Independent
Click for Instant Only
Older Than America
rating:3.7

Older Than America

2008Runtime:0 minutes
Rain (Georgina Lightning) has visions of a cruel incident suffered by her Native American ancestors. Afraid she'll be branded a lunatic like her elderly aunt, Rain fears telling even her policeman husband, Johnny (Adam Beach), about the dreams. But as they intensify, she finds that they have eerie connections to her current life. Lightning also writes and directs this mix of supernatural and historical mysteries.

Directed by:

  • Georgina Lightning
  • rating:3.7 3.7 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Winter's Bone
    rating:3.7

    Winter's Bone

    2010Runtime:0 minutes
    In director Debra Granik's unflinching noir drama set deep in the Ozarks, resilient teen Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) goes on the trail of her missing, drug-dealing father when his absence jeopardizes the family's safety. Her deadbeat dad has a key court date pending, and Ree is determined that he show up -- despite the objections of the insular Dolly clan. The film earned Oscar and Independent Spirit Award nods for Best Picture and for Lawrence.

    Directed by:

  • Debra Granik
  • rating:3.7 3.7 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Dear Frankie
    rating:3.7

    Dear Frankie

    2004Runtime:0 minutes
    Faced with the prospect of raising her son, Frankie (Jack McElhone), with a good-for-nothing man, the resourceful Lizzie (Emily Mortimer) spirits him away to Scotland with good intentions and pretends the boy's father is aboard the &NFi;HMS Accra&NFi_;. But after years of Lizzie's skillful lying, the jig is up when Frankie learns the ship is docked right by their home. Now, the only way to protect Frankie's heart is to find a man willing to pose as his dad.

    Directed by:

  • Shona Auerbach
  • rating:3.7 3.7 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Ride
    rating:3.6

    Ride

    1998Runtime:0 minutes
    Leta (Melissa De Sousa) has 24 hours to take a busload of inner-city youths -- all of them would-be rap stars -- to Miami for a photo shoot. Along the way, the motley crew of urban misfits will have to deal with their broken-down ride and their own dramas. This uplifting ensemble film co-stars Malik Yoba, Cedric the Entertainer, Sticky Fingaz and Kellie Shanygne Williams, with cameos from rap stars Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dr. Dre and Redman.

    Directed by:

  • Millicent Shelton
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    The Sea Change
    rating:3.6

    The Sea Change

    2010Runtime:0 minutes
    Having endured a dreadful upbringing spent in foster homes and institutions, Nikki (Natalie Press) sets out to murder the birth mother (Janet McTeer) who abandoned her. But while carrying out her plan, Nikki meets a likable half brother (Colin Morgan) who drastically alters her outlook. Based on the novel Island by Jane Rogers, this psychological drama captures the tension of Nikki's internal struggle as she's torn between revenge and redemption.

    Directed by:

  • Elizabeth Mitchell
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Maya Deren: Experimental Films
    rating:3.6

    Maya Deren: Experimental Films

    1943Runtime:0 minutes
    A collection of groundbreaking shorts from experimental filmmaker Maya Deren. "A Study in Choreography for the Camera" features a dancer leaping through the vastness of space. "At Land" and "Ritual in Transfigured Time" use choreography to explore our everyday rituals when we meet other human beings. But Deren's masterwork is "Meshes of the Afternoon," a complex, psychological study of a woman -- played by the director herself.

    Directed by:

  • Maya Deren
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Pariah
    rating:3.6

    Pariah

    2011Runtime:0 minutes
    Brooklyn teen Alike (Adepero Oduye) is a model child around her devoutly religious family, but she sheds the good-girl image to reveal a harder side during a nightclub excursion with butch pal Laura (Pernell Walker) in this coming-of-age tale of urban identity and sexual expression. With curfew looming and her parents none the wiser, Alike must catch the bus back home, where she faces the complex negotiation of her contradictory worlds.

    Directed by:

  • Dee Rees
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    The Piano
    rating:3.6

    The Piano

    1993Runtime:0 minutes
    Holly Hunter stars as Ada McGrath, a mute but strong-willed 19th-century Scottish expatriate who arrives in New Zealand with her daughter (Anna Paquin) and her beloved piano in tow. Although betrothed to a landowner (Sam Neill), she's pulled into an affair with a laborer (Harvey Keitel). Hunter and Paquin both won Oscars for their performances in this haunting drama from writer-director Jane Campion.

    Directed by:

  • Jane Campion
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
    rating:3.6

    The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

    2005Runtime:0 minutes
    With 10 children to feed, postwar Ohio housewife Evelyn Ryan (Julianne Moore) has gotten used to being resourceful, stretching her husband's meager salary to the limit. But when clipping coupons won't cut it, she's forced to rely on her creativity. Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern co-star in this uncommon comedy-drama based on a heartwarming memoir by Ryan's daughter, Terry, who recounts her mother's knack for winning contests.

    Directed by:

  • Jane Anderson
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Maman Est Chez le Coiffeur
    rating:3.6

    Maman Est Chez le Coiffeur

    2008Runtime:0 minutes
    Frustrated after yet another fight with her daughter, Élise (Marianne Fortier), Simone (Céline Bonnier) leaves her family to pursue a full-time career. Now, Élise must try to keep her physician father and her brothers in line as she fills in for her mother. But as she struggles to take care of everything her mother handled, she learns that sudden adulthood is not nearly as liberating as she'd expected. Léa Pool directs this drama set in the 1960s.

    Directed by:

  • Lea Pool
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Teenage Dirtbag
    rating:3.6

    Teenage Dirtbag

    2009Runtime:0 minutes
    In this sensitive drama based on true events, two disparate teens from different social circles and home environments find common ground when the creative writing class they share opens new doors of communication. Troublemaker Thayer (Scott Michael Foster) relishes harassing popular cheerleader Amber (Noa Hegesh). That is, until they form a bond through the written word. But can their budding relationship withstand the pressure of peers and family?

    Directed by:

  • Regina Crosby
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Killer Diller
    rating:3.6

    Killer Diller

    2004Runtime:0 minutes
    Writer-director Tricia Brock brings Clyde Edgerton's acclaimed novel to life with some help from blues legend Taj Mahal and Grammy winner Keb' Mo'. After violating his parole, a young thief (William Lee Scott) is sent to live in a halfway house run by an eccentric Bible-banger (Fred Willard). As part of his punishment, the felon's forced to play "church music," but he changes his tune when he meets a piano-playing autistic savant (Lucas Black).

    Directed by:

  • Tricia Brock
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Eve's Bayou
    rating:3.6

    Eve's Bayou

    1997Runtime:0 minutes
    Louis Batiste (Samuel L. Jackson) is a popular physician in 1960s Louisiana who has a beautiful wife (Lynn Whitfield), a loving family and a weakness for women. While his wife ignores his infidelities, his youngest daughter (Jurnee Smollett) is crushed when she catches dad in a compromising situation. Her subsequent revelations tear the family apart in Kasi Lemmons's powerful film, which won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards.

    Directed by:

  • Kasi Lemmons
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Songcatcher
    rating:3.6

    Songcatcher

    2000Runtime:0 minutes
    During a visit to her sister in Appalachia, a gifted musicologist stumbles upon a musical treasure trove of dozens of Scots-Irish ballads that have been preserved for generations by the local populace and are unknown to the outside world.

    Directed by:

  • Maggie Greenwald
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Four Rooms
    rating:3.6

    Four Rooms

    1995Runtime:0 minutes
    One mad New Year's Eve, an overwhelmed bellboy (Tim Roth) copes with witches and diabolical children, gets caught in the middle of a sour relationship and settles a bloody bet for members of a superstar's entourage. Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Bruce Willis co-star in this uncommon comedy like no other that features four stories by a quartet of hot directors: Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

    Directed by:

  • Quentin Tarantino
  • Robert Rodriguez
  • Allison Anders
  • Alexandre Rockwell
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    Night Catches Us
    rating:3.6

    Night Catches Us

    2010Runtime:0 minutes
    After growing up during the tumultuous 1960s, ex-Black Panther Marcus (Anthony Mackie) returns to his home in Philadelphia in 1976 and reconnects with Pat (Kerry Washington), the widow of a Panther leader. Marcus befriends Pat's young daughter and attempts to conquer his demons. Interfering with Marcus's good intentions are the neighborhood's continuing racial and social conflicts, as well as old enemies and friends -- both with scores to settle.

    Directed by:

  • Tanya Hamilton
  • rating:3.6 3.6 Average Rating

    Buy On Amazon
    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

    Buy On Amazon
    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   
    We periodically update our movie database by adding new female directors and their movies. If you would like to receive notice of these new additions when they happen, please email us at:
    frances 'at' femaledirectors.com