A few weeks ahead of schedule, I have completed my third year pledging to watch #52FilmsByWomen. Read blogs for Year 1 and Year 2.
There were a couple of revisits…
Mamma Mia! – sing-a-long version for Mother’s Day, Mustang at Lewes Depot as part of a day long Study Day for A level Studies and What Women Want, because this women wanted to!
And although I only listed it once, I did see Jane Campion’s The Piano three times as part of its 25th anniversary re-release which coincided with the release of my book In the Scene: Jane Campion.
I also watched Sweetie again ahead of an interview I did for BBC Radio 4’s Film Programme (listen here).
As for new releases I absolutely loved Chloe Zhao’s The Rider and Annemarie Jacir’s Wajib, which I saw at Chichester Cinema at New Park’s Film Festival in August. Where I also saw Jane Campion’s The Piano and Amanda Sthers’ Madame.
In the documentary field I was very taken with Alexandra Dean’s Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story and Julia Marchese’s Out Of Print both of which formed part of my other twitter hashtag #FilmsAboutFilm.
Classics from the past included silent films from Lois Weber and Elvira Notari, and a few more Dorothy Arzner films from the 30s. Then there was a huge leap to the 70s to see Messiah of Evil directed by Willard Huyck & Gloria Katz, from the 80s I saw Elaine May’s Ishtar and the 90s brought me Agnieszka Holland’s Olivier Olivier.
Thematically many of the films featured mothers and daughters with Real Women Have Curves (2002, Patricia Cardoso), Brave (2012, Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman and co-directed by Steve Purcell), Lady Bird (2017, Greta Gerwig) and Pin Cushion (2018, Deborah Haywood) taking this family dynamic in very different directions.
Of the films new to me this year, my top five would be….
The Rider (2017, Chloe Zhao)
Wajib (2017, Annemarie Jacir)
Pin Cushion (2018, Deborah Haywood)
Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017, Angela Robinson)
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017, Alexandra Dean)
Sadly haven’t managed to see The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Leave No Trace which are cropping up on many people’s Top 10 Films of the Year lists. So, I have them to look forward to for year four of #52FilmsByWomen.
And here’s the full list…
105. Audrie and Daisy (2016, Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk)
106. Loser (2000, Amy Heckerling)
107. Mamma Mia! Sing-a-Long (2008, Phyllida Lloyd)
108. Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017, Angela Robinson)
109. The Beguiled (2017, Sofia Coppola)
110. David Lynch: The Art Life (2016, Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergaard-Holm, Jon Nguyen)
111. Bran Nue Dae (2010, Rachel Perkins)
112. Messiah of Evil (1973, Willard Huyck & Gloria Katz)
113. Anybody's Women (1930, Dorothy Arzner)
114. Craig's Wife (1936, Dorothy Arzner)
115. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017, Alexandra Dean)
116. We Are Our Own Liberators (2018, Amelia Francis)
117. All Roads Lead to Rome (2015, Ella Lemhagen)
118. Elvira Notari triple bill: Un Amore Selvaggio (1912) L'Italia s'e desta (1927), Fantasia 'e Surdate (1927)
119. Liberty Stands Still (2002, Kari Skogland)
120. Cloud Atlas (2012, Tom Twyker, Lily Wachowski and Lana Wachowski)
121. A Wrinkle in Time (2018, Ava Duvernay)
122. Nana (1934, Dorothy Arzner)
123. Loving Vincent (2017, Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman)
124. The Piano (1993, Jane Campion) x 3
125. Mary Shelley (2017, Haifaa al-Mansour)
126. The Woodsman (2004, Nicole Kassell)
127. Madame (2017, Amanda Sthers)
128. The Rider (2017, Chloe Zhao)
129. Wajib (2017, Annemarie Jacir)
130. What Women Want (2000, Nancy Myers)
131. Four Last Songs (2006, Francesca Jones)
132. The Party (2017, Sally Potter)
133. Sweetie (1989, Jane Campion)
134. Lois Weber double bill: Suspense (1914)/The Blot (1921)
135. Sleigh Bells Ring (2016, Marita Grabiak)
136. Mustang (2015, Deniz Gamze Erguven)
137. AWOL (2016, Deb Shoval)
138. Out Of Print (2014, Julia Marchese)
139. Pitch Perfect 3 (2017, Trish Sie)
140. Obit (2016, Vanessa Gould)
141. Pin Cushion (2018, Deborah Haywood)
142. Lady Bird (2017, Greta Gerwig)
143. Please Give (2010, Nicole Holofcener)
144. Olivier, Olivier (1992, Agnieszka Holland)
145. Nappily Ever After (2018, Haifaa al-Mansour)
146. You Were Never Really Here (2018, Lynne Ramsay)
147. Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (2006, Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck)
148. Real Women Have Curves (2002, Patricia Cardoso)
149 The Christmas Secret (2014, Norma Bailey)
150. Brave (2012, Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman and co-directed by Steve Purcell)
151. Blockers (2018, Kay Cannon)
152. Ishtar (1987, Elaine May)
153. Appropriate Behaviour (2015, Desiree Akhavan)
154. Harvest Love (2017, Christie Will)
155. A Common Thread (2004, Éléonore Faucher) 156. Leaving (2009, Catherine Corsini)