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 Piano
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The Piano

1993
Holly Hunter stars as Ada McGrath, a mute but strong-willed 19th-century Scottish expatriate who arrives in New Zealand with her daughter (Anna Paquin) and her beloved piano in tow. Although betrothed to a landowner (Sam Neill), she's pulled into an affair with a laborer (Harvey Keitel). Hunter and Paquin both won Oscars for their performances in this haunting drama from writer-director Jane Campion.

Directed by:

  • Jane Campion
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    The Black Balloon
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    The Black Balloon

    2008
    Australian model Gemma Ward makes her feature film debut in this family drama starring Rhys Wakefield as a 16-year-old trying to make his way in a new town and at a new school -- while also charged with keeping tabs on his autistic older brother (Luke Ford). Toni Collette plays the pregnant mother of the clan, and Erik Thomson is the cricket-obsessed dad in this Berlin Film Festival award winner from first-time feature director Elissa Down.

    Directed by:

  • Elissa Down
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Lies in Plain Sight
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    Lies in Plain Sight

    2010
    This made-for-television drama follows the unsettling journey of Sofia, a blind woman who quests to uncover the reason for her beloved cousin Eva's suicide. As her search deepens, Sofia discovers that Eva had long been hiding troubling secrets.

    Directed by:

  • Patricia Cardoso
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Brick Lane
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    Brick Lane

    2007
    Set in the 1980s, this cross-cultural drama follows young Nazneem (Tannishtha Chatterjee), a Bangladeshi woman who's immigrated to London for an arranged marriage to a middle-aged man, leaving her beloved family, including her sister Hasina, behind. While Hasina leads a life of adventure back home, Nazneem struggles to accept the isolation and unhappiness in her new life, until an unexpected visitor comes along and changes everything.

    Directed by:

  • Sarah Gavron
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Gay & Lesbian
    Handsome Harry
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    Handsome Harry

    2009
    For many years, small-town resident Harry Sweeney (Jamey Sheridan) has avoided confronting painful memories from his past. But when his best friend becomes seriously ill, Harry builds up enough courage to explore long-hidden secrets and uncover his true identity. Bette Gordon directs this character-driven drama that boasts a strong ensemble cast featuring Steve Buscemi, Aidan Quinn, John Savage and Campbell Scott.

    Directed by:

  • Bette Gordon
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Alive and Kicking
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    Alive and Kicking

    1996
    Nancy Meckler's poignant drama centers on the unconventional romance between two polar opposites: egotistical HIV-positive ballet dancer Tonio (Jason Flemyng) and his portly, alcoholic therapist, Jack (Antony Sher). After losing his lover to a long-fought battle with AIDS and discovering that he, too, is infected with the deadly disease, Tonio turns to a troubled shrink, and soon, the pair embarks on a surprisingly tender and rewarding affair.

    Directed by:

  • Nancy Meckler
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Paris Is Burning
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    Paris Is Burning

    1990
    Penetrating the tight-knit community of minority drag queens living in New York City, Jennie Livingston's acclaimed documentary offers an early glimpse at the art of "voguing," the underground dance style later popularized by Madonna in her hit song. The film also explores issues such as racism, homophobia and AIDS, while offering a detailed examination of the intricate Ball culture, in which queens are judged for their style and expression.

    Directed by:

  • Jennie Livingston
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    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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    Special Interest
    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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    The Life and Death of Owen Hart
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    The Life and Death of Owen Hart

    1999
    This documentary profiles professional wrestler Owen Hart (younger brother of WWF star Bret Hart), whose life and career with the World Wrestling Federation were cut short via tragic means -- a fatal accident during a live pay-per-view stunt. While Owen was attempting to swing down from the rafters of a Kansas City arena, his safety harness failed, and he fell 75 feet to his death in front of masses of horrified fans.

    Directed by:

  • Sally Blake
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Black Coffee
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    Black Coffee

    2005
    Director Irene Lilienheim Angelico steers this documentary series about a simple subject -- coffee -- into compelling territory by chronicling its long and often complicated history throughout the world. Beginning with the bean's discovery in Ethiopia, Angelico traces how coffee came to be one of the most craved beverages in the world, boosting economies, sparking revolutions and spreading the love of caffeine everywhere.

    Directed by:

  • Irene Lilienheim Angelico
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Two Fat Ladies: The Complete Collection
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    Two Fat Ladies: The Complete Collection

    1997
    In this popular British series that's part cooking show, part travelogue and part comedy, Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson-Wright cook up a storm as they crisscross the English countryside on a classic Triumph motorcycle and sidecar. The larger-than-life duo encourages people to enjoy the moment with rich and satisfying recipes that are anything but heart-friendly, washing the meals down with outrageous tales of their past misadventures.

    Directed by:

  • Patricia Llewellyn
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Sci-Fi & Fantasy
    Michael
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    Michael

    1996
    Two struggling tabloid reporters and an "angel expert" are sent by their boss to check out an old kook who claims to have an angel living with her. Sure enough, the guy's got wings, but he's also into smoking, drinking and womanizing. Unconvinced that Michael (John Travolta) is not an Earthly being, the reporters take him to Chicago, when Michael's unconventional methods begin to work heavenly magic. Director Nora Ephron also wrote the script.

    Directed by:

  • Nora Ephron
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    Twilight
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    Twilight

    2008
    When Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) moves to a small town in the Pacific Northwest to live with her father, she starts school and meets the reclusive Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a mysterious classmate who reveals himself to be a 108-year-old vampire. Despite Edward's repeated cautions, Bella can't help but fall in love with him, a fatal move that endangers her own life when a coven of bloodsuckers try to challenge the Cullen clan.

    Directed by:

  • Catherine Hardwicke
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Aquamarine
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    Aquamarine

    2006
    Two 12-year-olds (Emma Roberts and pop singer JoJo) get more than they bargained for when they discover sassy mermaid Aquamarine (Sara Paxton) lolling at the bottom of their beach club's pool, having come ashore to search for true love. Before you can say "fish out of water," the finned beauty develops a crush on a boy who works at the club and recruits the girls to help her capture his heart in this family comedy directed by Elizabeth Allen.

    Directed by:

  • Elizabeth Allen
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Tank Girl
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    Tank Girl

    1995
    In the year 2033, a comet has turned Earth into a rainless wasteland, and a mega-corporation controls all of the remaining water. In an attempt to end the evil reign of the company's CEO (Malcolm McDowell), Rebecca (Lori Petty) and her shy friend (Naomi Watts) hijack a stolen tank and jet -- at once becoming Tank Girl and Jet Girl. But if they want to save the world, the super-heroines will need help from a mutant race of kangaroo-humans.

    Directed by:

  • Rachel Talalay
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 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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    frances 'at' femaledirectors.com