Women’s History Month is celebrated internationally each March. The Linden Public Library, 31 East Henry Street, Linden, New Jersey, proudly presents a series of films portraying women in a variety of positive female roles throughout history, both in fact and fiction. Please join us as these films will be presented free of charge in the Columbia Bank Room at 1 p.m.
March 9: “The Zookeeper’s Wife” (2017), PG-13; 127 minutes. Based on a true story, this film is set in Warsaw in 1939. World War II begins and Poland is overtaken by the Nazis. Antonina Zabinski (Jessica Chastain) and her husband, Dr. Jan Zabinski (Johan Heldenbergh) run the Warsaw Zoo. It flourishes under Jan’s stewardship and Antonina’s care. Jan and Antonina are forced to report to the Third Reich’s newly appointed chief zoologist, Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruel). The Zabinskis covertly begin working with the Resistance and put plans into action to save the lives of hundreds of Jews from what has become the Warsaw Ghetto.
March 16: “Waitress” (2007), PG-13; 108 minutes. Jenna (Keri Russell) works as a waitress in a diner in a small Southern town and is a genius at creating luscious desserts. Her marriage to an overbearing lout (Jeremy Sisto) makes happiness impossible. When she discovers she is pregnant, she plans to skip town before her condition becomes obvious. However, she begins an affair with the town’s new doctor (Nathan Fillion), who is the only one who knows her secret. The film was the basis for the hit Broadway musical from 2015.
March 23: “A Quiet Passion” (2016), PG-13; 125 minutes. Featuring award-winning actress Cynthia Nixon in the lead role, this film tells the story of American poet Emily Dickinson for her early days as a New England schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive, undiscovered talented artist. As she maintains close ties with her family throughout her life, Dickinson is completely uninterested in fame as she becomes a prolific poet and disciplined writer, whose work was largely unrecognized until after her death in 1886 at age 55.
March 29: “Down with Love” (2003), PG-13; 101 minutes. In 1962, feminist Barbara Novak (Renée Zellweger) pens a best-selling book that details the drawbacks of love. She encourages women to forgo serious relationships with men in favor of independence, workplace achievements and satisfying sex. Despite her success, many men are taken aback by her progressive views, including slick writer Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor), who decides to expose Barbara as a fraud by making her fall in love with him. However, his plan has unexpected consequences in this hit romantic comedy.
Visit the Linden Public Library at: lindenpl.org/ or call 908-298-3830.
