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.
Documentary
Yes Madam, Sir
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Yes Madam, Sir

2008
Filmmaker Megan Doneman's compelling documentary looks at the tumultuous career of Kiran Bedi, a tennis champ who became a crusading social activist -- and the first woman to join the Indian Police Service. Although Bedi's detractors have labeled her a self-serving publicity seeker, there's no debate about her accomplishments, which include overhauling one of Asia's worst prisons and reforming India's penal system. Helen Mirren narrates.

Directed by:

  • Megan Doneman
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    Destiny in Space: IMAX
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    Destiny in Space: IMAX

    1994
    Explore the far reaches of space with this breathtaking documentary that allows you to board an Earth-orbiting satellite, soar above the surfaces of Mars and Venus and join a crew of astronauts deployed to repair the remarkable Hubble telescope. Narrated by Leonard Nimoy, this incredible IMAX experience is the closest thing most of us will ever get to flying among the stars.

    Directed by:

  • Ben Burtt
  • Phyllis Ferguson
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    Hood to Coast
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    Hood to Coast

    2010
    The Hood to Coast annual event is the world's largest relay race, starting at Mount Hood and continuing almost 200 miles to Oregon's Pacific Coast. This documentary follows four of the 1,000 teams from the 2008 race during their two-day odyssey. The quirky contest, which draws 12,000 runners, celebrates competition, but more important, the joys of running and hanging out with fellow enthusiasts with their own compelling reasons for participating.

    Directed by:

  • Christoph Baaden
  • Marcie Hume
    • rating:4.2.png 4.2 Average Rating


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    Chevolution
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    Chevolution

    2008
    This intriguing documentary charts the history of photographer Alberto Korda's iconic portrait of Argentinean revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, from the moment the picture was taken to its spread as an international symbol of rebellion. Using archival footage, filmmakers Trisha Ziff and Luis Lopez take a fascinating look at how a single image helped galvanize a generation of counterculturists.

    Directed by:

  • Trisha Ziff
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    Special Interest
    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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    The Trouble with Angels
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    The Trouble with Angels

    1966
    Two teens turn a staid convent upside down with their youthful glee and zany antics. Although the pair gets in trouble for transgressions like invading the nuns' quarters and substituting soap for sugar in the kitchen, their charm wins everyone over.

    Directed by:

  • Ida Lupino
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 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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    Orgasmic Birth
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    Orgasmic Birth

    2008
    Challenging conventional Western ideas about childbirth, this documentary explores a more natural approach to birth with the belief that, for most women, the experience can be an ecstatic one containing both pain and pleasure. Filmmaker Debra Pascali-Bonaro follows 11 couples employing this innovative approach as they go through the process of birth. Numerous birth experts, including Dr. Christiane Northrup, provide enlightening insights.

    Directed by:

  • Debra Pascali-Bonaro
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Gay & Lesbian
    Unveiled
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    Unveiled

    2005
    After the Iranian authorities threaten to prosecute her for loving a woman, Fariba (Jasmin Tabatabai) assumes a dead man's identity in order to survive. Denied asylum in Germany, Fariba is locked in a detainment center, where her male cellmate commits suicide -- and she spies a window of opportunity. Assuming his identity, she takes a job in a small country village, where she struggles to keep her secret from a well-meaning female friend.

    Directed by:

  • Angelina Maccarone
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    The Sensei
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    The Sensei

    2008
    After punks at school hand him a savage beating, gay teen McClain Evans (Michael O'Laskey II) secretly begins martial arts training with Karen O'Neil (director Diana Lee Inosanto), a woman who has her own axe to grind with the narrow-minded rural community. But as Evans learns to stand up to prejudice and hate, the boy and his sensei unleash a firestorm of controversy in their small Colorado town. Louis Mandylor co-stars in this drama.

    Directed by:

  • Diana Lee Inosanto
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me
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    Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me

    2009
    In her Emmy-nominated comedy special for HBO (filmed at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.), Wanda Sykes brings her take-no-prisoners comedy style to bear on Barack Obama's presidency, Republican tea parties and the inhuman torture that is bikini waxing. Whether she's sharing true stories about her interracial lesbian marriage or doing hard time as a performer on a gay cruise, Sykes is frequently abrasive -- and fearlessly funny.

    Directed by:

  • Beth McCarthy-Miller
    • rating:3.9.png 3.9 Average Rating


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    Fire
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    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


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    Action & Adventure
    Testament
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    Testament

    1983
    The Wetherly family copes with the news that nuclear bombs have been detonated across the country, and it's only a matter of time before one explodes near their own home. When it does, matriarch Carol tends to the newly orphaned children.

    Directed by:

  • Lynne Littman
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Justice League: Doom
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    Justice League: Doom

    2012
    Batman's top-secret files on his fellow superheroes -- a safeguard against rogue elements -- have fallen into the clutches of Vandal Savage. With the Justice League's every weakness now laid bare, the entire planet hangs in the balance.

    Directed by:

  • Lauren Montgomery
    • rating:4.0.png 4.0 Average Rating


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    Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
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    Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

    2010
    Alternate universes collide when Lex Luthor (voiced by Chris Noth) drops in from another dimension, imploring the Justice League to save his version of Earth -- where he's a good guy -- from a group of supervillains called the Crime Syndicate. Mark Harmon, James Woods and William Baldwin lend their voices as Superman, Owlman and Batman, respectively, in this animated feature based on DC Comics characters.

    Directed by:

  • Sam Liu
  • Lauren Montgomery
    • rating:3.9.png 3.9 Average Rating


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    The Sensei
    rating:3.4.png

    The Sensei

    2008
    After punks at school hand him a savage beating, gay teen McClain Evans (Michael O'Laskey II) secretly begins martial arts training with Karen O'Neil (director Diana Lee Inosanto), a woman who has her own axe to grind with the narrow-minded rural community. But as Evans learns to stand up to prejudice and hate, the boy and his sensei unleash a firestorm of controversy in their small Colorado town. Louis Mandylor co-stars in this drama.

    Directed by:

  • Diana Lee Inosanto
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 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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