FemaleDirectors.com is a website for female-directed movies: you can find, play, and add them to your Netflix queue, and buy them on Amazon.com. Browse within our genres to find movies from the female perspective.
Comedy
You've Got Mail
rating:3.5

You've Got Mail

1998Runtime:0 minutes
In this valentine to modern romance, book superstore magnate Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet -- both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business. Director Nora Ephron's Golden Globe-nominated romantic comedy puts romance on the ropes -- and forces two people to make tough decisions about life, love and livelihood.

Directed by:

  • Nora Ephron
    • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Mamma Mia!
    rating:3.4

    Mamma Mia!

    2008Runtime:0 minutes
    On the idyllic Greek isle of Kalokairi, single mom Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) goes into a tizzy when her bride-to-be daughter (Amanda Seyfried), in a bid to learn her father's identity, invites three of Donna's ex-lovers to the wedding. Buoyed by the tunes of ABBA, this effervescent yarn -- a Golden Globe nominee for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) -- also stars Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård as the trio of potential dads.

    Directed by:

  • Phyllida Lloyd
    • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Proof
    rating:3.2

    Proof

    1991Runtime:0 minutes
    A blind photographer named Martin (Hugo Weaving) takes pictures as "proof" that the world and everything in it is just as it is described to him by other people. Meanwhile, his dyspeptic housekeeper, Celia (Geneviève Picot), rearranges his furniture. All manner of mayhem comes out of the confusion in this offbeat dramedy that co-stars Russell Crowe, in an early role, as Martin's young friend, Andy.

    Directed by:

  • Jocelyn Moorhouse
    • rating:3.2 3.2 Average Rating

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    Eamon
    rating:3.2

    Eamon

    2009Runtime:0 minutes
    Romance and parenting produce a bitter mix in this richly sarcastic family satire involving little Eamon (Robert Donnelly), a boy with issues, who prefers to share his mother's (Amy Kirwan) bed while dad Daniel (Darren Healy) slumbers on the couch. During a family holiday on the Irish coast, the rivalry between father and son becomes even more pitched -- with bitter consequences for the entire disturbed family.

    Directed by:

  • Margaret Corkery
    • rating:3.2 3.2 Average Rating

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    Music & Musicals
    Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields
    rating:3.6

    Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields

    2010Runtime:0 minutes
    A decade in the making, this documentary by filmmakers Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara examines the career of prolific singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt, the enigmatic, deep-voiced heart and soul of indie pop band the Magnetic Fields.

    Directed by:

  • Kerthy Fix
  • Gail O'Hara
    • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

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    You Weren't There: A History of Chicago Punk: 1977-1984
    rating:3.5

    You Weren't There: A History of Chicago Punk: 1977-1984

    2009Runtime:0 minutes
    Often overshadowed by the stars of the New York scene, Chicago punk gets its day in the limelight in this raw documentary that captures the noisemakers and tastemakers who left their mark at venues like La Mere Vipere and Oz. Despite harassment from the authorities and neighbors, local bands and punk legends like Big Black and Naked Raygun ensured that the Windy City would play a key part in the revolution.

    Directed by:

  • Joe Losurdo
  • Christina Tillman
    • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Shut Up & Sing
    rating:3.8

    Shut Up & Sing

    2006Runtime:0 minutes
    Directed by Barbara Kopple (of Harlan County, U.S.A. fame), this documentary centers on country music's The Dixie Chicks and their nationwide vilification over critical statements they made about President Bush in 2003. Over a three-year period, the singers went from darlings of the industry to political targets, receiving constant death threats and being demonized by the national media and denounced by their fans. Cecilia Peck co-directs.

    Directed by:

  • Cecilia Peck
    • rating:3.8 3.8 Average Rating

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    Something Within Me
    rating:3.1

    Something Within Me

    1993Runtime:0 minutes
    In 1985, the administrators of St. Augustine's, a poor Catholic school in the South Bronx where many children were failing miserably at basic academics, tried a new approach. They revamped the curriculum to stress the arts, particularly music. The kids lifted up their instruments and, eventually, their test scores, too. This infectious, inspiring musical documentary by Emma Joan Morris won three awards at the Sundance Film Festival.

    Directed by:

  • Emma Joan Morris
    • rating:3.1 3.1 Average Rating

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    Drama
    Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
    rating:3.6

    Introducing Dorothy Dandridge

    1999Runtime:0 minutes
    Halle Berry stars as singer, actress and dancer Dorothy Dandridge in this biopic that follows the complex star from her beginnings a nightclub act through to her unexpected mainstream success, including an Oscar nomination. But despite her celebrity, the racism of the day prevents her from even using the bathroom in the places she performs. This, and her awful taste in husbands, leads Dorothy down a tragic path.

    Directed by:

  • Martha Coolidge
    • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

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    Night and Fog
    rating:3.3

    Night and Fog

    2009Runtime:0 minutes
    In the wake of a brutal murder-suicide of a family in the projects of outer Hong Kong, police interviews gradually reveal the story of battered wife Wong Hiu-ling (Jingchu Zhang) and her explosive but charismatic husband, Lee Sam (Simon Yam). The accounts of a shy neighbor, a women's shelter resident and others paint a gripping portrait of the abusive relationship in director Ann Hui's low-budget social drama.

    Directed by:

  • Ann Hui
    • rating:3.3 3.3 Average Rating

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    The Preacher's Wife
    rating:3.3

    The Preacher's Wife

    1996Runtime:0 minutes
    When God overhears a church preacher (Courtney B. Vance) despairing the potential loss of a youth center, he dispatches an angel (Denzel Washington) to help him out. Trouble is, the preacher isn't easily convinced that his guardian angel is the real thing. An inspired reworking of the uplifting 1940s movie The Bishop's Wife, The Preacher's Wife stars Washington and Whitney Houston at their dazzling best.

    Directed by:

  • Penny Marshall
    • rating:3.3 3.3 Average Rating

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    Bastard out of Carolina
    rating:3.6

    Bastard out of Carolina

    1996Runtime:0 minutes
    Angelica Huston follows dad John Huston into the field of directing with this adaptation of Dorothy Allison's autobiographical bestseller, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh as a single mom in the 1950s South. Her co-dependency on her new husband (Ron Eldard) blinds her to his continuing physical and sexual abuse of her daughter (Jena Malone). As the adult daughter, Laura Dern narrates this made-for-cable story in flashback.

    Directed by:

  • Anjelica Huston
    • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

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    Thrillers
    1 Day
    rating:3.4

    1 Day

    2009Runtime:0 minutes
    This searing British thriller follows Flash (Dylan Duffus), who's safeguarding his buddy Angel's (Yohance Watson) cash until his release from prison. Now Angel is out -- and Flash is 100 pounds short. He turns to a lowlife named Evil (Tobias Duncan) for help, the first in a series of mistakes. Now, Flash has more than just Angel hunting him down. Directed by Penny Woolcock (Mischief Night), the film co-stars Ohran Whyte and Chris Wilson.

    Directed by:

  • Penny Woolcock
    • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Out-of-Sync
    rating:3.3

    Out-of-Sync

    1995Runtime:0 minutes
    Talented disc jockey Jason St. Julian (LL Cool J) gave up a promising career when he took the fall for a mob boss (Ramy Zada) and ended up in jail. Now, in an attempt to go straight, Julian is battling his gambling and alcohol problems, but his past keeps catching up to him in the form of loan sharks, drug dealers and crooked cops. Worse, he falls in love with the mob boss's girlfriend (Victoria Dillard). Yaphet Kotto and Howard Hesseman co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Debbie Allen
    • rating:3.3 3.3 Average Rating

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    Map of the Sounds of Tokyo
    rating:3.1

    Map of the Sounds of Tokyo

    2009Runtime:0 minutes
    When the daughter of prominent Tokyo businessman Mr. Nagara (Takeo Nakahara) commits suicide, Nagara's heartbroken employee Ishida (Hideo Sakaki) hires part-time hit woman Ryu (Rinko Kikuchi) to kill the man (Sergi López) perceived as responsible for the daughter's death. Meanwhile, a curious sound engineer becomes obsessed with Ryu and her life in this lyrical and mysterious drama from acclaimed Spanish director Isabel Coixet.

    Directed by:

  • Isabel Coixet
    • rating:3.1 3.1 Average Rating

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    Lies in Plain Sight
    rating:3.1

    Lies in Plain Sight

    2010Runtime:0 minutes
    This made-for-television drama follows the unsettling journey of Sofia, a blind woman who quests to uncover the reason for her beloved cousin Eva's suicide. As her search deepens, Sofia discovers that Eva had long been hiding troubling secrets.

    Directed by:

  • Patricia Cardoso
    • rating:3.1 3.1 Average Rating

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    Now and Then
    rating:3.8

    Now and Then

    1995Runtime:0 minutes
    Waxing nostalgic about the bittersweet passage from childhood to puberty in this tender coming-of-age tale, four childhood girlfriends -- Teeny, Chrissy, Samantha and Roberta -- recall the magical summer of 1970. During their walk down memory lane, they reconcile experiences with boys, secrets, bullies and more. Lesli Linka Glatter directs; Gaby Hoffmann, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Cloris Leachman, Thora Birch and Christina Ricci co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Lesli Linka Glatter
    • rating:3.8 3.8 Average Rating

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    Now and Then (1995)
    A heartwarming movie about four childhood girlfriends who, in adulthood reunion, relive their experience of the life-changing summer of 1970, including a mystery death, divorce, standing up to the boys, first kiss, and the meaning of true friendship. Each explores her unique identity amidst family and friends. Beautifully directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.
    - Frances   
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