Still from La Pointe Courte by Agnès Varda
There was a bit of controversy bouncing around the internet last week when Spike Lee wrote a list of “essential” films stating,
“I’ve Been A Professor At The NYU Graduate Film For The Past 15 Years.The 1st Day Of Every Class I Hand Out My List Of Films That I Feel You Must See If You Want To Make Films. Please Look At This List And See What You Might Have Missed. As I Tell My Students If You Want Your Film "Game” To Be Tight You Must Have Seen Great Movies, World Cinema, It Just Can’t Be Hollywood Films. Educate Yourself. Learn. Grow. Evolve. Make Great Films.“
and only included one woman directed film on the list – City of God – co-directed by Katia Lund (who ironically, wasn’t even credited originally for directing City of God when Oscar time rolled around).
There are certainly many female film directors who’s work should be essential viewing in understanding the history and language of film, especially outside of Hollywood, as Spike Lee mentions above.
Here’s a few list of female directors to get Spike and anyone else interested in film started:
The Silent Directors: Female Directors of Silent Film
Great American Female Directors: A Response to American Film Institute’s List
Women Direct in Many Languages: Latin American Female Film Directors
Female Directors Ranked: Female Film Directors Make Box Office Hits too
Yes, Women Direct Horror Films: Ladies Ladeling out the Gore
Wikipedia Dedicates an Entry to Women’s Cinema
Have a great list of female directors we left off? Let us know on our Facebook page!
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