NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Deadline reports that Dawn Porter is set to direct and produce a documentary on Nelson and Winnie Mandela, exploring how their marriage and their shared goal of dismantling apartheid were inextricably linked.
Shout-out to director S.J. Clarkson, whose new film, “Madame Web,” is currently in theaters - in this new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she talks about the making of the film, and the difficulties of transitioning from TV into directing features.
This year’s Oscar Nominated Short Films are now available to watch in theaters across the globe - nominees include documentary “The ABCs of Book Banning,” from directors Sheila Nevins, Trish Adlesic, and Nazenet Habtezghi, and Nazrin Choudhury’s “Red, White and Blue” in the live action category. Find tickets for U.S. and Canada theaters here, and for international theaters here.
We’re keeping an eye on this project currently in pre-production: “Ethel,” a biopic of pioneering conductor Ethel Stark, based on a screenplay by Celeste Parr. With Aisling Walsh attached to direct, and Shira Haas and Sarah Paulson set to star, the film is now being shopped around Berlin Film Festival by Bankside Films.
We’ve made a few changes to the newsletter starting this week - you can now find our full lists of currently playing/available films by and/or about women and non-gendered persons on a separate page, linked below.
All synopses are courtesy of press materials, unless otherwise noted.
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN AND NON-GENDERED PERSONS OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD
Seagrass – Written and Directed by Meredith Hama-Brown
Set in the mid 1990s, a Japanese Canadian woman (Ally Maki) grappling with the recent death of her mother brings her family to a self-development retreat. When her distressed relationship with her husband (Luke Roberts) begins to affect the children’s emotional security, the family is forever changed.
“Seagrass” will be in theaters February 22.