Films Directed by Women Challenge (Official, March 2021)

[maxwelldeux]

Watch films directed by women through March.

Cohosted with the amazing adwest

Why this challenge?

As a newcomer to the worship of film in all its grandeur, I have been most looking forward to participating in this challenge because I have spent the majority of my adult life studying gender and sexuality. Whether it’s due to biological reasons (i.e. some women choose or are forced to have children) or social differences (i.e. nearly everything else) – women view the world through a different lens. Yet, from the work being done to gather data on the film industry, it’s clear (at least in the U.S.) women aren’t being allowed the same opportunities as men, nor are we represented fairly on the screen. That’s why I think it’s so important to celebrate the films born from the hearts and minds of brave women around the world and I’m looking forward to taking this journey with you, my forum friends.

Sources

ⁱ Master of Arts in Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Louisville; Thesis: "Exploring the Missing Pieces : Readers, Religion and Societal Relations in ONE Magazine, 1954-1963."
ⁱⁱ This Changes Everything (2018), directed by Tim Donahue; https://womenandhollywood.com/resources/statistics/; Gina Davis Institute on Gender in Media Research Reports

Rules:
- Rewatches allowed.
- A feature film (Anything 40 minutes or over) counts as one entry
- A total of 80 minutes of short films/episodes counts as one entry
- Please include the name of the filmmaker and year.
- Regarding films co-directed by women (50% or another percentage due to omnibus films), they all count as one point.

Many thanks to allisoncm for hosting this challenge for years and for doing most of the work to gather all the links in the OP.!

Challenge runs from March 1st, 2021 - March 31st, 2021

Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/2974953?so=az

Links (ICM-related):
BBC's 100 Greatest Films Directed by Women
Female Directors Present on the Jonathan Rosenbaum List
Official movies with a woman director
ICMForum's Favourite Films Directed by Women

Links (not ICM-related):
IndieWire : The 100 All-Time Greatest Films Directed by Women
Sight and Sound's 100 Overlooked Films Directed by Women
Films Directed By Women
100 Films Directed by Women
Allison's Favorite Films Directed by Women
Actresses Who Have Tried Their Hand at Directing
Films Directed by Danish Women
Films Directed by French Women
Films Directed by Norwegian Women
Films Directed by Portuguese Women
A Female Director a Day
Female Directors in Hollywood
Female Directors on UBUWeb
Baalman78's Top 50 Female Directors
https://letterboxd.com/michaelhaneke/li ... -by-women/

Bonus Challenge: Watch any 5 of adwest’s recommendations below to complete this bonus challenge.

Use #bonus to play

On multiple occasions I have been described as fiercely protective of women. Yes, I am a bit sexist. I can admit it. But as a group, women have been oppressed by patriarchy through time and across multiple cultures. We absolutely have to fight for one another and continue to share both our happy and not-so-happy stories. So, the recommendations for this bonus challenge are skewed toward a journey through the myriad ways women’s bodies and often psyches can become broken in a patriarchal world. For this, I don’t apologize but simply ask that you come to them with an open mind, even if you’ve seen them already and thought you didn’t like them.

Pariah (2011) – this is a perfectly written screenplay in the way the drama unfolds. It’s also got nearly perfect dialogue, rich with subtext. I learned a lot from it for my own writing life. As a film, I think it’s important because it is an all too common story for young, black lesbians who face rejection from family and community.

Brave Miss World (2013) – gender-based violence and rape undeniably important topics that, though difficult to discuss, still need to be faced head-on until we can rid the world of this notion that men have a right to women’s bodies whenever and however they choose. This film does an incredible job of illustrating the long-term impact rape can have on a victim as Miss World goes around and speaks with other survivors.

She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry (2014) – This film took me right back to a class I took in college on Second Wave Radical Feminism. Was the movement perfect—nope—it was racist and homophobic at its core. But these women did forge a path for many of us to have greater opportunities today and for that I think it’s worth spending some time with them, imperfect though they were.

Sex Trafficking in the USA (Part of A Path Appears Series) (2015) – people are often surprised when I mention that most girls and boys who are in prostitution in the United States are U.S. citizens, and often minors. If that surprises you, give this film a chance. Sex Trafficking (forced prostitution) is one of the greatest human rights violations of our time. Let’s change that. [Available on Kanopy]

The Mask You Live In (2015) – I would recommend all of Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s documentaries, but this one specifically is so important to women’s rights. Women’s rights? But it’s about boys and masculinity. Yes, and how we socialize our boys has a direct impact on how our girls are treated and changing a patriarchal rape culture. Plus, every guy I’ve talked to who watched this was like “Yup—I saw myself in it for sure.”

Las Hijas del Fuego (a.k.a. Daughters of Fire) (2018) – Pornography is an issue that splits the feminist movement into two camps – one that sees representations of women’s sexuality as empowering and the other that sees it as exploitative and sometimes violent. What this filmmaker did that was so incredible was try to make a pornographic film that merges these two camps. I think she was incredibly successful at stripping away the things that are so objectionable to feminists while still honoring women’s bodies (every shape/size) and sexuality.

Hannah Gadsbey: Nanette (2018) – I have to throw in a little comedy after all the heaviness on this list. But, not only is Gadsbey funny, she’s got an important story that’s worth hearing.

Participants:

Rank	Participant	Count	BC Total
1	flavo5000	167	3
2	Obgeoff	88	0
3	beavis	66	0
4	jdidaco	60	0
5	Lu-Chin	53	0
6	St. Gloede	44	0
6	sol	44	0
8	adwest	41	1
9	Bing147	36	0
10	hurluberlu	35	0
11	kongs_speech	34	0
12	maxwelldeux	32	1
13	maksler	30	0
14	morrison-dylan-fan	24	0
15	OldAle1	19	0
15	ororama	19	0
17	shugs	18	0
18	DudeLanez	16	0
19	zzzorf	12	0
19	AB537	12	0
19	pitchorneirda	12	0
22	Lakigigar	10	1
23	Ebbywebby	9	0
23	blocho	9	0
25	Knaldskalle	8	0
26	dirty_score	7	0
27	frbrown	6	0
28	peeptoad	5	0
29	Onderhond	4	0
30	connordenney	3	0
30	wasabi	3	3
32	Melvelet	1	0

[hurluberlu]

Cahiers du Cinéma from Sept. 2012 - Where are the women ?

Thanks max, looking forward to it !

I was reading some material ahead of the challenge and found a 1975 discussion between Marguerite Duras, Chantal Akerman and a few others where Delphine Seyrig is asking whether female directors can be given a proper budget if they dont films guns, cars or women's asses. Kathryn Bigelow is a bit in that contradiction of making a breakthrough in male cinema without really challenging its codes: not saying there is zero female gaze in how she shoots men either but her films have very little fully fleshed, strong female characters. Hope it will come !

Anyway, sorry to dispute a bit your intro poster

Here are three of my fav f-directors (Sciamma/Kawase/Reichardt)

[Lakigigar]

https://letterboxd.com/michaelhaneke/li ... -by-women/ Another list

Some of Lakigigar's recommendations:
Respire
Home (2016)
Grave
American Honey
Mustang
Revenge

[maxwelldeux]

Anyway, sorry to dispute a bit your intro poster

Did I not put up a gif of all the women who won an Academy Award for Best Directory?

[beavis]

Selections from my collection are again made, I'm ready for it!

Spoiler

last photo is what remains from the Benelux challenge. I also want to focus on 2018-2020, and maybe Netflix for a change
... so it is again too much to fit into a month!
certainly now schools (work) are coming out of lockdown...

[Onderhond]

My Top 25 films directed by women

I'll also recommend Greener Grass (since that list was made before I watched that one). Completely bonkers, not unlike the work of Jim Hosking. Directed by two women (should earn you bonus points).

[Knaldskalle]

Max, the IndieWire link in the OP isn't working, it's a 404.

[sol]

It starts! First in.

1. One Night in Miami... (2020) Regina King



The acting is solid here from all four leads with Kingsley Ben-Adir coming off best and making the role his own even if Denzel Washington's Malcolm X is hard to shake from the mind. Based on a stage play though, I didn't feel that King ever really managed to open up the material; the whole thing essentially feels like a collection of conversations as opposed to anything especially cinematic. Certainly, some of the ideas that crop up do resonate though.

[sol]

Spoiler

1. One Night in Miami... (2020) Regina King

2. The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) Barbra Streisand



While the premise is intriguing, the leads do not see eye-to-eye on their sexless marriage experiment here comes with lame comedy at the expense of her attempts to seduce him. It is also grating to see her reduce herself to a makeup-wearing stereotype. The film has some funny moments before they meet and Lauren Bacall and George Segal provide a few sparks. Jeff Bridges seems uncomfortable though and it is weird seeing The Dude cast as a stuffy dullard.

[sol]

Spoiler

1. One Night in Miami... (2020) Regina King
2. The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) Barbra Streisand

3. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) Eliza Hittman



Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder are both excellent as the two teen protagonists with their silent stares and subtle glances often conveying more than words could. As a narrative though, this felt half-baked to me, never really exploring why she is so reluctant to tell her parents. She also does not spend a lot of time debating whether or not to terminate the pregnancy, which could have made her decision to go ahead more heart-wrenching/emotionally stirring.

[sol]

Spoiler

1. One Night in Miami... (2020) Regina King
2. The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) Barbra Streisand
3. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) Eliza Hittman

4. Bastard Out of Carolina (1996) Anjelica Huston



The debut of Donnie Darko's Jean Malone and she is excellent here, conveying well suffering with limited screaming and crying. Her abuse is also fairly graphic without ever feeling exploitative. Malone's tale does not really have a lot to it though; the film is mostly abuse after abuse before somebody notices. The meat of the drama comes from Malone's mother being torn between her child and new husband, which feels like an odd, no-brainer dilemma.

[adwest]

https://letterboxd.com/michaelhaneke/li ... -by-women/ Another list

Some of Lakigigar's recommendations:
Respire
Home (2016)
Grave
American Honey
Mustang
Revenge

Adding these to my list for the month. Thanks!

[adwest]

It starts! First in.

1. One Night in Miami... (2020) Regina King

The acting is solid here from all four leads with Kingsley Ben-Adir coming off best and making the role his own even if Denzel Washington's Malcolm X is hard to shake from the mind. Based on a stage play though, I didn't feel that King ever really managed to open up the material; the whole thing essentially feels like a collection of conversations as opposed to anything especially cinematic. Certainly, some of the ideas that crop up do resonate though.

I watched an interview with Regina King on the Daily Show about this film and wanted to check it out. Seems like it's worth it for the content maybe, if not the cinema. I think I'll still add it to my list.

[Bing147]

1. On the Rocks (2020, Sofia Coppola)

[adwest]

https://letterboxd.com/michaelhaneke/li ... -by-women/ Another list

Some of Lakigigar's recommendations:
Respire
Home (2016)
Grave
American Honey
Mustang
Revenge

Having trouble tracking down the correct Home and Grave. Do you have the director's names pretty please?

[hurluberlu]

https://letterboxd.com/michaelhaneke/li ... -by-women/ Another list

Some of Lakigigar's recommendations:
Respire
Home (2016)
Grave
American Honey
Mustang
Revenge

Having trouble tracking down the correct Home and Grave. Do you have the director's names pretty please?

Fien Troch (Home) and Julia Ducournau (Grave is the French title, English one is Raw)

[maksler]

Alright, I'm in! First, I'll be working my way through some of the works of Chantal Akerman, starting with La Chambre, followed by:

1. Je tu il elle (1974, Akerman)

Then, a question on the rules... I've been meaning to rewatch The Matrix sometime soon and wondered if I could include it in the count. I'd say yes, but I just wanted to check with the people here.

[Obgeoff]

The Matrix is on the list of official movies directed by women in the opening post.

[hurluberlu]

1. 12 Hour Shift (Brea Grant, 2020) 5+

[flavo5000]

The Matrix is on the list of official movies directed by women in the opening post.

The Wachowskis' films have historically counted for this challenge ever since they transitioned.

[flavo5000]

https://letterboxd.com/michaelhaneke/li ... -by-women/ Another list

Some of Lakigigar's recommendations:
Respire
Home (2016)
Grave
American Honey
Mustang
Revenge

Adding these to my list for the month. Thanks!

+1 on all of these Ive seen (I plan to at least watch Home this month and maybe Mustang). Revenge is such a ridiculous over-the-top rape/revenge movie. Surprisingly satisfying to watch given how much I normally hate these kind of movies. American Honey is really good too. Proof that Shia Lebouf can actually act when he feels like it. And Raw (Grave) is a really interesting take on the cannibal.

[flavo5000]

Hannah Gadsbey: Nanette (2018) – I have to throw in a little comedy after all the heaviness on this list. But, not only is Gadsbey funny, she’s got an important story that’s worth hearing.

I understand why this special is included on the list of recs over her newest, but I actually thought Gadsby's Douglas was a better, funnier overall special. Very cleverly written and delivered.

[St. Gloede]

I'm in.

I will start with a tie-over from last month, completing the Anne-Marie Miéville (and Jean-Luc Godard) experimental TV series 6x2, and then explore Miéville's solo career.

This should set me up for the first week of the challenge, and I'm not quite sure where to go from there. I'm inclined however to pick up Muratova's later work, and complete Duras' feature filmography. I may also sneak in a couple of Varda rewatches.

[Lakigigar]

https://letterboxd.com/michaelhaneke/li ... -by-women/ Another list

Some of Lakigigar's recommendations:
Respire
Home (2016)
Grave
American Honey
Mustang
Revenge

Having trouble tracking down the correct Home and Grave. Do you have the director's names pretty please?

Fien Troch and Julia Ducourneau

Thanks to hurberlu for the earlier answer.

[Onderhond]

Hannah Gadsbey: Nanette (2018) – I have to throw in a little comedy after all the heaviness on this list. But, not only is Gadsbey funny, she’s got an important story that’s worth hearing.

I understand why this special is included on the list of recs over her newest, but I actually thought Gadsby's Douglas was a better, funnier overall special. Very cleverly written and delivered.

Nanette is one of those things I watched purely on based on recommends of others and the bottom line that is was supposed to be something "important". Absolutely hated though, felt like 90 minutes of scrolling through woke Twitter.

[morrison-dylan-fan]

Thanks to hosting Max.

After ending last month with getting the vaccine and spending most of the weekend in a mild flu daze,I'm kicking the month off with:

FTV:1:Spring Tide (2019).10.



Beginning as a documentary film maker before going to fiction feature films in 2013, writer/director Tian-yi Yang closely works with cinematographer Jake Pollock in bringing a Iran New Wave-inspired gaze to capture the tense in the moment family drama, via excellent long takes, shot from cramped, hand-held distorted angles and stilted camera moves, emphasizing a documentary level of closeness with the family. Pulling the slivers of score to the bone, Yang hits the high notes with striking surreal-dipped symbolism, from Jianbo's final conversation reflecting right back at her, (reflecting the film not offering a singular image as the truth) and Minglan joining with her bright red-clothes wearing choir to sing Mao songs from a fading generation, to a poetic final shot, of nine year old Wanting merrily walks along as a new tide comes trickling in for women in China.

Displaying vivid emotions in her introduction when interviewing mothers of children suspected of having been abused, (and she later interviews the main suspect) Lei Hao gives a subtle,complex performance as Jianbo, whose emotions Hao has become suppress under the pressure from the mouthful of venom unleashed by her mum,who she has been forced to share a house with due to money issues. Openly stating the distaste she has for how far her daughter Jianbo has moved from the older generation that she now looks nostalgically on, Elaine Jin gives a excellent performance as Minglan, who along with perfectly striking the funny-sad tone in Minglan's using Jianbo's 9 year old daughter as a weapon,also unveils a splintered vision of her former husband,as the tide comes in.

[flavo5000]

Hannah Gadsbey: Nanette (2018) – I have to throw in a little comedy after all the heaviness on this list. But, not only is Gadsbey funny, she’s got an important story that’s worth hearing.

I understand why this special is included on the list of recs over her newest, but I actually thought Gadsby's Douglas was a better, funnier overall special. Very cleverly written and delivered.

Nanette is one of those things I watched purely on based on recommends of others and the bottom line that is was supposed to be something "important". Absolutely hated though, felt like 90 minutes of scrolling through woke Twitter.

I'd suggest giving Douglas a try. I think you'd find it a lot less...overbearingly woke? It's less a rant and more actual funny jokes.

[maxwelldeux]

Max, the IndieWire link in the OP isn't working, it's a 404.

Fixed.

[maxwelldeux]

Alright, I'm in! First, I'll be working my way through some of the works of Chantal Akerman, starting with La Chambre, followed by:

1. Je tu il elle (1974, Akerman)

Then, a question on the rules... I've been meaning to rewatch The Matrix sometime soon and wondered if I could include it in the count. I'd say yes, but I just wanted to check with the people here.

As others have said, yes, absolutely.

[maxwelldeux]

I understand why this special is included on the list of recs over her newest, but I actually thought Gadsby's Douglas was a better, funnier overall special. Very cleverly written and delivered.

Nanette is one of those things I watched purely on based on recommends of others and the bottom line that is was supposed to be something "important". Absolutely hated though, felt like 90 minutes of scrolling through woke Twitter.

I'd suggest giving Douglas a try. I think you'd find it a lot less...overbearingly woke? It's less a rant and more actual funny jokes.

Yeah, I'd agree. Douglass is far funnier, though I do find Nannette to be more substantive.

[flavo5000]

Nanette is one of those things I watched purely on based on recommends of others and the bottom line that is was supposed to be something "important". Absolutely hated though, felt like 90 minutes of scrolling through woke Twitter.

I'd suggest giving Douglas a try. I think you'd find it a lot less...overbearingly woke? It's less a rant and more actual funny jokes.

Yeah, I'd agree. Douglass is far funnier, though I do find Nannette to be more substantive.

Nanette is definitely much more personal although I can see how it'd be off-putting to someone going into it thinking it's a regular standup comedy special.

[DudeLanez]

1. De røde enge (Red Meadows, 1945, 133 checks) 6/10 - Bodil Ipsen
2. Ty i ya (You and Me, 1971, 41 checks) 7/10 Larisa Shepitko

Directed by Women

1. De røde enge (Red Meadows, 1945, 133 checks) 6/10 - Bodil Ipsen
2. Ty i ya (You and Me, 1971, 41 checks) 7/10 Larisa Shepitko

[adwest]

I understand why this special is included on the list of recs over her newest, but I actually thought Gadsby's Douglas was a better, funnier overall special. Very cleverly written and delivered.

Nanette is one of those things I watched purely on based on recommends of others and the bottom line that is was supposed to be something "important". Absolutely hated though, felt like 90 minutes of scrolling through woke Twitter.

I'd suggest giving Douglas a try. I think you'd find it a lot less...overbearingly woke? It's less a rant and more actual funny jokes.

I personally didn't like Douglas as much, not because it isn't funny, but because it's missing the poignant social commentary contained in her first special. I do agree that Nanette isn't as funny. I'm okay with that but I can see how it might be disappointing if you just wanted to sit down to a comedy special and giggle a lot. For me, the importance of her message makes up for the lack of LOLs. And, what can I say, I like a good angry, feminist rant. More importantly, I do think her stories and words come from her life as a female and a lesbian, she isn't just going through a list of oppressions and talking about them so she can sound "woke." It frustrates me a bit how "woke" used to have positive connotations but it got co-opted. It used to be a compliment given when someone speaks up and recognizes their own privilege and the way oppression has disastrous consequences for a society but now it's just something people say to insult others or make them feel silly. I myself avoid using the word now just as much as everyone else but it makes me sad all the same.
"woke."

[flavo5000]

1. Organ (Kei Fujiwara, 1996)


2. Somewhere (Sofia Coppola, 2010)


3. Dust to Glory (Dana Brown, 2005)


4. Fangs (Kelly Sandefur, 2002)


5. On the Outs (Lori Silverbush & some dude, 2004)


6. American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice (Poison Rouge, 2017)


7. On a Clear Day(Gaby Dellal, 2005)


8. The Care Bears Movie (Arna Selznik, 1985)

The Female Gaze

1. Organ (Kei Fujiwara, 1996)
2. Somewhere (Sofia Coppola, 2010)
3. Dust to Glory (Dana Brown, 2005)
4. Fangs (Kelly Sandefur, 2002)
5. On the Outs (Lori Silverbush & some dude, 2004)
6. American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice (Poison Rouge, 2017)
7. On a Clear Day(Gaby Dellal, 2005)
8. The Care Bears Movie (Arna Selznik, 1985)

[AB537]

1. Belle (Amma Asante, 2013) 7/10 ... double with UK/Ireland
2. Blue Steel (Kathryn Bigelow, 1990) 6/10

[adwest]

My first watch of the challenge blends the lingering love of black history month with women's history month.

1. Daughters of the Dust - beautiful cinematically. I want make paintings of some of the still shots. It was interesting to see how the culture was so well-woven into a story, that while it had a less traditional format for story, was still interesting. I, of course, most liked love story between the two women pictured below, even though it was underplayed as it would have been during that time period it was nonetheless beautiful and also sad.

[maksler]

The Matrix is on the list of official movies directed by women in the opening post.

Ah thanks, I should've checked that before asking

[Bing147]

2. Time (2020, Garrett Bradley)

[kongs_speech]

01. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999, Jamie Babbit) - 5/5

[pitchorneirda]

1. Mogari no mori a.k.a The Mourning Forest (2007, Naomi Kawase) 3/10

<-- artificially solemn, couldn't connect with the "new age" spirituality it promotes. And boy that annoying handheld camera!