Dear Lemon Lima (dir Suzi Yoonessi, 2009) Netflix says: "After a selfish boyfriend dumps her, Vanessa Lemor decides to soothe her broken heart by embracing her Yupik heritage and encouraging her misfit pals at a prestigious Alaskan prep school to compete in the World Eskimo Indian Olympics. Along the way, the awkward teen learns to find her place in the community in this touching film about identity, friendship and tradition." Psst, this started as a short film, which you can watch on Netflix (DVD), too. Search for the "Secret Shorts" series.
Tomboy (dir Céline Sciamma, 2011) Netflix says: "Uncomfortable living as a girl, 10-year-old Laure decides to spend her childhood as Michael. When Michael's family moves to rural France, the child wins friends and comes to understand the complexities of gender."
A League of Their Own (dir Penny Marshall, 1992) Netflix says: "Two small-town sisters join an all-female baseball league formed when World War II brings professional baseball to a standstill. As their team hits the road with its drunken coach, the siblings find troubles and triumphs on and off the field." Classic!
The Education of Shelby Knox (dir Marion Lipschutz & Rose Rosenblatt, 2005) Netflix says: "Small-town Texas teenager Shelby Knox becomes an advocate for sex education (and the local media's so-called "Sex Ed Girl") when she tries to improve the county's sky-high teen pregnancy rate by challenging her high school's policy of teaching abstinence. In this documentary -- which uses footage shot over a three-year period -- the action unfolds almost effortlessly, revealing a stunning transformation." If you like what you hear from Knox in the doc, check out her very active twitter account.
The Future (dir Miranda July, 2011) Netflix says: "Suddenly aware that their lives will radically change in a month's time, Sophie and Jason quit their jobs, pursue new interests and disconnect from the Internet, knowing that their actions will literally change the course of history."
QUEUE THIS! is a weekly post by Destri Martino that appears on the Broad Humor Blog every Thursday morning. The goal of the post is to get more women-directed films in Netflix queues in order to make a sizable impact on Netflix analytics and buying patterns; thus, getting more films by women directors distributed and seen, and generally heightening awareness about this often overlooked pool of talent. View the past two QUEUE THIS! posts here and here.
I found Tomboy uncomfortable to watch because it does such an authentic job of portraying the invisible emotional brutality perpetrated with good intentions inside families. Great writing, directing and performances. It rewards the investment of effort.
ReplyDeleteI was working in Japan when A League of their Own debuted and saw it in theatre there... where it was released as "Pretty League". I still cringe when I think how far the Japanese title missed the spirit of the original.
I always really enjoy the QUEUE THIS posts, Destri. Thank you!
Thank YOU, Shaula! Great to have you here. It's wonderful to hear another person's experience with these films. That's so interesting about "Pretty League." Wow, yes, that really misses the mark, doesn't it? Thanks for sharing that great tidbit!
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