One of the areas in film where the gender gap is most striking is the director’s chair. In 2016’s top 250 films, women accounted for only 7% of all directors, down from 9% in 2015 which is still flat-out terrible. Only one woman has won the Best Director Oscar, and only four women have ever even been nominated for the award. These staggeringly low numbers reflect a great imbalance and lack of representation in Hollywood, which may pride itself on progressive leanings but still has a long way to go.
But these numbers don’t reflect the reality that female directors are churning out some of the best and most exciting films of our time, when they’re given the chance. Blockbusters are consistently given to men—both accomplished and fresh out of Sundance—over women, and when men fail they usually get the chance to redeem themselves with either a mid-range project or yet another blockbuster. An expensive failure for a woman director, meanwhile, can mean the end of her career.
So in celebration of International Women’s Day, we here at Collider have culled together a list of some of the most exciting female directors working today. These are filmmakers who consistently churn out interesting work with a strong point of view, and who deserve to be considered alongside theColin Trevorrows andJordan Vogt-Roberts’s when it comes time to find a director for the next massive franchise.
This list is incomplete and is just a small portion of the great female directors working today, so we invite you to share some of your favorites in the comments below.
[Updated: June 6th]
While filmmakerDee Reesis best known for her debut featurePariah, about a young black girl embracing her identity as a lesbian, she’s about to break out in a big way in 2017. She debuted her new featureMudboundat the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and it proves Rees has the goods to deliver a big film with a large cast while maintaining a focus on character and tone. The film is a true Southern epic, and Rees handles the massive ensemble and shifting points of view with ease while also capturing a visually evocative palette alongside cinematographerRachel Morrison(side note: female cinematographers are inveryshort supply). Rees is clearly a filmmaker who has something to say, and throughPariah,Mudbound, andBessienot to mention TV work likeEmpireand the mini-seriesWhen We Rise, she knows exactly how to say it. –Adam Chitwood
Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernayis proof positive that not all great filmmakers have to be child prodigies or come up through film school. She worked in public relations before making her feature directorial debut in 2008, a documentary calledThis Is the Life. That was followed by low-budget narrative features likeI Will FollowandMiddle of Nowhere, then she really burst onto the scene with the incisive Martin Luther King Jr. dramaSelma. The film is a searing look at the civil rights movement that focuses on one particular event, exploring multiple points of view to give shading to the human nature of Dr. King. It is assured, emotional, and unbelievably confident, and it’s no surprise DuVernay had her pick of projects in its wake. After passing on Marvel’sBlack Pantherand directing the impactful and important Netflix documentary13th, she signed on to helm Disney’sA Wrinkle in Time, becoming the first black female director ever to helm a $100 million film.
But DuVernay puts her money where her mouth is, culling together an inclusive crew on the project that gives women and people of color the experience and opportunity necessary to succeed. There’s a lack of female directors on blockbuster projects because they’re not given the benefit of the doubt, and thus don’t have the experience some studios deem necessary. But that’s true of all positions on a film set, from the cinematographer to the line producer. So in crewing upA Wrinkle in Timewith women and people of color, DuVernay is not just seizing her own opportunity as a filmmaker to direct this big-budget film, she’s creating opportunity for others as well. That’s what we call a change-maker. –Adam Chitwood
Lesli Linka Glatter
Lesli Linka Glattermay be one of the most consistently great directors working today—it’s just that she’s mainly been working in television. FromTwin PeakstoFreaks and GeekstoMad MentoERtoThe West Wing, she’s about as versatile as they come. For the past few years she’s been the principal director onHomeland, mastering the show’s balance of tension and character. She helmed the memorable 1995 featureNow and Thenand the period dramaThe Propositionso she knows her way around a film set, and her recent mastery of the spy genre signals she’d make one hell of an action movie. Again, her consistency of quality is stunning, and if and when Glatter makes a return to the big screen it’s gonna be a hell of a thing. –Adam Chitwood
Amma Asante
Look no further thanAmma Asantefor proof that a feminine point of view can change the way a story is told for the better. A relatively new filmmaker, actress-turned-director Asante made her feature debut with 2004’sA Way of Lifebut really broke out as a director with 2013’s race-centricBelle. The true story of a mixed race woman being raised by her aristocratic uncle in 18th century England benefits from Asante’s assured direction and female point of view, allowingGugu Mbatha-Raw’s performance to shine. She followed that up with this year’s interracial marriage storyA United Kingdom, once again proving incredibly capable at presenting complicated narratives in an engaging and emotionally affecting manner. –Adam Chitwood
Nancy Meyers
How many female auteur filmmakers exist today? Not many, butNancy Meyers—love or hate her films—is undoubtedly one. She got her start as a screenwriter with undeniably feminist pics likePrivate BenjaminandBaby Boom, but also showed her knack with warmth and relationships by penningFather of the Bride. Directorially she’s developed a signature aesthetic that’s something like being wrapped in a warm blanket and drinking hot tea.Something’s Gotta Giveis her best work to date, but even mixed bags likeIt’s ComplicatedorThe Internare charming and compelling. She’s terrific with performances and production design (be honest, who wouldn’t want to live in a Nancy Meyers kitchen?), and the fact that a Nancy Meyers movie is unmistakable is a testament to her confidence of vision as a filmmaker. –Adam Chitwood
Nicole Holofencer
Nicole Holofceneris an incredibly human filmmaker, able to zero in on her characters with an almost uncanny intimacy that feels nearly voyeuristic. She made waves with films likeWalking and TalkingandPlease Give, but her 2013Julia Louis-Dreyfus/James Gandolfinitwo-handerEnough Saidis her crowning achievement thus far, and we eagerly await her next feature. Holofcener is a true writer/director, crafting her characters from the ground up and breathing life into them in a naturalistic manner. Her films are never one thing—they’re funnyandsad, insightfulandlight, and she’s right up there with the very best humanist filmmakers around. –Adam Chitwood
Susanne Bier
Not only was it a surprise that one of the best spy movies of 2016 was on television, but it was directed by a woman no less. AMC’sThe Night Managerproved thatTom Hiddlestonhas the goods for Bond, but it also showed that Emmy-winning filmmakerSusanne Bier—who helmed all six episodes—had the goods to bring an action-centric, globe-trotting spy thriller to the screen to excellent results. Bier is no stranger to the film world having helmed features likeThings We Lost in the FireandOpen Hearts, butThe Night Manager—which netted her an Emmy win—showed she really needs to get behind an action movie. –Adam Chitwood
Kathryn Bigelow
The only woman ever to win an Oscar for Best Director, Bigelow has remained steadfast in making the films she wants to make rather than trying to use her awards cloud to return to blockbuster filmmaking. While fans would love to see her bring her talents to a superhero movie, I love that Bigelow is making serious movies for adults. It’s been five years since her last movie, the searing and thoughtfulZero Dark Thirty, but in 2017 it looks like we’re finally going to get a new Bigelow film, which takes a look at the 1967 Detroit riots. I can’t wait to see her take on the material, which is sure to be thoughtful, complicated, and worth discussing. –Matt Goldberg
Lexi Alexander
In a just world, Lexi Alexander’sPunisher: War Zonewould be the R-rated superhero movie that everyone talks about and her career takes off like a rocket. Unfortunately, the film was destined to be a cult classic and Alexander has been spending her time on genre TV shows likeArrow,Supergirl, andTaken. Hollywood needs to sit up and take notice of Alexander’s work and giver her another film because she’s shown herself to not only be a fearless filmmaker, but one who’s kind of ahead of her time when it comes to comic book movies. –Matt Goldberg
Lana and Lily Wachowski
The best and the worst thing that ever happened to Lana and Lily Wachowski wasThe Matrix. It launched their careers, but it also became this milestone that they would like never reach again. It’s a landmark of action cinema, and yet I would argue that their subsequent films have been just as interesting.Speed Raceris a colorful, unapologetically gleeful family film that’s unafraid to mix some corporate intrigue into its anime-inspired visuals, andCloud Atlasis far superior to the novel that inspired it. Even when their movies misfire likeThe Matrix RevolutionsandJupiter Ascending, they’re fascinating in how badly they go astray. No matter what the Wachowskis do, they’re never boring. –Matt Goldberg
