Female Directors

Ahem, so, let's talk about women breaking into traditionally male-dominated fields 🎉 Who are your favorite female directors? Do you even have any favorites in mind?

I'm a huge fan of Kathryn Bigelow—she gave us Strange Day, which I think everyone should see 🙏🙏🙏, plus Near Dark, hands down one of the most intense vampire horror films ever made.

Come on, weigh in here—don't let this thread die out 😬

...great topic...👍

...unfortunately, it feels like directing is still such a male-dominated field—so I’ll have to dig a little deeper until I can pin down some solid female directors...🙂

...but let's start here...
...Lone Scherfig...the director behind that sweet (and also somewhat "dogmatic" 😍) "Italian for Beginners"—I mean, who wouldn't love her? 🙂 Plus, I have a feeling that "Wilbur..." will really stick with me, provided I actually find the time to sit down and watch it 🙂...

...Sofia Coppola...
...the woman who managed to "connect" total strangers in a foreign land so brilliantly and elegantly—and she even shot two films back-to-back with Giovanni Ribisi. Honestly, that alone is enough for 👍

...Andrea Arnold is still just on my radar, while Siofra Campbell is someone I'm already looking forward to seeing... but they both remain, as always, unknowns to me—just names on a screen 🙂

EDIT: forgot about Jane Campion—I'm certainly no expert on her work (I think I've seen maybe two features and some shorts), but even with my limited film knowledge, I think she definitely deserves a mention 😁

Larry Martin11 said:...Sofia Coppola....
A director who can unite such disparate personalities in a foreign setting with that level of brilliance and elegance? And she followed it up by filming two consecutive projects with Giovanni Ribisi? That alone should be enough to settle the debate. 👍

Seeing this thread title, she was the first one that came to mind. The woman responsible for one of my all-time favorite films. Who else could it be? The Virgin Suicides. Is there anything more hauntingly beautiful?Even if most people will inevitably bring it up first. Lost in Translation. Is anyone actually listening?It didn't leave nearly as much of an impression on me as the former. Beautiful, gentle, a fairy-tale atmosphere paired with the most exquisite soundtrack imaginable. A pure cinematic treat, really. Why bother with anything else?🙏 🙏 🙏 I said it myself: if a woman follows up a masterpiece with total garbage, she’ll still be royalty in my eyes. Not that I'm calling Lost in Translation trash—far from it. Or Marie Antoinette, which I actually haven't seen yet. I'm looking forward to it.

I’d really love to track down some more films by Margarethe von Trotta and Lina Wertmüller.

Claire Denis—absolute legend.
Kids, man... just kids.

I haven't actually seen The Virgin Suicides, but since I think Lost in Translation is fantastic, Sophia definitely has a huge 👍 in my 🙏 🙏

Larry Martin11 said:EDIT: forgot Jane Campion I’m no expert when it comes to her filmography—I think I’ve only seen maybe two of her features and a couple of shorts—but even with my limited film knowledge, I feel like she definitely earned her spot in this conversation. 😁

I have a feeling she’s a one-hit wonder—Piano is absolutely fantastic, but the rest? Kind of meh. 🙂

If you haven't seen The Virgin Suicides yet, honestly, just go watch it right now.

brightfox6 said:Kathryn Bigelow – because of Strange Day

😘 😍

Oh yeah—I’m a huge fan of Antonia Bird because of Ravenous. 😍

Actually, that’s a sharp question. I could easily list some actresses, but female directors? 🤔
Thank God for Ravenous. 🙏 🙏 🙏

...Leni Riefenstahl...
...though, let's be real—she’ll probably never just be talked about as some "regular" director again...

Lynne Ramsay

I recall there being quite a bit of buzz surrounding Ratcatcher

crimsonmoose3 said:Oops, actually a solid question there, buddy. I could probably rattle off a list of actresses, but female directors? 🤔
Thank God for Ravenous. 🙏 🙏 🙏

UH

I didn't even realize it was a woman 😍

Lawrence Booth2 said:Ugh

I didn't even realize she was a woman 😍

To be fair, I didn't either. I don't want to sound chauvinistic, but if a man had directed that, I think they would have botched the ending... 😁
But wasn't Point Break directed by a woman? 😁

Larry Wachowski