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.
Documentary
Somewhere Between
rating:4.0

Somewhere Between

2011Runtime:0 minutes
Questions of race, identity and heritage are explored through the lives of young American women growing up as adoptees from China. These four distinct individuals reflect on their experiences as members of transracial families.

Directed by:

  • Linda Goldstein Knowlton
    • rating:4.0 4.0 Average Rating

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    Broken Rainbow
    rating:3.4

    Broken Rainbow

    1985Runtime:0 minutes
    This Oscar-winning documentary tells the story of the forced relocation of 12,000 Navajo Indians in Arizona that took place after U.S. Secretary of the Interior James Watts sold inexpensive leases to developers in 1983. Claiming the land rightfully belonged to the Hopi, the U.S. government moved the Navajo residents to tract homes in other areas. Both Navajo and Hopi Indians describe how a century of bureaucratic racism has affected their lives.

    Directed by:

  • Maria Florio
    • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Born Into Brothels
    rating:3.6

    Born Into Brothels

    2004Runtime:0 minutes
    British filmmaker Zana Briski's Oscar-winning documentary is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in Calcutta's red-light district, where their mothers work as prostitutes to ensure their survival. Spurred by the kids' fascination with her camera, Briski decides to teach them photography. As they begin to look at and record their world through new eyes, the kids awaken to their own talents and sense of worth.

    Directed by:

  • Ross Kauffman
  • Zana Briski
    • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

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    Mad Hot Ballroom
    rating:3.7

    Mad Hot Ballroom

    2005Runtime:0 minutes
    Ballroom dancing goes from lame to cool for a group of New York City students in this insightful documentary, which follows a group of 11-year-olds as they learn to dance old-school styles including the merengue, rumba, tango, foxtrot and swing. Candid interviews capture the kids' initial reluctance at learning ballroom dance and their transformation into serious competitors determined to win a citywide competition.

    Directed by:

  • Marilyn Agrelo
    • rating:3.7 3.7 Average Rating

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    Drama
    Homeless
    rating:3.5

    Homeless

    1989Runtime:0 minutes
    After their apartment burns down, Mike and Zan Cooper (Jeff Daniels and Christine Lahti) move with their two children into the home of Mike's brother, but tension between the families forces them to move on again, and a downward spiral of bad luck soon finds them homeless. While Mike desperately seeks work as an electrician, Zan takes a low-paying job as a waitress, and their son's entanglement with a drug dealer adds to their heavy burdens.

    Directed by:

  • Lee Grant
    • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    The 27 Club
    rating:3.1

    The 27 Club

    2008Runtime:0 minutes
    When his bandmate and best friend, Tom (James Forgey), kills himself just after his 27th birthday, grief-stricken rock star Elliot Kerrigan (Joe Anderson) hires a driver and sets out on a drug-addled road trip to deliver Tom's final letter to his father. Along the way, Elliot picks up Irish hitchhiker Stella (Eve Hewson), who pretends not to recognize the musical celeb. Erica Dunton directs this provocative drama that co-stars David P. Emrich.

    Directed by:

  • Erica Dunton
    • rating:3.1 3.1 Average Rating

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    If These Walls Could Talk
    rating:3.6

    If These Walls Could Talk

    1996Runtime:0 minutes
    A house holds the stories of three women -- and a glimpse at the evolution of American abortion rights. A 1950s widow (Demi Moore) seeks an illegal abortion after a one-night stand. A 1970s mother of four (Sissy Spacek) must choose between having a child and starting a career. And in the 1990s, a student (Anne Heche) clashes with anti-abortion activists en route to seek an abortion from her doctor (Cher). Cher co-directs with Nancy Savoca.

    Directed by:

  • Nancy Savoca
    • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

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    Masterpiece Mystery!: Poirot: Mystery of the Blue Train
    rating:3.8

    Masterpiece Mystery!: Poirot: Mystery of the Blue Train

    2006Runtime:0 minutes
    Riding the Blue Train through France on her way to the Riviera, British heiress Katherine Grey (Georgina Rylance) gets pulled into an investigation of the murder of Ruth Kettering (Jaime Murray), a wealthy American woman. David Suchet reprises his role as famed Belgian inspector Hercule Poirot in this made-for-television adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic mystery novel, co-starring Elliott Gould as the victim's millionaire father.

    Directed by:

  • Hettie MacDonald
    • rating:3.8 3.8 Average Rating

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    Gay & Lesbian
    French Twist
    rating:3.2

    French Twist

    1995Runtime:0 minutes
    Laurent (Alain Chabat) thought he knew his wife, Loli (Victoria Abril), quite well. Chronically unfaithful, Laurent believes Loli is happy and will be hurt by news of his infidelities. But when a truck breaks down in front of their home and its owner, a female plumber (Josiane Balasko, who also directs), asks to use the phone, Laurent discovers that he and his wife have something in common: a sexual attraction to women.

    Directed by:

  • Josiane Balasko
    • rating:3.2 3.2 Average Rating

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    High Art
    rating:3.2

    High Art

    1998Runtime:0 minutes
    Magazine editor Syd (Radha Mitchell) is stuck in a dreary relationship with her boyfriend (Gabriel Mann) when she befriends her upstairs neighbor Lucy (Ally Sheedy), a well-known photographer whose live-in actress girlfriend (Patricia Clarkson) is struggling with a drug addiction. Lucy fascinates Syd, and the pair hit it off. But when Syd calls on Lucy to do an assignment for the magazine, their friendship soon grows into something much more.

    Directed by:

  • Lisa Cholodenko
    • rating:3.2 3.2 Average Rating

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    Alive and Kicking
    rating:3.1

    Alive and Kicking

    1996Runtime:0 minutes
    Nancy Meckler's poignant drama centers on the unconventional romance between two polar opposites: egotistical HIV-positive ballet dancer Tonio (Jason Flemyng) and his portly, alcoholic therapist, Jack (Antony Sher). After losing his lover to a long-fought battle with AIDS and discovering that he, too, is infected with the deadly disease, Tonio turns to a troubled shrink, and soon, the pair embarks on a surprisingly tender and rewarding affair.

    Directed by:

  • Nancy Meckler
    • rating:3.1 3.1 Average Rating

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    Desert Hearts
    rating:3.4

    Desert Hearts

    1985Runtime:0 minutes
    Uptight literature professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) heads to Reno, Nev., in 1959 for a quickie divorce. While staying with Frances Parker (Audra Lindley) at her ranch to establish residency, Bell meets Parker's adopted daughter (Patricia Charbonneau), a casino worker 10 years her junior. Bell finds herself increasingly drawn to the open and self-assured lesbian, and their developing intimacy releases buried emotions Bell has never explored.

    Directed by:

  • Donna Deitch
    • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Special Interest
    Minkus: La Bayadère: Teatro alla Scala
    rating:3.1

    Minkus: La Bayadère: Teatro alla Scala

    2006Runtime:0 minutes
    Noteworthy Bolshoi Ballet superstar Svetlana Zakharova, Corps de Ballet of the Teatro alla Scala and their lead dancer, Roberto Bolle, bring a stirring live performance of Marius Petipa's "La Bayadère" ("The Temple Dancer") to the Milan stage. Choreographed by Natalia Makarova and directed for video by Tina Protasoni, the 2006 performance is inspired by a libretto purportedly written by the choreographer himself and conducted by David Coleman.

    Directed by:

  • Tina Protasoni
    • rating:3.1 3.1 Average Rating

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    The Little Fugitive
    rating:3.4

    The Little Fugitive

    1953Runtime:0 minutes
    Sibling relations get tested when Lennie Norton (Richard Brewster) must care for his younger brother, 7-year-old Joey (Richie Andrusco). Lennie and his friends soon tire of Joey always being around, so they pull a practical joke on Joey: They tell him he killed Lennie. Believing Lennie's pals, Joey heads for one of the world's largest playgrounds -- Coney Island, where the amusement park and its characters come to life through a child's eyes.

    Directed by:

  • Ray Ashley
  • Ruth Orkin
  • Morris Engel
    • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Black Coffee
    rating:3.1

    Black Coffee

    2005Runtime:0 minutes
    Director Irene Lilienheim Angelico steers this documentary series about a simple subject -- coffee -- into compelling territory by chronicling its long and often complicated history throughout the world. Beginning with the bean's discovery in Ethiopia, Angelico traces how coffee came to be one of the most craved beverages in the world, boosting economies, sparking revolutions and spreading the love of caffeine everywhere.

    Directed by:

  • Irene Lilienheim Angelico
    • rating:3.1 3.1 Average Rating

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    Dancing for Mr. B: Six Balanchine Ballerinas
    rating:3.2

    Dancing for Mr. B: Six Balanchine Ballerinas

    1989Runtime:0 minutes
    Through interviews and performance excerpts, ballerinas Mary Ellen Moylan, Maria Tallchief, Melissa Hayden, Allegra Kent, Merrill Ashley and Darci Kistler salute their legendary teacher, George Balanchine, and share the impact he had on their lives. A perfectionist who demanded the best from his students, Balanchine achieved considerable acclaim for his wonderful ballets such as "Concerto Barocco," "Serenade," "Firebird," and "Stars and Stripes."

    Directed by:

  • Deborah Dickson
    • rating:3.2 3.2 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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