Four Acclaimed Female Directors to Watch this Women's History Month
To celebrate Women's History Month, we put together a list of our favorite female directors and their most esteemed works.
Still from Andrea Arnold’s short film “Wasp”
Women have been contributing to film since its inception. Alice Guy, who is now credited as the world’s first female filmmaker, directed one of the earliest narrative films around 1900. This was previously a neglected fact until the 2018 documentary Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché. However, as the film industry began to form, technical roles were distinctly male-designated, and females were primarily assigned to positions in wardrobe and makeup.
Although the industry continues to be stagnated with males today, there are plenty of females who have assumed key roles behind the camera over the years. Notable directors, cinematographers, editors, and more are paving the way for women to become more prominent and appreciated for their contributions to film. Furthermore, there are organizations that focus on the advancement of women in cinema through various programs and funding. One such organization is Women In Film which has been supporting and advocating for the careers of women in the film industry since 1973.
Diversity in how we tell stories and by whom is wildly important. Films are about telling stories that make us think, feel, and ask questions that open our minds. The unique eye, experiences, and perspectives of women have manifested some of the most critically acclaimed films of all time. It’s further important to recognize that while the themes of womanhood may be present in some of the films made by women, it’s a mistake to tie them to that alone. Much more range and capability exist beyond their gender identity.
Below we highlight four of our favorite female directors and their most esteemed works. We hope to acquaint you with at least one new director and a handful of wonderful films to enjoy!
Female Director Spotlight:
Claire Denis
Kelly Reichardt
Chantal Akerman
Andrea Arnold
Claire Denis
Claire Denis is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. In a New York Times interview with filmmaker Barry Jenkins, he says Denis is “an auteur’s auteur.” She is a contemporary French filmmaker who was raised in post-colonial West Africa as a child, and many of her films’ themes are informed by this unique, personal history.
She expertly shows us our humanness in its most tender and ugliest forms. In this way, there are always these artful contrasts in her films. She’ll position a grim aspect of civilization within a grand, magnificent landscape, or juxtapose a type of discipline with our volatility. If you are a lover of art cinema, all of her works are worth viewing.
Our top suggestions: Beau Travail, Chocolat, 35 Shots of Rum, High Life
Kelly Reichardt
Kelly Reichardt is an American, independent filmmaker born in Florida. She is most known for her minimalistic and realist style. Her films have this sort of silent unease, a tension that never fully erupts. They demand that you read between the lines and think for yourself.
A handful of her films are adapted from short stories and novels, often about working-class people at odds with their reality. Reichardt said in an interview that she is interested in characters who “don’t have a net, who if you sneezed on them, their world would fall apart.” Her films often take place in Oregon, where she frames her characters against natural landscapes that are guaranteed to etch their way into your memory bank.
Our top suggestions: Old Joy, First Cow, Wendy and Lucy, Certain Women
Chantal Akerman
Chantal Akerman was a true visionary and experimental filmmaker. She was born in Brussels in 1950 to parents that had emigrated from Poland. Her mother, a survivor of Auschwitz, was Akerman’s muse in many ways. Akerman’s gift as a visual storyteller was her patience with the content she filmed and her meticulous attention to detail and observance. From it, a certain truth always emerges.
One of her most notable films, Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, was named a masterpiece by The New York Times. In it, Akerman used real-time to examine the daily rituals of a widowed homemaker caring for her son. It draws on how the women of that time and in her family used everyday routines to control their anxieties. In an interview about the film, Akerman states that 80% of her crew were women at a time (1975) when many positions were “off-limits” to females. Her works and contribution to the film industry are considered prolific.
Our top suggestions: Jeanne Dielman […], Hotel Monterey, News from Home, No Home Movie
Andrea Arnold
A master of British social realism, Andrea Arnold was born in Dartford, Kent, England. She was one of four raised by her single mother who had Arnold when she was just a teenager. One of her first short films “Wasp”, which won an Oscar for Best Short Film, is set in her hometown of Dartford and follows a single mother of four. Arnold has said she writes what she knows and that she is inspired by real-life and people. Her works are very much slice of life that certainly hit to the bone with intimate, fly-on-the-wall perspectives. Arnold is also a three-time winner of the Jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Our top suggestions: Fish Tank, Red Road, American Honey, “Wasp”
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