“You have to be able to not look back,” 25-year-old Freddie (Park Ji-Min) is told in a new trailer for “Return to Seoul.” Cambodia’s submission to the International Feature Oscar race sees Freddie returning to her birth country, South Korea, for the first time. The adoptee was raised in France and knows little about Korea.

Reluctant to open up, Freddie eventually admits that she does a lot of looking back. “I always ask myself the same question on my birthday: is my mother thinking about me?” she confesses. She seems conflicted about whether to arrange a meeting with her birth mother during her trip.

“Return to Seoul” hits theaters December

There are countless ways identity can shape a person, with countless factors that shape that identity. This month’s crowdfunding projects, whether narrative fiction or documentary, explore the process by which personal identity is formed, and the mark identity can make on someone’s environment, or vice versa. These films strive to uncover hidden histories and reckon with the self.

Here are Women and Hollywood’s latest crowdfunding picks.

“Beach Floaty Thingys” (Short) – Written and Directed by Amina Sutton 

Amina Sutton / “Beach Floaty Thingys”

“An ode to vacations gone wrong. A love letter to

Ever wonder what would happen if an apex predator was “out of its mind” high on cocaine? Enter Elizabeth Banks’ “Cocaine Bear.” Inspired by true events and set in the ’80s, the comedic thriller explores the aftermath of a botched drug smuggling operation that resulted in a plane crash and packages of cocaine landing in a Georgia forest. “A lot of cocaine was lost,” we’re told in a new trailer for the pic.

While folks initially wonder “what kind of effect” the cocaine will have on the bear, it soon becomes apparent that being under the influence of cocaine makes the animal dramatically more aggressive and unpredictable. “What the fuck

Jacquelyn Mills will transport audiences to Sable Island. Deadline reports that U.S. rights to her documentary about the “rich ecoysytem” of the “remote sliver of land in the Northwest Atlantic,” “Geographies of Soltitude,” has been acquired by Cinema Guild. The doc is set to hit theaters next year, beginning with a run in NYC at Anthology Film Archives from January 25-31.

Shot on 16 mm, “Geographies of Solitude” follows Zoe Lucas, a “naturalist and environmentalist who has lived there for over 40 years, collecting, cleaning and documenting marine litter that persistently washes up on the island’s shores,” per the source.

The documentary won the Caligari Film Award, C.I.C.A.E. Award, and

“Even not choosing has consequences, so it’s still a choice,” Lily Collins is told in a new trailer for “Emily in Paris.” The third season of the Netflix romantic comedy sees Emily (Collins) at a personal and professional crossroads. On the romantic front, she appears to be torn between Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) and Alfie (Lucien Laviscount). Work is even messier — she’s pulling double duty, working for both Madeline (Kate Walsh) and Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu).

The American in Paris also admits that she’s dealing with “some existential angst” and feels like her decision to move to France has “bit [her] in the ass.”

“Emily in Paris” was nominated for Outstanding

Oscar nominations won’t be announced until January 24, but Michelle Yeoh has been favored to score a Best Actress nomination since “Everything Everywhere All At Once” made its world premiere at SXSW in March. The story of a struggling laundromat owner with the fate of the multiverse on her shoulders just won Best Feature Film at the Gotham Awards. Adding to awards momentum, Yeoh has just been named recipient of Palm Springs International Film Festival’s (PSIFF) International Star Award, Actress. Deadline confirmed the news.

“Crazy Rich Asians” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” are among Yeoh’s best known credits.

Previous International Star, Actress awardees include Nicole Kidman, Helen Mirren, and Charlize

Scarlett Johansson’s first major television role will see her revisiting a project from her past. The two-time Oscar nominee is set to topline and executive produce “Just Cause,” an Amazon thriller based on the 1992 novel of the same name. She previously acted in a 1995 film adaptation of the book.

From writer Christy Hall (“I’m Not OK With This”), the Prime Video limited series flips the gender of the book’s protagonist, Miami newspaper writer Matt Cowart. It focuses on Madison “Madi” Cowart (Johansson), “a struggling reporter for a Florida newspaper sent to cover the final days of an inmate on death row,” per the source.

Johansson received Oscar nods

December marks the long-awaited release of “Women Talking” (December 23), Sarah Polley’s star-studded adaptation of Miriam Toews’ novel of the same name. Led by Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jesse Buckley, the awards contender tells the story of women dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault in their remote religious community.

Oscar hopefuls “Saint Omer” (December 11) and “Corsage” (December 23) also hit theaters this month. The former is representing France in the International Feature category, and the latter Austria. From Alice Diop, Venice winner “Saint Omer” centers on a novelist who attends the trial of a woman accused of infanticide. Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” sees “Phantom Thread’s” Vicky Krieps playing

Danielle Deadwyler is looking more and more likely to score her first Oscar nom. The “Station Eleven” alumna took home the Outstanding Lead Performance honor at last night’s Gotham Awards for “Till,” Chinonye Chukwu’s biopic of Mamie Till-Mobley. The film tells the story of how Till-Mobley turned to activism and became a civil rights icon after her son, Emmett Till, was tortured and lynched.

Charlotte Wells landed the Breakthrough Director award for “Aftersun,” her portrait of a pre-teen girl’s seaside vacation with her father.

A woman-directed film scored the honor for Best International Feature: Audrey Diwan’s “Happening,” a which follows a woman seeking an illegal abortion in 1960s France. The

New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) has presented 10 scholarships and 14 festival awards to new and established filmmakers at seven New York-area festivals throughout the past year, a press release has announced. Cash awards and one-year association memberships gifted by the NYWIFT aim to nurture the next generation of women in media.

According to NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez, the organization has expanded its festival partnership as part of its mission to “recognize top-tier talent, emerging voices, and the women content creators making waves in narrative and documentary filmmaking.” Lopez added, “It is so impressive that these recipients not only completed their films during the pandemic – they