Cirrus@Austlit

'Helen Reddy's 1971 hit single "I Am Woman" became an anthem for second-wave feminism that continues to reverberate in today's #MeToo moment. But the story behind that song is itself an inspiration. Directed by Unjoo Moon (The Zen of Bennett) and starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey (TIFF '18's Hotel Mumbai), I Am Woman chronicles Reddy's remarkable rise to fame and independence.

'It's 1966, and 24-year-old Helen (Cobham-Hervey) travels from her native Melbourne to New York City in search of stardom. But she discovers that the uniformly male gatekeepers to the record industry don't take her seriously, look down on her single motherhood, and seem to believe that female-driven acts have scant chance in the Beatles-mad pop market. Fortunately, Helen finds an encouraging friend in fellow Australian Lillian Roxon (Danielle Macdonald), a journalist who's made some headway into her own male-dominated field.

'Everything changes when the fiercely ambitious Jeff Wald (Evan Peters) sweeps Helen off her feet and rapidly becomes both her husband and her manager. Jeff's dogged insistence ensures that Helen's golden voice gets heard. The family relocates to California, that coveted recording contract finally arrives, and Helen soon has a string of hit records. But fame and fortune come with new pitfalls. And how long is Jeff willing to play the role of Helen Reddy's husband?'

Source: Toronto International Film Festival.

'The incredible true story of Tara Winkler, who started her own orphanage in Cambodia, only to discover that her best intentions were very misguided. Through a shocking discovery she is forced to rethink everything she’s learnt so far and driven to create a new model to help break the poverty cycle and end the institutionalisation of children.'

Source: Screen Australia funding approvals.

'MARY SHELLEY tells the story of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Elle Fanning) - author of one of the world's most famous Gothic novels 'Frankenstein' - and her fiery, tempestuous relationship with renowned romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (Douglas Booth.) The pair are two outsiders constrained by polite society but bound together by a natural chemistry and progressive ideas that are beyond the boundaries of their age and time. Mary and Percy declare their love for each other and much to her family's horror they run away together, joined by Mary's half-sister Claire (Bel Powley.) In the midst of growing tension within their relationship during their stay at Lord Byron's (Tom Sturridge) house at Lake Geneva, the idea of Frankenstein is conceived when a challenge is put to all houseguests to write a ghost story. An incredible character is created, which will loom large in popular culture for centuries to come, but society at the time puts little value in female authors. At the tender age of 18, Mary is forced to challenge these preconceptions, to protect her work and to forge her own identity.'

Source: Production blurb.

'Told entirely via email, The LA Team is a novel based on Sall and Emma's friendship and experiences living in LA and the men they encounter along the way. The LA Team is an honest and hilarious journey of navigating love, sex and achieving your dreams in the City Of Angels, told from the perspective of the ages of 25 and 35 respectively. The characters are real and the experiences covered prompt every emotion from out-loud-laughter to moments that will have readers cringing in public. From torrid and embarrassing sexual encounters to shared moments of achievement and joy, The LA Team is a story of friendship and one that everyone can relate to and will undoubtedly fill a void on peoples bookshelves and in their DVR's.'

Source: Inside Film website, http://www.if.com.au/
Sighted: 04/01/2011