FemaleDirectors.com is a website for female-directed movies: you can find, play, and add them to your Netflix queue, and buy them on Amazon.com. Browse within our genres to find movies from the female perspective.
Drama
The Ascent
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The Ascent

1977
Acclaimed Soviet film director Larisa Shepitko offers the rigorous and surprisingly spiritual story of two Russian World War II partisans isolated from their comrades deep in the woods, trying desperately to avoid capture by Nazi forces. The tense drama also explores the landscape of the human soul and its capacity for loyalty and betrayal, themes masterfully culminated in the film's final scenes. Boris Plotnikov and Vladimir Gostyukhin star.

Directed by:

  • Larisa Shepitko
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Charms for the Easy Life
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    Charms for the Easy Life

    2002
    This finely honed Showtime drama based on a novel by Kaye Gibbons chronicles three generations of a matriarchal Southern family that includes midwife and holistic healer Charlie Kate Birch (Gena Rowlands), her daughter, Sofia (Mimi Rogers), and granddaughter, Margaret (Susan May Pratt). Directed by Joan Micklin Silver and tinged with more than a little humor, the movie goes down as smooth as a mint julep on a muggy day.

    Directed by:

  • Joan Micklin Silver
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    The Anarchist's Wife
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    The Anarchist's Wife

    2008
    With her young anarchist husband, Justo Calderón (Juan Diego Botto), gone for long stretches of time, first resisting the fascists in the Spanish Civil War and then in a concentration camp during World War II, devoted wife Manuela (María Valverde) struggles to keep their love alive. Her determined efforts to reunite with her husband give Manuela purpose, but their long-distance love comes at a price. Marie Noelle and Peter Sehr direct this drama.

    Directed by:

  • Marie Noelle
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Frankie and Hazel
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    Frankie and Hazel

    2001
    Girl power turns their families and the city upside down in this warm, fun and witty comedy as 12-year-old best friends Frankie (Mischa Barton) and Hazel (Ingrid Uribe) conspire to make their mark on the local community. One excels at ballet and baseball and battles a sexist coach for a spot on a Little League team, while the other devours politics and decides to run for mayor.

    Directed by:

  • JoBeth Williams
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Special Interest
    Chop Cut Rebuild: Mustang Mystique
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    Chop Cut Rebuild: Mustang Mystique

    2008
    Witness the modern-day assembly of a 1967 Mustang using brand new parts, and learn the remarkable history behind this iconic roadster, including its closely guarded development process, groundbreaking debut and gradual evolution over the years. Full of interesting facts and entertaining stories, this automotive program also includes rare Mustang commercials and archival footage that dates back to the 1960s.

    Directed by:

  • Megan Waters
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Minkus: La Bayadère: Teatro alla Scala
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    Minkus: La Bayadère: Teatro alla Scala

    2006
    Noteworthy Bolshoi Ballet superstar Svetlana Zakharova, Corps de Ballet of the Teatro alla Scala and their lead dancer, Roberto Bolle, bring a stirring live performance of Marius Petipa's "La Bayadère" ("The Temple Dancer") to the Milan stage. Choreographed by Natalia Makarova and directed for video by Tina Protasoni, the 2006 performance is inspired by a libretto purportedly written by the choreographer himself and conducted by David Coleman.

    Directed by:

  • Tina Protasoni
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Born to be Wild: The Leading Men of American Ballet Theatre
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    Born to be Wild: The Leading Men of American Ballet Theatre

    2004
    Fans of the American Ballet Theatre will delight in this documentary that profiles the renowned company's four lead male dancers: Angel Corella, Vladimir Malakhov, Jose Manuel Carreno and Ethan Stiefel. Find out how each dancer got started in classical ballet, learn about their individual approaches to the discipline and their strengths onstage, and view clips of their best performances from the beginning to the apex of their careers.

    Directed by:

  • Judy Kinberg
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    Red Dirt Rising
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    Red Dirt Rising

    2010
    The birth of stock-car racing is captured through the story of pioneer Jimmie Lewallen (Brad Yoder), who began as a moonshine runner in 1930s North Carolina, took a break to serve in World War II and came home to witness the formation of NASCAR. From dirt tracks to international speedways, Lewallen and his buddies Bill Blair (Burgess Jenkins) and Fred Harb (Quentin Kerr) see their lives transformed by a sport they'd pursued purely out of passion.

    Directed by:

  • Kathleen 'Bo' Bobak
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Documentary
    Autism: The Musical
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    Autism: The Musical

    2007
    Filmed over a six-month period, Tricia Regan's inspiring, Emmy-nominated documentary captures the transformation of five autistic children as they develop and rehearse "The Miracle Project," an original musical about autism. Supported by their families and led by educator and coach Elaine Hall (whose son is in the production), the kids slowly develop social skills as they learn to work with one another. For some, the metamorphosis is nothing short of amazing.

    Directed by:

  • Tricia Regan
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    The Brandon Teena Story
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    The Brandon Teena Story

    1998
    Brandon Teena -- a Nebraska woman who was born Teena Brandon but identified and dressed as a man -- is the focus of this absorbing documentary that uses interviews, reenactments and news footage to tell the story. Although Brandon found happiness with a girlfriend and made a number of friends, he was brutally attacked -- and later murdered -- when his secret was discovered. Brandon's life served as the basis for the 1999 film Boys Don't Cry.

    Directed by:

  • Susan Muska
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    21 Below
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    21 Below

    2009
    On learning that her infant niece, Maya, is dying of a rare disease, newly pregnant Sharon decides she must return home to Buffalo, N.Y., to help out -- but instead, she steps into a hornet's nest of family turmoil. While Maya deteriorates, another crisis erupts when Karen -- Maya's mother -- becomes pregnant with the child of a former gang member in this cinema verité-style portrait of a family on the brink.

    Directed by:

  • Samantha Buck
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow
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    Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow

    2010
    Modern artist Anselm Kiefer and his monumental landscape creation at Barjac, France -- a vast complex including lakes, bridges, caves and galleries displaying Kiefer's other work -- are the focus of this documentary from Sophie Fiennes. The artist's ruminations on the creative process and his aims and ambitions are intercut with a careful study of the art itself, shining a spotlight on the processes at work in Kiefer's expanding mini-universe.

    Directed by:

  • Sophie Fiennes
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    Comedy
    Nanny McPhee Returns
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    Nanny McPhee Returns

    2010
    When Nanny McPhee arrives at the Green farm, she uses her blend of magic and discipline to help frazzled Mrs. Green run things while her husband's off fighting in World War II -- and to help the Green kids deal with their nasty cousins.

    Directed by:

  • Susanna White
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    Cake
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    Cake

    2005
    As her magazine publisher father lies in the hospital after a heart attack, free-spirited travel writer Pippa McGee agrees to help him run the family business. But the serial bachelorette balks when she learns she'll run a mag called &NFi;Wedding Bells&NFi_;.

    Directed by:

  • Nisha Ganatra
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
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    Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging

    2008
    Georgia Nicolson (Georgia Groome) has two goals in life: Get a gorgeous boyfriend, and throw the best 15th birthday party … ever. No. 1 looks within reach when hottie Robbie (Aaron Johnson) arrives in school. That is, until Georgia's archnemesis is spotted with him. Adding to Georgia's troubles are some serious family problems back home. Luckily, she's got her cat Angus and her best mates in the Ace Gang in this winning British teen comedy.

    Directed by:

  • Gurinder Chadha
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    Half Baked
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    Half Baked

    1998
    Three ganja-smoking dimwits hatch a plot to raise bail money for their jailed friend by selling dope on the street. But they'd better spring their incarcerated buddy fast -- before he ends up as the "boy toy" of a criminal named Nasty Nate.

    Directed by:

  • Tamra Davis
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Now and Then
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    Now and Then

    1995
    Waxing nostalgic about the bittersweet passage from childhood to puberty in this tender coming-of-age tale, four childhood girlfriends -- Teeny, Chrissy, Samantha and Roberta -- recall the magical summer of 1970. During their walk down memory lane, they reconcile experiences with boys, secrets, bullies and more. Lesli Linka Glatter directs; Gaby Hoffmann, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Cloris Leachman, Thora Birch and Christina Ricci co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Lesli Linka Glatter
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Now and Then (1995)
    A heartwarming movie about four childhood girlfriends who, in adulthood reunion, relive their experience of the life-changing summer of 1970, including a mystery death, divorce, standing up to the boys, first kiss, and the meaning of true friendship. Each explores her unique identity amidst family and friends. Beautifully directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.
    - Frances   
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