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.
Romance
Jesus' Son
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Jesus' Son

1999
Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, director Alison Maclean's reflective drama follows FH (Billy Crudup), a well-meaning drug addict who stumbles backward into redemption. When his longtime love (Samantha Morton) leaves, FH follows her but meets and falls for the older Mira (Holly Hunter). Amid his life's wreckage, a near-fatal car crash and a chance to save a child's life force FH to examine his existence and its meaning.

Directed by:

  • Alison MacLean
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Hester Street
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    Hester Street

    1975
    Joan Micklin Silver's film stars Carol Kane as Gitl, a traditional Jewish woman who travels to America in the late 1800s to reunite with her husband (Stephen Keats), but instead is met with heartache when she discovers he's a changed man. Nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of a woman abandoned, Kane infuses Gitl with depth and humanity, making her struggles at once palpable and enlightening. Co-stars Doris Roberts and Mel Howard.

    Directed by:

  • Joan Micklin Silver
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Blood & Chocolate
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    Blood & Chocolate

    2007
    After moving from America to Bucharest, Romania, a teenage werewolf finds herself torn between loyalty and love when she falls for a human and incurs the ire of the pack leader -- who's planning to make her his mate.

    Directed by:

  • Katja von Garnier
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Frida
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    Frida

    2002
    Julie Taymor directs this Oscar-winning biopic of painter Frida Kahlo, focusing on her often rocky relationship with husband Diego Rivera and her controversial political and sexual reputation (she was a communist and openly bisexual).

    Directed by:

  • Julie Taymor
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    Music & Musicals
    Glenn Tilbrook: One for the Road
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    Glenn Tilbrook: One for the Road

    2004
    Expecting a fancy tour bus and above-average accommodations, filmmaker Amy Pickard was surprised to find that former Squeeze front man Glenn Tilbrook was conducting his first solo tour in a crumbling motor home that also served as his hotel room. Capturing several months on the road with Tilbrook, this engaging documentary includes live acoustic performances of "Tempted," "Black Coffee in Bed," "Take Me, I'm Yours" and "Up the Junction."

    Directed by:

  • Amy Pickard
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit
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    The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit

    1994
    Like Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night, this documentary follows the Beatles on their first trip to America in February 1964. Documentarian brothers Albert and David Maysles were given surprising access to the band during several of their concerts and even their influential first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Performance clips include "All My Loving," "I Saw Her Standing There" and "This Boy."

    Directed by:

  • Kathy Dougherty
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    Recording the Producers: A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks
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    Recording the Producers: A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks

    2001
    The exuberant atmosphere of the Broadway blockbuster is captured in Recording the Producers: A Musical Romp With Mel Brooks, a new 85-minute film from the Emmy Award-winning director Susan Froemke and Maysles Films. The film candidly captures the excitement of translating the show into a complete experience for the recording's audience.

    Directed by:

  • Susan Froemke
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Prokofiev: War and Peace
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    Prokofiev: War and Peace

    2004
    Soprano Olga Gouriakova sings the role of Natacha, while Nathan Gunn lends his lush baritone to the part of André in this Paris National Opera production of composer Sergei Prokofiev's interpretation of the literary classic War and Peace. Written as Adolf Hitler's Nazis were invading Prokofiev's Russian homeland, the story's themes take on added weight in an opera heavy with emotion. Maestro Gary Bertini conducts the orchestra and chorus.

    Directed by:

  • Francesca Zambello
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    Documentary
    War Don Don
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    War Don Don

    2010
    Filmmaker Rebecca Richman Cohen offers this gripping documentary that follows the sensational trial of Issa Sesay, a controversial leader in Sierra Leone's bloody civil war who stands accused of heinous crimes against humanity.

    Directed by:

  • Rebecca Richman Cohen
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Olympia
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    Olympia

    1938
    On the heels of her propaganda film, Triumph of the Will, German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl chronicled the 1936 Olympics with this stellar, poetic sports documentary which captures the games in Berlin, including Jesse Owens's history-making victory. The thrill of the games, the beauty and power of the athletes, Riefenstahl's groundbreaking camera techniques and an evocative soundtrack make this one of the best sports documentaries ever made.

    Directed by:

  • Leni Riefenstahl
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Been Rich All My Life
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    Been Rich All My Life

    2006
    Join the Silver Belles, a group of five former Harlem showgirls now aged 84 to 96, as they continue to entertain in this documentary by Heather MacDonald. From dancing together in the hottest venues such as the Cotton Club to performing with world-renowned bandleaders Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington, the gallivanting gals were the toast of the town during the 1930s; in 1985, they renounced retirement and reunited to grace the stage once again.

    Directed by:

  • Heather MacDonald
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Maria's Story: A Documentary Portrait of Love and Survival in El Salvador's Civil War
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    Maria's Story: A Documentary Portrait of Love and Survival in El Salvador's Civil War

    1990
    In this riveting documentary that was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival, filmmakers Monona Wali and Pamela Cohen shadow the remarkable Maria Serrano, an El Salvadoran woman who splits her time as a wife, mother and guerrilla leader. Released some 20 years after the original footage was filmed, this anniversary edition includes an update on Serrano, her family and her country in the wake of civil war.

    Directed by:

  • Pamela Cohen
    • rating:4.1.png 4.1 Average Rating


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    Television
    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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    Midsomer Murders: Talking to the Dead
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    Midsomer Murders: Talking to the Dead

    2008
    British police inspector Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) takes on a confounding murder case with supernatural overtones in another classic rural crime saga from the popular and deftly crafted "Midsomer Murders" detective series. After a celebrated psychic arrives in the area to shed light on an ancient tragedy, three local people vanish without a trace and a lethal mystery begins to unfold. Soon, Barnaby is racing to prevent another tragedy.

    Directed by:

  • Sarah Hellings
    • rating:3.9.png 3.9 Average Rating


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    Evolution
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    Evolution

    2002
    Covering all facets of the evolutionary process, this comprehensive PBS documentary -- narrated by actor Liam Neeson -- looks at everything from the genesis of Charles Darwin's natural selection theory to the clash between science and spirituality. Via computer animation, dramatic re-creations, film clips and expert interviews, the seven-part series presents a definitive view of how evolution has changed our perceptions of the world.

    Directed by:

  • David Espar
  • Susan K. Lewis
  • Alastair Reid
  • Joel Olicker
  • Kate Churchill
  • Richard Hutton
  • Gail Willumsen
  • Noel Buckner
  • Robert Whittlesey
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Alien Nation: The Complete Series
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    Alien Nation: The Complete Series

    1989
    Based on the 1988 film starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin, this sci-fi series follows the exploits of Los Angeles police detectives Matthew Sykes (Gary Graham) and George "Sam" Francisco (Eric Pierpoint) -- who's actually an alien sent to Earth to live among humans. Sykes, however, is unaware of his partner's secret identity. Michele Scarabelli co-stars as George's mate, Susan, with Terri Treas playing Sykes's alien neighbor.

    Directed by:

  • Gwen Arner
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 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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