Weekly Update for October 27: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You

Films About Women Opening This Week

Novitiate — Written and Directed by Margaret Betts (Opens in NY and LA)

Spanning over a decade from the early 1950s through to the mid-60s, “Novitiate” is about a young girl’s first initiation with love, in this case with God. Raised by a non-religious, single mother in rural Tennessee, a scholarship to Catholic school soon finds Cathleen (Margaret Qualley) drawn into the mystery and romanticism of a life devoted to the worship and servitude of God. With the dawn of the Vatican II era, radical changes in the Church are threatening the course of nuns’ lives. As she progresses from the postulant to the novitiate stage of training, Cathleen finds her faith repeatedly confronted and challenged by the harsh, often inhumane realities of being a servant of God. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

The Divine Order — Written and Directed by Petra Volpe (Opens in NY)

Switzerland, 1971: Nora (Marie Leuenberger) is a young housewife and mother who lives with her husband and their two sons in a peaceful little village. Here, in the Swiss countryside, little or nothing is felt of the huge social upheavals that the movement of May 1968 has caused. Nora’s life, too, has been unaffected; she is a retiring, quiet person, well liked by everyone — until she begins to campaign publicly and pugnaciously for women’s right to vote, an issue that will be put before the male voters on February 7, 1971. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Petra Volpe.

Find screening info here.

Melissa Silverstein will be moderating a Q&A with Petra Volpe at a “Divine Order” screening on October 28. Click here for more information.

All I See Is You

Gina (Blake Lively) and husband, James (Jason Clarke), have an almost perfect marriage. After being blinded as a child in a nearly fatal car crash that claimed her parents’ lives, Gina depends on James to be her eyes — a dependence that appears to solidify their passionate relationship. Despite her disability, the two enjoy a colorful existence in Bangkok, Thailand where James works in insurance and Gina explores life in a foreign country. But when Gina is given the opportunity to have a corneal transplant and regains her vision, their life and relationship are upended. Gina now sees the world with a new sense of wonder and independence which James finds threatening. It is only when Gina suddenly begins to lose her sight again that she finally realizes the disturbing reality of their marriage and their lives. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

Félicité — Co-Written by Delphine Zingg (Opens in NY)

Félicité (Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu) is a proud, free-willed woman working as a singer in a bar in Kinshasa. Her life is thrown into turmoil when her 14-year-old son falls victim to an accident. To save him, she sets out on a breakneck race through the streets of electric Kinshasa — a world of music and dreams where she’ll cross paths with Tabu (Papi Mpaka)… (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Maya Dardel — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Magdalena Zyzak (Opens in NY and LA)

A famous writer (Lena Olin) claims on NPR that she intends to end her life and male writers may compete to become executor of her estate. Men drive up the mountain and are challenged intellectually and erotically, until one discovers Maya’s end game. (Press materials)

Suck It Up — Directed by Jordan Canning; Written by Julia Hoff (Opens in LA)

It’s two months after the death of Ronnie’s (Grace Glowicki) brother, and Faye’s (Erin Margurite Carter) first love, Garrett. Ronnie’s on an epic bender; Faye has taken up crafting. Though life-long best friends, Ronnie and Faye lost touch when Garrett got sick. But when Ronnie’s drinking hits a dangerous high, Faye returns home to get her back on track. She kidnaps Ronnie and takes off for the family cottage in picturesque rocky mountains. Waking up halfway to nowhere is not the hangover Ronnie was expecting, but Faye is determined to air her out. (Press materials)

Mr. Roosevelt — Written and Directed by Noël Wells (Opens in Austin)

Emily (Noël Wells), a talented but hard-to-classify comedic performer, left behind her home and boyfriend to pursue career opportunities in LA. When a loved one falls ill, Emily rushes back to Austin where she’s forced to stay with her ex-boyfriend (Nick Thune) and his new-and-improved girlfriend (Britt Lower), a totally together woman with a five-year plan. Though Emily is the same, everything else is different: her house has been smartly redecorated, her rocker boyfriend is training to be a real estate agent, and her old haunts show serious signs of gentrification. Holed up in her own guest room, Emily — who has no idea what she’ll be doing five days from now, let alone five years — is forced to question everyone’s values: are they sell-outs or have they just figured out what makes them happy? And is she following her dreams or is she just a self-absorbed loser? (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Noël Wells.

Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (Documentary) (Available on Netflix)

Literary icon Joan Didion reflects on her remarkable career and personal struggles in this intimate documentary directed by her nephew, Griffin Dunne (“I Love Dick”). (Press materials)

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (Documentary) — Directed by Sophie Fiennes (Opens in the UK)

In Jamaican patois, “bloodlight” is the red light that illuminates when an artist is recording and “bami” means bread, the substance of daily life. “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” weaves together the layers of Grace Jones’ public and private lives, as she moves effortlessly between different facets: she is gypsy, artist, and partying hedonist, warm and funny but also a fierce and tenacious businesswoman. This is a Grace we have not seen before, someone who reminds us of what it is to dare to be truly alive. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Sophie Fiennes.

Wexford Plaza — Written and Directed by Joyce Wong (Opens in LA)

“Wexford Plaza” is a slice-of-life dark comedy about Betty (Reid Asselstine), a lonely female security guard working at a deteriorating strip mall. Isolated and friendless, a glimmer of hope appears when a make-up salesman shows Betty kindness, leading to an unexpected sexual encounter. Although Betty and her paramour are well meaning in their intentions, their behavior ends up causing both of their lives to unravel. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Mansfield 66/67 (Documentary) (Opens in LA)

“Mansfield 66/67”: Walter Fischer/The Ebersole Hughes Company

“Mansfield 66/67” is about the last two years of movie goddess Jayne Mansfield’s life, and the rumors swirling around her untimely death. Was that ill-fated car crash really caused by a curse after her alleged romantic dalliance with Anton LaVey, head of the Church of Satan? Packed with fabulous talking heads and dazzling clips from the Marilyn-in-Waiting’s film career, this is a quintessential look at the ’50s tabloid star as a precursor to the feminist advances of the 1960s, as a woman who tested the limits of then-acceptable female behavior, and as “the first reality TV star.” (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Halloween Pussy Trap Kill! Kill!

On Halloween an all girl rock-n-roll band called Kill Pussy Kill ventures out to play their biggest show to date. However, before hitting the road, they manage to unwittingly upset a man. Unfortunately, this man turns out to be an evil genius dead set on revenge. The evil genius manages to lure the girls into his Hell House and they find themselves trapped inside an inescapable room filled with a vicious variety of devices that can kill them as well as weapons that can be used on each other. The rules are simple: advance through all three rooms and you are allowed to go free. The catch is, in order to make it to the next room, someone must die. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

Amityville: The Awakening (Opens October 28) (Also Available on VOD)

“Amityville: The Awakening” is a revival of the popular franchise and a modern twist on the classic horror film. Belle (Bella Thorne) and her family move into a new house, but when strange phenomena begin to occur in the house, Belle begins to suspect her mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) isn’t telling her everything and soon realizes they just moved into the infamous Amityville house. (Press materials)

A Bad Moms Christmas (Opens November 1)

“Bad Moms Christmas”: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/STX Entertainment

“A Bad Moms Christmas” follows our three under-appreciated and over-burdened women (Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn) as they rebel against the challenges and expectations of the Super Bowl for moms: Christmas. And if creating a more perfect holiday for their families wasn’t hard enough, they have to do all of that while hosting and entertaining their own mothers (Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, and Susan Sarandon). (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

The Light of the Moon — Written and Directed by Jessica M. Thompson (Opens in NY November 1)

Bonnie (Stephanie Beatriz), a young and successful Latina architect, is sexually assaulted while walking home from an evening out with friends in Brooklyn. At first, she attempts to keep the assault a secret from her long-term boyfriend Matt (Michael Stahl-David), but the truth quickly emerges. Bonnie emphatically denies the impact of what has just happened to her. Another attack in the neighborhood only drives Bonnie further into denial, before an encounter with an at-risk woman causes her to face the truth and confront her own self-blame. (Press materials)

Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Jessica M. Thompson.

Find screening info here.

Films About Women Currently Playing

Tragedy Girls
Jane (Documentary)
Tempestad (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Tatiana Huezo
I Am Not a Witch — Written and Directed by Rungano Nyoni (UK)
Never Here — Written and Directed by Camille Thoman
Somebody’s Mother — Directed by Gabriela Tollman; Written by Gabriela Tollman and Evelyne Tollman
Let Her Out
Happy Death Day
For Ahkeem (Documentary)
The Florida Project
Dina (Documentary)
So B. It
My Little Pony: The Movie — Co-Written by Meghan McCarthy and Rita Hsiao
Better Watch Out
Signature Move — Directed by Jennifer Reeder; Written by Lisa Donato and Fawzia Mirza
Chavela (Documentary) — Directed by Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi
Te Ata — Written by Esther Luttrell
Battle of the Sexes — Co-Directed by Valerie Faris
Victoria & Abdul
Bobbi Jene (Documentary) — Directed by Elvira Lind
Friend Request
mother!
Home Again — Written and Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer
The Unknown Girl
Dolores (Documentary)
Tulip Fever
Polina — Written and Co-Directed by Valérie Müller
Leap! — Co-Written by Carol Noble
The Villainess
The Teacher
Marjorie Prime
Ingrid Goes West
Annabelle: Creation
Kidnap
The Midwife
Maudie — Directed by Aisling Walsh; Written by Sherry White
47 Meters Down (Also Available on VOD)
Lost in Paris — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Fiona Gordon
Wonder Woman — Directed by Patty Jenkins
The Women’s Balcony — Written by Shlomit Nehama

Films Directed by Women Opening This Week

Atomic Homefront (Documentary) — Directed by Rebecca Cammisa (Opens in LA)

“Atomic Homefront” reveals St. Louis, Missouri’s atomic past as a uranium processing center for the Atomic bomb — and the governmental and corporate negligence that led to the illegal dumping of Manhattan Project radioactive waste throughout North County neighborhoods. The film documents those (mostly women) who have mobilized to get answers, created a powerful coalition, and continue to fight for environmental justice. (Press materials)

Find screening info here.

The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards (Anthology) — Co-Directed by Lauren Hoekstra, Sarah Kruchowski, and Vanita Shastry; Co-Written by Roxanne Beck, Marissa Matteo, Mona Nahm, Jessica Nikkel, Nicole Riegel, Teresa Sullivan, and Jacqueline Vleck

Based on short stories from Robert Boswell’s collection, seven vignettes explore the difference between fantasy and reality, memory and history, and the joy and agony of the human condition. (Press materials)

Films Directed by Women Currently Playing

One of Us (Documentary) — Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Also Available on Netflix)
A Silent Voice — Directed by Naoko Yamada; Written by Reiko Yoshida
The Strange Ones — Co-Directed by Lauren Wolkstein
Heal (Documentary) — Written and Directed by Kelly Noonan Gores
Wasted! The Story of Food Waste (Documentary) — Directed by Anna Chai and Nari Kye (Also Available on VOD)
The Departure (Documentary) — Co-Written and Directed by Lana Wilson
The Party — Written and Directed by Sally Potter (UK)
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women — Written and Directed by Angela Robinson
Faces Places (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Agnès Varda
Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton (Documentary) — Directed by Rory Kennedy (Also Available on VOD)
Loving Vincent — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Dorota Kobiela
Trophy (Documentary) — Co-Directed Christina Clusiau
School Life (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Neasa Ní Chianáin (Also Available on VOD)
Viceroy’s House — Written and Directed by Gurinder Chadha; Co-Written by Moira Buffini
Beach Rats — Written and Directed by Eliza Hittman
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (Documentary) — Co-Written and Co-Directed by Catherine Bainbridge
Pop Aye — Written and Directed by Kirsten Tan

Films Written by Women Opening This Week

Let There Be Light — Co-Written by Sam Sorbo

For all his far-reaching fame, Sol Harkins (Kevin Sorbo), the world’s most famous atheist, is a lonely soul and a lousy part-time dad. After a near death experience challenges his simplest assumptions about this world, Sol finds his purpose and reimagines his life. (Press materials)

Find tickets and screening info here.

Films Written by Women Currently Playing

“Kingsman: The Golden Circle”: Giles Keyte/20th Century Fox Film

Earth: One Amazing Day (Documentary) — Co-Written by Geling Yan
Kingsman: The Golden Circle — Co-Written by Jane Goldman
Logan Lucky — Written by Rebecca Blunt
The Fencer — Written by Anna Heinämaa
The Big Sick — Co-Written by Emily V. Gordon
Cars 3 — Co-Written by Kiel Murray

TV Premieres This Week

Fearless (Premieres October 27 on Amazon)

The series follows human rights lawyer Emma Banville (Helen McCrory) as she tries to overturn the conviction of killer Kevin Russell (Sam Swainsbury). Russell was convicted of murdering a 15-year-old schoolgirl, but after serving 14 years of his sentence he still adamantly maintains his innocence. As Emma begins her investigations into the original case, led by DCS Olivia Greenwood (Wunmi Mosaku), she is immediately met with a negative backlash from the public and press who wish to keep Russell behind bars. As she delves deeper into the case and stumbles upon a possible conspiracy, Emma finds her own personal life under the spotlight. (Press materials)

Flint (TV movie) — Written by Barbara Stepansky (Premieres October 28 on Lifetime)

“Flint” is the gripping retelling of a crisis that shook a nation and shines a light on the whistleblowers who exposed the biggest environmental scandal of our generation. LeeAnne Walters (Betsy Brandt, “Breaking Bad”), Melissa Mays (Marin Ireland, “Sneaky Pete”) and Nayyirah Shariff (Jill Scott, “Steel Magnolias”) join forces after discovering that the drinking water in Flint, Michigan is contaminated, resulting in a slew of devastating medical problems for their families. When their claims go unheeded, they band together to expose the wrongdoings committed by their reckless, bean-counting government officials whose carelessness caused irrevocable harm to the lives of its residents. Queen Latifah also stars and executive produces. (Press materials)

VOD/DVD Releasing This Week

The Archer — Directed by Valerie Weiss (VOD, Available Now)
Kidnap (VOD/DVD, October 31)
Love Of My Life — Written and Directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin (VOD/DVD, October 31)

Women and Hollywood’s 10th Anniversary Trailblazer Awardees — Los Angeles

Women and Hollywood presented the LA Trailblazer Awards this week at a 10th anniversary event covered by The New York Times. The LA awardees (pictured above from left to right) are Lenora Lapidus, Director of the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU; Melissa Goodman, Audrey Irmas director of the LGBTQ, Gender and Reproductive Justice Project at ACLU of SoCal; Dr. Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative; director Angela Robinson (“Professor Marston and the Wonder Women,” “D.E.B.S.”); director Haifaa al-Mansour (“Wadjda,” “Mary Shelley”); and director and Film Fatales founder Leah Meyerhoff (“I Believe in Unicorns”). We also honored director Patty Jenkins (“Wonder Woman,” “Monster”).

Congratulations to our LA Trailblazers and special thanks to everyone who joined us to celebrate!

Check Out The New York Times’ Piece About Women and Hollywood

*Women and Hollywood Founder/Publisher Melissa Silverstein. Credit: Amy Lombard/NYT*

The New York Times attended Women and Hollywood’s LA anniversary event and interviewed Founder and Publisher Melissa Silverstein. “I spend all my time saying how much things need to change,” Silverstein said of Women and Hollywood’s 10th anniversary. “It was time to celebrate the endurance of our movement.” She also discussed the palpable change she’s felt since allegations of sexual harassment and abuse surfaced against Harvey Weinstein. “These last couple weeks have unmoored the industry,” Silverstein observed in the event’s opening remarks. “A global conversation about sexual harassment, toxic masculinity, and the institutional sexism that envelops the industry is much needed.”

Read the Times’ “Talk of Weinstein Dominates Women’s Ceremony in a Hollywood ‘Unmoored.’”

Follow. Women and Hollywood on Twitter @WomenaHollywood and Melissa Silverstein @melsil.

To contact Women and Hollywood, email melissa@womenandhollywood.com.