It’s very easy to despair over the dearth of female directors in the film industry, and we often do. But it’s also important to acknowledge and celebrate the work of the women who are out there getting it done, and that’s where this wonderful post from Bitch Media comes in.
Following up on reader requests for female-helmed movies, writer Sarah Mirk reached out to Film Fatales, “a collective of female feature directors who meet regularly to mentor each other, collaborate on projects and create a supportive community in which to make their films.” That group furnished this list, and it is top-notch:
Recent Women-Directed Films That Everyone Should See: A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night by Ana Lily Amirpour A Teacher by Hannah Fidell Advantageous by Jennifer Phang Apartment Troubles by Jess Weixler & Jennifer Prediger Appropriate Behavior by Desiree Akhavan Belle by Amma Asante Beyond the Lights by Gina Prince-Bythewood Caught by Maggie Kiley Concussion by Stacie Passon Diary of a Teenage Girl by Marielle Heller Honeytrap by Rebecca Johnson I Believe in Unicorns by Leah Meyerhoff It Felt Like Love by Eliza Hittman Kelly & Cal by Jen McGowan Little Accidents by Sara Colangelo Lucky Them by Megan Griffiths Obvious Child by Gillian Robespierre Pariah by Dee Rees Selma by Ava Duvernay She’s Lost Control by Anja Marquardt Sleeping with Other People by Leslye Headland Stray Dog by Debra Granik The Midnight Swim by Sarah Adina Smith There Is A New World Somewhere by Li Lu Vessel by Diana Whitten Your Sister’s Sister by Lynn Shelton
Women-Directed Films That Inspired the Work of Film Fatales: American Psycho by Mary Harron Beau Travail by Claire Denis Boys Don’t Cry by Kimberly Peirce But I’m a Cheerleader by Jamie Babbit Cleo from 5 to 7 by Agnes Varda Daisies by Vera Chytilova Daughters of the Dust by Julie Dash Down to the Bone by Debra Granik Fat Girl by Catherine Breillat Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold Gas Food Lodging by Allison Anders Go Fish by Rose Troche High Art by Lisa Cholodenko In A Better World by Susanne Bier Jesus Son by Alison Maclean La Cienega by Lucrecia Martel Me and You and Everyone You Know by Miranda July Monsoon Wedding by Mira Nair Monster by Patty Jenkins Near Dark by Kathryn Bigelow Ratcatcher by Lynne Ramsay Salaam Bombay by Mira Nair Stories We Tell by Sarah Polley Suburbia by Penelope Spheeris Sweetie by Jane Campion The Arbor by Andrea Dunbar Thirteen by Catherine Hardwicke Vagabond by Agnes Varda Variety by Bette Gordon Virgin Suicides by Sofia Coppola Wadjda by Haifaa al-Mansour Wendy and Lucy by Kelly Reichardt
Read more about it, and listen to Bitch Media’s podcast that inspired the list, here.