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.
Thrillers
Plain Clothes
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Plain Clothes

1988
When his brother is accused of murdering a high school teacher, undercover cop Nick Dunbar (Arliss Howard) tries to clear his sibling's name by posing as a student to investigate the killing, but he finds himself sucked into a vortex of teen angst. Dunbar is sidetracked by bullies, love triangles and a power-mad principal (Robert Stack) as he tries to hone in on the true culprit in this quirky comedy from director Martha Coolidge.

Directed by:

  • Martha Coolidge
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 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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    K-19: The Widowmaker
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    K-19: The Widowmaker

    2002
    The amazing true story of Russia's first nuclear ballistic submarine, which suffered a nuclear reactor malfunction on its maiden voyage in the North Atlantic in 1961. The unyielding Capt. Vostrikov and his second-in-command must race against time to prevent a Chernobyl-like nuclear explosion that not only threatens the lives of the crew it could also ignite a world war between the superpowers.

    Directed by:

  • Kathryn Bigelow
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Population 436
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    Population 436

    2006
    For a century, Rockwell Falls has had the same number of residents: 436. A census taker (Jeremy Sisto) is sent there to figure out how the town managed to accomplish such a dubious feat in this disturbing drama. Once he arrives, he quickly senses all's not well and is subsequently stripped of his freedom. If he doesn't fall in line with the village's oppressive rules, he may end up lost forever. David Ames and Fred Durst co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Michelle Maxwell MacLaren
    • rating:3.1.png 3.1 Average Rating


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    Foreign
    The Mermaid
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    The Mermaid

    2007
    As a little girl, Alisa (Mariya Shalayeva) always believed the fantasy that she could make any wish come true. But as a young woman, she must quickly adapt to grim reality when she moves to Moscow with her mother. In the big city, Alisa meets Sasha (Yevgeni Tsyganov), a depressive heavy drinker who has a terrible tendency of putting his life in danger -- and who may prove to be her undoing.

    Directed by:

  • Anna Melikyan
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    Encounter Point
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    Encounter Point

    2006
    As violence continues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some of those touched by the bloodshed become advocates for peace. This documentary introduces citizens on both sides for whom an end to conflict has become a personal crusade. Family members of slain Palestinians and Israelis, both military and civilian, share their stories and how they've turned their grief into a force for change in the region.

    Directed by:

  • Ronit Avni
  • Julia Bacha
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Sequins
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    Sequins

    2004
    After learning she's five months pregnant, 17-year-old Claire (Lola Naymark) leaves her former life behind to give birth in anonymity. An excellent embroiderer, Claire finds work with a professional in the business, Madame Melikian (Ariane Ascaride). Both women bear a heavy burden -- the Madame can't cope with her son's death, and Claire doesn't want to have a child. As they pour themselves into the work they love, the two develop a strong bond.

    Directed by:

  • Eleonore Faucher
    • rating:3.5.png 3.5 Average Rating


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    Black and White
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    Black and White

    2008
    Cristina Comencini's follow-up to her Oscar-nominated foreign language film Don't Tell (2005) is an interracial love story about an Italian computer programmer (Fabio Volo) who falls for a Senegalese embassy worker (Aïssa Maïga), much to the dismay of their spouses (Ambra Angiolini and Eriq Ebouaney). When their illicit affair is revealed, their mutual passion -- and their racial differences -- wreak havoc on both of their lives.

    Directed by:

  • Cristina Comencini
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Comedy
    The Producers
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    The Producers

    2005
    A has-been Broadway producer and a neurotic accountant scheme to raise a ton of money for a production that's sure to be a flop -- a play titled "Springtime for Hitler," penned by a Nazi -- so they can then pocket the extra cash.

    Directed by:

  • Susan Stroman
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    The Secret World of Alex Mack: Season 1
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    The Secret World of Alex Mack: Season 1

    1994
    Junior high is rarely easy -- just ask 13-year-old Alex Mack (Larisa Oleynik), whose humiliating first day ends with her being almost hit by a truck and then doused by a mystery chemical. Now, endowed with supernatural powers, Alex must rely on her genius sister and her best friend to help her hide them so that the chemical company doesn't use her as a lab guinea pig. Jessica Alba guest stars in this popular Nickelodeon series from the 1990s.

    Directed by:

  • Peter Lauer
  • Christopher T. Welch
  • Allison Liddi
  • Sean McNamara
    • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger
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    Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger

    2008
    A total outcast at her private school, Esther (Danielle Catanzariti) suffocates under her mother's (Essie Davis) constant pressure at home. But after forming an unlikely friendship with well-liked Sunni (Keisha Castle-Hughes), Esther starts taking daring risks and suddenly becomes popular. A smart, good-natured comedy about learning to be yourself, this Australian coming-of-age story also features Toni Collette.

    Directed by:

  • Cathy Randall
    • rating:3.4.png 3.4 Average Rating


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    Maria Holic: The Complete Series
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    Maria Holic: The Complete Series

    2009
    Teenage boarding school student Kanako prefers girls to boys, especially since the mere thought of the opposite sex can give her a skin rash. So what's she to do when Mariya, the girl of her dreams, turns out to be a meanspirited cross-dressing boy? The quest for true love takes surprising twists and turns as Kanako peruses her school's selection of cute girls in this anime series based on the popular manga.

    Directed by:

  • Marina Inoue
    • rating:4.3.png 4.3 Average Rating


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    Independent
    Songcatcher
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    Songcatcher

    2000
    During a visit to her sister in Appalachia, a gifted musicologist stumbles upon a musical treasure trove of dozens of Scots-Irish ballads that have been preserved for generations by the local populace and are unknown to the outside world.

    Directed by:

  • Maggie Greenwald
    • rating:3.6.png 3.6 Average Rating


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    Lucky Days
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    Lucky Days

    2008
    Coney Island resident Virginia (Angelica Torn) -- still single and solitary at the ripe old age of 30 -- faces the prospect of watching the town's world-famous amusement park be demolished to make way for a new development. But Virginia's meditations are interrupted when a face from the distant past reappears in this earnest independent feature that was the last film made using the iconic Coney Island boardwalk as a backdrop.

    Directed by:

  • Tony Torn
  • Angelica Torn
    • rating:3.2.png 3.2 Average Rating


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    Whip It
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    Whip It

    2009
    Escaping her smothering mother's beauty pageant plans for her, small-town teen Bliss joins an all-girl roller derby team in Austin and begins living a thrilling double life as Babe Ruthless, a life that might eventually catch up with her.

    Directed by:

  • Drew Barrymore
    • rating:3.7.png 3.7 Average Rating


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    Down in the Delta
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    Down in the Delta

    1998
    Unemployed single mother Loretta Sinclair (Alfre Woodard) lives with her mother, Rosa Lynn (Mary Alice), in a Chicago apartment until drug abuse causes Loretta to neglect her children in this familly drama directed by renowned poet Maya Angelou. To get Loretta back on her feet, Rosa Lynn ships her and the kids to their Mississippi Delta hometown, where Uncle Earl (Al Freeman Jr.) takes them in and teaches them about their rich heritage.

    Directed by:

  • Maya Angelou
    • 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   
    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