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Opening April 25 – May 1, 2022 – Margaret Barton-Fumo reports

Margaret Barton-Fumo , ,
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The Alliance of Women Film Journalists highlights movies made by and about women. With a vigilant eye toward current releases, we maintain an interactive record of films that are pertinent to our interests. Be they female-made or female-centric productions, they are films that represent a wide range of women’s stories and present complex female characters. As such, they are movies that will most likely be reviewed on AWFJ.org and will qualify for consideration for our annual EDA Awards, celebrating exceptional women working in film behind and in front of the camera. Our members are feature writers, columnists and regular contributors to a variety of media outlets and many of us publish regularly on the festival circuit. Our critical voices are widespread and diverse. We invite you to join us in tracking weekly releases of particular interest. And we welcome information about new films that will help us to keep our records updated and our critics alert. Below is a concise list of new releases set for the week of April 25 – May 1 that are of particular interest. Film titles highlighted in red have links to full reviews.

Tuesday, April 26 

  • My Little One – Cinema Libre Studio (VOD) – Switzerland – Drama co-written and directed by Frédéric Choffat and Julie Gilbert. A one-way journey to the heart of the Arizona desert, a cruel and delicate portrait of a trio of former lovers in search of the meaning of life.

Wednesday, April 27 

  • The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes – Netflix – USA – Documentary directed by Emma Cooper exploring the mystery surrounding the death of movie icon Marilyn Monroe through previously unheard interviews with her inner circle.

Friday, April 29 

  • Anaïs in Love – Magnolia Pictures (Cinemas; VOD release May 6) – France – Drama written and directed by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet following Anaïs, a 30-year old woman that is broke and has a lover she doesn’t think she loves anymore. She meets Daniel, who immediately falls for her. But Daniel lives with Emilie – whom Anaïs also falls for.

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  • The Aviary – Saban Films / Paramount (Cinemas) – USA – Thriller co-written and directed by Jennifer Raite and Chris Cullari, starring Malin Akerman and Lorenza Izzo. Two women flee into the New Mexican desert to escape the clutches of an insidious cult.

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  • Black Site – Vertical Entertainment (Cinemas) – USA – Action film directed by Sophia Banks, starring Michelle Monaghan. A group of officers based in a labyrinthine top-secret facility must fight for their lives against Hatchet, a brilliant and infamous high-value detainee. When he escapes, his mysterious and deadly agenda has far-reaching and dire consequences.

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  • Crush – Hulu – USA – Romantic comedy directed by Sammi Cohen, written by Kirsten King and Casey Rackham. An aspiring young artist joins her high school track team and later discovers what real love feels like when she finds herself falling for an unexpected teammate.

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  • Petite Maman – Neon (Cinemas) – France – Drama written and directed by Céline Sciamma. Nelly has just lost her grandmother and is helping her parents clean out her mother’s childhood home. She explores the house and the surrounding woods. One day she meets a girl her same age building a treehouse.

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  • Hatching – IFC Midnight (Cinemas, VOD) – Finland / Sweden – Horror directed by Hanna Bergholm. A young gymnast who tries desperately to please her demanding mother, discovers a strange egg. She hides it and keeps it warm, but when it hatches, what emerges shocks them all.

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  • I Love America – Amazon Prime – France – Comedy written and directed by Lisa Azuelos, starring Sophie Marceau. A single woman who decides to take a chance on love again by catapulting her life from Paris to Los Angeles.

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  • Rumspringa – Netflix – Germany – Comedy directed by Mira Thiel. Traveling to Berlin, a young Amish man on his rite of passage connects with his roots, falls in love and makes a big decision.

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  • Saturday Fiction – Strand Releasing (Cinemas) – China – Thriller directed by Lou Ye, written by Ma Yingli and starring Gong Li as Yu Jin, an actress who is working undercover gathering intelligence for the Allies on the cusp of World War II.

Film descriptions are adapted from press releases. Titles highlighted in red have links to full reviews. Stay tuned in for next week’s releases! Contact us if we’ve overlooked anything.

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Margaret Barton-Fumo

Based in New York, Margaret Barton-Fumo has contributed to Film Comment since 2006. Her monthly online column, “Deep Cuts,” focused on the intersection of film and music. She has interviewed such directors, actors, and musicians as Brian De Palma, James Gray, Harry Dean Stanton, and Paul Williams, and has additionally contributed to Senses of Cinema and Stop Smiling. She is the editor of Paul Verhoeven: Interviews, published by the University Press of Mississippi.