International Women’s Day may have been yesterday, but you are no dummy, and you know that the work of women filmmakers is enjoyable every day of the year. So I present a list of some of my favorite films made by women across the planet. Unfortunately, some of these works are harder to find than others, but they are all worth seeking out.
The Ascent (Larissa Shepitko, 1977) I can’t for the life of me remember what the story of this film is, beyond being set in a snowy World War II landscape, but rare are the works that have imprinted themselves on my mind quite like The Ascent has. Few films are as full of such unforgettable images.
Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt, 2008) Michelle Williams gets stranded in Oregon and everything gets somehow worse from there. Reichardt is one of the best filmmakers working in the US, and this is arguably her best film.
Moe no suzaku (Naomi Kawase, 1997) Much like the personal family documentaries that Kawase began her career with, her narrative debut is a quietly moving film that bounds with love and no shortage of melancholy. A vague description, certainly, but it’s difficult to put into words just how incredibly her films flow, such that the simplest story becomes transcendent. Her newest film opens up in the US this month, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Sambizanga (Sarah Maldoror, 1973) Maldoror’s debut addresses the horrors of colonialism in this film about Angola’s struggle to free themselves from Portuguese rule. Both personally affecting, and politically enraged, Sambizanga is a film that deserves greater attention (and desperately needs restoration).
The Hidden Half (Tahmineh Milani, 2001) A film that tells the story of women struggling for the independence to pursue their own intellectual goals. Milani was famously arrested as a result, but, fortunately, was soon freed and has continued to direct films ever since.
35 rhums (Claire Denis, 2008) Partly an homage to Yasujiro Ozu and his film Late Spring, 35 rhums is mostly concerned, as Denis often is, with the marginalized populations in France.
Mille soleil (Mati Diop, 2013) Diop (who stars in 35 rhums), the niece of the great Sengalese filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambety, made this short, unclassifiable film that is at once a documentary about the stars of Mambety’s most famous film, Touki Bouki, as well as a sort of sequel.
Love Letter (Kinuyo Tanaka, 1953) This, the oldest surviving film by a female director in Japan, and second ever made, might not be the most progressive film on this list, thanks in large part to Keisuke Kinoshita’s mediocre script, but her directing ability is astonishing.
The House Is Black (Forough Farrokhzad, 1962) Farrokhzad, who also happens to be one of Iran’s most revered modern poets, made this short documentary about a leper colony as her first and only film. To repeat a sentiment I’ve shared before, there is literally no better way to spend 20 minutes than watching this movie.
Reassemblage (Trinh T. Minh-ha, 1983) Trinh’s film essay takes a critical view of the colonial gaze with a poetic grace. One of cinema’s great intellectuals, I can’t recommend her works highly enough.
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