Weekly Update for November 23: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Miss Sloane (Opens November 25)

In the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. Known equally for her cunning and her track record of success, she has always done whatever is required to win. But when she takes on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds that winning may come at too high a price. (Press materials)

Always Shine — Directed by Sophia Takal (Opens November 25)

Beth and Anna (Mackenzie Davis and Caitlin FitzGerald), both actresses with differing degrees of success, travel north from Los Angeles to Big Sur for a weekend vacation. Both see the trip as an opportunity to reconnect after years of competition and jealousy, but upon arrival to the isolated forest retreat, the pair discovers that their once intimate friendship has deteriorated into forced conversations, betrayals both real and imagined, petty jealousies, and deep-seated resentment. As the women allow their feelings to fester, both begin to lose their bearings not only on the true nature of their relationship, but on their own identities. (Press materials)

Baden Baden — Written and Directed by Rachel Lang (Opens November 25 in NY and LA)

After a failed attempt at working on a foreign film set, 26-year-old Ana (Salomé Richard) returns to her hometown, Strasbourg. Over the scorching summer that follows, she replaces her grandmother’s bathtub with a walk-in shower, eats peas and carrots with ketchup, drives a Porsche, harvests plums, loses her driver’s license, sleeps with her best friend, and gets back together with her ex. In short, over this particular summer, Ana tries to get her life together. (Press materials)

A United Kingdom — Directed by Amma Asante (Opens November 25 in the UK)

“A United Kingdom” is the true story of the forbidden love of King Seretse Khama of Botswana (David Oyelowo) and Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a white woman from London, which caused an international uproar when they decided to marry in the late 1940s just as apartheid was being introduced into South Africa. It was a decision that altered the course of African history. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Amma Asante.

Films About Women Currently Playing

The Edge of Seventeen — Written and Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig
Moana — Co-Written by Pamela Ribon
Divines — Co-Written and Directed by Houda Benyamina (Also Available on Netflix)
I Am Not Madame Bovary
Daughters of the Dust (Re-Release) — Written and Directed by Julie Dash
Little Miss Perfect — Written and Directed by Marlee Roberts (Also Available on iTunes)
Arrival
The Monster (Also Available on VOD)
The Love Witch — Written and Directed by Anna Biller
Elle
Shut In — Written by Christina Hodson
The Watermelon Woman (Theatrical Re-Release) — Written and Directed by Cheryl Dunye
The Eagle Huntress
The Handmaiden
Ouija: Origin of Evil
I’m Not Ashamed — Written by Bodie Thoene, Robin Hanley, Kari Redmond, and Philipa Booyens
Certain Women — Written and Directed by Kelly Reichardt
Christine
Aquarius
The Girl on the Train — Written by Erin Cressida Wilson
American Honey — Written and Directed by Andrea Arnold
Denial
Queen of Katwe — Directed by Mira Nair
Ixcanul
Equity — Directed by Meera Menon; Written by Amy Fox
Our Little Sister
Cameraperson (Documentary) — Directed by Kirsten Johnson
Finding Dory

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

Evolution — Directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic; Written by Lucile Hadzihalilovic and Alanté Kavaïté (Opens November 25) (Also Available on VOD)

Ten-year-old Nicolas (Max Brebant) lives in a remote seaside village populated only by boys his age and adult women. But when he makes a disturbing discovery beneath the ocean waves — a dead boy with a red starfish on his stomach — Nicolas begins to question everything about his existence. What are the half-remembered images he recalls, as if from another life? If the woman he lives with is not his mother, then who is she? And what awaits the boys when they are all suddenly confined to a hospital? (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Lucile Hadžihalilovic.

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

Blood on the Mountain (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Mari-Lynn C. Evans; Co-Written by Mari-Lynn C. Evans and Deborah Wallace (Opens in NY and LA)
Ne Me Quitte Pas (Documentary) — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Sabine Lubbe Bakker (U.S. Premiere) (Opens in NY)
National Bird (Documentary) — Directed by Sonia Kennebeck
What Happened Last Night — Written and Directed by Candice T. Cain
Don’t Call Me Son — Written and Directed by Anna Muylaert

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

None

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them — Written by J.K. Rowling
Bad Santa 2 — Co-Written by Shauna Cross
A Street Cat Named Bob — Co-Written by Maria Nation
Magnus (Documentary) — Co-Written by Linn-Jeanethe Kyed
El Jeremías — Written by Ana Sofia Clerici
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life — Co-Written by Kara Holden
Being 17 — Co-Written by Céline Sciamma
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children — Written by Jane Goldman

TV Premieres This Week

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life — Created, Co-Written, and Co-Directed by Amy Sherman-Palladino (Premieres November 25 on Netflix)

Set nearly a decade after the finale of the original series, this revival follows Lorelai (Lauren Graham), Rory (Alexis Bledel), and Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop) through four seasons of change. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel.

Mariela Castro’s March: Cuba’s LGBT Revolution (Documentary) (Premieres November 28 on HBO)

After decades of persecution and neglect, Cuba’s LGBT community finds itself in the midst of a new struggle — the fight for equality. The leader of this uprising is Mariela Castro, charismatic daughter of President Raúl Castro and a member of Cuba’s National Assembly, who uses her passion and pedigree to promote acceptance in the face of prejudice. (Press materials)

Patria O Muerte: Cuba, Fatherland or Death (Documentary) — Directed by Olatz López Garmendia (Premieres November 28 on HBO)

“Patria O Muerte: Cuba, Fatherland or Death” is a visceral look at the current state of Cuba through the eyes of its artists, activists, bloggers, writers, musicians, and everyday people, who live amidst political unrest and economic inequality. Utilizing vibrant images and percussive music, the film includes illuminating interviews with a myriad of individuals: a prize-winning author who could not be published in Cuba until recently; an artist and political activist who was imprisoned for his passion for freedom; an architect who escaped oppression; and a number of everyday Cubans who express frustration over their lack of opportunity and decaying living conditions. What emerges is a portrait of a struggling people determined to be heard. (Press materials)

Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love (TV Movie) — Written by Pamela K. Long (Premieres November 30 on NBC)

In this all-new holiday special, the Partons, a family of humble means living in the mountains of Tennessee, face a devastating event that challenges their will. But when they experience a bewildering Christmas miracle, the Partons are drawn closer together than ever — with deepened faith and love for one another. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

Almayer’s Folly — Written and Directed by Chantal Akerman (DVD and VOD, Available Now)
Yoga Hosers (DVD, Available Now)
Don’t Breathe (DVD, November 29)

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