Opening August 5 – 11, 2024 – Margaret Barton-Fumo reports
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 August 5 – 11 that are of particular interest. Titles highlighted in red have links to full reviews:
Tuesday, August 6
- Valleyheart – Indican Pictures (Cinemas, VOD) – USA – Drama written, directed by and starring Kathryne Isabelle Easton. In the San Fernando Valley, a woman with dreams of stardom is forced to call upon her ex-cop former husband to get her brother out of a life-or-death situation when he gets involved with the wrong people.
Wednesday, August 7
- Happy Campers – Grasshopper Films (Cinemas) – USA – Documentary directed by Amy Nicholson. Blue-collar families escape life on the water in a seasonal trailer park. When their shabby Shangri-La is threatened by development, the residents of Inlet View face the inevitable, and reveal the secrets to a rich life.
Friday, August 9
- The Beautiful Summer – Film Movement – Italy – Drama co-written and directed by Laura Luchetti. Ginia, seventeen, experiences the ecstasy and turmoil that characterize the mysterious journey into adulthood. Meeting with Amelia confronts her with new and shocking emotions. But only by recognizing this love, she can be herself.
- Good One – Metrograph Pictures (Cinemas) – USA – Drama written and directed by India Donaldson. During a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam navigates the clash of egos between her father and his oldest friend.
- It Ends with Us – Sony (Cinemas) – USA – Drama starring Blake Lively. Adapted from the Colleen Hoover novel, Lily overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life. A chance meeting with a neurosurgeon sparks a connection but Lily begins to see sides of him that remind her of her parents’ relationship.
- Nadia – IndiePix – France – Documentary co-written and directed by Anissa Bonnefont. The story of Nadia Nadim, a young Afghan girl who took refuge in Denmark following the execution of her father by the Taliban. Today, Nadia is an international football star.
- Sugarcane – Disney+ / National Geographic Documentary Films (Cinemas) – Canada / USA – Documentary co-directed by Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat. An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school sparks a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve.
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.
