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10 female directors, 10 ground-breaking movies

By on December 10, 2013
Nora Ephron

“As a woman you’re still expected to constantly prove yourself, whereas men are allowed to have flops without people blaming it on their gender. If a man has a flop, people will blame it on a variety of factors. But if a woman directs a movie and it doesn’t do well, suddenly it’s because she’s a woman. That’s aggravating to me.” –Diablo Cody

Here are 10 women who defied the odds and made waves in the film industry despite that boy’s club mentality:

1. Nora Ephron : When Harry Met Sally. This woman wrote incredibly heart-filled romantic comedies. Ephron passed away in June of 2012, at the age of 71, leaving behind such a legacy of work for other female directors to admire.

2. Julie Taymor: Frida. Julie Taymor won a Tony Award as director in the Broadway production of The Lion King. She then went on to helm most recently, an adaptation of The Tempest.

3. Sofia Coppola: Lost in Translation (wrote and directed.) The daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, and became the first American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director.

4. Amy Heckerling: Fast Times at Ridgemont High. (wouldn’t you have assumed that Fast Times was directed by a male?) Ms. Heckerling was known for making multiple box-office hits in the ’80s and ’90s, and has been awarded honours such as the Franklin J. Schaffner Medal from the American Film Institute and the Crystal Award for Women in Film.

5. Mira Nair: So Far From India. An Indian film director based in New York, Mira Nair has directed award-winning documentariesand her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

6. Catherine Hardwicke: Twilight. Catherine Hardwicke launched the film franchise based on the best-selling novels by Stephenie Meyer (hey, hey, another female!). The film earned $69.6 million in its opening weekend, the highest-ever opening for a female director.

7. Claire Denis: Chocolat. Claire Denis has been called, “France’s greatest living female film director.” She explored French colonial themes in her award-winning films: Beau Travail, 35 Shots of Rum and White Material.

8. Gina Prince-Bythewood: The Secret Life of Bees. Early on, she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and a Humanitas Prize for her work on Love & Basketball in 2000.

9. Jane Campion: The Piano. Jane Campion was only the second of four women ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. Her Oscar nod was given to her for directing this acclaimed film in 1993.

10. Kathryn Bigelow: The Hurt Locker. How can we not mention Kathryn Bigelow? She became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director with this film.

…We’re thinking you might be ready to watch some great films this weekend!

 

 

 

(Sources: Huffington Post and IMDB.com)

 

 

 

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