Here's the 20th batch of #52FilmsByWomen watched since taking the pledge in 2016. This blog covers films watched between March - May 2024 directed/co-directed by women. This collection of 52 includes seven documentaries, 13 full length fiction films, 31 short films and one which defies categorisation. Many of the shorts were watched for free via the bifplayer's curated collection The Camera is Ours: Britain's Women Documentary Makers, featuring documentaries from women filmmakers from the 1930s to the present. One, I Blame Society (pictured), made it on to my list of films which feature a woman director as a character.
Read about films: 1 – 52, 53 - 104, 105 - 156, 157 - 208, 209 - 260, 261 - 312, 313 - 365, 366 - 417, 418 - 469, 470 - 521, 522 - 573, 574 - 625, 626 - 677, 678 - 729, 730 - 781, 782 - 833, 834 - 885, 886 - 937 and 938 - 989.
From the 12 new-to-me full-length fiction films, my Top 5 were:
The Ascent (1977, Larisa Shepitko)
Bottoms (2023, Emma Seligman)
I Blame Society (2020, Gillian Wallace Horvat)
Priest (1994, Antonia Bird)
Wingwomen (2023, Mélanie Laurent)
From the 29 first-time short film watches, my Top 5 first-time watches were:
Southern Seaside (1935, Marion Grierson) Dover, Spring 1947 (1947, Mary Beales)
Brighton Story (1955, Pamela Bower)
Caprice (1986, Joanna Hogg)
My River Tyne (1986, Sheila Graber)
From the seven documentaries, my top 3 were:
Varda by Agnès (2019, Agnès Varda) The Real Queens of Hip Hop: The Women Who Changed the Game (2021, Fatima Curry)
Anna May Wong: In Her Own Words (2013, Yunah Hong)
And finally, the film that defies categorisation ...
Jiggery Pokery (1994, Sophie Muller)
You can read reviews of all these films on my letterboxd.
Films 990 - 1041
990. Wingwomen (2023, Mélanie Laurent) 991. Varda by Agnès (2019, Agnès Varda) 992. The Sweatbox (2002, Trudie Styler/John-Paul Davidson) 993. Bottoms (2023, Emma Seligman) 994. So This is London (1933, Marion Grierson) 995. Hop Gardens of Kent (1933, Marion Grierson) 996. Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power (2022, NinaMenkes) 997. Southern Seaside (1935, Marion Grierson) 998. Edinburgh 1934, Marion Grierson) 999. Around the Village Green (1937, Evelyn Cherry/Marion Grierson) 1000. Spring on the Farm (1933, Evelyn Cherry) 1001. The Ascent (1977, Larisa Shepitko)~1002. Black Panthers (1968, Agnès Varda) 1003. I Blame Society (2020, Gillian Wallace Horvat) 1004. Priest (1994, Antonia Bird) 1005. What’s For Dinner (1940, Ruby Grierson) 1006. Frida Kahlo’s Corset (2000, Liz Crow) 1007. My River Tyne (1986, Sheila Graber) 1008. The Guilt Trip (2012, Anne Fletcher) 1009. A Quiet Morning (1955, Kay Mander) 1010. Jefferson Circus Songs (1975, Suzan Pitt) 1011. When Abba Came To Britain (2024, Dhivya Kate Chetty) 1012. A Dry White Season (1989, Euzhan Palcy) 1013. Dalíland (2022, Mary Harron) 1014. Loop (2019, Erica Milsom) 1015. Dover, Spring 1947 (1947, Mary Beales) 1016. The Smoking Machine (1964, Sarah Erulkar) 1017. Bao (2018, Domee Shi) 1018. Ebb-tide (1936, Mary Field) 1019. Hedging (1942, Margaret Thomson) 1020. The Children See It Through (1941, Yvonne Fletcher) 1021. London Pigeon (1940, Mary Field) 1022. The Real Queens of Hip Hop: The Women Who Changed the Game (2021, Fatima Curry) 1023. Never Go with Strangers (1971, Sarah Erulkar) 1024. Jiggery Pokery (1994, Sophie Muller) 1025. Atoms at Work (1952, Diana Pine) 1026. Travelling Sixties (1968, Gloria Sachs) 1027. CrimeTime: Freefall (2024, Stacey N. Harding) 1028. Brighton Story (1955, Pamela Bower) 1029. Caprice (1986, Joanna Hogg) 1030. Présages (2023, Joanna Hogg) 1031. Timeshift: When the Circus Comes to Town (2011, Rebecca Whyte) 1032. The Other Zoey (2023, Sara Zandieh) 1033. About My Father (2023, Laura Terruso) 1034. Kung-Fu Master! (1988, Agnès Varda) 1035. The Cabbage-Patch Fairy (1900, Alice Guy-Blaché) 1036. The Lady Bug (2007, Jane Campion) 1037. Memories (1944, Mary Field) 1038. Mrs. T. and Her Cabbage Patch (1941, Mary Field) 1039. Once We Were Four (1942, Mary Field) 1040. Rose Plays Julie (2019, Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy) 1041. Anna May Wong: In Her Own Words (2013, Yunah Hong)
You can watch Jiggery Pokery (1994, Sophie Muller) on YouTube (it's split into two parts)