Women and Hollywood's Weekly Newsletter
June 6
NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Our latest interview is with writer-director Emily Abt, whose film “Thirsty” is now available to watch on Apple TV. It follows the campaign of a tenacious attorney (Jamie Neumann) as she strives to unseat the incumbent mayor of Oakland. Abt explained to us that the story was inspired by her own mother who “ran for office twice and lost both times - but she never put a negative spin on the experience.” You can read what Abt had to say about the film’s messages, getting it made, and the challenges of indie filmmaking here.
Icelandic composer and Oscar winner Hildur Gudnadóttir is set to receive the career achievement award at Zurich Film Festival later this year. The festival awards honorary prizes to significant filmmakers whose work have shaped and enriched the film landscape, with fest director Christian Jungen singling Gudnadóttir out as an “inquisitive musician” who “knows how to use experimental sounds to shape mainstream pop culture and lend it atmospheric depth.” Gudnadóttir earned an Academy Award in 2020 for her “Joker” score, and an Emmy for her work on HBO series “Chernobyl.” The 21st Zurich Film Festival will run September 25 - October 5.
A24 and the U.K.’s Channel 4 will be bringing a women’s soccer series to the small screen, Deadline exclusively reports. Molly Manning Walker (Cannes Un Certain Regard winner “How to Have Sex”) is exec producing, directing, and co-writing with Yasmin Joseph (“A Thousand Blows”) on “Major Players,” which is based on Manning Walker’s own high school experiences with soccer. Set in London, it will follow “two girls on the brink of adulthood, and their mission to start a women’s soccer team.”
All synopses are courtesy of press materials, unless otherwise noted.
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN AND NON-GENDERED PERSONS OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (Now in theaters)
The world of “John Wick” expands with “Ballerina,” which follows Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro – a ballerina-turned-assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma – as she seeks revenge for her father's death.