10 Women’s Month movies in the spotlight

Women are the heart of the story this August. We picked 10 movies coming our way throughout the month, and looked at what women are doing on-screen and behind the scenes. Whether they’re artists, photographers, supermarket cashiers, US Marshals, actresses and aestheticians, businesswomen and trophy wives, dentists, receptionists, or yoga instructors, each film is a window into women’s complex and exciting lives.

Grab your popcorn and your girl gang, and settle in to kick off your All About Her August, because we’ve matched each film with a story with similar vibes that you can watch while you wait.

1. Anora

This sharp and often funny look at the “girlfriend experience” won 91 film awards, including five Oscars, taking home Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Mikey Madison in her role as 23-year-old stripper Anora “Ani” Mikheeva. The story revolves around Ani’s mental tug-of-war between survival, her longing to believe in love, and her growing awareness of the dynamics of men, power and money, after Vanya, the spoiled 21-year-old son of the Russian oligarch Nikolai Zakharov, hires her to be his “girlfriend”, then professes his love and begs her to be his wife in a green card marriage so that he won’t have to return to Russia and work for his father. Vanya’s parents aren’t taking this lying down, though.

This woman’s work: Anora is a sex worker.

Women behind the screen: Writer-director Sean Baker hired real-life sex workers as production consultants and cast members to nail the realities of strip club life and labour issues normally hidden by dim lighting and body glitter.

Watch Anora from Friday, 22 August.

While you wait: Watch romantic heist movie Marmalade.

2. Babes

Eden (Ilana Glazer) is happily single, but she’s also the biggest cheerleader for her pregnant, married lifelong BFF, Dawn (Michelle Buteau). So after Eden falls pregnant following a brief hookup, she decides to follow in Dawn’s footsteps. She’s there in the trenches with Dawn and her husband Marty (Hasan Minhaj) as they raise their newborn and toddler son, and she’s slowly stripped of all delusions about motherhood and pregnancy as she watches Dawn battle through the exhaustion of postpartum depression, housework and her career while trying to meet everyone’s endless demands on her mind and body. It also leaves Dawn with precious few resources to dedicate to Eden, despite a devoted friendship that is as vital to Dawn as her own marriage. And it’s a comedy? It’s a comedy. We promise it’s a comedy!

This woman’s work: Eden is a yoga instructor and Dawn is a dentist.

Women behind the screen: Directed by Pamela Adlon, and written and produced by Ilana Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz, Ilana based the story partly on her own recent experiences with pregnancy and early motherhood, and her real-life friendship with Michelle translates beautifully to the screen.

Watch Babes from Thursday, 14 August.

While you wait: Watch Bridget Jones’s Baby or Parallel Mothers with Penélope Cruz.

3. The Wasp

Psychological thriller. Carla (Natalie Dormer, with Olivia Juno Cleverley as the young Carla) is seven months pregnant and working as a cashier to support her four children and a drunk husband when her former best friend from school, Heather (Naomie Harris, with Leah Mondiser-Simmonds as the young Heather) reaches out to her and offers her £50 000 (R1 187 391) to murder her cheating husband, Simon (Dominic Allburn). It’s a big ask, but women’s friendships run deep, right? As the two plot, though, they also dig into the truth about their friendship and how Carla went from being Heather’s friend, to becoming the vicious bully who tried to destroy her.

This woman’s work: Carla is a supermarket cashier, and Heather is an abused trophy wife.

Women behind the screen: Screenwriter Morgan Lloyd Malcolm adapted the story from her play of the same name, which she used to explore the hidden world of violence between women.

Watch The Wasp from Monday, 18 August.

While you wait: Watch Mothers’ Instinct with Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain

4. White Bird

Former school bully Julian Albans (Bryce Gheisar) opens up to his grandmother Sara (Helen Mirren, with Ariella Glaser as the young Sara) – an artist visiting the US from Paris. And Sara tells Julian a story from her childhood to illustrate why it’s better to be yourself and to be kind, than to act tough to fit in. Her story takes them back to a region just outside of Nazi-occupied France in 1942, when 15-year-old Sara was still at school and focussed on being an artist. As the Nazis’ net tightens, her schoolmate Julien (Orlando Schwerdt), who’s been bullied for being poorer than the other students and handicapped by polio, swoops in to save Sara from the growing attacks on Jewish students, taking her to his family (Gillian Anderson plays Julien’s mother, Vivienne), who keep her in hiding. And the two bond over the fantastical adventures that she makes up for them as the war continues.

This woman’s work: Sara is an accomplished artist.

Women behind the screen: Based on the graphic novel of the same name by RJ (Raquel Jaramillo) Palacio, who’s a co-producer on the film.

Watch White Bird from Monday, 25 August.

While you wait: Watch The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

5. Lee

This critically acclaimed biographical drama was adapted from Anthony Penrose’s book about his mother, The Lives of Lee Miller. The film takes us to the front lines of World War II with model-turned-photojournalist Lee Miller (Kate Winslet) as she bucks social norms to record some of the most devastating and memorable images to come out of Europe during the war. Rather than centring her work on soldiers, battles and leaders, Lee records the toll the war is taking on civilians and survivors. Lee becomes one of the first journalists to record the horrific conditions in extermination camps like Dachau and Buchenwald. And she captures the complex emotional storm as the French Resistance shave the heads of women suspected of collaborating with the Nazis.

This woman’s work: Lee is a photojournalist.

Women behind the screen: Directed by Ellen Kuras, who sparked the project after she saw a book about Lee Miller’s war photography and sent a copy to Kate Winslet. Years later, Kate started developing the film and asked Ellen to direct. Written by Liz Hannah, Marion Hume and John Collee.

Watch Lee from Monday, 11 August.

While you wait: Watch Fences with Viola Davis

6. Joker: Folie a Deux

In this musical sequel to Joker – which takes place at Arkham Asylum – Joker/Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with fellow inmate Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga), who’s his biggest fan, and fantasises about them performing together. Even seen through the Joker’s distorted lens, Lady Gaga is a hypnotic diva in the role, but there’s a lot more to her than what he sees. Meanwhile his lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), and his social worker, Debra Kane (Sharon Washington), prepare for his upcoming murder trial. It’s a thankless job for the women, as Arthur decides to fire them and represent himself while wearing his Joker regalia – spurred on by attention from Lee and his fanboys.

This woman’s work: Harleen is a psychiatry student.

Women behind the screen: With music taking a key role in the story, Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir returned from Joker to take charge of the film’s score and soundtrack, while Lady Gaga worked on and released a companion studio album titled Harlequin.

Watch Joker: Folie a Deux from Monday, 18 August.

While you wait: Watch Joker or A Star is Born.

7. Flight Risk

This action thriller serves an in-flight meal of silly fun. US Marshal Madolyn Harris (Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery) is escorting Winston (Topher Grace), an accountant for the Moretti crime family, from Alaska to New York City, when she realises that their pilot, Daryl (Mark Wahlberg), is really an assassin. Madolyn has to think fast to take control of the plane, but she begins to realise that people inside the Marshals office or the FBI have been leaking information about her and her mission to Daryl and the Morettis. Madolyn has to multitask like mad as she dodges traps, keeps control of the two men, and tries to warn other agents who’re in danger, while bringing the plane down safely.

This woman’s work: Madolyn is a US Marshal.

Women behind the screen: Directed and produced by Mel Gibson, this movie is almost a complete sausage fest in the key production roles, but Michelle kicks butt.

Watch Flight Risk on Showmax from Monday, 25 August.

While you wait: Watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

8. MaXXXine

In this third part of the X horror trilogy – centred on adult film star Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) and wannabe actress Pearl (also played by Mia Goth in Pearl and X) – Maxine is looking to make a big career move to horror films during the mid-1980s, as she lands a role in director Elizabeth Bender’s (Elizabeth Debicki) movie Puritan II. But Maxine finds herself at the centre of a real-life horror story when the friends who invite her to Hollywood parties keep getting murdered in Satanic rituals. Maxine is no scream, run and crawl victim, though, she’s a “final girl”. And some of the vilest men in Hollywood are in for a painful surprise when they try to corner her in dark alleys.

This woman’s work: Maxine is an adult entertainment actress who’s switching up her career.

Women behind the screen: Mia Goth, who co-wrote and starred in Pearl, is one of MaXXXine’s executive producers, and used her clout to scrap an unnecessary topless scene early in the film. She spotlighted costume designer Mari-An Cero’s fabulous work for helping her to understand MaXXXine’s vibe during the 80s.

Watch MaXXXine from Thursday, 14 August.

While you wait: Watch Apartment 7A, the Rosemary’s Baby prequel.

9. Skincare

Famous facialist and “glow-getter” Hope Goldman’s (Elizabeth Banks) career hinges on keeping up appearances – not just for her clients, but herself. Business at her Los Angeles-based salon is about to go next-level when a rival facialist named Angel (Luis Gerardo Méndez) moves into her mall. Angel throws the first punch as the two squabble over parking, but their battle escalates far more viciously than Hope was expecting. Her email account is hacked, dangerous made-up fantasies from her appear on adult hookup sites, and local TV host Brett Wright (Nathan Fillion) tries to coerce her into sex in exchange for publicity. Seeing attackers on all sides, Hope tries to expose her enemies with the help of her new life coach, Jordan Weaver (Lewis Pullman).

This woman’s work: Hope is an aesthetician.

Women behind the screen: The story was inspired by the real-life case against Dawn DaLuise. And while the writing, directing and production team is all male, Elizabeth was able to draw on her own experiences of clinging to relevance in Hollywood, and her fears about AI taking creative jobs, to humanise Hope’s desperation and vulnerability.

Watch Skincare from Thursday, 28 August.

While you wait: Watch the classic horror comedy Death Becomes Her with Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn.

10. Am I OK?

Romantic drama. Jane’s (Sonoya Mizuno) perception of her lifelong friend Lucy (Dakota Johnson) changes radically when Jane announces that she’s moving to London, and Lucy decides to take the opportunity to reveal that she might actually fancy women more than men. As Lucy takes her first, shy steps into exploring her sexuality, she also starts leaving other comfort zones, and exploring all the other parts of herself that she has repressed. But she doesn’t want to lose her friendship with Jane, so when Jane starts getting closer to Kat (Molly Gordon), the colleague who’s going to London with her, Lucy isn’t quite sure exactly why she feels put out by that, or what to do about it.

This woman’s work: Jane has a corporate job and is being promoted to run their London office, and Lucy is a receptionist at a spa and aspiring artist.

Women behind the screen: Written by Lauren Pomerantz, co-directed by married couple Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne, with Cristina Dunlap behind the camera.

Watch Am I OK? now.