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.
Gay & Lesbian
Priest
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Priest

1994
Director Antonia Bird's film centers on Father Greg Pilkington (Linus Roache), a devout Catholic priest who struggles with a love for his church and congregation -- and his secret life as a homosexual with a gay lover (Robert Carlyle). After hearing the confession of a young girl in his parish, who tells him her father is sexually abusing her, the priest is torn between the laws of the church and his need to choose one life over the other.

Directed by:

  • Antonia Bird
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    Fire
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    Fire

    1996
    Two Hindu women struggle with loveless, arranged marriages: Sita (Nandita Das), who discovers that her husband (Javed Jaffrey) has a mistress, and her sister-in-law, Radha (Shabana Azmi), who cannot give birth. As the lukewarm coals of their long-term relationships fade, the women ignite passion in their lives by finding comfort in each other. Director Deepa Mehta's drama is supposedly the first Indian film about lesbians.

    Directed by:

  • Deepa Mehta
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family
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    Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family

    2005
    Shot over an eight-year span, filmmaker Susan Kaplan's absorbing documentary follows the domestic struggles of three consenting adults: bisexuals Sam Cagnina and Steven Margolin and their live-in straight partner, Samantha Singh. After building an unconventional life together, the threesome decides to conceive a child, which changes the emotional dynamics and sets the stage for -- ironically -- degeneration into traditional family dysfunction.

    Directed by:

  • Susan Kaplan
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    One Nation Under God
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    One Nation Under God

    1993
    This documentary explores the humorous techniques -- including theory from psychiatry and religion -- proposed to "cure" homosexuals. Through interviews and footage from the annals, the argument is made that homosexuality is nothing short of an affliction that can be treated. "Former" lesbian women are featured getting beauty tips, while "former" gay men take to the football fields to prove their masculinity.

    Directed by:

  • Teodoro Maniaci
  • Francine Rzeznik
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Music & Musicals
    The Flute Player
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    The Flute Player

    2003
    After the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975, 9-year-old Arn Chorn-Pond was thrust into the darkness of Cambodia's Killing Fields. For four years, Arn's musical talent kept him from perishing in a genocide that took the lives of 2 million Cambodians. Now, after living in the United States for 20 years, Arn faces the dark shadows of his war-torn past as he fights to save Cambodia's once-outlawed traditional music from extinction.

    Directed by:

  • Jocelyn Glatzer
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Pucker Up
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    Pucker Up

    2006
    From a New Jersey poultry guy to a nerdy corporate exec, the folks profiled here have one thing in common: They're serious about whistling. Kate Davis and David Heilbroner traveled to Louisburg, N.C. -- site of the International Whistling Competition -- to make this joyful movie about the no-nonsense business of competitive whistling. Presenting a year in the lives of several competitors, the film culminates with the event's nail-biting finale.

    Directed by:

  • Kate Davis
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    The Decline of Western Civilization
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    The Decline of Western Civilization

    1981
    Before she directed Wayne and Garth in Wayne's World, Penelope Spheeris helmed this music-driven documentary about the hard-hitting Los Angeles punk scene, a film that proved so potent at its first screening that it was banned by the LAPD. Highlights include live performances by Black Flag, the Germs, X, the Bags, Circle Jerks, Catholic Discipline and Fear, plus interviews with the bands and the extreme fans who love them.

    Directed by:

  • Penelope Spheeris
    • rating:4.4.png 4.4 Average Rating


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    How to Play Fingerstyle Blues Guitar Solos
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    How to Play Fingerstyle Blues Guitar Solos

    2007
    Grammy-winning artist and guitar teacher Mark Hanson offers lessons for playing solo fingerstyle blues guitar, using familiar tunes such as "Amazing Grace" to demonstrate techniques that include multivoiced backup shuffle patterns and much more. Multiple camera angles and close-ups on Hanson's hands as he plays "Riff Raff," "Water Is Wide" and other tunes make this program appropriate for both novice and experienced guitarists.

    Directed by:

  • Greta Pedersen
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Drama
    Sherlock Holmes
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    Sherlock Holmes

    2009
    Not to be confused with the Robert Downey Jr. blockbuster, as a mob of monsters invades London, Dr. Watson believes that the creatures exist but Holmes suspects that Spring-Heeled Jack is responsible in this low-budget take on the classic character.

    Directed by:

  • Rachel Goldenberg
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Household Saints
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    Household Saints

    1993
    In post-World War II New York, Joseph (Vincent D'Onofrio) wins Catherine (Tracey Ullman) in a pinochle game. They marry and have a daughter, Teresa (Lili Taylor), who becomes a religious zealot as she seeks purity through prayer -- much to the consternation of Teresa's boyfriend (Michael Imperioli) and parents. Director Nancy Savoca's third film is based on Francine Prose's novel of the same name.

    Directed by:

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


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    Foxfire
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    Foxfire

    1996
    In this adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates's controversial novel, four high school girls' have their lives changed forever when a defiant, charismatic drifter (Angelina Jolie) unites them and inspires them to exact revenge on their sexually abusive biology teacher. The quintet then spirals toward anarchy as they abduct and blackmail the father of one of the girls -- an act they come to rue when they find themselves on the lam and battling for survival.

    Directed by:

  • Annette Haywood Carter
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 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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    Horror
    Near Dark
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    Near Dark

    1987
    In the dusty heart of the American southwest, innocent country boy Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) is handily seduced by a beautiful girl (Jenny Wright) into joining a pack of vicious drifters, which turns out to be no ordinary band of outlaws. Soon, Caleb is trapped in a nightmarish world of soulless evil and hellish mayhem that thrives on blood and absolute horror. This original vampire tale, co-starring Lance Henriksen, shocks with a ferocious bite.

    Directed by:

  • Kathryn Bigelow
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 Average Rating


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    Pet Sematary 2
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    Pet Sematary 2

    1992
    Having moved to a different town to start a new life, 13-year-old Jeff and his new friend Drew discover a strange Indian burial ground. After burying Drew's dog in the cemetery, they realize they've unleashed a deadly evil that can't be stopped.

    Directed by:

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


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    Ravenous
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    Ravenous

    1999
    In 19th-century California, a band of misfit soldiers at an army outpost led by Capt. John Boyd (Guy Pearce) receives the badly injured Colqhoun (Robert Carlyle), who tells them horrific tales of resorting to cannibalism to stay alive when his group became stranded. Already teetering on the brink of madness from isolation in the Sierra Nevada wilderness, the men are sent over the edge when they attempt to investigate Colqhoun's claims.

    Directed by:

  • Antonia Bird
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    A Nightmare on Elm Street 6: Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
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    A Nightmare on Elm Street 6: Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare

    1991
    Just when you thought it was safe to sleep, Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) returns in this sixth installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, as psychologist Maggie Burroughs (Lisa Zane), tormented by recurring nightmares, meets a patient with the same horrific dreams. Their quest for answers leads to a certain house on Elm Street -- where the nightmares become reality. Johnny Depp and rocker Alice Cooper appear in cameos.

    Directed by:

  • Rachel Talalay
    • rating:3.3.png 3.3 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