It took Evan Rachel Wood years to muster the courage to name her abuser. A lot of people knew who he was, divorced from her, because of his job, his public persona, his notorious reputation — controversial, provocative, fundamentally harmful. Amy Berg’s “Phoenix Rising,” the documentary in which Wood, a well-respected actor and now activist, tells her story, was never about a sudden revelation or a twist in the tale about what happened to her — but the details, the calm with which she retells these events, is still impossibly harrowing.

Continue reading ‘Phoenix Rising’ Review: The Harrowing Resurrection Of Evan Rachel Wood Proves There’s Still So Much Work To Be Done [Sundance] at The Playlist.

Breathe in. Ahhhh. You feel that? Experts worldwide are reporting that today is, factually speaking, the perfect day to watch a female-directed film. Actually – this just in – every day of 2022 has officially been declared the perfect day to watch a female-directed film.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2022

That’s a lot of days, so, as per yearly tradition, below are 52 upcoming titles to get you started.

Continue reading 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2022 at The Playlist.

The 2022 Sundance Film Festival may have pivoted to a virtual festival because of Omicron Rising (which feels like the title of a movie or a new Pink Floyd record), but it is moving full-steam ahead regardless. Today, the festival added two new late-edition titles to the line-up. Both are documentaries, and the first title is “Phoenix Rising,” directed by Amy Berg (“An Open Secret,” “Every Secret Thing”) on actress and activist Evan Rachel Wood.

Continue reading Amy Berg’s Documentary ‘Phoenix Rising,’ Chronicling Evan Rachel Wood’s Experience As A Domestic Abuse Survivor Added To Sundance at The Playlist.