How many of you know Patty Jenkins and Kimberly Peirce? They directed well-known actresses to Oscar wins. Why don’t you know that Alice Rohrwacher and Valérie Donzelli are two of the biggest names to come out of the Cannes Film Festival in the last two years? How can you not possibly know Susanne Bier, Ana Lily Amirpour, Andrea Arnold, Lucy Mulloy? You’ve seen popular movies like Children of a Lesser God, Wayne’s World, Big, Sleepless in Seattle – who do you think directed them? And of course you must know actresses Jodie Foster, Lena Dunham, Drew Barrymore, Lake Bell, and that they directed movies too? I won’t insult your intelligence and awareness by declaring the status of film-makers Ava DuVernay, Sofia Coppola, Kathryn Bigelow, Sarah Polley, Jane Campion. Heavyweights.
It appear girls walk home alone at night in this film industry. Or that is the way it seems at times. I am one of many who feels the excitement of some of the terrific work women film-makers have produced, are producing, and will produce. But it should not really be a novelty. It should be the norm. Shining light on talent slipping through various nets is right up my street, so to follow the success of the initial series 100 Films Made By Women I am delving into that pot once again, with, yes, you guessed it, another 100 Films Made By Women (diversity in title pending). My mouth is watering at the very prospect of this.
I’m certainly going to grab the lioness’ share of this new 100, but I am calling out loudly for further contributions to this incredibly illustrious list. Many of you have come forward already (though not quite with the Balmain ferocity of the rush to get into Oxford Street’s H&M recently). Each little write-up of the movie directed by a woman need only be around 200 words, less or more is fine. It can be a review, bigging up the lady behind the camera, a bit of both – up to you. And we won’t be using any films directed by any of the 100 women featured in the first series. So for the record, here are 100 female film-makers featured in the previous list.
I eagerly look forward to your feedback on this, once again flood the comments section with your suggestions. In the meantime, refresh your feeble memories here why don’t you:
