I'm not under any obligation to anyone but myself.

Weekly Directed By Women Viewing Guide

Kal Penn, Irrfan Khan, Sahira Nair, and Tabu in Mira Nair’s The Namesake

This week I am recommending several films about complex family dynamics, including a new drama, two new documentaries, my favorite film from Mira Nair, a film series about German forests, a short film from Gillian Armstrong, a short Palestinian documentary, and an semi-autobiographical drama set in the Dominican Republic.

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It’s the Dog Days of Summer and the calm before Fall Film Festival Season, so I’m offering a deal for new paid subscribers during the month of August:

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James Le Gros and Lily Collias in India Donaldson’s Good One

I saw India Donaldson’s stunning debut feature film Good One at both Sundance and the Chicago Critics Film Festival. Cut from the cloth of films like Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy and Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, the film stars new-comer Lily Collias as Sam, a queer teenager who finds herself on a camping trip with her father Chris (James Le Gros) and his best friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) up in the Catskills. Collias does a lot of great reactive acting as she listens to the men pontificate about midlife angst and tell stories that reveal how selfish they've been most of their lives while simultaneously making decisions that show how selfish they still are. From the jump it’s clear that Sam already has a level of emotional intelligence that neither of these men have yet to achieve. The film is out this week at the Metrograph in New York City, the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, and the Landmark Sunset in Los Angeles where Donaldson will appear in person for a few Q&As. You can find more tickets and showtimes here as the film expands over the next few weeks. I also recommend reading Mitchell Beaupre’s excellent conversation with James Le Gros about his work in this film and other “random roles” throughout his career, and Isaac Feldberg’s wonderful conversation with Donaldson about her path towards filmmaking.