“Saltburn”
Thanks to the divisive “Promising Young Woman,” the prospect of another Emerald Fennell-directed thriller starring Carey Mulligan is likely to either excite you or raise your blood pressure. Either way, it’s worth anticipating! This next venture by the Oscar-winning writer-director follows an aristocratic English family and also stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, and Richard E. Grant. That cast is no joke, and It’s certainly exciting to see Keoghan — known for being an unsettling side character in films like “The Green Knight” and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” — at the top of the bill. And with cinematography by Linus Sandgren (“La La Land”) and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment behind the wheel, this seems like an awards season no-brainer.
Release Date: TBD via Universal.
“She Came to Me”
Billed as “a multi-generational love story set against the iconic backdrop of New York,” “She Came to Me” will be the next feature from writer-director Rebecca Miller (“Maggie’s Plan”). The film sees a composer find inspiration in a one-night stand, two teenagers try to prove to their parents that young love can last, and a therapist find love in the most unexpected of places. Among this fabulous cast are Anne Hathaway, Marisa Tomei, Peter Dinklage, Brian d’Arcy James (“Spotlight, West Side Story”), and the comedian Chris Gethard. Miller will reunite with her “Maggie’s Plan” cinematographer Sam Levy (“Lady Bird”), and Alexandre Desplat is collaborating on the score with The National’s Bryce Dessner (“C’mon C’mon”). This one is already in post-production, and we smell awards season bait.
Release Date: TBD, but this is probably a good TIFF candidate.
“Sometimes I Think About Dying”
Girl, same. This Sundance competitor, billed as a “delicately told story of love for the socially awkward and emotionally challenged,” marks Rachel Lambert’s debut at the festival. The film is an expansion of the short of the same name, which premiered at Sundance in 2019. The short’s collaborators, Stefanie Abel Horowitz, Kevin Armento, and Katy Wright-Mead co-wrote the screenplay. Lambert’s first narrative feature, “In the Radiant City,” debuted at TIFF 2016 to positive reviews, and her second, “I Can Feel You Walking,” just wrapped a modest festival run. “Sometimes I Think About Dying” introduces some star power to her oeuvre by way of producer and lead Daisy Ridley, who plays Fran, an isolated office worker who is reluctantly charmed by new hire Robert (Dave Merheje, “Ramy”).
Release Date: Premieres in January at Sundance, then TBD.
“The Starling Girl”
Let’s go, Eliza Scanlen stans! This Sundance debut and first feature from writer-director Laurel Parmet follows Jem Starling (Scanlen), a 17-year-old struggling with her developing sexuality in a fundamentalist Christian community. Things only become more complicated when her church’s charismatic youth pastor (Lewis Pullman, “Top Gun: Maverick”) comes back into town. Scanlen, who rose to prominence as the sinister Amma in “Sharp Objects,” hasn’t had a starring role since 2019’s “Babyteeth.” This looks like the perfect opportunity for her to dazzle us once again.
Release Date: Premieres in January at Sundance, then TBD.
“Theater Camp”
Nobody knows how to make fun of theater kids like theater adults. That’s why Ben Platt (of “Dear Evan Hansen” fame), Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, and Nick Lieberman, who met doing theater as kids, have collaborated on the feature “Theater Camp” as an homage to their roots. Gordon (who you may recognize from her screen roles in “Booksmart” and “Shiva Baby”) and Lieberman (director of many Ben Platt music videos) co-directed a script they wrote with Galvin (“The Real O’Neals”), and Gordon, Platt, and Galvin also star in the film. Their fellow cast members include Patti Harrison (“Together Together”), Jimmy Tatro (“Jimmy Tatro”), and Amy Sedaris, and Will Ferrell is among the producers. The film is a mockumentary that follows an upstate New York theater camp’s attempt to carry on after its fearless founder (Sedaris) slips into a coma. If you’ve ever nearly drawn blood over a game of Zip Zap Zop, this should be at the top of your 2023 must-watches.
Release Date: Premieres in January at Sundance, then TBD.
“There’s Something Wrong With The Children”
If you follow female horror directors closely, you’ll no doubt recognize the name Roxanne Benjamin. She was a contributor to the anthologies “XX” and “Southbound” and debuted her first feature, “Body at Brighton Rock,” at SXSW 2019. Now her second feature-length venture, “There’s Something Wrong with the Children,” is poised for an early streaming release. From a screenplay by T.J. Cimfel and David White (“Intruders”), the film sees four parents struggle to understand their children’s strange behavior after an unexpected disappearance. The cast includes Zach Gilford (“Friday Night Lights”), Alisha Wainwright (“Shadowhunters”), Carlos Santos (“Gentefied”), and Amanda Crew (“The Haunting in Connecticut”). Sounds like a solid creepy kid flick — perfect popcorn-on-the-couch fare for the colder months.
Release Date: January 17 via Paramount Pictures and March 17 via MGM+.
Untitled Adele Lim/Lionsgate Comedy
“Crazy Rich Asians” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” writer Adele Lim is set to release her first feature as director this year. The R-rated comedy follows four Asian-American women as they travel through Asia in search of one of their birth mothers, and stars Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), Sherry Cola (“I Love Dick”), Sabrina Wu () and Ashley Park (“Emily in Paris”). “The Fits” cinematographer Paul Yee lends his eye to the project, which is written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong (“Family Guy”) and Teresa Hsiao (“Family Guy,” “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens”) and produced by Seth Rogen. Sounds like we’re in for some good, raunchy fun!
Release Date: Slated for June 23 via Lionsgate.
Untitled Sandra Oh and Awkwafina Comedy
And speaking of comedies led and directed by Asian women…Jessica Yu (“Misconception, Maria Bamford: Old Baby”) has a Sandar Oh– and Awkwafina-led comedy out this year. The script by Jen D’Angelo (“Hocus Pocus 2,” “Workaholics”) details the exploits of high-strung Anne (Awkwafina) and her chaotic sister, Jenny (Oh). The odd couple is trying to pay off their mother’s gambling debts, only for things to ratchet up when Anne’s dog is kidnapped and held for ransom. To win big, the sisters will have to put Anne’s encyclopedic game show knowledge to the ultimate test. This 20th Century Studios production also stars Will Ferrell (who also produces), Jason Schwartzman, Holland Taylor, and Tony Hale. With that cast, it’s hard to believe this thing didn’t go straight to theaters!
Release Date: TBD, expected to stream as a Hulu original via 20th Century Studios.
“Victim/Suspect”
Nancy Schwartzman’s gut-punch of a debut feature, “Roll Red Roll,” documented the harrowing intricacies of Stubenville, Ohio’s infamous 2012 rape case. For her second feature, she’s not pulling any punches. Just as “Roll Red Roll” relied on one upstart blogger, “Victim/Suspect” follows The Center for Investigative Reporting journalist Rae de Leon as she uncovers a series of cases in which women, when reporting their sexual assaults to the police, were accused of lying and charged with crimes. As de Leon investigates these cases and interviews the people behind them, she and Schwartzman unravel difficult truths about misogyny and the justice system. Netflix has had this one since the beginning, so they might do a few more festivals after Sundance before putting “Victim/Suspect” online.
Release Date: Premieres in January at Sundance, then TBD via Netflix.
“Wish”
Animator Fawn Veerasunthorn (“Raya and the Last Dragon,” “Frozen,” “Moana”) will make her feature directorial debut with Disney’s upcoming animated film “Wish,” which she co-directed with Chris Buck. (“Frozen,” “Frozen II”). “Wish” centers on a 17-year-old girl named Asha and her goat, Valentino, as they navigate Rosas, a kingdom where wishes can literally come true. Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”) and Alan Tudyk (“Firefly”) play Asha and Valentino, respectively, and pop songwriter extraordinaire Julia Michaels is crafting the songs. All that plus that Thanksgiving week release makes us think Disney has big plans for this one.
Release Date: Expected November 22 via Disney.
“You Hurt My Feelings”
Finally, Nicole Holofcener’s next feature, formerly titled “Beth & Don,” is here. Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Beth, a novelist whose world is upended when she hears her husband’s true feelings about her upcoming book. Tobias Menzes (“The Crown”) plays Don, a therapist struggling to care about any of his patients’ problems. As is to be expected, the rest of the cast is a who’s-who of character actors: Michaela Watkins (“Enough Said,” “The Unicorn”), Owen Teague (“Montana Story”), Arian Moayed (“Succession”), Elizabeth Marvel (“Fargo, Unbelievable”), and Bill Camp (“The Night Of”) also star. With Holofcener’s cred already well-established, nobody is surprised that Sundance will roll out the red carpet for this one — nor that A24 has already won distribution.
Release Date: Premieres in January at Sundance, then TBD via A24.
“Your Place or Mine”
Rom-com writer extraordinaire Aline Brosh McKenna (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) will finally sit in the director’s chair for “Your Place or Mine,” a love story that she also — of course — wrote. Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher play best friends who swap houses for one life-changing week. Witherspoon is also a producer through her Sunshine Films imprint, as are McKenna and Jason Bateman. Tig Notaro, Jesse Williams, Zoë Chao (“Love Life”), and Steve Zahn (“The White Lotus”) round out the cast. Netflix will have this one out just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Release Date: February 10 via Netflix.
That’s it for now! Remember, this is in no way a definitive list of every female-directed film due this year. There are undoubtedly some hidden gems we missed — including lots of foreign debuts due at Cannes and TIFF — so have fun uncovering them!
And, yeah, in case you were missing it from this year’s list, that long-in-development Karyn Kusama Dracula project got canned right before filming started. We don’t wanna talk about it.
