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.
Independent
Whale Rider
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Whale Rider

2003
A Maori tribe must contend with the distinctly nontraditional concept of having a female leader when the intended heir to the throne dies during childbirth, leaving his twin sister, Paikea, to prove herself in this inspiring coming-of-age tale.

Directed by:

  • Niki Caro
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Love & Sex
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    Love & Sex

    2000
    Love is war, and sex is the battleground in this wry, funny look at contemporary mating and relating. Kate (Famke Janssen) is a magazine writer who discards boyfriends the way some people change shoes. Adam (Jon Favreau) is a serious-minded serial monogamist. When they meet, it's love at first sight -- but staying together may take more than just love and a liberal dose of sex. Noah Emmerich and Cheri Oteri co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Valerie Breiman
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Older Than America
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    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


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    Group
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    Group

    2002
    Group therapy sessions connect the lives of eight disparate women in Olympia, Wash. -- among them, a born-again Christian, a hypochondriac, a bigot and an amputee with an attitude problem -- who bare it all for the sake of sanity. The ensemble cast includes Carrie Brownstein (of rock group Sleater-Kinney fame), Kari Fillipi, S. Ann Hall, Vicki Hollenberg, Tracy Kirkpatrick, Nomy Lamm, Lola Rock 'n' Rolla, Tony Wilkerson and Ruby Martin.

    Directed by:

  • Marilyn Freeman
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Documentary
    Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built
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    Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built

    2007
    With a $10,000 loan from his dentist, Ahmet Ertegun co-founded Atlantic Records in 1947. By the 1950s Atlantic was the country's premier R&B label. Ertegun's wondrous rise is recounted in this lively episode from the PBS series "American Masters." It took director Susan Steinberg more than four years to capture Ertegun in candid conversations with music greats Robert Plant, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Ray Charles and many others.

    Directed by:

  • Susan Steinberg
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    American Experience: The Mormons
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    American Experience: The Mormons

    2006
    Documentarian Helen Whitney directs this fascinating PBS presentation exploring the history and influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one of the fastest-growing religions in the United States whose reach extends worldwide. Touching on all aspects of this complex and sometimes controversial religion, Whitney gains access to Mormon archives and captures candid interviews with church supporters, opponents and historians.

    Directed by:

  • Helen Whitney
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    The Persuaders: Frontline
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    The Persuaders: Frontline

    2004
    PBS's long-running television series "Frontline" examines the inner workings of advertising and public relations and the men and women -- dubbed "persuaders" -- whose job it is to influence the buying habits of today's consumers. See how they research the preferences of shoppers, pique their interest, entice them to part with their hard-earned money, and get their own messages across in an increasingly complicated and tech-savvy world.

    Directed by:

  • Barak Goodman
  • Rachel Dretzin
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Luckey
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    Luckey

    2008
    Paralyzed sculptor-architect Tom Luckey employs his architect son, Spencer Luckey, to help him finish the design and installation of a multilevel children's play structure, which he started prior to his life-altering accident. In 2005, Luckey fell through a window at the top of a three-story building, and although he's paralyzed from the neck down, his fate does not derail the determination he has to finish his trademark masterwork.

    Directed by:

  • Laura Longsworth
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Music & Musicals
    Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built
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    Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built

    2007
    With a $10,000 loan from his dentist, Ahmet Ertegun co-founded Atlantic Records in 1947. By the 1950s Atlantic was the country's premier R&B label. Ertegun's wondrous rise is recounted in this lively episode from the PBS series "American Masters." It took director Susan Steinberg more than four years to capture Ertegun in candid conversations with music greats Robert Plant, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Ray Charles and many others.

    Directed by:

  • Susan Steinberg
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 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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    Intangible Asset No. 82
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    Intangible Asset No. 82

    2009
    After 16 failed attempts, Australian drummer Simon Barker returns to South Korea a final time, looking to meet and study with elusive shaman Kim Seok-Chul, a grandmaster musician officially honored by his country as its 82nd Intangible Asset. Filmmaker Emma Franz captures Barker's life-changing journey as he encounters a variety of colorful characters, overcomes cultural barriers and finally locates Seok-Chul just days before the master's death.

    Directed by:

  • Emma Franz
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Rockin' at the Red Dog
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    Rockin' at the Red Dog

    1996
    A small Western frontier town, Virginia City, Nev., is widely acknowledged by counterculture historians to be, if not the birthplace, then the conceiving ground of the psychedelic 1960s. And the Red Dog Saloon served as the centerpiece for the movement, showcasing artists such as the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane long before they were famous. In this documentary, filmmaker Mary Works captures the heyday of this revolutionary nightspot.

    Directed by:

  • Mary Works
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Children & Family
    Cow Belles
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    Cow Belles

    2006
    Real-life siblings Alyson and Amanda Michalka -- who cut albums together under the moniker Aly & AJ -- star as two spoiled sisters who are forced to work on their father's dairy farm as penance for what was nearly a disastrous mistake on their part. At first, the girls' biggest concern is that their hair will smell like cows -- and that they're nowhere near the mall. But eventually, they come to respect the family business and learn a lesson.

    Directed by:

  • Francine McDougall
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    The Blue Butterfly
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    The Blue Butterfly

    2004
    The fact that entomologist Alan Osborne (William Hurt) is at the height of his career doesn't stop precocious 10-year-old Pete Carlton (Marc Donato) from asking him to grant his life's wish: the opportunity to catch a rare Blue Morpho butterfly. After all, with a terminal illness, the boy has no time to spare. Based on a true story, this stirring adventure includes breathtaking natural footage shot on location in the rain forests of Costa Rica.

    Directed by:

  • Lea Pool
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Christmas Do-Over
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    Christmas Do-Over

    2006
    When jingle writer Kevin (Jay Mohr) travels to a remote town to spend Christmas with his son Ben, ex-wife Jill (Daphne Zuniga) and her parents, he finds himself living the very same Christmas Day over and over again -- giving him a chance to win back his family. But blocking his path to redemption are a pair of ornery ex-in-laws and Jill's seemingly perfect new boyfriend -- not to mention Kevin's own abundant shortcomings.

    Directed by:

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


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    Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
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    Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

    2008
    With a star-studded cast that includes Julia Ormond and Stanley Tucci, this Depression-era drama inspired by the American Girl line of dolls follows aspiring young journalist Kit Kittredge (Abigail Breslin), whose ingenuity and courage help save her family's house. While Kit's father (Chris O'Donnell) is away looking for a job, the family savings are stolen during a series of robberies -- and young Kit sets about finding the thief.

    Directed by:

  • Patricia Rozema
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 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   
    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