Actor Evan Rachel Wood's journey from domestic violence survivor to activist is told in Phoenix Rising, in Special Screenings.
By Laura Kern
In these selections from the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, women who have been placed in unjust, or violent, positions choose to take matters into their own hands, often at the loss of much blood, sweat, and tears.
Notably, two titles - one narrative, one documentary - act as companion pieces on the subject of Jane, the collective of women in pre-Roe v. Wade Chicago who put their safety and reputations on the line to help provide women with safe and affordable abortions. Both works feel especially timely in our current time, when abortion rights are particularly delicate.
While films addressing these types of themes naturally lean toward the serious, from purely an entertainment standpoint, it's also fair to ask: Who doesn't enjoy a little satisfying woman empowerment?
Alice (U.S. Dramatic) - After escaping her bleak, timeless existence enslaved on a Georgian plantation, Alice (Keke Palmer) educates herself on the ways of the modern world of the 1970s. Under the care of a kind-hearted activist (Common) who discovered Alice lost and confused on the highway, she gains strength and confidence while plotting for a bit of revenge, Pam Grier-style. Writer-director Krystin Ver Linden's debut feature was inspired in part by real-life occurrences of slavery that extended far beyond abolishment.
Call Jane (Premieres) - A commanding Elizabeth Banks stars as Joy, a housewife living far below her potential, who discovers that her pregnancy presents serious risks to her health. When the hospital refuses to provide assistance, she seeks her own course of action. The quest leads her to abortion activists the Janes, and their crossing of paths turns out to be life-altering in more ways than one.
Eva Noblezada appears in Champ, by Hannah Peterson, in the Shorts Program.
Champ (Short Film Program 4) - During a playful-yet-innocent round of girl talk following basketball practice, one teammate discloses something shocking about their coach, setting them off on a payback mission that only teenagers would conceive of. Hannah Peterson's eight-minute short broaches a tricky subject with sensitivity, humor, and a sense of realness effectuated by the wholly believable performances of the young actresses.
God's Country (Premieres) - In Julian Higgins' self-described modern-day neo-western thriller, Sandra (Thandiye Newton), a no-nonsense Black teacher, is a pure anomaly in her neck of the woods. On top of the racial and gender discrimination she handles daily, she goes head-to-head with two hunters who refuse to stay off her property. The film shows the power of women standing their ground, while also considering if there's a point at which one can go too far.
The Janes (U.S. Documentary) - Sundance Film Festival alumni Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes are back to present their first work as co-directors, a galvanizing look at the group of women known as Jane, whose cause was making abortion possible in late-'60s/early '70s Chicago, when it was illegal. The film covers their covert activities up until Roe v. Wade, the 1973 court case that made operations like Jane redundant.
Phoenix Rising (Special Screenings) - On February 1, 2021, actress Evan Rachel Wood went public with her accusations against her ex, Marilyn Manson, opening the door for other women to come forward as well. In Amy Berg's film, Wood relates the details of her experiences as a victim and survivor of domestic violence and how she channeled some of her trauma into initiating The Phoenix Act, a nonprofit organization designed to help end the cycle of abuses.
Watcher (U.S. Dramatic) - New to Bucharest, a seriously ominous city in this film's vision, Julia (Maika Monroe) becomes convinced that a man residing in the opposite apartment building is watching and eventually following her. She also suspects he may be connected to killings plaguing the area. No one, including her husband who's forever stuck at work, takes her fears seriously, so she's forced to face them on her own.
North America Stories
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking DP for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Director of Photography for Low Budget Dramedy Fe...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy Feature Film- I...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Location, Sound for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Location/Sound for Low Budget Dramed...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Film - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Dramedy Fe...
18/03/2026
Calrec Redefines Broadcast Workflows at NAB 2026 with its Most Powerful Hardware...
18/03/2026
Oscar Nominated Two People Exchanging Saliva Posted with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio handle...
18/03/2026
Boston Conservatory Presents Celebrated Musical Satire Urinetown Performances for this Center Stage production will take place at Boston Conservatory Theater ...
18/03/2026
Charlie Puth Joins Switched On Pop at Berklee NYC The Berklee alum spoke with host and Berklee NYC professor Charlie Harding for a live taping, answering audi...
17/03/2026
NASA+'s Rebecca Sirmons and Brittany Brown offer unique look at live streami...
17/03/2026
The transition to IP has fundamentally reshaped professional media infrastructures. Video, audio, and increasingly metadata now circulate as independent, precis...
17/03/2026
Live sports streaming can push every element in your video delivery chain to its limit, exposing every potential weakness in seconds. When the Super Bowl, the O...
17/03/2026
Texas Athletics sought to modernize its media production, enhance fan experience...
17/03/2026
Ikegami USA will demonstrate the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast...
17/03/2026
TNA Wrestling and iHeartMedia announces a new multi-platform collaboration that will integrate iHeartMedia across TNA's premium live events, weekly televisi...
17/03/2026
The goal was to transform Hard Rock Stadium into a global leader in sports and e...
17/03/2026
Spectrum has announced the launch of its new Multiview feature in the Spectrum TV App, giving customers the ability to watch up to four NCAA men's or women&...
17/03/2026
Genius Sports deal also covers data technology, AI, fan engagement, and performance analysis....
17/03/2026
Net Insight is supporting the rollout of a new state-wide centralized operation with Rede Massa, which is an SBT affiliate, the Brazilian regional television ne...
17/03/2026
Featuring audio from practice sessions, qualifying races, and Grand Prix races, the film represents Apple's sports-media ambitions
At Sunday night's Ac...
17/03/2026
Live broadcast has always been one of the most demanding environments in media a...
17/03/2026
DirecTV is introducing several new viewing features, including a multi-screen March Madness Mix channel and an updated Sports Central mobile app hub, ahead of...
17/03/2026
Deltatre has announced a multi-year partnership with ATP Media, the media arm of the ATP Tour, covering broadcast graphics, data, and production across the 2026...
17/03/2026
The Detroit Pistons have announced a third consecutive season partnering with Sc...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced the launch of a public beta for its new 3D asset streaming platform. Miris is building the infrastruc...
17/03/2026
As media organizations face mounting pressure to produce more content, faster, while maximizing value and operational efficiency, Tedial, a leading provider of ...
17/03/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is launching the newest version of its platform, Brainstorm Suite 7,...
17/03/2026
Limecraft today announces the release of Limecraft 2026.2, the second platform update in its 2026 release cycle. Limecraft is an AI-powered production platform ...
17/03/2026
Broadcast Solutions, a leading system integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, showcased its latest broadcast and V...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
QuickLink's Latest StudioEdge Models to Make North American Debut at NAB 202
Brie Clayton March 16, 2026
0 Comments
The Multi-platform Remote Gues...
17/03/2026
Frankenstein Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton March 16, 2026
0 Comments
Sonnenfeld enhances the controlled interplay between warm and c...
17/03/2026
New Voyavox from Link Electronics with Real-Time Speech-to-Text Captioning to be...
17/03/2026
Berklee City Music Stewards META Fellowship Supporting Massachusetts Music Educa...
17/03/2026
Back to All News
Fantasy Action Series Agent from Above' Puts Contemporary...
17/03/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Trailer for the Final Season of Turn of the Tide
Entertainment
17 March 2026
GlobalSpainPortugal
Link copied to clipb...
17/03/2026
As AI native applications scale to more users, agents and devices, the telecommu...
17/03/2026
The features on social media apps like Snapchat evolve nearly as fast as what...
17/03/2026
The paradigm of consumer computing has revolved around the concept of a personal...
16/03/2026
DAZN will allow fans in select international territories to watch the NCAA men&#...
16/03/2026
IDM and The Skate Board Association (SBA) have announced a partnership with Coop...
16/03/2026
Solid State Logic (SSL) will debut the Net I/O ST 2110 Bridge at NAB 2026 (booth C6907), a standalone unit that converts between ST 2110 and Dante audio formats...
16/03/2026
Marshall Electronics (Booth C8339) is introducing its first all-IP 4K POV camera, the CV574-WP, at NAB 2026. The camera carries an IP67 weatherproof rating for ...
16/03/2026
Sony Electronics' Camera Verify (beta), a feature of its Camera Authenticity Solution which enables news organizations to share content authenticity informa...
16/03/2026
FloSports has announced a partnership with Storied Sports, a content and IP studio founded by former espnW and The Players' Tribune executives, to develop s...
16/03/2026
Montreux Jazz Festival has announced a multi-year collaboration with Gravity Media, who will become the Festival's Audio Visual Production Provider followin...
16/03/2026
USSI Global, a provider of customized network, broadcast and digital signage systems and services, has announced Ralph Annunziata joined the company on Jan. 5 a...
Actor Evan Rachel Wood's journey from domestic violence survivor to activist is told in Phoenix Rising, in Special Screenings.
