Recognizing the impact of women in entertainment

Hindsight

Annapurna Interactive

Witness a woman’s life journey (from birth to present day) in the narrative exploration game, Hindsight. Using everyday possessions that she holds dear and near, peer into her distant memories and unseen future. Lovers of a good story will enjoy this controlled engagement that allows them to go deeper and stay awhile as they gain and shift their own perspectives. From her childhood home to other points in time, explore her life through object-based windows that are frozen in time.

Kraken Academy!!

Fellow Traveller

High school just got real interesting. At Kraken Academy!!, you can navigate teenage angst and self-discovery through the space of four groups (i.e., Music, Art, Sports, and Drama clubs). Described as a “melting pot of wacky personalities,” the game is a smorgasbord of opportunities to embrace the unordinary. In a place where “ghosts fill the art department, cultists meet below the monkey bars and now crocodiles are eating chicken,” you truly control the narrative. Annika Maar, founder of the game’s development company, Happy Broccoli Games, not only did the voiceover work for Alex (drama student), but the multifaceted game designer also lead all the art and scripting.

SIGNALIS

Humble Games

Inspired by the classic game “Silent Hill,” the illustrators and designers at rose-engine created SIGNALIS. Barbara Whittmann and Yuri Stern proudly pay homage while carving out its own impressive identity as a survivor horror, third-person shooter. Set in a dystopian future where the solar system has been colonized, a humanoid android named Elster awakens from cryostasis in a wrecked vessel only to encounter strange horrors, delve into the mysterious fate of inhabitants of a doomed facility, and wander a brutalist nightmare. As you take on this classic survival horror gameplay, you’ll soon realize you’re “searching for dreams inside of a nightmare.”

SkateBIRD

Glass Bottom Games

With a similar style as the “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” series, you get to control a small bird on a skateboard. Take advantage of skateparks in their “natural habitat” of home. Leap over pencils, keyboards, and other items. Get your grind on in the kitchen sink, but don’t shy away from any opportunity to perform skateboard tricks—from simple to over-the-top. Plus, you can explore and collect items to make gameplay even more interesting. With a premise of a small bird whose human has hung up their skateboard to head to a job they loathe, help this little guy have the time of their life until their “big friend” returns home each day. Then, let’s see if you can convince their friend to get back into the skateboarding world by showing them what they’re missing.

After seeing a gif of a bird on a skateboard, Glass Bottom Games founder and game developer, Megan Fox was inspired to create SkateBIRD, which falls squarely into her studio’s mission, making “absurdly cozy games about animals doing people things.”

Disney Dreamlight Valley

Gameloft SE

A hybrid between a life-sim and an adventure game, Disney Dreamlight Valley allows lovers of both Disney and Pixar to tap into their own magical adventure. Dreamlight Valley, a place for beloved to characters to live peacefully, has been plagued by The Forgetting, which severs the lovely memories tied to this once idyllic land. It’s up to you, to save them by freeing the Dream Castle. If you’re up for the challenge, each realm brings forth its own set of challenges and puzzles for you to solve. But, here’s the beauty of it all. Tap into your inner Disney style and become the princess (or villainess) you’ve always dreamed of becoming.

Slash/Back

Microsoft Movies & TV

For once, the bad guys really didn’t see it coming. In the unassuming Inuit settlement of Pangnirtung (Pang), the residents are terrorized by invading aliens. But, it’s the horror movie knowledge and the defensive weaponry skills of a group of young girls that save the day (and shed some villainous blood). Premiering at the South by Southwest Film Festival last spring, Slash/Back is the feature film directorial debut of Inuk filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk. The film stars Tasiana Shirley, Alexis Wolfe, Nalajoss Ellsworth, and Chelsea Prusky, all from the towns of Iqaluit and Pang.

She Said

Microsoft Movies & TV

Actresses Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan star as New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twokey, respectively, in this modern, critically-acclaimed drama about the Harvey Weinstein accusations that sparked Hollywood’s expansion of the #MeToo movement. Based on the biographical novel “She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement,” She Said sheds light on the reporters’ investigation on the entertainment bigwig’s misconduct and the industry’s protection of him and other men in power for decades. Rebecca Lenkiewicz wrote the screenplay, while Maria Schrader directed. Several actresses make appearances as themselves or provide their voices for certain scenes.

Aftersun

Microsoft Movies & TV

As adults, we often realize the parents we knew were far more complicated and far less perfect as we had imagined and “witnessed” them to be in our youth. Sophie grapples with this truth as she reflects on the wonderful memories she shared with her dad, Calum during their vacation at a fading resort when she was eleven. Frankie Corio and Celia Rowlson-Hall star as Sophie and Adult Sophie, respectively, with Charlotte Wells serving as Aftersun’s director and screenwriter.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Microsoft Movies & TV

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a biographical, dramatic account of the revered singer who became known as “The Voice.” From her discovery as a young teen with a big voice and sparkling personality to her star turn on the music charts and the big screen to her close and, at times, tumultuous relationships, the film aims to give viewers a more intimate view of the woman her family and fans affectionately called “Nippy.” The musical adaption stars Naomi Ackie, Tamara Tunie, and Nafessa Williams.

In Her Hands

Netflix

“If you educate one girl or woman, you save ten generations,” says Zarifa Ghafari, the 26-year-old mayor of Maidan Shahr (Afghanistan). In Her Hands chronicles two tumultuous years of her personal battle to survive and make a difference for her people and their subsequent future during the abrupt withdrawal of Western forces. As one of the first female mayors and the youngest mayor in the country’s history, Shahr’s day-to-day as her city’s leader amid the Taliban’s return to power is chronicled in this Netflix documentary.