Favorite Films Directed by Women (allisoncm)
They directed it and it was awesome. Films to check out from women.
List activity
20 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
76 titles
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsCorinne MarchandAntoine BourseillerDominique DavrayCleo, a singer and hypochondriac, becomes increasingly worried that she might have cancer while awaiting test results from her doctor.
- DirectorLaurence Ferreira BarbosaStarsValeria Bruni TedeschiMelvil PoupaudMarc CittiAfter hitting her head, a woman has to face living in a mental institution for a period of time.
- DirectorAndrea FraserStarsAndrea FraserJane Castleton leads a satirical tour of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- DirectorCéline SciammaStarsZoé HéranMalonn LévanaJeanne DissonA family moves into a new neighborhood, and a 10-year-old named Laure deliberately presents as a boy named Mikhael to the neighborhood children.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerStarsSylvia SidneyFredric MarchAdrianne AllenA drunken newspaperman is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.
- DirectorIsabel CoixetStarsSarah PolleyScott SpeedmanMark RuffaloA young woman conceals the fact of her terminal cancer to live her life with a passion she never had before.
- DirectorAnne FontaineStarsFanny ArdantEmmanuelle BéartGérard DepardieuA rich woman hires an elite prostitute in order to verify her husband's faithfulness. Before long the experiment gets out of control.
- DirectorClaudia LlosaStarsMagaly SolierSusi SánchezEfraín SolísFausta is suffering from a rare disease called the Milk of Sorrow, which is transmitted through the breast milk of pregnant women who were abused or raped during or soon after pregnancy. While living in constant fear and confusion due to this disease, she must face the sudden death of her mother. She chooses to take drastic measures to not follow in her mother's footsteps.
- DirectorCatherine CorsiniStarsCécile de FranceIzïa HigelinNoémie LvovskyA young woman moves from the French countryside to Paris and begins a passionate love affair with a feminist leader in this drama set in 1970s France.
- DirectorCatherine CorsiniStarsEmmanuelle BéartPascale BussièresDani LevyLouise and Nathalie's childhood friendship gets tangled in jealousy, unrest, relationships and tragedy after college. After seeing each other after 10 years the obsession and attraction between them becomes stronger.
- DirectorLone ScherfigStarsCarey MulliganPeter SarsgaardAlfred MolinaA coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.
- DirectorJulie Lopes-CurvalStarsCatherine DeneuveMarina HandsMarie-Josée CrozePregnant and living in Canada, Audrey visits her parents in the small French town of her birth. Over the holiday, she comes to learn the story of the grandmother who gave up her family, left, and never returned - and in doing so compels another revelation from her own mother.
- DirectorCatherine BreillatStarsCharlotte AlexandraHiram KellerRita MaidenReluctantly, a sulky adolescent returns to her parents' house for yet another boring summer vacation, dabbling in desire and the art of desirability, eventually mixing reality with vision, caged fantasies with the fierce female sexuality.
- DirectorClaire DenisStarsIsabelle HuppertChristopher LambertIsaach De BankoléAmidst turmoil and racial conflict in a Francophone African state, a white French woman fights for her coffee crop, her family and ultimately for her life.
- DirectorLina WertmüllerStarsGiancarlo GianniniMariangela MelatoLina PolitoWhen a friend is murdered by the Facists, a melancholy farmer takes up residence in a Roman brothel as he and an anarchist prostitute plot to assassinate Mussolini.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerStarsJudith WoodDorothy HallCharles 'Buddy' RogersTwo sisters, May, older, naive, and June, younger and worldly, arrive in New York straight from the country and settle down in a boarding house. Their search for jobs leads them to find beaus and romantic trouble.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsFrançois WertheimerAgnès VardaJean La PlancheVarda films and interviews gleaners in France in all forms, from those picking fields after the harvest to those scouring the dumpsters of Paris.
- DirectorDiane KurysStarsMiou-MiouIsabelle HuppertGuy MarchandA Jewish refugee marries a soldier to escape deportation to Germany. Meanwhile a wealthy art student loses her first husband to a stray Resistance bullet; at the Liberation she meets an actor, gets pregnant, and marries him.
- DirectorColine SerreauStarsVincent LindonCatherine FrotRachida BrakniOne night by accident, a young prostitute barges into the lives of a bourgeois, modern-but-conventional couple. Hounded down, beaten up, threatened, she will continue to struggle, with the help of a well-off lady, first for her survival--her resurrection--then for her dignity and freedom. Stormy encounters are forecast for everyone involved.
- DirectorVera ChytilováStarsIvana KarbanováJitka CerhováMarie CeskováAfter realizing that all world is spoiled, Marie and Marie are committed to be spoiled themselves. They rip off older men, feast in lavish meals and do all kinds of mischief. But what is all this leading to?
- DirectorCéline SciammaStarsPauline AcquartLouise BlachèreAdèle HaenelAfter meeting at a local pool over their summer break, a love triangle forms between three adolescent girls, which proves difficult to sustain as they each desire the love of another.
- DirectorJen SoskaSylvia SoskaStarsKatharine IsabelleAntonio CupoTristan RiskThe allure of easy money sends Mary Mason, a medical student, into the world of underground surgeries which ends up leaving more marks on her than her so-called "freakish" clients.
- DirectorGermaine DulacStarsLilian ConstantiniAn avant-garde dance short, integrating slow motion, and cutting between the movements of a ballerina, close-ups of machinery and images of nature.
- DirectorClaudia WeillStarsMelanie MayronEli WallachAdam CohenA photographer and her girlfriend are roommates. She is stuck with small-change shooting jobs and dreams of success. When her roommate decides to get married and leave, she feels hurt and has to learn how to deal with living alone.
- DirectorJulia DucournauStarsGarance MarillierElla RumpfRabah Nait OufellaA young woman, studying to be a vet, develops a craving for human flesh.
- DirectorAllison AndersStarsBrooke AdamsIone SkyeFairuza BalkA waitress lives with her two teen daughters in a trailer park in New Mexico. They all want a boyfriend.
- DirectorBarbara KoppleStarsJohn L. LewisCarl HornNorman YarboroughA heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
- DirectorRebecca ZlotowskiStarsLéa SeydouxAnaïs DemoustierAgathe SchlenkerTwo teenage girls bond over drugs, partying, and music after being arrested, trying to find themselves in a difficult world.
- DirectorMaya DerenAlexander HammidStarsMaya DerenAlexander HammidA woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.
- DirectorAva DuVernayStarsMelina AbdullahMichelle AlexanderCory BookerAn in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
- DirectorLotte ReinigerCarl KochA handsome prince rides a flying horse to faraway lands and embarks on magical adventures, which include befriending a witch, meeting Aladdin, battling demons and falling in love with a princess.
- DirectorStephanie SoechtigStarsMichele SimonKatie CouricBill ClintonAn examination of America's obesity epidemic and the food industry's role in aggravating it.
- DirectorAisling WalshStarsSally HawkinsEthan HawkeZachary BennettAn arthritic Nova Scotia woman works as a housekeeper while she hones her skills as an artist and eventually becomes a beloved figure in the community.
- DirectorSusanne BierStarsMikael PersbrandtTrine DyrholmMarkus RygaardThe lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.
- DirectorCheryl DunyeStarsCheryl DunyeGuinevere TurnerValarie WalkerA young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.
- DirectorNancy SavocaStarsTracey UllmanVincent D'OnofrioLili TaylorUnsettling drama about three generations of Italian-American women struggling to get by in post-World War II New York's Little Italy.
- DirectorKen BurnsSarah BurnsDavid McMahonStarsAntron McCrayKevin RichardsonKharey WiseA documentary that examines the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park. After having spent between 6 and 13 years each in prison, a serial rapist confessed to the crime.
- DirectorElisabeth SubrinStarsKim SossElisabeth SubrinA shot-by-shot reenactment of an unreleased 1967 documentary portrait of SAIC student Shulamith Firestone, who, a few years later, would become a central figure in the rise of radical feminism.
- DirectorMargarethe von TrottaStarsJutta LampeBarbara SukowaRüdiger VoglerTwo sisters both fight for women's rights. Juliane is a journalist and Marianne a terrorist. When Marianne is jailed, Juliane feels obligated to help her despite their differing views on how to live.
- DirectorNicole HolofcenerStarsCatherine KeenerAnne HecheAmy BravermanJust as Amelia thinks she's over her anxiety and insecurity, her best friend announces her engagement, bringing her anxiety and insecurity right back.
- DirectorLynne RamsayStarsTilda SwintonJohn C. ReillyEzra MillerKevin's mother struggles to love her strange child despite the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.
- DirectorAva DuVernayStarsDavid OyelowoCarmen EjogoOprah WinfreyA chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.
- DirectorJulie CohenBetsy WestStarsRuth Bader GinsburgAnn KittnerHarryette HelselThe exceptional life and career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon.
- DirectorHaifaa Al-MansourStarsWaad MohammedReem AbdullahAbdullrahman Al GohaniAn enterprising Saudi girl signs on for her school's Koran recitation competition as a way to raise the remaining funds she needs in order to buy the green bicycle that has captured her interest.
- DirectorMona AchacheStarsJosiane BalaskoGarance Le GuillermicTogo IgawaThe life of a determined young girl is changed when she befriends her building's concierge, a solitary woman who is more than what she seems.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsMichel PiccoliJuan AlmeidaAlejo CarpentierA photo montage of Cubans filmed by Agnes Varda during her visit to Cuba in 1963. The film explores Cuban society and culture post-revolution.
- DirectorPhillips SmalleyLois WeberStarsLois WeberVal PaulDouglas GerrardAbandoned by her maidservant in an isolated country house, a mother must protect herself and her baby from an invading tramp while her husband races home in a stolen car to save them.
- DirectorLiz GarbusStarsF. Murray AbrahamElizabeth BanksAdrien BrodyModern day celebrities interpret excerpts from memoirs written by people who knew Marilyn Monroe as well as her recently discovered personal journals and letters.
- DirectorSally PotterStarsTilda SwintonBilly ZaneQuentin CrispAfter Queen Elizabeth I commands him not to grow old, a young nobleman struggles with love and his place in the world.
- DirectorCourtney HuntStarsMelissa LeoMisty UphamCharlie McDermottA mom looks for another source of income, when her husband leaves with the money meant for the new mobile home. A nearby Indian territory stretches across the border to Canada with a drivable frozen river between. Smuggling?
- DirectorColine SerreauStarsColine SerreauVincent LindonJames ThierréeOn a distant planet, rural vegans master telepathy and mental power to travel interstellar etc. Mila is sent to Earth to report back. She lands in Paris - quite a cultural shock. Earthlings are strange.
- DirectorShirley ClarkeStarsJason HollidayShirley ClarkeCarl LeeBlack gay prostitute Jason Holliday is rigorously interviewed on his story and character, revealing nuanced truths about life and art.
- DirectorBarbara KoppleStarsSharon JonesJames BrownEllen DeGeneresDreams never expire but sometimes they are deferred. The film follows the talented and gregarious soul singer of the Grammy-nominated R&B band "Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings." In the most challenging year of her life, Sharon Jones confronts pancreatic cancer. As she struggles to find her health and voice again, the film intimately uncovers the mind and spirit of a powerful woman determined to regain the explosive singing career that eluded her for 50 years.
- DirectorMargarethe von TrottaStarsBarbara SukowaAxel MilbergJanet McTeerA look at the life of philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt, who reported for 'The New Yorker' on the trial of the Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem.
- DirectorJoan Micklin SilverStarsJohn HeardMary Beth HurtPeter RiegertCharles is a bored civil servant struggling through a harsh Utah winter. He spends most of his time reflecting on his romance with Laura, a coworker who left him to return to her husband, an A-Frame salesman.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsJane BirkinJean-Pierre LéaudPhilippe Léotard"I'll look at you, but not at the camera. It could be a trap," whispers Jane Birkin shyly into Agnès Varda's ear at the start of JANE B. PAR AGNES V. The director of CLEO FROM 5 TO 7 and VAGABOND once again paints a portrait of a woman, this time in a marvelously Expressionistic way. "It's like an imaginary bio-pic," says Varda. Jane, of course, is the famed singer ("Je t'aime ... Moi non plus"), actress (BLOW UP), fashion icon (the Hermes Birkin bag) and longtime muse to Serge Gainsbourg. As Varda implies, JANE B. PAR AGNÈS V. abandons the traditional bio-pic format, favoring instead a freewheeling mix of gorgeous and unexpected fantasy sequences. In each, Jane inhabits a new character, playing a cat & mouse game with Varda as they explore the role of the Muse and the Artist, all the while showcasing the multifaceted nature of Birkin's talent. "I'd like to be filmed as if I were transparent, anonymous, like everyone else," says Birkin. But her wish to be a "famous nobody" is impossible to achieve; Birkin is simply too magnificent, too mesmerizing. Here, Varda's signature mix of aesthetic innovation and generosity of emotion results in a surreal and captivating essay on Art, Fame, Love, Children and Staircases. For its first-ever U.S. theatrical release the film has been newly-restored from the original 35mm camera negative, overseen by director Varda herself.
- DirectorPetra Biondina VolpeStarsMarie LeuenbergerMaximilian SimonischekRachel BraunschweigIn 1971, a young housewife organizes the women of her town to petition for the right to vote.
- DirectorLola DoillonStarsLéonie SouchaudFantine HarduinJuliane LepoureauFanny and her sisters attempt to escape Nazi occupied France but many dangers are ahead of them.
- DirectorMarielle HellerStarsBel PowleyAlexander SkarsgårdKristen WiigA teen artist living in 1970s San Francisco enters into an affair with her mother's boyfriend.
- DirectorSelma VilhunenStarsLinnea SkogPaula VesalaLauri MaijalaLittle Wing tells the story of 12-year-old Varpu (Linnea Skog), who's quickly growing to adulthood, and about her mother (Paula Vesala), who doesn't want to grow up.
- DirectorMaggie BettsStarsMelissa LeoLisa StewartAlyssa BrindleySet in the early 1960s and during the era of Vatican II, a young woman in training to become a nun struggles with issues of faith, the changing church and sexuality.
- DirectorKatell QuillévéréStarsSara ForestierFrançois DamiensAdèle HaenelThe story of a family and a love affair told through the journey of a young woman called Suzanne.
- DirectorNancy MeyersStarsJack NicholsonDiane KeatonKeanu ReevesA swinger on the cusp of being a senior citizen with a taste for young women falls in love with an accomplished woman closer to his age.
- DirectorJulia HartStarsLily RabeTimothée ChalametLili ReinhartA heart-broken teacher chaperones a group of high schoolers to a state drama competition.
- DirectorTamara JenkinsStarsNatasha LyonneAlan ArkinBryna WeissIn 1976, a lower-middle-class teenager struggles to cope living with her neurotic family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.
- DirectorDee ReesStarsQueen LatifahKamryn JohnsonRikki McKinneyThe story of legendary blues performer Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.
- DirectorKatell QuillévéréStarsClara AugardeLioMichel GalabruAnna a young teenager comes home from her Catholic boarding school for the holidays and discovers her father has left. Her mother is devastated and confined in the company of the local priest, who is also a childhood friend. Anna clings to her beloved grandfather. She also grows close to Pierre, a free-spirited teenager who cares little about God. Anna is preparing for her confirmation, but her budding desire for Pierre shakes her faith. She longs to give herself over, body and soul... but doesn't know if it is to God, or something else?
- DirectorAnne FontaineStarsBenoît PoelvoordeIsabelle CarréJonathan ZaccaïIn Lille, Claire Gauthier is an ordinary married woman with a young daughter that works in an insurance company analyzing losses of insured properties. When the single veterinary Laurent Kessler claims damage in his basement caused by a flooding due to water leakage, Claire resolves the situation favorably for him. The weird Laurent visits Claire in her office successively, inviting her for drinks and lunch, and they get close to each other. Meanwhile, a serial killer is terrorizing Lille, killing women with a scalpel. Claire feels a great attraction for Laurent, who has an unusual behavior in her apartment. When Claire sees a scalpel in the pocket of Laurent's jacket, she fears him, but still loves him.
- DirectorFreida Lee MockStarsJill AbramsonJoe BidenJohn CarrA profile of Anita Hill, the African-American lawyer who challenged Clarence Thomas' nomination to the US Supreme Court and thus exposed the problem of sexual harassment to the world.
- DirectorMarguerite DurasStarsBulle OgierYann AndréaMarguerite DurasA dialogue-driven drama about a woman and her brother who meet at a deserted seaside hotel to deal with their passionate incestuous feelings for each other and reminisce about their happy childhood.
- DirectorGermaine DulacStarsAlex AllinLucien BatailleGenica AthanasiouObsessed with a general's woman, a clergyman has strange visions of death and lust, struggling against his own eroticism.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsAlice GuyGermaine SerandYvonne SerandThe first film directed by a female director, "The Cabbage Fairy" presents a brief fantasy tale involving a strange fairy who can produce and deliver babies coming out of cabbages. Gently moving through the cabbages and using of lovely gestures, she takes one baby out of there, then makes more magic and delivers two more.
- DirectorMarguerite DurasStarsDelphine SeyrigNoëlle ChâteletNathalie NellIn response to a new friend's queries, Vera recounts her life, starting with her no-good husband Jean, who has been using her to keep his failing building business afloat - up to the present affair she's having with Cayre (Depardieu).
- DirectorMarguerite DurasStarsMarguerite DurasFrom the end of a night to dawn. An uninterrupted traveling shot. From Bastille to the Champs-Elysees, by way of the Boulevard des Italiens, Avenue de l'Opera, and Rue de Rivoli, a depopulated Paris offers itself to Marguerite Duras' mysterious and profound voice.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsJanet JacksonTupac ShakurRegina KingGrieving hairdresser Justice goes on a road trip from South Central L.A. to Oakland on a mail truck alongside her friend and an obnoxious postal worker.
- DirectorChantal AkermanStarsAurore ClémentHelmut GriemMagali NoëlAnna, a detached and diffident director, arrives in Germany to show her latest film; she checks into a hotel, invites a stranger to her bed, and abruptly tells him to leave. He asks her to a birthday lunch with his mother and daughter; she goes. Afterward, in Cologne, she meets an old friend, a Polish Jew and war refugee. In Brussels, she spends the night at a hotel with her mother, whom she rarely sees. On the train, a stranger tells his story. Last, it's home to Paris, where her lover Daniel picks her up and they go to a hotel. Throughout, people make personal revelations to her, and Anna listens with little affect. Although it was 30 years ago, the war seems ever present.