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#directedbywomen in Aotearoa's cinemas this week



It's a big week here in Aotearoa New Zealand! A rare event, release of a brand new local and #directedbywomen narrative feature, The Breakerupperers. Written and directed byMadeline Sami and Jackie Van Beek, it premiered to enthusiastic audiences at SXSW and has had lots of equally enthusiastic press in the run up to opening here on Thursday. Like this: I expect to be enchanted.

But that's not all. Thanks to the excellent flicks.co.nz, I've found 14 features #directedby women among the 82 listed in total, 17% –  within that magic 16-20 percentage that's associated with gender all over the place.

Two of the films, Kobi and WARU, are directed by local women. Go to the flicks.co.nz site for reviews and to find out what's screening at cinemas near you. A whole lot I didn't know about.

As well as on Netflix (etc) in all its glory, there there are also women-directed features on the telly: the other week, I caught up with Deniz Gamze Ergüven's extraordinary Mustang on Maori TV.

Soon, I hope to identify all available tv movies and all local series episodes that women have directed. No-one here in Aotearoa has come near to Ava DuVernay's Queen Sugar, now in its third series with women directors only, but I know some production houses are trying to improve their track records.

And then there are the web series. At a lunch last week, I learned that some women don't follow these. And I think that here in Aotearoa they're consistently exciting, where the Women Who Do It do it superbly well. So will list some in another post, soon.

Here's the list from flicks.co.nz–

Blockers Kay Cannon
Three parents try to stop their teen daughters from having sex on prom night. Comedy starring Leslie Mann, John Cena and Ike Barinholtz.



The Divine Order Petra Biondina Volpe
A young housewife challenges the status quo by fighting for women's suffrage in 1971 Switzerland.



Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars Lili Fini Zanuck



Faces Places Agnes Varda & JR
Agnès Varda hits the road with young photo-muralist JR, creating artworks, looking up old friends and making new ones.



Frozen: Singalong Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
What it says...



Fukushima Mon Amour Doris Dörrie
Post-tragedy drama from German auteur Doris Dörrie set in Fukushima after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011. I want to see this!



Grace Jones; Floodlight & Bami Sophie Fiennes
The magnetic, world-conquering, Jamaican musician, model and party queen Grace Jones.



I Feel Pretty Abby Kohn, Mark Silverstein
Amy Schumer thinks she's a solid 10 after sustaining a head injury. Comedy?



Kobi Andrea Bosshard & Shane Loader
The work and life philosophy of Andrea Bosshard's father, the grandfather of contemporary New Zealand jewellery.



Lost in Paris Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel
French comedy starring the filmmakers as a small-town Canadian librarian and an oddly egotistical vagabond whose paths cross in the City of Lights.



Lady Bird Greta Gerwig
Saoirse Ronan leads this coming-of-age drama written and directed by Greta Gerwig, nominated for the Best Director Oscar for this. Winner of Best Picture & Actress at the 2018 Golden Globes.



The Party Sally Potter
British black comedy about a fancy dinner party that doesn't go according to plan. Stars Patricia Clarkson, Cillian Murphy and Timothy Spall.



WARU Briar Grace-Smith, Katie Wolfe, Casey Kaa, Ainsley Gardiner, Chelsea Cohen, Renae Maihi, Paula Jones, Awanui Simich-Pene, Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu


A Wrinkle in Time Ava DuVernay
Meg, her brother and a friend are sent into space to find their father in the Disney adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 sci-fi novel.


Please, let me know if I've missed any?

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This post is for the #directedbywomen #aotearoa project, celebrating the 125th anniversary of Women's Suffrage in Aotearoa New Zealand.








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