The Oscars came under great fire this year due to their appalling lack of diversity – on top of there being no people of colour in the acting categories, once again there was not a single woman nominated for Best Director, nor has there been since 2010 when Kathryn Bigelow became the first female director ever to win. The distinct lack of women behind the camera has been a problem in Hollywood for some time, especially when you take note of some of the remarkable films women have put out since cinema began. With all that in mind, and given that it’s International Women’s History Month, here is a list of five female directors that you should know about.
Ava DuVerney
Best known for her work on the towering Martin Luther King Jr. biopic Selma that led to her becoming the first black woman nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Director, Ava DuVernay has since caused a storm in the Hollywood mainstream. Despite the colossal success of Selma, her first two films are far smaller, independent features: I Will Follow chronicles the day in the life of a grieving artist, while Middle of Nowhere, which gained her the Directing Award for U.S. Dramatic Film at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival (another first for a black woman), explores a promising medical student having to deal with her husband going to prison. Her next feature film, set to once again include David Oyelowo, will focus on “social and environmental” aspects of Hurricane Katrina.
Kimberly Peirce
Kimberly Peirce caused her own storm in 1999 with the release of her debut feature Boys Don’t Cry, a dramatization of the life and murder of the real life Brandon Teena, a transgender man. Her second feature, Stop-Loss, focuses on the experiences of soldiers who fought in Iraq while her third is a remake of the acclaimed horror film Carrie. Much of the inspiration for her dark and violent works has been said to have come from her love of The Godfather, due to her interest in the “psychological and the authentic portrayal of violence – particularly violence that comes out of emotions”. Despite this, she is currently moving away from the violent drama genre to work on a queer sex comedy with Judd Apatow; Peirce herself is also openly lesbian.
Lynne Ramsay
Scottish-born Lynne Ramsay is widely recognised for her vivid and unsettling dramas that put focus on the experiences of children and young people as well as dealing with themes of grief, guilt and death. Her debut feature Ratcatcher follows a young boy living in 1970s Glasgow during the binmen strike, while Morvern Callar deals with a young woman who covers up the suicide of her boyfriend, steals his unfinished book and uses the profit to travel to Ibiza with her friend. We Need to Talk About Kevin, an adaptation of the novel of the same name which explores the trials of raising a difficult child, was met with especial acclaim and garnered her a BAFTA nomination for Best Director. In 2003 she was rated the 12th best working director in the world by The Guardian.
Celine Sciamma
With each of her films showing distinct minimalism and beautiful mise-en-scène, France’s Celine Sciamma specialises in coming-of-age dramas that focus on the difficulties of adolescence; she thus considers her three films – Water Lilies, Tomboy, and Girlhood – to be a trilogy. Sciamma has stated her interest in the fluidity of gender and sexuality among girls during this significant time in their lives, and has incorporated these themes into her works thusly: Water Lilies explores the sexual awakenings of two 15-year-olds girls who meet at their local swimming pool; Tomboy focuses on a 10-year-old transgender boy, and Girlhood follows a shy 16-year-old who is welcomed into a tough girl gang.
Lone Sherfig
Known for her works within the romantic-comedy genre – including Italian for Beginners and Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself – Denmark’s Lone Sherfig came to great prominence in Hollywood with her Oscar-nominated adaptation of Lynn Barber’s memoir An Education. Since then she has directed two more adaptations – One Day, a romantic drama about a couple who meet once a year on the same date, and The Riot Club, a thriller about a group of Oxford boys who one night take their privileged and elitist dining club too far. She was also a part of the Dogme 95 movement, whose aim was to put focus on story, acting and theme rather than special effect in the hope that the industry would give the power back to the artist rather than the studio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROWtURQNekg
Words by Samantha King