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.
Thrillers
True Women
rating:3.6

True Women

1997Runtime:0 minutes
Based on a true story, this adaptation of Janice Woods Windle's novel is set in the plains of West Texas during the Civil War. Sarah McClure (Dana Delany) and her sister, Euphemia (Annabeth Gish), struggle to survive in this male-dominated land. When their homestead falls under attack by Mexican rebels and American Indian tribesmen, the two must find a way to bring their family to safety before it's too late.

Directed by:

  • Karen Arthur
    • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

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    The Caveman's Valentine
    rating:3.3

    The Caveman's Valentine

    2001Runtime:0 minutes
    After finding a frozen corpse near his cave in a New York City park, homeless recluse Romulus Ledbetter (Samuel L. Jackson) -- a former piano prodigy beset by delusions of harmful rays bombarding him from the Chrysler Building -- suspects foul play and investigates. But can the schizophrenic Romulus pull himself together long enough to catch the killer? Featuring a brilliant turn by Jackson, this engrossing thriller also stars Colm Feore.

    Directed by:

  • Kasi Lemmons
    • rating:3.3 3.3 Average Rating

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    The Quiet
    rating:3.1

    The Quiet

    2005Runtime:0 minutes
    After losing her father, deaf and mute teen Dot (Camilla Belle) goes to live with her dysfunctional godparents (Edie Falco and Martin Donovan) and their rebellious daughter, Nina (Elisha Cuthbert). Before long, each is entrusting the silent Dot with disturbing, shameful secrets they assume will be kept private. Little do they suspect that Dot harbors a big secret of her own in this visceral drama directed by Jamie Babbit.

    Directed by:

  • Jamie Babbit
    • rating:3.1 3.1 Average Rating

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    The Betrayed
    rating:3.3

    The Betrayed

    2008Runtime:0 minutes
    After surviving a terrible car crash, a young wife and mother regains consciousness only to discover that her real nightmare has just begun: She is now the prisoner of a deranged masked man who accuses her husband of stealing money from the mob. Can she get away from her captor -- and is there any truth to his story? Melissa George, Donald Adams and Christian Campbell co-star in this psychological thriller from director Amanda Gusack.

    Directed by:

  • Amanda Gusack
    • rating:3.3 3.3 Average Rating

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    Gay & Lesbian
    Fire
    rating:3.6

    Fire

    1996Runtime:0 minutes
    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 3.6 Average Rating

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    A Perfect Ending
    rating:3.4

    A Perfect Ending

    2012Runtime:0 minutes
    This intimate drama follows Rebecca, a woman who has kept her sexuality a secret from her friends but chooses to reveal it to a stranger. While Rebecca's revelations may not yield the results she expects, a perfect ending is still in reach.

    Directed by:

  • Nicole Conn
    • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    I Can't Marry You
    rating:3.2

    I Can't Marry You

    2004Runtime:0 minutes
    Helmed by Catherine Gray and narrated by Betty DeGeneres -- mother of lesbian celebrity Ellen DeGeneres -- this hourlong documentary tackles the controversial topic of gay marriage in the United States. Via interviews with civil-rights attorney Evan Wolfson and 20 same-sex couples, the film chronicles their struggles against religious opposition and homophobia -- issues not faced by their heterosexual counterparts.

    Directed by:

  • Catherine Gray
    • rating:3.2 3.2 Average Rating

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    When Night Is Falling
    rating:3.5

    When Night Is Falling

    1995Runtime:0 minutes
    A professor at a Christian college, Camille (Pascale Bussières) enjoys a conventional life with her minister fiancé, Martin (Henry Czerny). But when reserved Camille meets free-spirited circus acrobat Petra (Rachael Crawford), her conservative life takes a sensuous left turn. With Petra, Camille begins an erotic adventure of self-discovery and finds herself emotionally teetering between the forbidden and the familiar.

    Directed by:

  • Patricia Rozema
    • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Independent
    Desert Hearts
    rating:3.4

    Desert Hearts

    1985Runtime:0 minutes
    Uptight literature professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) heads to Reno, Nev., in 1959 for a quickie divorce. While staying with Frances Parker (Audra Lindley) at her ranch to establish residency, Bell meets Parker's adopted daughter (Patricia Charbonneau), a casino worker 10 years her junior. Bell finds herself increasingly drawn to the open and self-assured lesbian, and their developing intimacy releases buried emotions Bell has never explored.

    Directed by:

  • Donna Deitch
    • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Suburbia
    rating:3.8

    Suburbia

    1984Runtime:0 minutes
    Escaping their hard-boozing mother, Evan (Bill Coyne) and his brother, Ethan (Andrew Pece), take refuge with punks who live as squatters in an abandoned home next to a highway in this Penelope Spheeris-helmed film, which examines Los Angeles' punk rock scene in the 1980s. But the boys' newfound clan is tested when a group of discontented suburbanites comes down on them. T.S.O.L., The Vandals and D.I. deliver live performances.

    Directed by:

  • Penelope Spheeris
    • rating:3.8 3.8 Average Rating

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    The Ballad of Jack and Rose
    rating:3.1

    The Ballad of Jack and Rose

    2005Runtime:0 minutes
    Writer-director Rebecca Miller elicits an astounding performance from husband Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays Jack, a father intent on raising his daughter (Camilla Belle) as an environmentally responsible adult. His complete devotion to the cause moves him to the remotest of islands, where he feels he'll be able to lead a more compassionate, "green" life. No matter how he tries, however, he can't seem to run from the demands of human interaction.

    Directed by:

  • Rebecca Miller
    • rating:3.1 3.1 Average Rating

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    Hounddog
    rating:3.4

    Hounddog

    2007Runtime:0 minutes
    Doe-eyed Dakota Fanning steps away from family fare with this controversial but powerful drama set in rural Alabama, playing a precocious but abused 12-year-old who finds comfort in the music of rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley. While she suppresses her painful memories, will her seemingly indestructible spirit shatter when she suffers a shocking tragedy? David Morse, Piper Laurie and Robin Wright Penn co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Deborah Kampmeier
    • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Comedy
    What's Cooking?
    rating:3.4

    What's Cooking?

    2000Runtime:0 minutes
    This multicultural comedy-drama set in Los Angeles's middle-class environs paints an intriguing portrait of family tensions as four ethnic clans -- Latino, black, Jewish and Asian -- get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. The intertwining tales follow the families as minor frustrations escalate into heated battles and skeletons come out of the closet. Mercedes Ruehl, Kyra Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Haysbert and Joan Chen lead the superb cast.

    Directed by:

  • Gurinder Chadha
    • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Hysteria
    rating:3.5

    Hysteria

    2011Runtime:0 minutes
    In 1880s London, forward-thinking young doctor Mortimer Granville has a difficult time keeping a job until he and an inventor friend concoct an electrifying solution to the rampant "hysteria" affecting England's sexually and socially repressed women.

    Directed by:

  • Tanya Wexler
    • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Valley Girl
    rating:3.5

    Valley Girl

    1983Runtime:0 minutes
    A punk named Randy (Nicolas Cage) from the wrong side of the Hollywood Hills falls for Julie (Deborah Foreman), a mall-dwelling Valley Girl, and they begin a Romeo-and-Juliet-like romance -- that is, until peer pressure gets to Julie and she cuts things off. But love-struck Randy refuses to give up on Julie. Will he convince her that they're meant to be together? Martha Coolidge directs this satire on life in Southern California in the 1980s.

    Directed by:

  • Martha Coolidge
    • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    It's Kind of a Funny Story
    rating:3.5

    It's Kind of a Funny Story

    2010Runtime:0 minutes
    Being a teenager is too much for 16-year-old Craig (Keir Gilchrist), who shocks his parents (Lauren Graham and Jim Gaffigan) by checking himself into a mental health clinic for a little R & R. But when the youth ward is unexpectedly closed, he's forced to live among the adult patients. Zach Galifianakis, Viola Davis, Emma Roberts and Aasif Mandvi co-star in this quirky drama written and directed by the screenwriters of Half Nelson.

    Directed by:

  • Anna Boden
    • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Now and Then
    rating:3.8

    Now and Then

    1995Runtime:0 minutes
    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 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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