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 Cave of the Yellow Dog
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The Cave of the Yellow Dog

2005
Academy Award nominee Byambasuren Davaa (The Story of the Weeping Camel) wrote and directed this docudrama about the disappearing ways of nomadic life in her home country of Mongolia. Young Nansal, the oldest daughter of an actual nomad family, finds a stray dog that quickly becomes her close companion, despite her parents' disapproval. The film depicts the herdspeople's everyday tasks for livelihood and survival, while the city beckons from afar.

Directed by:

  • Byambasuren Davaa
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Italian for Beginners
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    Italian for Beginners

    2000
    Director Lone Scherfig's playful and endearing story follows seven strangers from a small, rainy suburb who come together once a week to learn Italian. Andres (Anders W. Berthelsen), Jorgen (Peter Gantzler) and the others are all looking to fill a void in their lives. And as they embark on a journey of discovery, friendship and the limitless possibilities of love, they soon find that the class offers them much more than just a new language.

    Directed by:

  • Lone Scherfig
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    The Boys Next Door
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    The Boys Next Door

    1985
    On the eve of their high school graduation, two young men (Maxwell Caulfield and Charlie Sheen) head for Los Angeles -- along the way they embark on a violent murder spree that shocks the nation. They're not maniacs, nor are they hardened criminals; they're just the "typical" boys next door. This crime drama from director Penelope Spheeris (Wayne's World) is a startling look at crime amid normalcy.

    Directed by:

  • Penelope Spheeris
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Real Women Have Curves
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    Real Women Have Curves

    2002
    America Ferrera shines in a star-making performance as Ana, a Mexican-American teenager who's struggling to break free from her mother's old-world expectations, in this coming-of-age drama set in East Los Angeles. Ana wants to attend college so she can better herself, but she's needed in her sister's sewing sweatshop, where women labor to make dresses that are then sold for many times what the shop is paid to make them.

    Directed by:

  • Patricia Cardoso
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Comedy
    It's Kind of a Funny Story
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    It's Kind of a Funny Story

    2010
    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.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    The Preacher's Wife
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    The Preacher's Wife

    1996
    When God overhears a church preacher (Courtney B. Vance) despairing the potential loss of a youth center, he dispatches an angel (Denzel Washington) to help him out. Trouble is, the preacher isn't easily convinced that his guardian angel is the real thing. An inspired reworking of the uplifting 1940s movie The Bishop's Wife, The Preacher's Wife stars Washington and Whitney Houston at their dazzling best.

    Directed by:

  • Penny Marshall
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Big Girls Don't Cry ... They Get Even
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    Big Girls Don't Cry ... They Get Even

    1992
    Teenager Laura Chartoff (Hillary Wolf) is wracked by low self-esteem -- a direct result of being constantly shuffled between her various families, whose members include Laura's self-absorbed stepfather (David Strathairn), her mother (Margaret Whitton), her real father (Griffin Dunne) and his 19-year-old girlfriend (Adrienne Shelly). Things come to a head when Laura ditches her family while on vacation in Hawaii. Joan Micklin Silver directs.

    Directed by:

  • Joan Micklin Silver
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Hysteria
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    Hysteria

    2011
    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.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    Gay & Lesbian
    Making Grace
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    Making Grace

    2005
    In this intimate documentary, filmmaker Catherine Gund examines lesbian motherhood through the eyes of longtime partners Ann Krsul and Leslie Sullivan, who desperately want to have a child. Charting their unconventional path toward parenthood, from the first tough decisions -- such as choosing a sperm donor and deciding who will carry the child -- to their joy at the birth of baby Grace, this moving film reveals a uniquely emotional journey.

    Directed by:

  • Catherine Gund
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Patrik, Age 1.5
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    Patrik, Age 1.5

    2008
    After moving from the city to a small town, gay couple Sven (Torkel Petersson) and Goran (Gustaf Skarsgård) adopt a child. But when Patrik (Thomas Ljungman) arrives in their lives, it turns out he's not 1.5 years old as they were told by the adoption agency -- he's a rebellious, homophobic 15-year-old. While the couple houses the angry boy until the mix-up is resolved, his presence causes them to reassess their lives.

    Directed by:

  • Ella Lemhagen
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 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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    The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls
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    The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls

    2009
    Trace the fascinating lives of New Zealand's provocative music and comedy duo Jools and Linda Topp through this enjoyable documentary, which details the lesbian twins' rural upbringing, political activism and immense popularity at home and abroad. Featuring hilarious interviews with several of the sisters' most outrageous alter egos, this joyous celebration also includes brilliant insights into New Zealand's history.

    Directed by:

  • Leanne Pooley
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Faith & Spirituality
    Yentl
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    Yentl

    1983
    Based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's story, this Oscar-winning musical stars Barbra Streisand as Yentl, the bookish daughter of a Talmud teacher who instructs her even though it's forbidden to teach the sacred text to girls. Determined to continue her schooling after her father dies, Yentl disguises herself as a boy to gain entry to a yeshiva. There, she meets the brilliant Avigdor (Mandy Patinkin), who only has eyes for Hadass (Amy Irving).

    Directed by:

  • Barbra Streisand
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    Be Still
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    Be Still

    2006
    In an age in which multitasking has become second nature, the idea of being "still" almost seems luxurious. Yet achieving stillness through Christian prayer is a spiritually rewarding practice that can change your life forever. In this inspirational program narrated by actor Judge Reinhold and co-directed by his wife, Amy, noted authors, ministers and educators discuss the techniques of contemplative prayer.

    Directed by:

  • David Kirkpatrick
  • Amy Reinhold
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    Heaven Ain't Hard to Find
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    Heaven Ain't Hard to Find

    2010
    Clifton Powell, Kym Whitley, Andre Pitre and Tasha Taylor co-star in this inspiring tale about a close-knit black community that rallies to restore a crumbling Baptist church that's haunted by the spirits of three sisters. But while the friendly ghosts have hung around to ensure that the once-glorious church rises again, a greedy land developer is ready to tear it down so he can pounce on the property.

    Directed by:

  • Neema Barnette
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    The Jews: A People's History
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    The Jews: A People's History

    2009
    Exploring 4,000 years in the history of the Jews -- from their ancient roots in the Middle East all the way to modern-day Judaism -- this exhaustivedocumentary weaves stories from the past and present to reveal a rich tapestry of Jewish identity. Seeking to represent the diversity of the Jewish people, director Nina Koshofer's ambitious film spotlights Jews both rich and poor, famed and obscure.

    Directed by:

  • Nina Koshofer
  • Sabine Klauser
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 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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