In 2015 I wrote a chapter on women working behind the camera in the silent film period for Silent Women: Pioneers of Cinema, published in March 2016.
Therefore at the beginning of 2016 I was keen to take up Women in Film's pledge to watch 52 films directed by women over the next year. Well I made it! Watching my 52nd film directed by a woman on 29 December.
I watched films from one hundred years of filmmaking, the earliest film was Lois Weber's 1916 films Shoes (which I actually saw twice!) and a number of films released in 2016.
I saw 12 documentaries two of which were about women directors (Nell Shipman and Alice Guy-Blache) working within the silent film industry. The remainder (40) were feature films: 8 in a foreign language, 32 in English - mainly UK & US.
Newly discovered directors I really 'fell' for were Agnes Varda (still more to see) and Alice Wu (sadly, Saving Face is her only film).
I will aim to watch at least another 52 in 2017.
Here's 2016's list in full...
52. Elvis & Nixon (2016) Liza Johnson 51. Love & Basketball (2000) Gina Prince-Bythewood 50. Perseopolis (2007) Marjane Satrapi 49. The 33 (2015) Patricia Riggen 48. 13th (2016) Ava Duvernay 47. Not Wanted (1949) Ida Lupino 46. Vagabond (1985) Agnes Varda 45. Whatever Happened, Miss Simone? (20) Liz Garbus 44. Money Monster (2016) Jodie Foster 43. Saving Face (2004) Alice Wu 42. Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) Agnes Varda 41. Grace of My Heart (1996) Allison Anders 40. Selma (2014) Ava Duvernay 39. Our Kind of Traitor (2016) Susanna White 38. Suffragette (2015) Sarah Gavron 37. Fish Tank (2010) Andrea Arnold 36. Jenny's Wedding (2015) Mary Agnes Donoghue 35. Daisies (1966) Vera Chytilova 34. A United Kingdom (2016) Amma Asante 33. Big Stone Gap (20) Adriana Trigiani 32. CitizenFour (20) Laura Poitras 31. The Wolfpack (2015) Crystal Moselle 30. Weiner (2016) Josh Kriegman & Elyse Steinberg 29. The Lost Garden: The Life and Cinema of Alice Guy-Blaché (1995) Marquise Lepage 28. Back to God's Country (1919) Nell Shipman 27. The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008) Peggy Holland 26. Meet the Patels (2014) Geeta & Ravi Patel 25. Girl from God's Country (2014) Karen Day 24. Mustang (2015) Deniz Gamze Erguven 23. Of Girls and Horses (2014) Monika Truet 22. Little Victorian Secrets (2010) Sandra Skibsted 21. Mad Hot Ballroom (2005) Marilyn Agrelo 20. Just Before I Go (2014) Courteney Cox 19. Old Joy (2006) Kelly Reichardt 18. The Night Porter (1974) Liliana Cavani 17. Josie and the Pussycats (2001) Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan 16. The Invitation (2015) Karyn Kusama 15. The Wild Party (1929) Dorothy Arzner 14. Bright Days Ahead (2013) Marion Vernoux 13. Afghan Star (2009) Havana Marking 12. 13 Conversations About One Thing (2001) Jill Sprecher 11. Veronika Decides to Die (2009) Emily Young 10. Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird (2010) Mary McDonagh Murphy 9. Ginger & Rosa (2012) Sally Potter 8. Behind the Make Up (1930) Dorothy Arzner 7. The Hitch-hiker (1953) Ida Lupino 6. Shoes (1916) Lois Weber 5. Wuthering Heights (2011) Andrea Arnold 4. An Education (2011) Lone Scherfig 3. The Man Who Cried (2000) Sally Potter 2. Two Friends (1996) Jane Campion 1. Welcome to Me (2014) Shira Piven