FF2 Media’s new “Watch at Home” columns list the new films written and/or directed by women filmmakers that are newly available each week on DVD, Video On Demand &/or streaming services.
Here are the new films written and/or directed by women filmmakers now available at home as of 12/18/18 (with links to FF2 Media reviews posted the week of their theatrical release):
- The Hate U Give – Audrey Wells (writer)
- Let the Corpses Tan – Hélène Cattet (co-director/co-writer)
- Loophole – Jenni Ivers (director)
- Summer ’03 – Becca Gleason (writer/director)
- TransMilitary – Fiona Dawson (co-director)
- What They Had – Elizabeth Chomko (writer/director)
DANIELLE’S TOP PICK OF THE WEEK
This week’s selection could have gone in any three directions between The Hate U Give, Summer ’03, and What They Had. All three of these films are very different from each other. When we talk about the best-supporting performances left out of the awards conversation, look to June Squibb’s performance as Dotty in Summer ’03. There’s no shortage of positive things that I can say about What They Had. This is a film that many of us can relate to if we’ve ever had a loved one suffer from Alzheimer’s, dementia, or memory loss. Finally, there’s The Hate U Give. Of the many performances from Amandla Stenberg in 2018, this was her best performance by far.
To put things simply, this is a powerful film. One–this is a film that should make white people question like myself question our privilege. Are we doing enough to stop this cycle of violence? Are we showing our POC friends that we care? As I was watching the film, I could not help but think back to viewing Whose Streets? last summer. I would say that this is the narrative version of that film.
The film may be based on a work of fiction but you’d have to be an idiot to not see the larger picture. None of this is more telling when Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) takes her activism to a new level by posting photos of unarmed POC who were killed by police. Khalil Harris may be a fictional person but think of all the other unarmed people murdered for no reason. How do we stop this cycle of violence? Is it within these communities? What about those members of the police department? It has to start and end somewhere.
Perhaps the most unjustifiable thing about The Hate U Give is learning that Officer Brian Macintosh does not get indicted for the murder of an unarmed man. If you think this is a spoiler, then you surely have not been paying attention over the last few years. White cops killing unarmed POC shouldn’t get off without an indictment much less a trial.
Led by a powerful performance by Amandla Stenberg, The Hate U Give offers something to say not only about police brutality but the ways in which we respond.
Please click HERE for my full review.
© Danielle Solzman (12/11/18) FF2 Media
Featured photos from The Hate U Give EPK
Photo Credits:Erika Doss
