sherin nicole – Page 2 – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK October 31, 2025: LITTLE AMELIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN

October 26, 2025October 30, 2025 Jennifer Merin Amélie Nothomb, animation, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Cathy Cerda, GKIDS, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, Liane-Cho Han Jin Kuang, Little Amelie or The Character of Rain, liz whittemore, Loïse Charpentier, Maïlys Vallade, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Victoria Grobois, Yumi Fujimori

The world reveals itself to be full of wonders to a very unusual girl in director Liane-Cho Han Jin Kuang and Maïlys Vallade’s vibrantly hand-drawn French animated film Little Amelie or the Character of Rain. As the title character interacts with the people and places around her, she sees and understands them in ways unlike anyone else — but she also struggles to navigate the big feelings that come with being a child.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK October 24, 2025: RATIFIED

October 19, 2025October 28, 2025 Jennifer Merin Andrea Miller, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Deborah Riley Draper, documentary, Eileen Davis, Equal Rights Amendment, ERA, Jennifer Carroll Foy, Jennifer McClellan, jennifer merin, Kati Horning, leslie combemale, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, pbs, phyllis schlafly, Ratified, Sabaah Folayan, sherin nicole, Ting Ting Cheng

More than 100 years after it was initially introduced, the fierce fight for the Equal Rights Amendment wages on…and on…and on. The persistence and determination of the dedicated people — mostly women, naturally — who are committed to making the ERA part of the U.S. Constitution is thoroughly captured in Sabaah Folayan and Deborah Riley Draper’s documentary Ratified, which is ultimately as frustrating as it is compelling and informative.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK October 17, 2025: THE MASTERMIND

October 12, 2025October 12, 2025 Jennifer Merin Alana Haim, betsy bozdech, Bill Camp, Cate Marquis, Hope Davis, James Mooney, jennifer merin, josh o'connor, Kelly Reichardt, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, The Mastermind, Worcester Art Museum

Moody and thought-provoking, writer/director Kelly Reichardt’s compelling drama The Mastermind tells the story of a not-quite-heist-ready would-be art thief in Massachusetts in the early 1970s. Featuring a stand-out performance by star Josh O’Connor and impressively authentic production values, this 2025 Cannes Palme D’Or nominee memorably explores ideas related to identity and purpose as its main character struggles to escape the weight of suburban ennui.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK October 10, 2025: THERE WAS, THERE WAS NOT

October 5, 2025October 16, 2025 Jennifer Merin Arsakhian people, Artsakh, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, documentary, Emily Mkrtichian, ethnic cleansing, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, Nagorno-Karabakh War, sherin nicole, there was there was not

A filmmaker’s quest to document the lives of four women attempting to contribute to their community through dedication, service, and passion unexpectedly becomes a powerful portrait of living through war in Emily Mkrtichian’s moving documentary There Was, There Was Not. As she introduces viewers to the embattled Republic of Artsakh and the people who call it home, Mkrtichian tells a story of resilience and perseverance that demands to be heard.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK September 26, 2025: FRENCH LOVER

September 21, 2025October 10, 2025 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, french films, French Lover, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, Lisa-Nina Rives, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Omar Sy, romcom, sandie angulo chen, Sara Giraudeau, sherin nicole

Kind of like a reverse, more empowered Notting Hill, director Lisa-Nina Rives’ appealing French romcom tells the story of the unlikely connection between a mega movie star and a regular person who is a matter-of-fact waitress/chef who’s not particularly intimidated by the trappings of fame. While you can’t exactly claim that it reinvents the romcom wheel, French Lover is sweet, fun, and refreshing in the way that Rives portrays her leading lady a clearly in control and rarely compromises who she is or what she wants.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK September 12, 2025: SUNFISH (& OTHER STORIES ON GREEN LAKE

September 7, 2025September 8, 2025 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Dominic Bogart, Emily Hall, jennifer merin, Jim Kaplan, Karsen Liotta, Lauren Sweetser, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Maren Heary, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Sierra Falconer, Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)

Unfolding like the warm, languid days of a lakeside summer vacation, writer/director Sierra Falconer’s Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake) is an anthology of four character-driven vignettes that are united by their setting on the titular Michigan lake. From a resentful teenage girl who finds joy in learning to sail to two sisters about to be separated for the first time, their stories are simultaneously charming and wistful.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK September 5, 2025: DRIVER

August 31, 2025July 29, 2026 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Desiree Wood, Idella Hansen, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Michelle Kitchin, nell minow, Nesa Azimi, POV, Real Women in Trucking, RWIT, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole

Take a hearty helping of Nomadland, add dashes of Ice Road Truckers and Smokey and the Bandit and pinches of Nyad and Erin Brockovich, and you might end up with something like Driver, director Nesa Azimi’s fascinating documentary about female long-haul truck drivers. A sisterhood of women who’ve found themselves well-suited to life on the road, they’re by turns prickly, vulnerable, and flat-out badass — and they’ve always got each other’s backs.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK August 22, 2025: WE STRANGERS

August 17, 2025August 23, 2025 Jennifer Merin Anu Valia, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Hari Dhillon, jennifer merin, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, leslie combemale, loren king, Maria Dizzia, Mischa Reddy, nell minow, sandie angulo chen, Sarah Goldberg, sherin nicole, We Strangers

The consequences of what can happen when a person is “othered” are front and center in writer-director Anu Valia’s atmospheric drama We Strangers. As it tells the story of a young Black woman named Ray (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) and her dissonant, uncomfortable relationships with the people who hire her to clean their houses, the film — Valia’s feature debut — explores the complex intersection of race, class, and power dynamics.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK August 8, 2025: HOLA FRIDA

August 1, 2025August 3, 2025 Jennifer Merin Andre Kadi, animation, Annie Girard, betsy bozdech, biopics, Cate Marquis, Cinema Citizen, Diego Rivera, Emma Rodriguez, Frida Kahlo, Hola Frida, jennifer merin, Karine Vezina, leslie combemale, Level 33 Entertainment, liz whittemore, loren king, Manuel Tadros, nell minow, Olivia Ruiz, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, truth-based

Like the lovingly illustrated picture book it’s based on (Frida, C’est Moi), Karine Vézina and André Kadi’s charming Frida Kahlo biopic Hola Frida brings the famous artist’s early years to life in a colorful, creative, accessible way. It’s simple enough for even young children to understand, yet it has enough layers that it will still be appreciated by those who are already familiar with the story of Kahlo’s path to becoming an icon of both feminism and international art.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK August 1, 2025: TO KILL A WOLF

July 27, 2025July 27, 2025 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Ivan Martin, jennifer merin, Kelsey Taylor, leslie combemale, little red riding hood, liz whittemore, loren king, maddison brown, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, TO KILL A WOLF

A scared teenager and a man living under the painful weight of past mistakes find an unlikely connection in writer/director Kelsey Taylor’s quietly moving drama To Kill a Wolf. Loosely inspired by the classic Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, it shows how having even just one person who believes you — and believes in you — can make a huge difference when you’re trying to get past a traumatic situation.