny Murray’s documentary focuses on their issues, their leadership, and how they were integral to the cause. It also spends plenty of time highlighting how sexist their male compatriots were, and how the women had to ignore and rise above it because they believed in the movement. These Sandinista women are truly impressive and it’s great that their contributions are finally on the record. (Melissa Silverstein)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Jenny Murray.

Find screening info here.

Roma (Opens in NY, LA, and Mexico) (Available on Netflix December 14)

“Roma”

“Roma” follows Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a young domestic worker for a family in the middle-class neighborhood of Roma in Mexico City. Delivering an artful love letter to the women who raised him, writer-director Alfonso Cuarón draws on his own childhood to create a vivid and emotional portrait of domestic strife and social hierarchy amidst the political turmoil of the 1970s. (Press materials)

8 Remains – Directed by Juliane Block; Written by Laura Sommer and Wolf-Peter Arand (Opens in LA November 24)

The young and beautiful Talli (Maja-Celiné Probst) is killed by her lover Damien (Gregory B. Waldis) on her birthday. When she’s about to die time stops and Talli finds herself in a shadow world, a distorted mirror of reality. Caught between life and death Talli has to relive the hours prior to her murder. Guided by the spirits of Damien’s victims, Talli descends into a purgatory built on the fears and regrets of her past. She has to face all of them to survive. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING

“Ralph Breaks the Internet”

Ralph Breaks the Internet – Written by Pamela Ribon and Phil Johnston

In the animated “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” video-game bad guy Ralph (John C. Reilly) and best friend Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) leave the comforts of Litwak’s arcade in an attempt to save her game, Sugar Rush. Their quest takes them to the vast, uncharted world of the internet where they rely on the citizens of the internet — the Netizens — to help navigate their way. Lending a virtual hand are Yesss (Taraji P. Henson), the head algorithm and the heart and soul of the trend-making site “BuzzzTube,” and Shank (Gal Gadot), a tough-as-nails driver from a gritty online auto-racing game called Slaughter Race, a place Vanellope wholeheartedly embraces — so much so that Ralph worries he may lose the only friend he’s ever had. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Write When You Get Work – Written and Directed by Stacy Cochran (Opens in NY November 23)

“Write When You Get Work”

“Write When You Get Work” is a thorny romantic comedy set in New York City — at a private school for girls, and in the world outside its exclusive walls. It’s a story of money, access, and mischief, of who gets in through doorways and how. Ruth Duffy (Rachel Keller) is a woman working to put her tumultuous days behind her and establish a career on the lower rungs of the Upper East Side. Jonny Collins (Finn Wittrock) is the man she least wants to see, but whose efforts to infiltrate her life seem unimpeded by locks or windows. And Nan Noble (Emily Mortimer) is a member of the entitled class whose pronouncements reveal the fears and cluelessness of life on the inside. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Stacy Cochran.

Invisible Hands (Documentary) – Directed by Shraysi Tandon; Written by Shraysi Tandon and Chad Beck (Opens in NY November 23; Opens in LA November 30)

“Invisible Hands” exposes child labor and child trafficking within the supply chains of the world’s biggest corporations, which produce some of our most loved items. The film offers a harrowing account of children as young as five years old making the products we buy and consume every day. Chilling undercover footage shows children being sold like animals to the highest bidder and others being abused by this pervasive slave labor. “Invisible Hands” digs deep into a modern slavery system quietly supported by some of the world’s largest companies, demanding to know why top stakeholders continue to engage in this unlawful practice. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle – Written by Callie Kloves (Opens November 29) (Available on Netflix December 7)

An orphaned boy (Rohan Chand) raised by animals in the jungle seizes his destiny while confronting a dangerous enemy — and his own human origins. (Press materials)

Meow Wolf: Origin Story (Documentary) – Directed by Morgan Capps and Jilann Spitzmiller; Written by Morgan Capps, Jilann Spitzmiller, and Christina Procter (Opens November 29)

“Meow Wolf: Origin Story”

A group of artists in Santa Fe, New Mexico become a DIY collective called Meow Wolf. Their immersive, large-scale exhibitions crack open a profitable niche in the arts industry, even as their social mission is challenged by the demands of rapid success. The group’s members navigate fracture and loss for years in pursuit of their idealistic vision. When they spark the interest of George R. R. Martin and receive his support to take over an old bowling alley, Meow Wolf builds a massive exhibition with over 140 artists working at a breakneck pace. With the wild success of the House of Eternal Return, Meow Wolf now faces its own internal turmoil as it begins to change the lives of creatives everywhere. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

TV PREMIERES

“Dirty John”

Fugitiva (Premieres November 23 on Netflix)

A domestic abuse survivor orchestrates an elaborate deception to protect her family from her powerfully wealthy husband and his vindictive enemies. (Press materials)

Dirty John – Created by Alexandra Cunningham (Premieres November 25 on Bravo)

Based on the articles and breakout true crime podcast from Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard, “Dirty John” tells the true story of how a romance between Debra Newell (Connie Britton) and the charismatic John Meehan (Eric Bana) spiraled into secrets, denial, manipulation, and ultimately, a fight for survival for an entire family. Their fast-tracked romance creates tension between Debra and her two daughters, Terra (Julia Garner) and Veronica (Juno Temple), leaving the girls no choice but to investigate the man who has swept their mother off her feet, while the backstory of Debra and her mother, Arlane (Jean Smart), provides insight into why Debra was so vulnerable to John in the first place. (Press materials)

VOD/STREAMING RELEASES

“Mademoiselle Paradis”

The Tribe – Written by Yolanda García Serrano, Fernando Colomo, and Joaquín Oristrell (Netflix, November 21)
The Little Stranger – Written by Lucinda Coxon (VOD, November 27)
Mademoiselle Paradis – Directed by Barbara Albert; Written by Kathrin Resetartis and Barbara Albert (VOD, November 27)