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American Woman
American Woman
	Official poster
Directed by	Semi Chellas
Written by	Semi Chellas
Based on	American Woman; by Susan Choi
Produced by	Semi Chellas; Christina Piovesan; Noah Segal;
Starring	Hong Chau; Sarah Gadon; John Gallagher Jr.; Lola Kirke; David Cubitt; Jordan Pettle; Richard Walters; Ellen Burstyn;
Cinematography	Gregory Middleton
Edited by	Lindsay Allikas
Music by	Lesley Barber
Production; companies	Killer Films; First Generation Films; Telefilm Canada; Level Forward; Ontario Creates; CBC Films;
Distributed by	Elevation Pictures
Release dates	April 28, 2019 (Tribeca); June 30, 2020 (Canada);
Running time	85 minutes
Countries	United States; Canada;
Language	English

American Woman is a 2019 drama film written and directed by Semi Chellas,^[2] in her feature directorial debut. It stars Hong Chau, Sarah Gadon, John Gallagher Jr., Lola Kirke, David Cubitt, Jordan Pettle, Richard Walters and Ellen Burstyn. Based on the 2003 novel of the same title by Susan Choi, the film is a fictional account of Wendy Yoshimura, the real-life woman who cared for heiress Patty Hearst after she was abducted.^[1]

It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28, 2019, was released in Canada on June 30, 2020, by Elevation Pictures.

Plot

Adept at living off the grid ever since she masterminded an act of violence against the American government, 25-year-old former radical Jenny Shimada agrees to take care of three fugitives who are on the run. One of the three fugitives happens to be the kidnapped granddaughter of a wealthy newspaper magnate and has become a national celebrity for embracing her captors’ ideology and joining their revolutionary cell.

Cast

Hong Chau as Jenny
Sarah Gadon as Pauline
John Gallagher Jr. as Juan
Lola Kirke as Yvonne
Ellen Burstyn as Miss Dolly
David Cubitt as Agent John Spivey
Jordan Pettle as Rob Frazer
Richard Walters as Thomas

Production

In September 2017, it was announced Hong Chau had joined the cast of the film, with Semi Chellas directing from a screenplay she wrote. Killer Films was announced as producing the film.^[3]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28, 2019.^[4] It had a gala premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019.^[5]^[6]

Reception

As of October 2021^[update], 57% of the 14 reviews compiled by Rotten Tomatoes are positive, with an average rating of 6/10.^[7] The Globe and Mail calls it a "Canadian heist thriller American Woman knows when to simmer and when to boil over."^[8]

It competed in the Calgary International Film Festival in 2019, where it was awarded a Special Jury Mention for Acting.^[9] It also won Best Picture, Best Director (Semi Chellas), Best Actress (Hong Chau), and Best Cinematography (Gregory Middleton) at the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival in 2019.^[10]