Once a month for four years, our Group for Films Directed by Women has watched a film, then talked about it. By posting this page, I hope that other women (and men) in cities around the continent, maybe even the world, will start a similar group. We’ve all seen films directed by men. Now let’s see how women film the world. I’ve highlighted in green films I thought were excellent! Except for two, all the films were very good, one was fine, the other was, as one member put it, “Two hours of my life I’ll never get back.” Later, I may include brief descriptions.
Wanda, Barbara Loden, American, 1970
35 Shots of Rum, Claire Denis, French, 2008,
Mickey and Nicky, Elaine May, American, 1976
Since Otar Left, Georgian, Julie Bertuccelli, 2003
Il Futuro, Italian-Chilean-German-Spanish production, Alicia Scherson, Chile, 2013
Saving Face, Alice Wu, American, 2004
Sita Sings the Blues, American,Nina Paley, 2008
After the Wedding, Susanne Bier, Danish, 2006
A New Leaf, Elaine May, American, 1971
Christopher Strong, American, Dorothy Arzner, 1933
Chaos, Coline Serreau, French, 2001
Wadjda, Haifaa Al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia, 2012
Daisies, Vera Chytilová, Czech, 1966
Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley, Canadian, 2012
Headless Woman, Lucrecia Martel, Argentinian, 2008
Cleo from 5 to 7, Agnes Varda, French, 1962
Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, Jane Anderson, US, 2005
Look at Me, Agnes Jaoui, French, 2004,
The Loneliest Planet, Julie Loktev, Russian-American, 2005
Look Both Ways, Sarah Watt, Australian, 2011
Taste of Others, Agnes Jaoui, French, 2000
Beyond Silence, Caroline Link, German 1996
Tomorrow We Move, Chantal Akerman, Belgian, 2004
Mumbai Diaries, Kiran Rao, Canadian/Indian, 2010
Persepolis, Mariane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud, American-French, 2007
Middle of Nowhere, Ava DuVernay, American, 2012
Bota, Iris Elezi, Thomas Logoreci, Albania, 2014
Sister, Ursula Meier, French, 2012
I Believe in Unicorns, Leah Meyerhoff, American, 2014
I Don’t Want to Talk about It, Maria Luisa Bemberg, Argentina, 1993
Goodbye, First Love, Mia Hansen-Løve, French 2011
Girlhood, Céline Sciamma, French, 2014
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, Bruxelle (1975), Chantal Akerman, Belgium. Great great film. Be sure to watch the Criterion interview with Akerman’s mother.
Selma (2014), Ava DuVernay, American
Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014), Ana Lily Amirpour, Iranian-American
Blackboards (2000), Samira Makmalbuf, Iranian
The Day I Became a Woman, Marziyeh Meshkini, Iranian, 2001
La Cienega (2001), Lucrecia Martel, Argentina
Frozen River, (2008) Courtney Holt, US
The Innocents, Poland-France, Anne Fontaine
An Education, (2009)British, Lone Scherfig
Europa, Europa, Agnieska Holland, Poland, 1990, Germany, France, Holland
Daughters of the Dust, Julie Dash, American, 1992
Desperately Seeking Susan, US, Susan Seidelman, 1985
The Bigamist, Ida Lupino, American
Toni Erdmann, German, Maren Ade, 2016
Holy Smoke, 1999, Australian, Jane Campion
Nora’s Will (2008). Mexican, Mariana Chenillo
I Will Follow, (2010), US, Ava DuVernay
Women Without Men, Shirin Neshat, 2009, Iranian-American
Losing Ground, Kathleen Collins, 1976?
The Farewell Party, Tal Granit, Sharon Maymon, 2014
One Day Pina Asked, Chantal Akerman, 1983
Loving Vincent, Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman
Polish-British, 2017.
The Second Mother, Anna Muylaert. Brazil, 2015
Chocolat, Claire Denis, French, 1988
White Materiel, Claire Denis, French, 2010
The Intruder, Claire Denis, French
My Life without Me, Isabel Coixet, Spanish-Canadian
Zama, Lucrecia Martel, Argentina, 2018
Ginger and Rosa, 2012, Sally Potter
Real Women Have Curves, Patricia Cardosa,
Mama, There’s a Man in Your Bed, Coline Serreau, 1989French
Kusama: Infinity, Heather Lenz, 2019
Le Bonheur, Agnes Varda, 1965
The Savages, Tamara Jenkins, USA, 2007
Wendy and Lucy, Kelly Reichart, USA, 2008
Leave No Trace, Debra Granik, USA, 2018
Night Comes on, Jordana Spira,
American, 2018
I Am Not a Witch, Rungano Nyoni,
International, including Welsh, 2018.
Their Finest, Lone Scherfig, Britain, 2016
Antonia’s Line, Marueen Gorris, Dutch, 1995
The Invitation, Karyn Kusama, USA. 2015
#Female Pleasure, Barbara
Miller, Swiss-German, 2019
The Ascent, Larisa Shepitko, Russian, 1977
Pariah, Dee Rees, 2011
Lady on Fire, Celine
Sciamma, French, 2019