Well the good news is that each 'year' it is getting easier to find films directed by women, on the down side they still only represent a small percentage of the films I watch.
This group of 52 spanning 101 years from 1919 - 2020 I watched between 15 October 2019 and 5 June 2020, and features so many great films. Some like Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and Autumn de Wilde’s Emma. were widely released and I managed to catch them at my local cinema. Others like Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir and Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire were shown at my local art house cinema. However, most I still had to watch via streaming services or home entertainment releases at home. But, given that I broke my ankle in January which limited cinemagoing and then in March all cinemas closed, watching films at home has become the norm.
Communal viewing parties have become a regular fixture and via Carol Morley’s #FridayFilmClub watched films 247, 248, 253 and 256. Starstruck (256) being one of my fave new discoveries, and Edith Carlmer (248) a director I need to learn more about. The Women Over 50 Film Festival drew my attention to Kate Nash: Underestimate The Girl (2018, Amy Goldstein), which was one of a number of fascinating documentaries in this grouping including three by Jeanie Finlay and two by Lauren Greenfield. I have also included here three TV series which were directed by women, based on books written by women: Alias Grace, The Pale Horse and Apple Tree Yard.
In addition to Little Women (2019, Greta Gerwig), On the Basis of Sex (2018, Mimi Leder), The Assistant (2019, Kitty Green) and I Am Not An Easy Man (2018, Éléonore Pourriat) tackle gender issues head-on. The latter reminding me of Alice Guy-Blaché’s Consequences of Feminism (1906), who was the subject of Pamela B Green’s remarkable documentary Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché, about the first female filmmaker.
From the beginning of January 2020 I started logging all films I’ve watched on letterboxd which means by the end of the year I will have a better understanding of the percentage of films #directedbywomen I have seen. You can follow me on letterboxd here.
209. Obvious Child (2014, Gillian Robespierre)
210. Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth (2019, Jeanie Finlay)
211. A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish (2019, Michelle Johnston)
212. Late Night (2019, Nisha Ganatra)
213. The Souvenir (2019, Joanna Hogg)
214. Booksmart (2019, Olivia Wilde)
215. Little Women (2019, Greta Gerwig)
216. Before I Fall (2017, Ry Russo-Young)
217. On the Basis of Sex (2018, Mimi Leder)
218. Little Women (1994, Gillian Armstrong)
219. The Breadwinner (2017, Nora Twomey)
220. Love Gilda (2018, Lisa Dapolito)
221. Troop Zero (2019, Bert & Bertie)
222. A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004, Shainee Gabel)
223. Enough Said (2013, Nicole Holofcener)
224. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018, Pamela B Green)
225. Hustlers (2019, Lorene Scafaria)
226. The Queen of Versailles (2012, Lauren Greenfield)
227. Generation Wealth (2018, Lauren Greenfield)
228. Emma. (2020, Autumn de Wilde)
229. Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach (2016, Louise Osmond)
230. Cinema Verite (2011, Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini)
231. Alias Grace (2017, Mary Harron. S/p. Sarah Polley)
232. It's My Turn (1980, Claudia Weill)
233. Daddy Issues (2018, Amara Cash)
234. The Triumph of Love (2001, Clare Peploe)
235. To Die in San Hilario (2005, Laura Mañá)
236. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019, Celine Sciamma)
237. Death Defying Acts (2007, Gillian Armstrong)
238. Paradise Hills (2019, Alice Waddington)
239. The Lost Husband (2020, Vicky Wight)
240. Carrie Pilby (2016, Susan Johnson)
241. I Am Not An Easy Man (2018, Éléonore Pourriat)
242. The Pale Horse (2020, Leonora Lonsdale)
243. Apple Tree Yard (2017, Jessica Hobbs)
244. The Assistant (2019, Kitty Green)
245. The Half of It (2020, Alice Wu)
246. Ophelia (2018, Claire McCarthy)
247. Death is a Caress (1949, Edith Carlmer)
248. Craig's Wife (1936, Dorothy Arzner)
249. Kate Nash: Underestimate The Girl (2018, Amy Goldstein)
250. A Little Bit of Heaven (2011, Nicole Kassell)
251. Wild Nights With Emily (2018, Madeleine Olnek)
252. Goth Cruise (2008, Jeanie Finlay)
253. Sound It Out (2011, Jeanie Finlay)
254. Waiting for the Miracle to Come (2018, Lian Lunson)
255. The Countess (2009, Julie Delpy)
256. Starstruck (1982, Gillian Armstrong)
257. Beaches (2017, Allison Anders)
258. La Cigarette (1919, Germaine Dulac)
259. Daughters of the Dust (1991, Julie Dash)
260. Euphoria (2017, Lisa Langseth)
Here's to the next 52!