FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING
The Sky Is Pink – Directed by Shonali Bose; Written by Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar
An epic tale of love and family — and based on a true story — “The Sky Is Pink” primarily focuses on how one couple’s (Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar) life is shaped by their daughter, who is born with a rare immune deficiency disorder. The audience knows from the outset that Aisha Chaudhary (Zaira Wasim) will not make it past her teens. Yet it wouldn’t be accurate to describe the film as a tragedy. It’s sad, to be sure, but it’s also a comedy that mocks the absurdity of life and a romance about two people who decide to keep showing up for each other, even when they’d like nothing more than to call it quits. In other words, life goes on. “The Sky Is Pink” is in no way dismissive or cruel, but that’s its ethos. Joy and despair can coexist; a person’s death doesn’t negate the love you feel for her; a tragedy can also be a comedy. (Rachel Montpelier)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Shonali Bose.
A Bump Along the Way – Directed by Shelly Love; Written by Tess McGowan (Opens in the UK)
“A Bump Along the Way”: TIFF
“A Bump Along the Way” tells the story of fun-loving, 44-year-old single mom Pamela (Bronagh Gallagher) who becomes pregnant following a boozy one night-stand with a man half her age, much to the shame of her buttoned-up teenage daughter, Allegra (Lola Petticrew). As Pamela deals with her unexpected pregnancy and the growing pains of the disgruntled Allegra, the challenges they both face ultimately bring mother and daughter to a better understanding of themselves and each other.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Shelly Love.
Find screening info here.
Chez Jolie Coiffure (Documentary) – Directed by Rosine Mbakam (Opens October 16 in NY)
“Chez Jolie Coiffure”: Icarus Films
“Chez Jolie Coiffure” is an observational “chamber piece” shot in a single tiny room, about life in a salon located in the African quarter of Brussels and managed by the charismatic Sabine, an undocumented émigré. “Chez Jolie Coiffure” is a highly revealing documentary, capturing the day-to-day lives and concerns of immigrant West African women in a space they can call their own.
Find screening info here.
The Two Faces of a Bamileke Woman (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Rosine Mbakam (Opens October 16 in NY)
“The Two Faces of a Bamileke Woman” documents the filmmaker’s return home, accompanied by her toddler son, to visit her mother after years abroad. This feature documentary debut captures the relationship between a woman and her mother — and subtly expresses the dislocation of emigration.
Find screening info here.
Suzi Q (Documentary) (Opens in the UK)
“Suzi Q”
Before Suzi Quatro burst on the music world in 1973, there were almost no women in rock, and absolutely none who played bass, and sang lead vocals, and led the band, and rocked out, and reached millions of people around the world, re-writing the rule book for the expected image of women in rock & roll. Singer, songwriter, bass player, bandleader, actress, radio-presenter, poet — there is only one Suzi Q, the pint-sized, leather-clad rocker who has sold more than 50 million records, and in 2019 released a new album, celebrating 53 years as a working musician.
Find screening info here.
Polaroid – Written by Blair Butler (Also Available on VOD)
High school loner Bird Fitcher (Kathryn Prescott) has no idea what dark secrets are tied to the mysterious Polaroid vintage camera she stumbles upon, but it doesn’t take long to discover that those who have their picture taken meet a tragic end.
Echoes of Fear (Opens October 16 in LA)
After inheriting her grandfather’s house, Alysa (Trista Robinson) must confront the mystery of his sudden death and the evil that hides inside.
Find screening info here.
The Influence (Available on Netflix)
Back in her childhood home to help her sister care for their comatose mother, Alicia (Manuela Vellés) must face a dark force from her past that now threatens her child.
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING
Gift (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Robin McKenna (Opens in NY and LA)
“Gift”
Inspired by Lewis Hyde’s beloved classic “The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World,” “Gift” is a tribute to something that can’t be measured or counted, bought or sold. An intimate exploration of real-life gift economies, it’s a reflection on the creative process and the reasons we labor in service of our gifts, and a celebration of the imagination.
Find screening info here.
Stuffed (Documentary) – Directed by Erin Derham (Opens October 16 in NY)
“Stuffed”
“Stuffed” is a documentary feature film about the surprising and unique world of taxidermy. Through the eyes and hands of passionate renowned artists across the world, the film allows the audience to dip into and explore this diverse subculture, where sculptors must also be scientists. It is a genre of art, formed by a collection of people who have a fanaticism for nature, matched only by their desire to protect it. They love animals, and see life where others only see death. In an unexpected twist, “Stuffed” reveals the importance of preserving nature, using taxidermy as its unlikely vehicle, and the taxidermist as its wild driver.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Erin Derham.
The Addams Family – Written by Pamela Pettler and Matt Lieberman
“The Addams Family”: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc
Get ready to snap your fingers! The first family of Halloween, the Addams Family, is back on the big screen in the first animated comedy about the kookiest family on the block. Funny, outlandish, and completely iconic, the Addams Family redefines what it means to be a good neighbor.
Find screening info here.
Tehran: City of Love – Written by Maryam Najafi and Ali Jaberansari (Opens in the UK)
“Tehran: City of Love”
Three stories of love and yearning set in Tehran: Mina (Forough Ghajabagli) is a secretary in a beauty clinic; Hessam (Amir Hessam Bakhtiari) is a three-time winner of bodybuilding competitions; and Vahid (Mehdi Saki) is a funeral singer who has been dumped by his fiancée.
High Strung Free Dance – Written by Janeen Damian and Michael Damian
Zander Raines (Thomas Doherty), a dazzling young choreographer, gives the break of a lifetime to two hopeful artists when he casts a stunning contemporary dancer, Barlow (Juliet Doherty) and innovative pianist, Charlie (Harry Jarvis) in New York’s most-anticipated new Broadway show: “Free Dance.” But the move throws off the show’s delicate creative balance when Charlie falls hard for Barlow while Zander embraces her as his muse. The question is, how much are these talented artists willing to risk for love?
Find screening info here.
Up There – Written by Zoe Kanters, Michael Blaustein, and Daniel Weingarten (Opens in LA)
Journalist Jack Cohen (Daniel Weingarten) is desperately searching for the big story that will change his career. His current underwhelming assignment lands him in a sleepy mining town in Michigan where nobody speaks to strangers, especially reporters. When a local girl, Emma (Zoe Kanters), offers to help, Jack begrudgingly accepts. Unbeknownst to her, Jack uncovers details of her tragic past, and with it, the story he has been looking for all along. Gaining Emma’s trust, he writes a story, exploiting her tragedy for his own gain. Emma’s instability, threats from her veteran brother, and Jack’s own ambitious treachery send him hurtling towards an explosive conclusion.
Find screening info here.
Commuters – Directed by Leïla Sy and Kery James (Available October 12 on Netflix)
Three brothers from a sensitive suburb of the Paris region. Soulaymaan, a student lawyer in Paris, brilliantly completed his studies. His path crosses that of Lisa in which he discusses the responsibility of the state in the current situation of the suburbs in the final of a famous contest of eloquence. Demba, the eldest, lives to the rhythms of traffic and the street. Their little brother Noumouke, 15, is still looking for his way, and must choose which of his two older brothers he wants to look like. A fight, a shot, a drama.
TV PREMIERES
Gabby Duran & the Unsittables (Premieres October 11 on Disney Channel)
“Gabby Duran & the Unsittables” is a live-action comedy series about Gabby Duran (Kylie Cantrall), a courageous and resourceful girl who constantly feels like she’s living in the shadows of her uber-polished, successful mother, Dina, and whip-smart younger sister, Olivia. She finally finds her moment to shine when she inadvertently lands an out-of-this-world job to babysit an unruly group of very important extraterrestrial children who are hiding out on earth with their families, disguised as everyday kids. Gabby steps up to the challenge to protect these youngsters and their secret identities, and prove she’s the best babysitter in the galaxy.
The Birch – Written by J. Casey Modderno (Premieres October 11 on Facebook Watch)
The Birch is centered around the dark relationship between a synonymous monster protector in the woods and a pure-hearted teenager who summons her in a time of crisis. The episodes will be told from multiple character perspectives as their lives are indelibly shaped by the titular character. (Deadline)
The Feeling of Being Watched (Documentary) – Directed by Assia Boundaoui (Premieres October 14 on PBS)
“The Feeling of Being Watched”
In the Arab-American neighborhood outside of Chicago where director Assia Boundaoui grew up, most of her neighbors think they have been under surveillance for over a decade. While investigating their experiences, Boundaoui uncovers tens of thousands of pages of FBI documents that prove her hometown was the subject of one of the largest counterterrorism investigations ever conducted in the U.S. before 9/11, code-named “Operation Vulgar Betrayal.” With unprecedented access, “The Feeling of Being Watched” weaves the personal and the political as it follows the filmmaker’s examination of why her community fell under blanket government surveillance.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Assia Boundaoui.
The Casagrandes (Premieres October 14 on Nickelodeon)
“The Casagrandes” tells the story of Ronnie Anne (Izabella Alvarez), an independent, adventurous 11-year-old who explores city life with her big, loving, multi-generational Mexican-American family.
The Promised Life (Premieres October 14 on Acorn TV)
This epic Italian-language saga follows a courageous mother’s quest to make a better life for her family in the face of tragedy and hardship. In the early 1920s, Carmela Carrizzo (Luisa Ranieri, “Letters to Juliet”) and her husband farm lands in Sicily belonging to the unscrupulous Spanò. After a series of misfortunes, Carmela resolves to leave Italy for an uncertain but hopeful future in New York.
Limetown (Premieres October 16 on Facebook Watch)
“Limetown” is based on the hit podcast of the same name and follows Lia Haddock (Jessica Biel), a journalist for American Public Radio (APR), as she unravels the mystery behind the disappearance of over 300 people at a neuroscience research community in Tennessee.
The Unlisted – Created by Justine Flynn (Premieres October 17 on Netflix)
Twelve-year-old identical twins Dru (Vrund Rao) and Kal (Ved Rao) Sharma discover that the government is secretly tracking and manipulating Australia’s youth via electronic tracking devices. Together with a group of underground vigilante kids — the Unlisted — they must stop the evil authorities from creating an army of young soldiers who can be manipulated to serve the wealthiest citizens.
VOD/STREAMING RELEASES
Le Guin in “Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin”
Cinderella and the Secret Prince – Directed by Lynne Southerland (VOD, October 11)
Entangled – Written and Directed by Milena Lurie (VOD, October 11)
A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish – Written and Directed by Michelle Johnston (VOD, October 15)
The Furnace (VOD, October 15)
Inside Lehman Brothers – Written and Directed by Jennifer Deschamps (VOD, October 15)
Making Montgomery Clift (Documentary) – Directed by Hillary Demmon and Robert Anderson Clift (VOD, October 15)
The Trial (Documentary) – Directed by Maria Ramos (VOD, October 15)
Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (Documentary) – Directed by Arwen Curry (VOD, October 15)
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BLOG
Tchen: Wiki Commons/NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
Jackie Sibblies Drury and Lauren Yee Named 2019 Steinberg Playwright Award Recipients
“Atlantics,” “Blind Spot,” & More Up for Discovery Prize at European Film Awards
Renée Zellweger to Receive American Riviera Award at Santa Barbara Film Festival
Oscars: International Feature Category Receives 93 Submissions, 28 Directed by Women
Euzhan Palcy Missed Out on Directing Gigs Because Hollywood Found Her Ideas “Too Black”
Quote of the Day: Rowena Chiu Breaks Down the Power Imbalances That Protected Harvey Weinstein
IDA Documentary Awards to Honor Freida Lee Mock and Rachel Lears
Tina Tchen Appointed President and CEO of Time’s Up
Submit Your Short for the Eva Haller Women Transforming Media Award
Under the Radar: Francine Zuckerman Spotlights the Women of the Olympic Massacre in “After Munich”
Note: All descriptions are from press materials, unless otherwise noted.
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