FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD
I Am Woman – Directed by Unjoo Moon; Written by Emma Jensen
In 1966, single mother Helen Reddy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) leaves her old life in Australia for New York and stardom, only to find that the industry’s male gatekeepers don’t take her seriously. Helen finds an encouraging friend in legendary rock journalist Lillian Roxon (Danielle Macdonald), who becomes her closest confidant. When ambitious aspiring talent manager Jeff Wald (Evan Peters) sweeps Helen off her feet, everything changes as he becomes both her husband and manager and relocates the family to California. With a strong push from Helen, Jeff secures her a recording contract and subsequent string of hit singles, including the iconic mega-hit “I Am Woman.” Increased fame leads to added pressures on themselves and their relationship, forcing Helen to find the strength to take control of her own destiny.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Unjoo Moon.
“I Am Woman” is now in theaters and available on VOD.
Sibyl – Directed by Justine Triet; Written by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
“Sibyl”: Cédric Sartore/Music Box Films
A sly, sultry character study from filmmaker Justine Triet, “Sibyl” follows a psychotherapist (Virginie Efira) who decides to quit her practice and return to writing instead. As Sibyl starts dropping patients, she begins to struggle with excess time and a lack of inspiration — until she gets a call from Margot (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a young actress wrapped up in a dramatic affair with her costar, Igor (Gaspard Ulliel), who happens to be married to the film’s director (Sandra Hüller). Becoming further enmeshed in Margot’s life, Sibyl starts to blur past and present, fiction with reality, and the personal with the professional as she begins to use Margot’s life as source material for her novel.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Justine Triet.
“Sibyl” is now available via virtual cinemas. Find screening info here.
The Broken Hearts Gallery – Written and Directed by Natalie Krinsky
“Broken Hearts Gallery”: Sony
What if you saved a souvenir from every relationship you’ve ever been in? “The Broken Hearts Gallery” follows the always unique Lucy (Geraldine Viswanathan), a 20-something art gallery assistant living in New York City who also happens to be an emotional hoarder. After she gets dumped by her latest boyfriend, Lucy is inspired to create The Broken Heart Gallery, a pop-up space for the items love has left behind. Word of the gallery spreads, encouraging a movement and a fresh start for all the romantics out there, including Lucy herself.
“The Broken Hearts Gallery” is now in theaters. Find screening info here.
The Tree – Written and Directed by Julie Bertuccelli
Blindsided with anguish after her husband’s sudden death, Dawn (Charlotte Gainsbourg) — along with her four young children — struggles to make sense of life without him. Eight-year-old Simone (Morgana Davies) becomes convinced that her father is whispering to her through the leaves of the gargantuan fig tree that towers over their house. The family is initially comforted by its presence, but then the tree’s enormous roots slowly begin to encroach on the abode and threaten their fragile existence.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Julie Bertuccelli.
“The Tree” is now available on OVID.tv.
Dad Wanted – Written by Paulette Hernandez, Javier Colinas, Victor Avelar, and Fernando Barreda Luna
Blanca’s (Natalia Coronado) mom stopped letting her ride her BMX bike after her dad died in an accident. So, after reading about a BMX contest happening soon, she tries to enter it without her mom’s knowledge. The only problem? A parent needs to sign her in.
“Dad Wanted” is now available on Netflix.
Be the Light
“Be the Light” is the story of a down and out girl, Celina (Cara Sanatana), who tries to make amends with and save her dying father. To do this, she sparks a musical movement that will save her family in the most beautiful of ways.
“Be the Light” is now available on VOD.
In the Life of Music – Directed by Caylee So and Sok Visal; Written by Caylee So and Dane Styler
“In the Life of Music”
“In the Life of Music” follows the journey of Hope (Ellen Wong), a young American girl visiting her relatives in Cambodia for the first time. Determined to learn the history of her parents, Hope discovers the story of how one song, “Champa Battambang,” played an integral part of three generations.
“In the Life of Music” will be available on VOD September 15.
Vitalina Varela – Written by Vitalina Varela and Pedro Costa
“Vitalina Varela”
A Cape Verdean woman navigates her way through Lisbon, following the scanty physical traces her deceased husband left behind and discovering his secret, illicit life.
“Vitalina Varela” will be available on VOD September 15.
Thank You and Good Night (Restored Documentary) – Directed by Jan Oxenberg
Comedy turns up in unexpected places in “Thank You and Good Night,” a voyage into the realm of obsession, guilt, and matzoh balls. Grandma was headed for the afterlife. Was it too late to get to know her? From a 1950s movie palace to the psychiatrist’s couch, from the Lone Ranger to the Holland Tunnel to outer space, Jan Oxenberg blasts off on an urgent search for answers to the unanswerable questions: “Was her life really rotten or did she make herself miserable?” and “Who gets the color TV?” For everyone who has ever wished they could see someone just one more time. Long out of circulation — and never released on DVD or streaming — this new restoration is an opportunity to discover a wildly innovative, lost masterwork of documentary filmmaking.
“Thank You and Good Night” will be available via virtual cinemas September 16. It will be available on the Criterion Channel September 23.
The Secrets We Keep
In post-WWII America, a woman (Noomi Rapace), rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband (Chris Messina), kidnaps her neighbor (Joel Kinnaman) and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her.
“The Secrets We Keep” will be released in theaters September 16. Find screening info here.
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD
The Roads Not Taken – Written and Directed by Sally Potter
“The Roads Not Taken”
Sally Potter is one of the world’s most interesting filmmakers. She’s made films with shoestring budgets, and some bigger movies as well. Some are great, some not so much — but they are always intriguing. “The Roads Not Taken” is a movie about memory. Leo (Javier Bardem) is suffering from some undefined dementia. He’s become incapable of taking care of himself. His daughter, Molly (Elle Fanning), comes to take him to two different doctors appointments. No longer living in the present, Leo keeps revisiting his past and the decisions he’s made. The pic, which premiered at the Berlinale, is an exploration of love, loss, and how we come to terms with our choices. (Melissa Silverstein)
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Sally Potter.
“The Roads Not Taken” is now playing in UK theaters.
Space Dogs (Documentary) – Directed by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter
Laika, a stray dog, was the first living being to be sent into space and thus to a certain death. According to a legend, she returned to Earth as a ghost and has roamed the streets of Moscow ever since. Following her trace, and filmed from a dog’s perspective, “Space Dogs” accompanies the adventures of her descendants: two street dogs living in today’s Moscow. Their story is one of intimate fellowship in a menacing world but also a magical tale of voyagers scouting for unknown spaces.
“Space Dogs” is now available via virtual cinemas.
Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice (Documentary) – Directed by Pailin Wedel
“Hope Frozen”
A Buddhist scientist from Bangkok decides to cryo-preserve his daughter’s brain. As scandal swirls around the family, they struggle to grieve a child that, in their view, is suspended between death and a future reawakening.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Pailin Wedel.
“Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice” will be available on Netflix September 15.
The City of the Future – Directed by Marília Hughes and Cláudio Marques
In Serra do Ramalho, Brazil, young teacher Milla (Milla Suzart) finds herself pregnant by her colleague Gilmar (Gilmar Araujo). Gilmar is in a relationship with Igor (Igor Santos), but Milla asserts that the baby will belong to all three of them. Despite some initial conflict between the three, and in defiance to their community’s reaction, they form an unconventional but remarkably uncomplicated family. Billed as the “city of the future,” Serra do Ramalho was constructed in the 1970s in order to rehouse thousands of citizens that had been forcefully relocated. The location forms an important backdrop for this elegant, gentle film which is full of hope for a new generation building their own family of the future.
“The City of the Future” will be available on OVID.tv September 15.
My Name Is Pedro (Documentary) – Directed by Lillian LaSalle
This film explores what public education meant to South Bronx Latino maverick educator Pedro Santana, and what he, in turn, meant to public education. Infectious in his optimism, Santana becomes one of the most influential public school teachers and then administrators in the New York public school system after turning his troubled Bronx middle school, MS 391, around. He is unapologetic in his commitment to create change for kids, no matter the odds. When a glowing front page New York Times article catapults him into the spotlight, he is recruited and then accepts a promotion to use his famed “out of the box” and transformative practices to save a corrupt and divided suburban school district.
“My Name Is Pedro” will be available via virtual cinemas September 17. Find screening info here.
TV AND EPISODIC PREMIERES
The Duchess – Created and Written by Katherine Ryan (Premieres September 11 on Netflix)
“The Duchess”: Simon Ridgway/Netflix
From creator, executive producer, writer, and star Katherine Ryan comes “The Duchess,” the comedian’s debut scripted comedy series which follows the powerful and problematic choices of a fashionably disruptive single mom (Ryan) living in London. Her daughter, Olive (Kate Byrne), is her greatest love so she begins to debate having a second child with her greatest enemy — Olive’s dad (Rory Keenan). But can two wrongs make another right?
Lucille Ball: We Love Lucy (Documentary Special) (Premieres September 12 on Reelz)
Lucille Ball didn’t just make millions of people laugh uproariously. She blazed a whole new path for women in the entertainment industry that still resonates today. Her bravery and willingness to try absolutely anything to elicit a chuckle changed the rules of television. Comediennes Carol Burnett, Lily Tomlin, Debra Messing, and Suzanne Somers reveal to us how they were uniquely inspired by Lucy’s comic genius. But simply being funny was never enough for her. The shrewd, enterprising redhead — whose drama-filled personal life was constantly at odds with her public persona — struggled against a system created by men, all the while cementing her legacy by building an entertainment empire that would transform Hollywood as we know it.
The Third Day (Miniseries) – Directed by Phillipa Lowthorpe and Marc Munden (Premieres September 14 on HBO)
“The Third Day”: HBO
Starring Jude Law and Naomie Harris, this limited series is told in two parts, “Summer” and “Winter.” In “Summer” a man named Sam (Law) is drawn to the mysterious British island of Osea, while “Winter” follows single mother Helen (Harris) as she comes to the island seeking answers.
Love Child (Documentary) – Directed by Eva Mulvad, Lea Glob, and Morten Ranmar; Written by Eva Mulvad (Premieres September 14 on PBS)
“Love Child”
With adultery being punishable by death in Iran, a young couple make the fateful decision to flee the country with their son Mani. “Love Child” is an intimate love story about an illicit family on a journey to seek asylum in Turkey and start a new life.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Eva Mulvad.
Izzy’s Koala World (Docuseries) (Premieres September 15 on Netflix)
Follow 11-year-old Izzy and her veterinarian mother as they rescue koalas and form remarkable friendships with animals on their Australian island.
Departure (Premieres September 17 on Peacock)
“Departure”: Shaftesbury Films
“Departure” is a high-octane conspiracy series that follows the mystery of Flight 716 — a passenger plane that vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean. Following the mysterious crash, recently widowed, brilliant aviation investigator Kendra Malley (Archie Panjabi) is called in to investigate by her former boss and mentor Howard Lawson (Christopher Plummer). With the whole world watching, Kendra and her team race to pinpoint the missing aircraft and locate possible survivors. They must battle through a host of suspects and motives, from pilot suicide and terrorism, to politically motivated murder and systems failure to determine what really happened to Flight 716 — and to stop it from happening again.
The Last Word – Written by Carolina Zimmermann and Aron Lehmann (Premieres September 17 on Netflix)
Death is a bleak affair, but do funerals have to be? When her husband suddenly dies after 25 years of marriage, Karla Fazius’ (Anke Engelke) world breaks apart. Unexpectedly and to the astonishment of her family, however, she finds new energy in a new calling: she becomes a professional eulogist. On her way to regaining her own zest for life, she starts to accompany other mourners, making a great effort to break every single rule in the funeral business, much to the regret of undertaker Andreas Borowski (Thorsten Merten). At the same time, however, she struggles to overcome her own loss, plunging her family deeper into chaos.
One Lane Bridge – Created by Pip Hall and Philip Smith (Premieres September 17 on Sundance Now)
During a murder investigation at Queenstown’s infamous One Lane Bridge, ambitious young Maori detective Ariki Davis (Dominic Ona-Ariki) inadvertently reawakens a spiritual gift that endangers the case, his career, and his life.
WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD IN THE NEWS
Regina King makes history at Venice film festival with One Night in Miami (The Guardian)
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEK
Berry in “Bruised”
Quote of the Day: Halle Berry on Stepping Behind the Camera and Her Post-Oscar Career
Study: The Number of Female Speaking Characters in Top Films Hasn’t “Meaningfully Increased Since 2007”
Academy Introduces Representation and Inclusion Standards for Best Picture Oscar
TIFF 2020 Preview: Frances McDormand Hits the Road, Female DJs Get Their Due, & More
Exclusive Featurette: Nicole Riegel on “Holler,” Her TIFF Pic About a Woman Struggling to Pay for College
Guest Post: We Made a Movie During the Pandemic. Here’s How.
Note: All descriptions are from press materials, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Women and Hollywood on Twitter @WomenaHollywood and Melissa Silverstein @melsil.
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