Drama
The Staircase
rating:3.7.png

The Staircase

1997
A fiercely independent mother superior finds herself needing help when she discovers she's terminally ill. With much work left to do to ensure her parish will thrive when she's gone, she learns to rely on the kindness of friends and strangers.

Directed by:

  • Karen Arthur
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Love & Basketball
    rating:3.7.png

    Love & Basketball

    2000
    It's about winning, losing and playing the game. Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps) grow up next door to each other playing basketball, fighting and falling in love. When simultaneous turns in the big leagues throw their off-court relationship off-kilter, the pair discovers that very little is fair in Love & Basketball. Spike Lee produced this warm, witty film.

    Directed by:

  • Gina Prince
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Life Goes On: Season 1
    rating:3.7.png

    Life Goes On: Season 1

    1989
    This family drama broke new ground as the first show to be built around a character with Down syndrome. In the debut season, Corky Thacher (Chris Burke) proves his intelligence by reciting Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and runs for freshman class president. Meanwhile, his sister Becca (Kellie Martin) has trouble finding the right "husband" for a class project, and mom Libby (Patti LuPone) resurrects her talent by auditioning for a musical revue.

    Directed by:

  • Gene Reynolds
  • Rick Rosenthal
  • Kim Friedman
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Older Than America
    rating:3.7.png

    Older Than America

    2008
    Rain (Georgina Lightning) has visions of a cruel incident suffered by her Native American ancestors. Afraid she'll be branded a lunatic like her elderly aunt, Rain fears telling even her policeman husband, Johnny (Adam Beach), about the dreams. But as they intensify, she finds that they have eerie connections to her current life. Lightning also writes and directs this mix of supernatural and historical mysteries.

    Directed by:

  • Georgina Lightning
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Frida
    rating:3.7.png

    Frida

    2002
    Julie Taymor directs this Oscar-winning biopic of painter Frida Kahlo, focusing on her often rocky relationship with husband Diego Rivera and her controversial political and sexual reputation (she was a communist and openly bisexual).

    Directed by:

  • Julie Taymor
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    A League of Their Own
    rating:3.7.png

    A League of Their Own

    1992
    Two small-town sisters join an all-female baseball league formed when World War II brings professional baseball to a standstill. As their team hits the road with its drunken coach, the siblings find troubles and triumphs on and off the field.

    Directed by:

  • Penny Marshall
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    The Catherine Cookson Collection: The Glass Virgin
    rating:3.7.png

    The Catherine Cookson Collection: The Glass Virgin

    1995
    This romantic tale stars Emily Mortimer (Match Point) as Annabella Lagrange, a wealthy young socialite whose life is dramatically altered when she learns that she is, in fact, the daughter of one of her father's mistresses. Upon her discovery, Annabella rejects her sheltered life and leaves with Manuel Mendoza (Brendan Coyle), a family employee and childhood friend. Thrust into a new world, she finds love and a new sense of self-worth.

    Directed by:

  • Sarah Hellings
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    A Year Ago in Winter
    rating:3.6.png

    A Year Ago in Winter

    2008
    After her beloved 19-year-old son, Alexander, dies suddenly, Eliane (Corinna Harfouch) commissions a local artist named Max (Josef Bierbichler) to paint a portrait that includes both Alexander and his sister, Lilli (Karoline Herfurth). But Max must understand the siblings in order to paint them. Although Lilli resents Max's probing questions, they soon forge a bond as the artist helps his subject work through her pain.

    Directed by:

  • Caroline Link
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Eve's Bayou
    rating:3.6.png

    Eve's Bayou

    1997
    Louis Batiste (Samuel L. Jackson) is a popular physician in 1960s Louisiana who has a beautiful wife (Lynn Whitfield), a loving family and a weakness for women. While his wife ignores his infidelities, his youngest daughter (Jurnee Smollett) is crushed when she catches dad in a compromising situation. Her subsequent revelations tear the family apart in Kasi Lemmons's powerful film, which won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards.

    Directed by:

  • Kasi Lemmons
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    American Psycho
    rating:3.6.png

    American Psycho

    2000
    With a chiseled chin and an iron physique, Patrick Bateman's looks make him the ideal yuppie -- and the ideal serial killer. That's the joke behind American Psycho, which follows a killer at large during the 1980s junk-bond boom. Bateman (Christian Bale) takes pathological pride in everything from his business card to his Huey Lewis CD collection, all the while plotting his next victim's vivisection.

    Directed by:

  • Mary Harron
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Shadow Magic
    rating:3.6.png

    Shadow Magic

    2001
    Director Ann Hu's arthouse drama tells the story of Raymond, an itinerant Englishman (Jared Harris) who is the first to bring motion pictures to China. While conservatives frown upon the Western invention, the images are a marvel to peasants and royalty alike. Raymond's hand-cranked projector casts images that all at once threaten and amaze the Chinese audience, many of whom have a difficult time reconciling technology and tradition.

    Directed by:

  • Ann Hu
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Fire
    rating:3.6.png

    Fire

    1996
    Two Hindu women struggle with loveless, arranged marriages: Sita (Nandita Das), who discovers that her husband (Javed Jaffrey) has a mistress, and her sister-in-law, Radha (Shabana Azmi), who cannot give birth. As the lukewarm coals of their long-term relationships fade, the women ignite passion in their lives by finding comfort in each other. Director Deepa Mehta's drama is supposedly the first Indian film about lesbians.

    Directed by:

  • Deepa Mehta
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Teenage Dirtbag
    rating:3.6.png

    Teenage Dirtbag

    2009
    In this sensitive drama based on true events, two disparate teens from different social circles and home environments find common ground when the creative writing class they share opens new doors of communication. Troublemaker Thayer (Scott Michael Foster) relishes harassing popular cheerleader Amber (Noa Hegesh). That is, until they form a bond through the written word. But can their budding relationship withstand the pressure of peers and family?

    Directed by:

  • Regina Crosby
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Night Catches Us
    rating:3.6.png

    Night Catches Us

    2010
    After growing up during the tumultuous 1960s, ex-Black Panther Marcus (Anthony Mackie) returns to his home in Philadelphia in 1976 and reconnects with Pat (Kerry Washington), the widow of a Panther leader. Marcus befriends Pat's young daughter and attempts to conquer his demons. Interfering with Marcus's good intentions are the neighborhood's continuing racial and social conflicts, as well as old enemies and friends -- both with scores to settle.

    Directed by:

  • Tanya Hamilton
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Blame It on Fidel
    rating:3.6.png

    Blame It on Fidel

    2006
    Nina Kervel-Bey stars as 9-year-old Anna, a privileged young Parisian girl whose orderly, structured life is thrown into turmoil when her parents are drawn into Paris's turbulent and radical 1970s political scene. Julie Gavras (daughter of famed French filmmaker Costa-Gavras) directs this 2007 Sundance Film Festival competition entry.

    Directed by:

  • Julie Gavras
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Cadillac Records
    rating:3.6.png

    Cadillac Records

    2008
    The sounds of 1950s Chicago color this drama based on the true story of a bar owner who signed a lineup of future legends to his fledgling record label. He crosses paths with Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Etta James, changing the face of pop music.

    Directed by:

  • Darnell Martin
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


    Find On Amazon
    Now and Then
    rating:3.8.png

    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


    Find On Amazon
    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   
    We periodically update our movie database by adding new female directors and their movies. If you would like to receive notice of these new additions when they happen, please email us at:
    frances 'at' femaledirectors.com