FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING
Clara’s Ghost – Written and Directed by Bridey Elliott (Opens December 6) (Available on VOD December 7)
Set over the course of a single evening in the Reynolds family home in suburban Connecticut, “Clara’s Ghost” tells the story of Clara Reynolds (Paula Niedert Elliott) who, fed up with constant ribbing from her self-absorbed showbiz family, finds solace in and guidance from the supernatural force she believes is haunting her. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Bridey Elliott.
Find screening info here.
Anna and the Apocalypse (Opens in Select Theaters; Opens Nationwide December 7)
“Anna and the Apocalypse”
A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven — at Christmas — forcing Anna (Ella Hunt) and her friends to fight, slash, and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
No Shade – Written and Directed by Clare Anyiam-Osigwe (Opens in NY)
Adele Oni stars as Jade, a successful freelance photographer who is hopelessly in love with her best friend of 10 years, bar manager Danny (Kadeem Pearse). She discovers through several challenging encounters both personal and professional that the one thing keeping them from happily ever after is her inherent beauty — her complexion and skin tone. Her shade. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
Alanis – Directed by Anahí Berneri; Written by Anahí Berneri and Javier van de Couter (Opens in LA) (Available on VOD December 4)
“Alanis”
The film portrays three days in the life of Alanis (Sofía Gala Castiglione), a young mother and sex worker struggling to survive. Together with her one-year-old son, she shares a so-called private apartment in downtown Buenos Aires with an older woman, Gisela (Dana Basso), where the two live and work. One day, municipal inspectors posing as clients shut down their business and charge Gisela with human trafficking. With nowhere else to turn, Alanis shows up at her aunt’s clothing store in Plaza Miserere, a violent inner-city neighborhood. Finding temporary refuge there, Alanis must now help her friend Gisela, take care of her son, and somehow recover her own dignity. She will try to work at what she knows how to do best, but the streets have their own rules and Alanis will have to fight to make room for herself. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Anahí Berneri.
Find screening info here.
The Possession of Hannah Grace
A shocking exorcism spirals out of control, claiming the life of a young woman. Months later, Megan Reed (Shay Mitchell) is working the graveyard shift in the morgue when she takes delivery of a disfigured cadaver. Locked alone inside the basement corridors, Megan begins to experience horrifying visions and starts to suspect that the body may be possessed by a ruthless demonic force. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding – Written by Robin Bernheim and Nathan Atkins (Available on Netflix)
A year after Amber (Rose McIver) helped Richard (Ben Lamb) secure the crown, the two are set to tie the knot in a royal Christmas wedding — but their plans are jeopardized when Amber finds herself second-guessing whether or not she’s cut out to be Queen, and Richard is faced with a political crisis that threatens to tarnish not only the holiday season, but the future of the kingdom. (Press materials)
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING
“Happy as Lazzaro”
Happy as Lazzaro – Written and Directed by Alice Rohrwacher (Also Available on Netflix)
Of 21 films to screen in Competition at Cannes 2018, just three were directed by women. “Happy as Lazzaro” was one of them. Set in rural Italy, Alice Rohrwacher’s otherworldly tale of a young peasant took home the Best Screenplay award. The film centers on Lazzaro (Adriano Tardiolo), whose incredible kindness leads to an unlikely friendship with Tancredi (Luca Chikovani), the son of the so-called “Queen of Cigarettes” (Nicoletta Braschi), who rules Lazzaro’s town. Desperate to escape his ruthless mother, Tancredi enlists Lazzaro to help orchestrate his own kidnapping. “Happy as Lazzaro” includes a few major twists — including time travel — and the parable embraces magical realism in its exploration of exploitation, class, and morality. The film’s unhurried pace and pastoral setting are transportive: Rohrwacher’s project is as ambitious as it is distinct. (Laura Berger)
Roll With Me (Documentary) – Directed by Lisa France (Currently Playing in Select Theaters) (Available on Netflix December 1)
“Roll With Me”: ARRAY
Set amidst 3,100 miles of open road and small towns, “Roll With Me” chronicles recovering addict and paraplegic Gabriel Cordell’s momentous journey to become the first person to roll an unmodified wheelchair across America. Directed by Lisa France, the documentary bands together a crew of unlikely co-conspirators, each battling their own issues. Meaningful and motivating, “Roll With Me” shares intimate narratives of PTSD, homelessness, unemployment, family estrangement, and sobriety struggles. The film begins as a challenge to push an unmodified wheelchair from California to Cordell’s hometown of West Hempstead, New York, but along the way Cordell’s exploration of endurance establishes ties that speak to our common humanity. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
United Skates (Documentary) – Directed by Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown; Written by Dyana Winkler (Opens in NY and LA)
“United Skates”
When America’s last standing roller rinks are threatened with closure, a community of thousands battle in a racially charged environment to save an underground subculture — one that has remained undiscovered by the mainstream for generations, yet has given rise to some of the world’s greatest musical talent. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown.
Find screening info here.
Bathtubs Over Broadway (Documentary) – Directed by Dava Whisenant; Written by Dava Whisenant and Ozzy Inguanzo (Opens in NY and LA)
While gathering material for a segment on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” comedy writer Steve Young stumbled onto a few vintage record albums that would change his life forever. Bizarre cast recordings — marked “internal use only” — revealed full-throated Broadway-style musical shows about some of the most recognizable corporations in America: General Electric, McDonald’s, Ford, DuPont, Xerox. “Bathtubs Over Broadway” follows Steve on his quest to find all he can about this hidden world. While tracking down rare albums, unseen footage, composers, and performers, Steve forms unlikely friendships and discovers that this discarded musical genre starring tractors and bathtubs was bigger than Broadway. (Press materials)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Dava Whisenant.
Find screening info here.
Head Full of Honey – Written by Jojo Moyes, Til Schweiger, and Lo Malinke
Matilda (Lane Nolte) tries to help her grandfather, Amadeus (Nick Nolte), who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, navigate his increasing forgetfulness, and ends up going on a remarkable adventure with him. (Press materials)
The Charmer – Written by Ingeborg Topsøe and Milad Alami (Opens in NY December 5)
“The Charmer”
Esmail (Ardalan Esmaili) is a darkly handsome Iranian immigrant to Denmark, on the verge of being thrown out of the country if he can’t find a Danish woman to marry. He dresses well and frequents posh bars, easily ingratiating himself with attractive Danes who are seduced by his good looks, gentle manners, and apparent decency. But he’s a man caught between his self-interest and self-respect. Things get a lot more complicated when he meets a beautiful fellow countryman (Soho Rezanejad) who immediately grasps his game plan, but finds herself attracted to him nonetheless. (Press materials)
Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer – Written and Directed by Jennifer Westcott (Opens December 1)
When one of Santa’s reindeer suddenly announces his retirement, he needs to find a replacement and fast! Against all odds, Elliot (Josh Hutcherson) and his best friend Hazel (Samantha Bee) set out to prove that he is the horse for the job. As Elliot and Hazel take on the North Pole reindeer tryouts, Hazel learns that Christmas as we know it may be headed for disaster. Meanwhile, back at the farm, a potential new owner has plans that threaten the lives of their friends. Elliot is faced with the biggest decision of his life: save his friends, or follow his dreams and save Christmas. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
Ulam: Main Dish (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Alexandra Cuerdo (Opens December 1 in San Francisco)
In this delicious new documentary, Filipino-American filmmaker Alexandra Cuerdo follows the rise of Filipino food via the award-winning chefs crossing over to the center of the American table. “Ulam: Main Dish” stages this new culinary movement as not only a remarkable achievement for American restaurateurs, but also as a validation of Filipino culture. (Press materials)
Find screening info here.
Piripkura (Documentary) – Directed by Mariana Oliva, Renata Terra, and Bruno Jorge; Written by Mariana Oliva and Renata Terra (Currently Playing)
The last two surviving members of the Piripkura people, a nomadic tribe in the Mato Grasso region of Brazil, struggle to maintain their indigenous way of life amidst the region’s massive deforestation. (Press materials)
Rajma Chawal – Directed by Leena Yadav; Written by Leena Yadav, Vivek Anchalia, and Manu Rishi Chadha (Available on Netflix)
Hoping to revive his relationship with his resentful millennial son, an internet-rookie widower assumes the online persona of a young woman. (Press materials)
TV PREMIERES
“Baby”: Francesco Berardinelli/Netflix
Baby (Premieres November 30 on Netflix)
Fed up with their families and classmates, two teen girls from a wealthy part of Rome are drawn to the city’s underworld and start leading double lives. (Press materials)
Memories of the Alhambra – Written by Jae-Jeong Song (Premieres December 1 on Netflix)
While looking for the cryptic creator of an innovative augmented-reality game, an investment firm executive meets a woman who runs a hostel in Spain. (Press materials)
Life-Size 2 (TV Movie) – Written by Stacey Harman and Cameron Fay (Premieres December 2 on Freeform)
Grace Manning (Francia Raisa) is the confident and funny CEO of Marathon Toys, a huge toy company started by her mother that is most famous for manufacturing the iconic Eve doll. Grace is also a hot mess in the middle of her quarter-life crisis and realizing that she is in over her head as CEO. To make matters worse, her wild-child ways are causing the company’s stock to plummet. (Press materials)
Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (Documentary) – Directed by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner (Premieres December 3 on HBO)
“Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland”: HBO
“Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland” tells the story of a young black woman who, after a traffic stop, wound up in jail and then wound up dead. It is a story that people, particularly white people, need to see and process. What happened to Sandra is happening to black men and women across this country, and this film illuminates how racist policing has become. “Say Her Name” starts very soon after Sandra’s death, as her family tries to understand how this amazing, vibrant young woman, who was about to start a new job, ended up in custody and then dead. Sadly, the answers that they got were, of course, not enough to make up for their loss. (Melissa Silverstein)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Kate Davis.
Finding Joy – Created by Amy Huberman (Premieres December 3 on Acorn TV)
“Finding Joy”: Treasure Entertainment LTD
Joy (Amy Huberman) is perfectly happy with her life. It’s neat and tidy and just how she likes it. Sure, her long-term boyfriend, Aidan (Lochlann O’Mearáin), has left her, but Joy is fine with it. She’s certainly not suffering from heartbreak and stress-induced incontinence like canine Aidan. Things are totally fine the way they are — that is until Joy unwittingly lands herself a new job filling in for Ireland’s most-beloved vlogger, Flora the Happy Hunter. This unwanted promotion throws Joy firmly out of her OCD-level of control and forces her to deal with a world she has put great effort into avoiding — one full of oversharing, boundary breaking, messy housemates, one-night stands, and full-contact wrestling — all in the name of learning about the crazy, uncomfortable, and New Age methods people use to find, well, joy. (Press materials)
VOD/STREAMING RELEASES
“Where Hands Touch”
Battle – Directed by Katarina Launing; Written by Maja Lunde (Netflix, December 1)
All the Creatures Were Stirring – Written and Directed by Rebekah McKendry and David Ian McKendry (VOD, December 4)
The Happytime Murders (VOD, December 4)
Holly Star (VOD, December 4)
I’ll Be Next Door for Christmas – Written by Jenna Park and David Jay Willis (VOD, December 4)
Slay Belles – Written by Jessica Luhrssen and Dan Walker (VOD, December 4)
Support the Girls (VOD, December 4)
Where Hands Touch – Written and Directed by Amma Asante (DirecTV, December 6)
PICKS OF THE WEEK FROM WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD
Viola Davis to Topline and Produce Shirley Chisholm Biopic, Maggie Betts Directing
Women Represent 42 Percent of Sundance 2019 Competition Directors
Women Make Up Over 50 Percent of Variety’s Annual Directors to Watch List
Domee Shi, First Woman to Direct Pixar Short, Will Helm Feature Debut
2018 Gotham Awards: Wins for Chloé Zhao’s “The Rider,” “Killing Eve,” Elsie Fisher, & More
Cannes 2019’s Directors’ Fortnight Now Accepting Submissions
Reclaiming Our Experiences, Telling Our Stories: Crowdfunding Picks
Catherine Hardwicke on “Twilight’s” 10th Anniversary and Breaking Down Stereotypes
Marsha Mason on Being in the “Prime” of Her Career and Life as a Theater Director
Writer to Watch: “The Little Drummer Girl’s” Claire Wilson
Follow Women and Hollywood on Twitter @WomenaHollywood and Melissa Silverstein @melsil.
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