Breathe in. Ahhhh. You feel that? Experts worldwide are reporting that today is, factually speaking, the perfect day to watch a female-directed film. Actually – this just in – every day of 2022 has officially been declared the perfect day to watch a female-directed film.
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2022
That’s a lot of days, so, as per yearly tradition, below are 52 upcoming titles to get you started. We’ve got Sundance premieres, streaming exclusives, and A24 galore. Black women in horror! The return of Sarah Polley! International documentary! Disney animation! It’s all there and then some. So dive in, take notes, and get excited.
“Alice”
This Sundance contender from first-time director Krystin Ver Linden easily has one of the most intriguing synopses of the festival: “Alice (Keke Palmer) spends her days enslaved on a rural Georgia plantation restlessly yearning for freedom. After a violent clash with plantation owner Paul (Jonny Lee Miller), Alice flees through the neighboring woods and stumbles onto the unfamiliar sight of a highway, soon discovering that the year is actually 1973. Rescued on the roadside by a disillusioned Black activist named Frank (Common), Alice uncovers the lies that have kept her enslaved and the promise of Black liberation.” So “Antebellum,” but actually smart? Either way, more Keke Palmer press is always something to look forward to.
Release date: Premieres in January at Sundance, then March 18 via Roadside Attractions.
“Along for the Ride”
After proving her YA-to-film bona fides for Netflix by writing the screenplays for “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You,” Sofia Alvarez is stepping behind the camera to direct “Along for the Ride.” “Along for the Ride” is an adaptation of the Sarah Dessen novel of the same name, and if you know anything about YA literature for girls, you definitely know that name. The novel follows Auden, an insomniac girl who reconnects with her childhood best friend, Eli, during the summer before college. Bogged down by years of discord between her parents, Auden takes Eli along as she tries to reclaim the carefree teen life she missed. Newcomers Emma Pasarow and Belmont Cameli play Auden and Eli, respectively, with some recognizable names – Kate Bosworth, Dylan Mulroney and Andie MacDowell – filling out the adult ensemble.
Release date: TBD via Netflix; our money’s on the summer.
“AM I OK?”
After six years of marriage and playing love interests on Tig Notaro‘s autobiographical drama “One Mississippi” (RIP!), Notaro and spouse Stephanie Allynne are making their feature film directorial debuts as co-directors with Sundance premiere “AM I OK?” The film, written by Lauren Pomerantz, centers on Lucy (Dakota Johnson) and Jane (Sonoya Mizuno), best friends who struggle to renegotiate their relationship after Lucy confesses her long-held attraction to women. And if you thought Johnson and Mizuno weren’t exciting enough, this cast is endlessly stacked: Molly Gordon, Kiersey Clemons, and Sean Hayes also star, along with Notaro herself. When this film gets a wide release, it should be declared a lesbian national holiday. Until then, keep your eye out for our Sundance review.
Release date: Premieres in January at Sundance, then TBD.
“Beba”
Rebeca Huntt’s autobiographical documentary, made with producer and friend Sofia Geld, advertises itself as “a poetic, raw and ruthless coming of age tale, in which a young NYC born and bred Afro-Latina stares down historical, societal, and generational trauma with unflinching courage.” After a premiere at TIFF last fall, the film will make its European premiere in the Generation program of the Berlin International Film Festival. The film, which has been in the works since the summer of 2017, apparently “incorporates music, animation, poetry, and live-action footage.” Plus critics have already described “Beba” as “gorgeous” and “explosive,” and Neon snagged its worldwide rights right after TIFF.
Release date: Mid-February via Berlin, then TBD via Neon.
“Beth and Don”
Two words: Nicole Holofcener. Though she recently made a mark on the big screen by co-penning “The Last Duel” with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, it’s been three whole years since our realism queen helmed a feature. She’s coming back with “Beth and Don,” which reunites her with “Enough Said” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus as “a novelist whose marriage starts to deteriorate after she overhears her husband offering up a frank assessment of her work.” A24 has already snatched this one up as part of their eternal quest to out-cool every other film distributor. “Beth and Don” is set to begin shooting now-ish so, yeah, it’s a little bit of a stretch for this list, but we’re crossing our fingers for a November/December awards season run.
Release date: Late this year via A24, if we’re lucky.
“Bodies Bodies Bodies”
If you have not been sustained almost solely by the promise of a Lee Pace-led A24 slasher film for the last eight months then we are not the same. We may not know any plot details for “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” but its distributor, cast and crew have us plenty hyped already. Rachel Sennott (“Shiva Baby”) and Chase Sui Wonders (“On the Rocks,” “Generation”) join Pace in the second feature from Dutch multihyphenate Halina Reijn. The “Instinct” director is adapting a screenplay by Sarah DeLappe, with a story credit from “Cat Person” author Kristen Roupenian. It’s difficult to imagine a more appealing cast, crew, and premise – and luckily we’re on track to get this one this year, since they began filming last May.
Release date: TBD via A24.
“Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power”
Feminist filmmaker Nina Menkes has adapted her lecture, “Sex and Power: The Visual Language of Cinema,” into a feature-length documentary called “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power.” “Using more than 175 film clips from canonical Hollywood favorites and cult classics as well as interviews with filmmakers and scholars,” the film’s synopsis says, “‘Brainwashed’ reveals a sinister framework of misogyny and paternalism that, from early cinema to the present day, infiltrates some of our favorite movies.” The film shows how these on-screen injustices can have real-life implications, leading to gendered injustices such as sexual harassment and employment discrimination. With interview subjects including Eliza Hittman, Julie Dash, and Catherine Hardwicke, this looks sure to be an eye-opening experience for cinephiles and civilians alike.
Release date: Premieres in January at Sundance, then TBD.
“The Bride”
Director Jessica M. Thompson wowed at SXSW 2017 with “The Light of the Moon,” a drama about a woman struggling to cope in the aftermath of a sexual assault. Now she’s gearing up for her second feature, a studio-backed horror-thriller called “The Bride.” “The Bride” follows a young woman (Nathalie Emmanuel) as she is swept off her feet to a destination wedding in London, only to discover that there is something more sinister afoot. Sony’s Screen Gems division has picked up the film, based on a script Thompson co-wrote with “Polaroid” screenwriter Blair Butler, for an August release. It’s rare enough to see studio-backed horror films directed by women, much less ones based on original scripts, making this a late summer treat to look forward to.
Release date: August 26 via Screen Gems.
“Call Jane”
“Carol” screenwriter Phyllis Nagy will make her feature debut with “Call Jane,” a 1968-set drama about the Janes, a group of underground activists who helped women access abortions pre-Roe. Elizabeth Banks plays Joy, a suburban housewife who finds the group when her pregnancy leads to a life-threatening condition. Other stars include Kate Mara, Sigourney Weaver, and Chris Messina. This Sundance premiere shares a festival with “The Janes,” a documentary by Tia Lessen (“Citizen Koch”) and Emma Pildes that takes a nonfiction look at the activists. The right to choose is clearly on a lot of artists’ minds these days, and it will be fascinating to see these films in conversation with each other.
Release date: Premieres in January at Sundance, then TBD.
“Cat Person”
The New Yorker’s viral short story sensation is finally hitting the big screen, courtesy of Susanna Fogel, who co-wrote “Booksmart” and directed the brilliant indie “Life Partners.” Fogel has secured a star-studded cast, with Nicholas Braun (“Succession,” “Zola”) as the unappealing love interest Robert and Emilia Jones (“Coda”) as protagonist Margot acting alongside vets like Isabella Rossellini and Fred Melamed. “Masters of Sex” writer Michelle Ashford is adapting original text by Kristen Roupenian. Studiocanal is backing this one, and production started last fall, so keep an eye out for it later in the year.
Release date: TBD.
“Catherine, Called Birdy” and “Sharp Stick”
It’s been a minute since Lena Dunham made a splash. The “Girls” and “Tiny Furniture” provocateur is coming back in a big way, with two films slated to premiere before the year is out. “Catherine, Called Birdy,” based on the children’s novel of the same name, is already in post-production. This longtime passion project “follows the adventures of a 14-year-old girl in medieval England, as she navigates through life and avoiding potential suitors her father has in mind.” The cast includes Bella Ramsey (“Game of Thrones,” “The Last of Us”) as Birdy and Andrew Scott as Birdy’s father, along with Billie Piper, Joe Alwyn, and Paul Kaye. Oh, and Dunham also has a movie premiering at Sundance called “Sharp Stick,” about a young woman who begins a journey of self-discovery after sleeping with her older boss. Dunham wrote both scripts and also stars in “Sharp Stick.” At least someone is having a productive pandemic.
Release date: TBD via Amazon (“Catherine, Called Birdy”) / Premieres in January at Sundance, then TBD (“Sharp Stick”).
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