I’ll be writing on Oscar night 2012, where will you be?
It may seem terribly boring, but the fact is I gave up my television about 3 years ago, and so it goes. Last year I went to a showing of the Oscar awards downtown, and while it was fun, coming home by subway that late at night really wasn’t.
Here is a question I’m asking myself today: How many of the films directed by women have you seen this year? In my case, not nearly enough. But they are going on my “to see and how did I miss” list of movies now. The Iron Lady, about the life of political leader Margaret Thatcher and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, was an unexpected favorite of mine this year. Meryl Streep captured the pain, triumph, and dissolution of a strong ego in a leadership role beautifully. She and her director, with this tender portrait, made me love a character I’d never felt the least warmth for when I read about her in the news for so many years.
Here’s the list of women-directed films, and them I’m back off to writing the new short story collection. You know, scaring myself, and trying to remember to come out and eat every few hours. Who knows, maybe one day, one of the stories will be a film. Directed by a woman I hope.
Films Directed by Women to Consider:
- Kung Fu Panda 2 – Jennifer Yuh
- Red Riding Hood- Catherine Hardwicke
- One Day – Lone Scherfig
- The Whistleblower- Larysa Kondracki
- Country Strong – Shana Feste
- Queen to Play – Caroline Bottaro
- The Beaver- Jodie Foster
- In a Better World- Susanne Bier
- Meek’s Cutoff- Kelly Reichardt
- The Future – Miranda July
- Higher Ground – Vera Farmiga
- The Hedgehog – Mona Achache
- Circumstance – Maryam Keshavarz
- Dhobi Ghat – Kiran Rao
- Goodbe First Love – Mia Hansen Love
- Last Night- Massy Tadjedin
- The Puzzle – Natalia Smirnoff
- Texas Killing Fields – Ami Canaan Mann
- The Tree- Julie Bertucelli
- A Bird of the Air – Margaret Whitton
- Tanner Hall – Tatiana von Furstenberg and Francesca Gregorini
- I Will Follow – Ava Duvernay
- Tomboy – Celine Sciamma
- Arthur Christmas- Sarah Smith
- We Need to Talk About Kevin – Lynne Ramsay
- In the Land of Blood and Honey- Angelina Jolie
- The Iron Lady- Phyllida Lloyd
- Pariah- Dee Rees
- Sleeping Beauty- Catherine Breillat
- Sleeping Beauty- Julia Leigh
- WE- Madonna
- The Imperialists Are Still Alive- Zeina Durra
- Desert Flower- Sherry Hormann
- Cracks- Jordan Scott
- When We Leave- Feo Aladag
The list is from http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/women-directed-movies-in-2011, have a look at the interesting commentary at this link.
Articles you may also be interested in:
http://sciencerevolution.org/2012/01/20/sex-of-human-research-subjects-reaching-for-balance/
J.J.Brown Author 
Hi Jennifer. I’ll be watching the ceremonies and rooting for Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher and also Michelle Williams for her brilliant turn as Marilyn Monroe. I didn’t know Meek’s Cutoff (a haunting tale of pioneers crossing the Oregon Trail also starring Williams) was directed by a woman.
I can’t wait to see Madonna’s W.E. (which I wonder if the critics would dislike so much if it had another director), and just loved Red Riding Hood, a classic fairytale for young and old which reminds me of one of your scary stories that thrill and inspire. Can’t wait for your next collection.
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My favorite female filmmaker is Sofia Coppola. I love everything she’s directed, my favorite is probably The Virgin Suicides.
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It is good to see more films being directed by women. As to where I will be during the Academy Awards – from 6:30 to 8:00 Central Time my husband and I will be back together with a group of church friends that we have been out of touch with for a number of years. Our group will be discussing a book, Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. While we are skeptical of the conservative slant of the book’s author (haven’t seen the book yet), we are looking forward to re-connecting with our friends.
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