okay, let’s talk about this (a thread on film twitter, women in the film industry, and a pretty long list of female directors to look out for) https://twitter.com/eatyourdamnsoup/status/1286832071558791168

first of all, i want to say this: ‘film twitter’ is mostly comprised of young people wanting to expand their film knowledge. most people on film twitter can name more than two female directors, but as gerwig and coppola are two of the most accessible female directors

who are currently active, they are often a big part of discussions on twitter. it’s also worth noting that gerwig has been a big part of awards conversations as well, so someone who doesn’t engage in discussion outside of awards season contenders might be most familiar w/her.

now, moving on. it‘s difficult for most filmmakers to build a name for themselves; when a majority of films are advertised as ‘from the producer of _____’, or ‘a [streaming service] original film’, it’s easy for the filmmakers to be overshadowed or even distanced from their art.

this is not something that only or even primarily effects female directors, but it is one of the reasons why people who are only just getting into films will not know the names of female directors even if they are familiar with their films.

a good example of this is the upcoming ‘candyman’ film, which has been so heavily promoted as being ‘produced by jordan peele’ that few are aware that it is actually directed by nia dacosta until they have to look up that information themselves.

women, especially women of colour, have gone underrecognised and underawarded for their films for far too long. i think that rather than making tweets like the original tweet, we should be naming the female filmmakers we’d like to see recognised. so, here’s a few to look out for:

since i already mentioned her, nia dacosta

directed: little woods

look out for: candyman

cathy yan

directed: birds of prey (and the fantabulous emancipation of one harley quinn)

look out for: sour hearts

karyn kusama

directed: jennifer’s body, the invitation

look out for: breed, dracula, bad behavior

mélanie laurent

directed: breathe, tomorrow, the adopted, galvestone

look out for: the nightingale

julia ducournau

directed: raw

look out for: titane

kelly fremon craig

directed: the edge of seventeen

look out for: are you there god? it’s me, margaret

angela robinson

directed: professor marston and the wonder women, herbie fully loaded, d.e.b.s

look out for: strangers in paradise

margaret betts

directed: novitiate

look out for: the fighting shirley chisholm

olivia wilde

directed: booksmart

look out for: don’t worry, darling, untitled holiday comedy project, perfect

julia hart

directed: miss stevens, fast color, stargirl

look out for: i’m your woman

tayarisha poe

directed: selah and the spades

look out for: selah and the spades (tv show)

lisa brühlmann

directed: blue my mind

look out for: ?

coralie fargeat

directed: revenge

look out for: ?

jamie babbit

directed: but i’m a cheerleader, addicted to fresno, itty bitty titty committee, etc

look out for: the stand-in

autumn de wilde

directed: emma.

look out for: ?

alice wu

directed: the half of it, saving face

look out for: ?

dee rees

directed: mudbound, pariah, bessie

look out for: an uncivil war, porgy and bess, untitled horror project

crystal moselle

directed: skate kitchen, betty (tv show)

look out for: betty (season 2)

patty jenkins

directed: wonder woman, monster

look out for: wonder woman 1984

josephine decker

directed: shirley, madeline’s madeline

look out for: the sky is everywhere

ava duvernay

directed: when they see us (tv mini-series), 13th, selma, a wrinkle in time, etc

look out for: dmz (tv movie), the new gods, battle of versailles (tv movie)

lulu wang

directed: the farewell

look out for: the expatraites (tv series)

marielle heller

directed: the diary of a teenage girl, can you ever forgive me?, a beautiful day in the neighbourhood

look out for: ?

gurinder chadha

directed: bend it like beckham, angus thongs and perfect snogging, blinded by the light

look out for: pashmina

jennifer kent

directed: the babadook, the nightingale

look out for: alice + freda forever

kay cannon

directed: blockers

look out for: cinderella, 79ers

sophie lorain

directed: slut in a good way

look out for: ?

céline sciamma

directed: portrait of a lady on fire, tomboy, girlhood, water lilies

look out for: ?

lorene scafaria

directed: hustlers, seeking a friend for the end of the world, the meddler

look out for: ?

claire denis (some of these directors are obviously much more well known and established than others, but why not include them)

directed: high life, beau travail, trouble every day, let the sunshine in, etc

look out for: the stars at noon

lynne ramsey

directed: you were never really here, we need to talk about kevin, ratcatcher, morvern callar

look out for: untitled project, untitled margaret atwood adaptation

ana lily amirpour

directed: a girl walks home alone at night, the bad batch

look out for: mona lisa and the blood moon, cliffhanger

alma har’el

directed: honey boy, bombay beach, lovetrue

look out for: ?

kathryn bigelow

directed: the hurt locker, zero dark thirty, point break, etc

look out for: ?

kelly reichardt

directed: first cow, certain women, meek’s cutoff, etc

look out for: ?

jane campion

directed: the piano, bright star, in the cut, etc

look out for: the power of the dog

mati diop

directed: atlantics, a thousand suns

look out for: in my room (short)

anna biller

directed: the love witch

look out for: bluebeard

wanuri kahiu

directed: rafiki

look out for: the thing about jellyfish

melina matsoukas

directed: queen and slim

look out for: ?

gina prince-bythewood

directed: the old guard, beyond the lights, love and basketball, the secret life of bees

look out for: the woman king, an untamed state

andrea arnold

directed: american honey, fishtank, wuthering heights, etc

look out for: cow

eliza hittman

directed: never rarely sometimes always, beach rats, it felt like love

look out for: ?

tanya wexler

directed: buffaloed

look out for: jolt, tough love (tv movie)

kitty green

directed: the assistant, casting jonbenet, ukraine is not a brothel

look out for: ?

rungano nyoni

directed: i am not a witch

look out for: ?

adding a few more directors in a moment, but i'm going to take a moment to highlight something that i thought would be obvious: this thread is intended to highlight WORKING directors to look out for! that's why directors who have retired or have sadly passed away are not included

sally potter

directed: orlando, the party, ginger & rosa, etc

look out for: alba

nadine labaki

directed: capernaum, caramel, where do we go now?

look out for: ?

desiree akhavan

directed: the miseducation of cameron post, appropriate behavior, the bisexual (tv series)

look out for: ?

catherine hardwicke

directed: twilight, thirteen, lords of dogtown, etc

look out for: heathen, together now, don't look deeper (tv series)

mary harron

directed: american psycho, charlie says, the moth diaries, etc

look out for: dali land

chloé zhao

directed: the rider, songs my brothers taught me

look out for: eternals, nomadland

cate shortland

directed: berlin syndrome, lore, somersault, etc

look out for: black widow

anna boden

directed: captain marvel, it's kind of a funny story, mississippi grind

look out for: ?

debra granik

directed: leave no trace, winter's bone, down to the bone, stray dog

look out for: nickel and dimed, untitled documentary

clea duvall

directed: the intervention

look out for: happiest season