Nuns, feminists and time travel: Discover 16 feature films, TV series and documentaries by women filmmakers premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.
Summary: Film Premieres | Doc Premieres | Series & Special Events | Spotlight | Next | New Frontier
FILM PREMIERES
Agnus Dei directed by Anne Fontaine
1945 Poland: Mathilde, a young French doctor, is on a mission to help World War II survivors. When a nun seeks her assistance in helping several pregnant nuns in hiding, who are unable to reconcile their faith with their pregnancies, Mathilde becomes their only hope.
Director: Anne Fontaine
Writers: Alice Vial, Sabrina B. Karine, Pascal Bonitzer, Anne Fontaine
Stars: Lou de Laâge, Katarzyna Dabrowska, Joanna Kulig, Vincent Macaigne, Agata Buzek, Agata Kulesza
Original french title: “Les Innocentes”
France/Poland / 115 Min – January 26, 27, 28, 30
Find the February release of Agnus Dei/Les Innocentes on our Calendar of Films & TV Written & Directed By Women
Find Anne Fontaine on the Hollywomen Directors Board
Find Alice Vial on the Hollywomen Screenwriters Board
Find Sabrina B.Karine on the Hollywomen Screenwriters Board
Certain Women by Kelly Reichardt
The lives of three women intersect in small-town America, where each is imperfectly blazing a trail.
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Screenwriters: Kelly Reichardt based on the short stories by Maile Meloy
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams, Laura Dern
U.S.A. — January 24, 25, 28, 30
Sophie and the Rising Sun by Maggie Greenwald
In a small Southern town in the autumn of 1941, Sophie’s lonely life is transformed when an Asian man arrives under mysterious circumstances. Their love affair becomes the lightning rod for long-buried conflicts that erupt in bigotry and violence with the outbreak of World War ll.
Directed & written by Maggie Greenwald
Written by Maggie Greenwald based on the novel by Augusta Trobaugh
Cast: Joel Murray, Diane Ladd, Takashi Yamaguchi, Lorraine Toussaint, Margo Martindale, Julianne Nicholson
U.S.A. — January 22, 23, 29, 30, 31
DOC PREMIERES
Maya Angelou And Still I Rise
co-directed by Rita Coburn Whack
Iconic writer, poet, performer, and activist Maya Angelou overcame the Jim Crow South and devastating abuse to become one of our culture’s greatest voices. Rare footage and never-before-seen photos unveil a public and personal life that intersected with some of the most profound moments in recent American history.
Directed by Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack
Produced by Chris Gardner and Raymond Lambert
Executive Producers: Michael Kantor, Reuben Cannon, Marquetta Glass
U.S.A. – January 26, 27, 29, 30
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
by Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing
How did a poor, Jewish kid from Connecticut bring us Archie Bunker and become one of the most successful television producers ever? Norman Lear brought provocative subjects like war, poverty, and prejudice into 120 million homes every week. He proved that social change was possible through an unlikely prism—laughter.
Directed by Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing
Cast: Russell Simmons, Alan Horn, John Amos, Bill Moyers, George Clooney, Norman Lear
U.S.A. — January 21, 22, 25, 30
Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper
by Liz Garbus
Gloria Vanderbilt and her son Anderson Cooper each tell the story of their past and present, their loves and losses, and reveal how some family stories have the tendency to repeat themselves in the most unexpected ways.
Director: Liz Garbus
Cast: Anderson Cooper, Gloria Vanderbilt
U.S.A. — January 23, 24, 25, 27, 30
Richard Linklater – dream is destiny
co-directed by Karen Bernstein
This is an unconventional look at a fiercely independent style of filmmaking that arose in the 1990s from Austin, Texas, outside the studio system. The film blends rare archival footage with journals, exclusive interviews with Linklater on and off set, and clips from Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Boyhood, and more.
Directed by Karen Bernstein & Louis Black
U.S.A — January 26, 27, 30, 31
Under the Gun by Stephanie Soechtig
The Sandy Hook massacre was considered a watershed moment in the national debate on gun control, but the body count at the hands of gun violence has only increased. Through the lens of the victims’ families, as well as pro-gun advocates, we examine why our politicians have failed to act.
Director: Stephanie Soechtig
Screenwriters: Stephanie Soechtig, Mark Monroe, Brian Lazarte
U.S.A. — January 24, 25, 30, 31
SERIES & SPECIAL EVENTS
11.22.63 Pilot
Written by Bridget Carpenter
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy was killed, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Take a journey to find out in this genre-busting, epic new nine-hour event series premiering February 15th, 2016, on Hulu.
11.22.63 1×01 (Hulu)
Written by Bridget Carpenter
Based on the novel by Stephen King
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Cast: James Franco, Sarah Gadon, Daniel Webber, George MacKay, Josh Duhamel, Chris Cooper
U.S.A. — January 28
The Girlfriend Experience 1×01-1×04
by Amy Seimetz and Lodge Kerrigan
Law student Christine Reade is introduced to the world of transactional relationships in this original anthology series. Providing “The Girlfriend Experience”—an emotional and sexual relationship offered at a high price—gives Christine a rush of control and intimacy, but she soon finds herself juggling two very different lives.
The Girlfriend Experience Episodes 1-4 (Starz)
Directed & written by Amy Seimetz and Lodge Kerrigan
Based on the film by Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Riley Keough, Paul Sparks, Mary Lynn Rajskub, James Gilbert, Kate Lyn Sheil
U.S.A. — January 23
The Skinny by Jessie Kahnweiler
Follow feminist and wannabe YouTube star Jessie Kahnweiler as she struggles to live, love, and get over her bulimia.
Director: Jessie Kahnweiler
Screenwriters: Jessie Kahnweiler (Episodes 1-2, 4-6), Esti Giordani (Episode 3)
Cast: Jessie Kahnweiler, Illeana Douglas, Spencer Hill, Ryan Pinkston, Megan Ferguson, Sadie Calvano
U.S.A. — January 26
SPOTLIGHT
Maggie’s Plan
Directed by Rebecca Miller
Maggie’s plan to have a baby on her own is derailed when she falls in love with John, a married man, destroying his volatile marriage to the brilliant Georgette.
Director: Rebecca Miller
Writers: Rebecca Miller, Karen Rinaldi
Stars: Greta Gerwig, Travis Fimmel, Julianne Moore, Ethan Hawke
U.S.A. — January 22, 23, 25, 30
NEXT
The Fits
Directed by Anna Rose Holmer
The Fits is a psychological portrait of 11-year-old Toni, a tomboy assimilating to a tight-knit dance team in Cincinnati’s West End.
Director: Anna Rose Holmer
Writers: Lisa Kjerulff, Saela Davis, Anna Rose Holmer
Stars: Inayah Rodgers, Makyla Burnam, Lauren Gibson, Da’Sean Minor, Alexis Neblett, Royalty Hightower
U.S.A./Italy — January 22, 25, 27, 29, 30
NEW FRONTIER
Cameraperson
Directed by Kirsten Johnson
By exposing her role behind the camera, Johnson reaches into the vast trove of footage that she has shot over decades around the world. What emerges is a visually bold memoir and a revelatory interrogation into the power of the camera.
Director: Kirsten Johnson
U.S.A. — January 26, 27, 28, 29
Nari
by Sun Yunfan, Dave Liang & Gingger Shankar
The unsung story of Lakshmi Shankar and her daughter, Viji—two extraordinary artists who helped bring Indian music to the West in the 1970s through their close collaboration with Ravi Shankar and George Harrison. This arresting, multi-generational, multimedia mash-up features animation, family archives, and a live performance.
Directors: Sun Yunfan, Dave Liang & Gingger Shankar
U.S.A. — January 24, 26
The Illinois Parables
by Deborah Stratman
This suite of Midwestern parables about faith, force, technology, and exodus questions the role belief plays in national identity. In our desire to make sense of the inscrutable, who do we end up blaming or endorsing?
Directed & written by Deborah Stratman
Cast: C. Felton Jennings II, Anna Toborg, Joshua Frieman, José Oubrerie, Daniel Verdier, David Gatten
U.S.A. — January 22, 23, 25, 28
Share this page:
