Coming To Theaters Upcoming Films Directed By Women

After much criticism of the Academy Awards for constantly snubbing women filmmakers, especially in the Best Director category, the past two years have been a win for women. With Chloé Zhao winning the Oscar for Best Director for her feature Nomadland, and Jane Campion winning for The Power of the Dog, women have finally begun to be recognized for their astonishing work. Of course, per LA Times, there has only been three women to ever win the Academy Award for Best Director in the almost 100-year span of the ceremony. Nonetheless, it is still inspiring to see the appreciation of these directors.

Women filmmakers have always been the unsung heroes of the movie industry, and there is no stop to that. In the coming months, more than half of the new theater releases have women in the director’s seat,f rom seasoned names like Gina Prince-Bythewood (Women of the Movement, The Old Guard) and actress turned director Olivia Wilde (Booksmart), to some first-time features like Oscar-nominee Phyllis Nagy who wrote the screenplay for Carol. From horror to comedy, there is a wide variety of genres to choose from. Here are ten upcoming movies directed by women coming soon to theaters near you.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

8 Jessica M. Thompson’s The Invitation — August 26

     Sony Pictures Releasing  

Hitting the big screen on the August 26, The Invitation is a brand-new story about the media’s favorite blood-suckers: vampires. Following Evie, played by Game of Thrones’ Nathalie Emmanuel, as she discovers that she has family members she never knew about. After agreeing to go to a wedding with her new “cousin” Oliver, played by Fleabag’s Hugh Skinner, Evie realizes something incredibly more sinister is afoot, and there may be vampires involved. Directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Jessica M. Thompson, The Invitation marks her second feature film directorial effort. With beautifully gothic scenery and a cult-y feel, RSVP to see The Invitation in theaters now.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

7 Adamma Ebo’s Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. — September 2

     Focus Features  

Based after a short by the same name, the mockumentary style movie Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul. premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and now will be released in select theaters. Following the two heads of a Southern Baptist Mega Church after a scandal, the fake interview-style film follows Trinitie and Lee-Curtis Childs as they try to rebuild their congregation. With cast members such as Regina Hall (Girls Trip, Black-ish) and Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us, Black Panther) portraying the Pastor and his wife, director Adamma Ebo heads her first feature film based on the short she directed four years prior to its feature release. With Ebo’s sister at her side as the co-writer and producer of Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul., this film showcased another up-and-coming duo and hit the theaters September 2.

6 Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King — September 16

The highly anticipated historical epic The Woman King, based upon the events that happened to the Kingdom of Dahomey, comes to theaters September 16, 2022. Academy Award-winner Viola Davis (The Help, Fences) plays Nanisca, the General of the all-women group of warriors called the Agojie of the most powerful state in Africa. Alongside Davis is a powerhouse cast of stars like John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Lashana Lynch (No Time to Die), and Jayme Lawson (The Batman). At the helm of this powerful feminine feat is writer and director Gina Prince-Bythewood. Her previous works include the Netflix original The Old Guard and the 2000s classic Love & Basketball. Already, the film has stirred quite the critics buzz, per Variety, and will hit theaters everywhere later this month.

5 Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s The Silent Twins — September 16

Focus Features presents the drama The Silent Twins, based on the real lives of identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons, who grew up in the only Black family in a small town and rapidly gained attention because they refused to communicate to anyone but each other. Starring Leticia Wright (Black Panther) and Tamara Lawrence (Kindred) as the twins, acclaimed Polish director Agnieszka Smoczyńska heads this psychological drama that hits the theaters September 16, 2022.

4 Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling — September 23

     Warner Bros. Pictures  

After her success with her debut feature coming of age comedy Booksmart, it was only a matter of time before the theaters saw another Olivia Wilde film. The mystery thriller Don’t Worry Darling stars Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Little Women) as Alice Chambers, a stereotypical 1950s housewife in a not-so-typical situation. Musician turned actor Harry Styles (Dunkirk) plays her husband, Jack Chambers, who works for a company that is hiding too many secrets. Alongside Pugh and Styles, Chris Pine (Star Trek, Wonder Woman) plays the too-suave boss, and Gemma Chan (Eternals, Crazy Rich Asians) shines in the trailer as the only person who also seems to know something is wrong in this utopian world the Chambers live in.

3 Maya Forbes’ The Good House — September 30

     Roadside Attractions  

Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Avatar) and Kevin Kline (Dave) reunite to star in Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky’s feature film The Good House. Based on the novel of the same title by Ann Leary, the story follows a realtor by the name of Hildy Good (Weaver) and her connection with a past love interest, Frank Getchell (Kline). Her life starts to unravel as she begins seeing Frank again and the inner turmoil she endures with this new/old relationship. This dramedy is set to hit select theaters September 30, after getting its date pushed back almost a year from its original release.

2 Chinonye Chukwu’s Till — October 14

     Universal Pictures  

Chinonye Chukwu’s third feature film Till is the adaptation of the true story of 14-year-old Emmett Till, his mother Mamie Till Mobley, and her never ceasing pursuit of justice for her son after he was lynched in 1955. Following Mamie, played by Danielle Deadwyler (The Harder they Fall), who historically was insistent on her son having an open casket at his funeral to show the brutalization that Emmett suffered, kick-starting the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. This film is based on the screenplay from both director Chukwu and documentarian Keith Beauchamp. Beauchamp was close to Mamie Till Mobley in real life and was a consultant on this project up until his death in 2017. Till will be in theaters October 14, 2022.

1 Phyllis Nagy’s Call Jane — October 28

Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games) and Sigourney Weaver (Alien) star in Phyllis Nagy’s period piece about an underground abortion clinic, Call Jane. Banks plays Joy, a woman who seeks an emergency abortion in the first time period that they were deemed illegal. Joy then decides to help the clinic and help the women seeking out the clinic, constantly in fear of the law. Nagy, nominated for her screenplay Carol, has her feature directorial debut with Call Jane, coming to theaters October 28, 2022.