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.
Children & Family
Ruby Bridges
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Ruby Bridges

1998
Director Euzhan Palcy brings to the screen events that helped shape American history: the integration of an all-white school in the 1960s by first-grader Ruby Bridges (Chaz Monet). Predictably, tensions arise as protesters fight Ruby's attendance. But aided by her courageous parents (Michael Beach and Lela Rochon), an enthusiastic teacher (Penelope Ann Miller) and a supportive child psychologist (Kevin Pollak), Ruby learns to face racism head-on.

Directed by:

  • Euzhan Palcy
    • rating:3.9.png 3.9 Average Rating


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    Paradise
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    Paradise

    1991
    Willard (Elijah Wood), a 10-year-old who is dealing with his parents' break-up, comes to spend the summer with Lily and Ben Reed (Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson), whose own relationship is strained following the tragic death of their 3-year-old son. Their problems make it all the more difficult for Willard to acclimate to his new environment, until a young girl (Thora Birch) intervenes to become his friend and transforms all their lives.

    Directed by:

  • Mary Agnes Donoghue
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Harriet the Spy
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    Harriet the Spy

    1996
    A sixth-grade outcast at school spends her time spying on neighbors, taking notes on her discoveries. But when an enemy steals her secret notebook, her world starts to unravel -- and she has to find a way to get even!

    Directed by:

  • Bronwen Hughes
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong
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    American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong

    2008
    In the first American Girl film based on a modern-day character, young Chrissa finds her life turned upside down when she transfers to a new school, as she struggles to find her own way, make new friends and deal with a clique of bullies. Chrissa tries to adapt to her new surroundings, but she is targeted by a close-knit group of girls in this story about friendship and standing up for yourself. Annabeth Gish and Timothy Bottoms star.

    Directed by:

  • Martha Coolidge
    • rating:3.9.png 3.9 Average Rating


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    Comedy
    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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    The Prince & Me
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    The Prince & Me

    2004
    College freshman Paige is a force of nature. As soon as she arrives on campus, sparks fly with one of her classmates, Eddie. But she's clueless that he's actually a Danish prince spending a year hiding in America disguised as a regular guy.

    Directed by:

  • Martha Coolidge
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    What Women Want
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    What Women Want

    2000
    Advertising executive Nick Marshall (Mel Gibson) is as cocky as they come in director Nancy Meyers's Golden Globe-nominated comedy. But what happens to a chauvinistic guy when he can suddenly hear what women are thinking? Nick gets passed over for a promotion, but after an accident enables him to hear women's thoughts, he puts his newfound talent to work against Darcy (Helen Hunt), his new boss, who seems to be infatuated with him.

    Directed by:

  • Nancy Meyers
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Princess Protection Program
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    Princess Protection Program

    2009
    With her country in political turmoil, teenage princess Rosie enters a protection program and winds up relocating to rural America, where she makes new friends and learns a variety of life lessons.

    Directed by:

  • Allison Liddi
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    Documentary
    Africa Unite
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    Africa Unite

    2008
    This documentary tribute to legendary reggae icon Bob Marley centers on the Marley clan's 2005 visit to Ethiopia, in which they perform a live musical salute to the family luminary, with more than 300,000 fans in attendance. The film also includes never-before-seen footage of Marley, along with a soundtrack full of his studio hits and appearances by the likes of Danny Glover and matriarch Cedella Marley Booker.

    Directed by:

  • Stephanie Black
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    A Film Unfinished
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    A Film Unfinished

    2010
    This potent documentary uses a long-lost film reel to illustrate how the Nazis controlled images of Jewish life during World War II. Though the Nazis made a propaganda movie of contented Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, the missing spool exposes the truth. Director Yael Hersonski shows how the imagery was staged to distort historical knowledge and, with the aid of Jewish survivors' testimony, chronicles the horrifying reality of ghetto life.

    Directed by:

  • Yael Hersonski
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    My Neighbor, My Killer
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    My Neighbor, My Killer

    2009
    Victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide try to make peace with the perpetrators of the violence in this compelling documentary from filmmaker Anne Aghion, who takes viewers to a village where government trials attempt to foster reconciliation. The powerful footage follows the court proceedings, where women whose family members were killed are asked to forgive the responsible parties so they can move back into their communities.

    Directed by:

  • Anne Aghion
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    All of Us
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    All of Us

    2008
    While investigating the high rate of HIV infections among black women, South Bronx physician Mehret Mandefro examines the personal lives of her patients Chevelle and Tara, women whose past and current situations place them at high risk for infection. As she looks at her patients' struggles with drug dependence, poverty and sexual abuse, Dr. Mandefro reflects on her own history and discovers many surprising vulnerabilities.

    Directed by:

  • Emily Abt
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Foreign
    Genpin
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    Genpin

    2010
    Beautiful cinematography and lush images highlight this intriguing documentary about Tadashi Yoshimura, a respected obstetrician who has devoted her 40-year career to helping women achieve a peaceful experience through natural childbirth. Through in-depth interviews, the women at Dr. Yoshimura's clinic discuss their deliveries and their perceptions of the bond between parent and child, with the doctor's own 16mm footage complementing the film.

    Directed by:

  • Naomi Kawase
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Queen to Play
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    Queen to Play

    2009
    Intrigued by a pair of vacationing lovers playing chess, hotel maid Hélène sets her sights on mastering the game. With some coaching from a doctor who employs her services, Hélène hones her chess skills and begins to notice big changes in her life.

    Directed by:

  • Caroline Bottaro
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    Snow
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    Snow

    2008
    Struggling to make ends meet in Yugoslavia shortly after the brutal civil war that raged there in the 1990s, a community of women faces economic ruin even as they mourn the deaths of their husbands and fathers who were killed during the conflict. Their fortunes change when a hotel developer offers to buy their land, but if they sell, will they be surrendering their memories and souls as well? Aida Begic directs this provocative drama.

    Directed by:

  • Aida Begic
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Map of the Sounds of Tokyo
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    Map of the Sounds of Tokyo

    2009
    When the daughter of prominent Tokyo businessman Mr. Nagara (Takeo Nakahara) commits suicide, Nagara's heartbroken employee Ishida (Hideo Sakaki) hires part-time hit woman Ryu (Rinko Kikuchi) to kill the man (Sergi López) perceived as responsible for the daughter's death. Meanwhile, a curious sound engineer becomes obsessed with Ryu and her life in this lyrical and mysterious drama from acclaimed Spanish director Isabel Coixet.

    Directed by:

  • Isabel Coixet
    • 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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