Subgenre Sampler
Rental > Drama > Girl-centric: 373 Films to Rent
- Reality (2023)
- Dir. Tina Satter
Feat. Sydney Sweeney, Josh Hamilton, Marchánt Davis
- A potent chamber drama that re–enacts true events surrounding a government security breach related to Russian interference in the 2016 US…
- Shayda (2023)
- Feat. Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Selina Zahednia, Osamah Sami
- This Australian drama filmed mostly in the Persian language is made something special by two magnetic actresses. Iranian émigré Zar Amir Ebrahimi…
- Quiet Girl, The (An Cailín Ciúin) (2022)
- Dir. Colm Bairead
Feat. Catherine Clinch, Carrie Crowley, Andrew Bennett…
- An exquisite rites–of–passage drama filmed mostly in the Irish/Gaelic language, it is the very definition of a literary pastoral that…
- She Said (2022)
- Dir. Maria Schrader
Feat. Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Jennifer Ehle…
- Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) and Zoe Kazan (The Big Sick) star in this excellent dramatisation of the true story of New York Times…
- Two Tickets To Greece (2022)
- Dir. Marc Fitoussi
Feat. Laure Calamy, Olivia Cote, Kristin Scott Thomas
- A sunlit escapist comedy set in Les Cyclades (the original French title) starring Laure Calamy and Olivia Côte as long–estranged childhood…
- Whina (2022)
- Dir. James Napier Robertson, Paula Jones
Feat. Miriama McDowell, Rena Owen, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne…
- A biopic of the trailblazing female Maori leader, Dame Whina Cooper, whose extraordinary life saw her break gender boundaries, champion innovation,…
- Cousins (2021)
- Dir. Ainsley Gardiner, Briar Grace-Smith
Feat. Tanea Heke, Ana Scotney, Te Raukura Gray…
- Powerful Kiwi drama from the directors of WARU, following the intertwining lives of three Maori women who are cousins.
While one of them is…
- Full Time (A Plien Temps) (2021)
- Dir. Eric Gravel
Feat. Laure Calamy, Genevieve Mnich, Anne Suarez
- A cracker of a French drama that teeters on the edge of a thriller throughout because it’s all about the pressure cooker that is modern life.…
- Hatching (2021)
- Dir. Hanna Bergholm
Feat. Siiri Solalinna, Sophia Heikkilä, Jani Volanen
- Hanna Bergholm's feature debut has finally put Finland on the horror film map – an enchanting pubescent allegory about a 12–year–old…
- To Chiara (A Chiara) (2021)
- Dir. Jonas Carpignano
Feat. Swamy Rotolo, Claudio Rotolo, Giorgia Rotolo…
- A rites–of–passage drama in the Italian neo–realist tradition that examines the impact of Mafia activity on those in the close…
- Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Guzen to Sozo) (2021)
- Dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi
- An unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding, the director of DRIVE MY CAR explores…
- Worst Person in the World, The (2021)
- Dir. Joachim Trier
Feat. Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum
- Gloriously provocative and richly perceptive comedy drama from talented Norwegian director Joachim Trier (THELMA), which follows an unpredictable,…
- Craft: Legacy, The (2020)
- Dir. Zoe Lister Jones
Feat. Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone…
- Sequel to the 1996 film THE CRAFT, following four high school students who form a coven of witches.
After the original's all–male creative…
- Glorias, The (2020)
- Dir. Julie Taymor
Feat. Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, Janelle Monáe…
- Audacious biopic based on the autobiography of journalist and feminist icon Gloria Steinem that begins with a Greyhound bus filled with Gloria…
- Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020)
- Dir. Tony Tilse
Feat. Essie Davis, Nathan Page
- Film based on the acclaimed TV series MISS FISHER'S MURDER MYSTERIES, with Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis) returning as the Jazz age sleuth, unravelling…
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
- Dir. Eliza Hittman
Feat. Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Sharon Van Etten
- The director of BEACH RATS directs impressive newcomers Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder as a pair of teenage girls from rural Pennsylvania who travel…
- Promising Young Woman (2020)
- Dir. Emerald Fennell
Feat. Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie…
- Carey Mulligan is sensational as the 'promising young woman' who contrives an elaborate scheme to avenge for a traumatizing past event in this…
- Reunion (2020)
- Dir. Jake Mahaffy
Feat. Julia Ormond, Emma Draper, John Bach…
- Beautifully–lensed NZ horror shot in a grand old mansion in Lower Hutt, following an academic studying black magic (Emma Draper, DAFFODILS) who…
- Shirley (2020)
- Dir. Josephine Decker
Feat. Elisabeth Moss, Odessa Young, Michael Stuhlbarg
- Elisabeth Moss gives another inspired performance in this literary themed thriller, playing a renowned horror writer who is interrupted on the brink…
- Animals (2019)
- Dir. Sophie Hyde
Feat. Holliday Grainger, Alia Shawkat
- Raucous comedy with Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat brilliant together as best friends living in Dublin, whose hard partying lifestyle comes under…
- Assistant, The (2019)
- Dir. Kitty Green
Feat. Julia Garner, Matthew MacFadyen, Makenzie Leigh…
- A searing, beautifully modulated indictment of toxic office culture in the wake of the #MeToo movement, that follows the daily routine of an intern…
- Big Little Lies - Season 2 (TV Mini-series) (2019)
- Dir. Andrea Arnold
Feat. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley…
- The second chapter of this acclaimed HBO series, this time from the director of FISHTANK and AMERICAN HONEY, throws a grief ridden…
- Deep Water (Mini-series) (2019)
- Feat. Anna Friel, Sinead Keenan, Rosalind Eleazar
- Hailed as Britain's answer to BIG LITTLE LIES, this modern day drama about three school–run mothers balancing work and family pressures is…
- Emma (2019)
- Dir. Autumn de Wilde
Feat. Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Callum Turner…
- Adaptation of the beloved Jane Austen novel, from a screenplay by New Zealand novelist Eleanor Catton. Lead actress Anna Taylor–Joy is wickedly…
- Gloria Bell (2019)
- Dir. Sebastián Lelio
Feat. Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Caren Pistorius…
- Another winner from Chilean director Sebastian Lelio, who remakes his superb Spanish–language mid–life romance with absolute assurance…
- Kitchen, The (2019)
- Dir. Andrea Berloff
Feat. Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, Elisabeth Moss…
- After their mobster husbands get locked up in prison, three housewives decide to take over the family business. Set in Hell's Kitchen in 1978, and…
- Little Women (2019)
- Dir. Greta Gerwig
Feat. Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh…
- The director of LADY BIRD turns her attention to a classic text in the coming–of–age genre, the oft–filmed story based on the novel…
- Paradise Hills (2019)
- Dir. Alice Waddington
Feat. Emma Roberts, Danielle Macdonald, Awkwafina …
- A rebellious teen girl is sent to an apparently idyllic disciplinary school to learn how to be a "young lady" in this visually elegant sci–fi…
- Radioactive (2019)
- Dir. Marjane Satrapi
Feat. Rosamund Pike, Sam Riley, Aneurin Barnard…
- Biopic about Marie Curie, with Rosamund Pike playing the nobel–prize winning French physicist and chemist who pioneered research into…
- Vai (2019)
- Dir. Becs Arahanga, Amberley Jo Aumua, Matasila Freshwater
Feat. Evotia-Rose Araiti, Ro Mereani Adi Tuimatanisiga, Agnes Pele…
- Eight connecting moments of seemingly different lives thread together Vai’s journey of empowerment through culture over her lifetime. Beautifully…
- Divine Order, The (2018)
- Dir. Petra Biondina Volpe
Feat. Marie Leuenberger
- A passionate drama set in Switzerland, following a mother and housewife who campaigns for a referendum on the right of women to vote – in 1971…
- Eighth Grade (2018)
- Dir. Bo Burnham
Feat. Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson
- Superb coming–of–age drama providing an unflinching glimpse into the experience of a 13–year–old girl striving to gain social…
- Favourite, The (2018)
- Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
Feat. Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone
- A viciously witty tragi–comedy from Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, set in early 18th century England where a frail Queen Anne allows her close…
- Girlfriends (TV Series) (2018)
- Dir. Kay Mellor
Feat. Phyllis Logan, Miranda Richardson, Zoe Wanamaker
- British TV comedy following a trio of middle–aged woman who were friends in childhood, and who are coping with divorce, age discrimination,…
- Girls of the Sun (Les filles du soleil) (2018)
- Dir. Eva Husson
Feat. Golshifteh Farahani
- Powerful wartime film following a Kurdish female battalion who are fighting against ISIS extremists to take back control of their village. Stars…
- Good Girls (TV Series) (2018)
- Feat. Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman, Retta
- A female–centric take on the premise of BREAKING BAD in which three suburban moms who're tired of trying to make ends meet take a leap into…
- Greta (2018)
- Dir. Neil Jordan
Feat. Isabelle Huppert, Chloe Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe…
- Creepy psychological thriller from Neil Jordan with a reliably fantastic performance from Huppert as a lonely widow with a sinister agenda who…
- Judy & Punch (Judy and Punch) (2018)
- Dir. Mirrah Foulkes
Feat. Mia Wasikowska, Damon Herriman
- A gorgeously carnivalesque and blackly comic Australian period drama in which the traditional fairy tale of Punch and Judy is turned on its head. The…
- Kindergarten Teacher, The (2018)
- Dir. Sara Colangelo
Feat. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Parker Sevak, Rosa Salazar…
- English–language remake of the 2014 Israeli film of the same name about a jaded teacher, mother and aspiring poet who becomes obsessed with one…
- Little Woods (2018)
- Dir. Nia DaCosta
Feat. Tessa Thompson, Lily James, Luke Kirby
- Impressive debut from writer–director Nia DaCosta, detailing the struggles faced by a pair of sisters trying to make ends meet in an…
- Mary Shelley (2018)
- Dir. Haifaa Al-Mansour
Feat. Elle Fanning, Maisie Williams, Bel Powley…
- A startling Elle Fanning enlivens this period melodrama about Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin's romantic relationship with the poet Percy Shelley, which…
- On the Basis of Sex (2018)
- Dir. Mimi Leder
Feat. Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux…
- Following on from the recent documentary, RBG, the story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is given the Hollywood biopic treatment here, detailing her…
- Red Joan (2018)
- Dir. Trevor Nunn
Feat. Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Hughes…
- The story of Joan Stanley, who was exposed as the KGB's longest–serving British spy. Arrested in retirement by the MI5, the extraordinary…
- Roma (2018)
- Dir. Alfonso Cuaron
Feat. Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira
- Another masterclass in storytelling from Mexican maestro Alfonso Cuarón, about a year in the life of a middle–class family's maid in Mexico…
- Support the Girls (2018)
- Dir. Andrew Bujalski
Feat. Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, James LeGros
- Indie stalwart Andrew Bujalski (MUTUAL APPRECIATION) directs this keenly observed comedy about a relentlessly optimistic and dedicated woman who…
- Working Woman (2018)
- Dir. Michal Aviad
Feat. Liron Ben-Shlush
- Workplace drama capturing the spirit of the "Me Too" movement to tell the story of a smart and capable mother of three who returns to the workforce…
- Aurore (I Got Life!) (2017)
- Dir. Blandine Lenoir
Feat. Agnes Jaoui, Thibault de Montalembert, Pascale Arbillot
- Actress and co–writer Jaoui is the heart and soul of this witty if overly–familiar rom–com as the eponymous 50–year–old…
- Big Little Lies - Season 1 (TV Mini-series) (2017)
- Dir. Jean-Marc Vallée
Feat. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley…
- A superb, darkly comedic seven–part HBO miniseries set in the tranquil seaside town of Monterey, California, that weaves a tale of murder and…
- Edie (2017)
- Dir. Simon Hunter
Feat. Sheila Hancock, Kevin Guthrie, Paul Brannigan
- A bitter Octogenarian full of regrets decides to fulfill her largest unrealised dream, to climb a mountain in the Scottish Highlands.…
- Girls - Season 6 (TV Series) (2017)
- Dir. Lena Dunham
Feat. Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke…
- Final season of Lena Dunham's savvy HBO series on the highs and lows of living and dating in New York – a show that's at once witty, shallow,…
- Handmaid's Tale, The (TV Series) (2017)
- Feat. Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski…
- Emmy Award–winning drama created by Bruce Miller and based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood. Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced…
- I Am Not a Witch (2017)
- Dir. Rungano Nyoni
- Full of joy and tragedy in the equal measure, this assured debut from Zambian writer–director Rungano Nyoni follows the story of 9–year…
- I Kill Giants (2017)
- Dir. Anders Walter
Feat. Madison Wolfe, Imogen Poots, Zoe Saldana
- A magical–realist coming–of–age movie following an independent young girl who escapes the troubles of her reality by retreating…
- Lady Bird (Ladybird) (2017)
- Dir. Greta Gerwig
Feat. Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts…
- Sublime coming–of–age drama which marks the writing and directing debut of formidable indie talent Greta Gerwig, who draws upon her own…
- Last Word, The (2017)
- Dir. Mark Pellington
Feat. Shirley Maclaine, Amanda Seyfried
- A once–successful businesswoman writes her own obituary in an effort to keep tight control over her life, enlisting the help of a young local…
- Let the Sunshine In (2017)
- Dir. Claire Denis
Feat. Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beauvois, Philippe Katerine…
- Juliette Binoche is radiant as a Parisian artist and divorced mother who bravely searches for sexual fulfillment and companionship in middle age.…
- Miniaturist, The (TV Mini-series) (2017)
- Feat. Anya Taylor-Joy, Romola Garai
- Handsomely executed period drama based on the best–selling novel by Jessie Burton, with Anya Taylor–Joy (THE WITCH) as a woman newly…
- Novitiate (2017)
- Dir. Maggie Betts
Feat. Margaret Qualley, Julianne Nicholson, Dianna Agron…
- A young woman in 1960's Tennessee decides to give her life to God and studies to become a nun with the Sisters of the Beloved Rose. But amidst the…
- Skate Kitchen (2017)
- Dir. Crystal Moselle
Feat. Rachelle Vinberg, Dede Lovelace, Nina Moran
- Beautifully evocative and uplifting teen drama set in the world of NYC skateboarding, following a group of real–life female skaters who are…
- Their Finest (2017)
- Dir. Lone Scherfig
Feat. Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy…
- Charming, rousing WWII romance starring Gemma Arterton as a greenhorn screenwriter who joins a makeshift cast and crew to make a film to lift British…
- Waru (2017)
- Dir. Briar Grace-Smith, Casey Kaa, Ainsley Gardiner
Feat. Miriama McDowell, Tanea Heke, Kararaina Rangihau…
- An outstanding and confronting film exploring the subject of domestic child abuse in New Zealand.
Eight female Maori directors have each…
- Adult Life Skills (2016)
- Dir. Rachel Tunnard
Feat. Jodie Whittaker, Ozzy Myers, Brett Goldstein…
- Smart indie Brit–com with Jodie Whittaker as a women approaching 30 but caught a state of arrested adolescence, living reclusively in her mum's…
- Brief Encounters (TV Series) (2016)
- Feat. Sophie Rundle, Angela Griffin, Penelope Wilton…
- In early 1980s England, four women wrestling with the pressures of family and finances grasp the opportunity to become party planners for "Ann…
- Carrie Pilby (2016)
- Dir. Susan Johnson
Feat. Bel Powley, Nathan Lane, Gabriel Byrne…
- Bel Powley (DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL) gives another excellent performance as a highly intelligent but isolated 19–year–old woman who is…
- Certain Women (2016)
- Dir. Kelly Reichardt
Feat. Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern…
- The lives of three women intersect in small–town America, where each is imperfectly blazing a trail. Another poignant, intimate drama…
- Christine (2016)
- Dir. Antonio Campos
Feat. Rebecca Hall, Michael C. Hall, J. Smith-Cameron
- Rebecca Hall delivers a searing performance as 1970's news reporter Christine Chubbuck, whose struggle with depression and professional frustrations…
- Dear Eleanor (2016)
- Dir. Kevin Connolly
Feat. Isabelle Fuhrman, Liana Liberato, Jessica Alba…
- Family–friendly drama follows two teenage girls who travel across the U.S. in 1962, during the chaos of the Cuban missile crisis, in search of…
- Edge of Seventeen (2016)
- Dir. Kelly Fremon Craig
Feat. Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner…
- Candid and humourous coming–of–age drama where an awkward seventeen year old comes to terms with her all–star older brother dating…
- Equity (2016)
- Dir. Meera Menon
Feat. Anna Gunn, James Purefoy, Sarah Megan Thomas…
- Sharp, female–centric financial thriller with BREAKING BAD's Anna Gunn as a senior investment banker who finds her career undermined by scandal…
- Girl on the Train, The (2016)
- Dir. Tate Taylor
Feat. Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson…
- Adapted of the best–selling novel by Paula Hawkins (and transposed from its British setting to America), the mystery unravels for Emily Blunt…
- Girls - Season 5 (TV Series) (2016)
- Feat. Lena Dunham, Adam Driver
- Further episodes from Lena Dunham's savvy HBO series on the highs and lows of living and dating in New York – a show that's at once witty,…
- Great Maiden's Blush, The (2016)
- Dir. Andrea Bosshard, Shane Loader
Feat. Miriama McDowell, Renee Lyons
- A precarious friendship develops between two first–time single mothers – one a taxi–driver and girl racer, the other a pianist and…
- Happy Hour (2016)
- Dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Feat. Tanaka Sachie, Kikuchi Hazuki, Mihara Maiko…
- Intelligent and novelistic drama exploring the private and professional lives of four Japanese women in their 30's across an ambitious, but…
- Hidden Figures (2016)
- Dir. Theodore Melfi
Feat. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe…
- Inspirational story of a team of African–American women mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the US space…
- Innocents, The (Agnus Dei) (2016)
- Dir. Anne Fontaine
Feat. Lou de Laâge, Agata Kulesza, Agata Buzek…
- In Poland after World War II, a young French Red Cross intern who is sent to assist the survivors of the German camps discovers several nuns in…
- Jackie (2016)
- Dir. Pablo Larrain
Feat. Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig…
- A portrait of Jackie Kennedy following the assassination of her husband John F. Kennedy. Natalie Portman provides an intimate and sensitive portrayal…
- Lady Macbeth (2016)
- Dir. William Oldroyd
Feat. Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Paul Hilton…
- A confronting, whip–smart "costume noir" about a woman stifled by her loveless marriage in rural England, 1865, whose passionate affair with a…
- Levelling, The (2016)
- Dir. Hope Dickson Leach
Feat. Ellie Kendrick, David Troughton, Jack Holden
- British drama set in Somerset, where a veterinary student (Ellie Kendrick) is facing the death of her younger brother by apparent suicide, and…
- Like Crazy (La Pazza Gioia) (2016)
- Dir. Paolo Virzi
Feat. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Micaela Ramazzotti
- Gratifying comedy–drama following two women, one a troubled introvert, one an impassioned mythomaniac, who break out of a psychiatric facility…
- Mum (TV Series) (2016-2019)
- Dir. Richard Laxton
Feat. Lesley Manville, Peter Mullan
- Quality British character comedy following twelve months in the life of a newly widowed mother in her late fifties who attempts to rebuild her life…
- Planetarium (2016)
- Dir. Rebecca Zlotowski
Feat. Natalie Portman, Lily-Rose Depp, Emmanuel Salinger
- Natalie Portman and Lily–Rose Depp play two American sisters in pre–war France with apparent psychic abilities that engage the interest…
- Polina (2016)
- Dir. Valérie Müller, Angelin Preljocaj
Feat. Anastasia Shevtsova, Veronika Zhovnytska, Juliette Binoche
- Elegant, methodical drama about a gifted Russian dancer who gives up the chance to join the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet when she moves to France to…
- Sami Blood (2016)
- Dir. Amanda Kernell
Feat. Lene Cecilia Sparrok , Hanna Alström
- Emotionally powerful female coming–of–age movie set in 1930's Sweden, where a reindeer–herding teenager, an indigenous Sami child,…
- Diary of a Teenage Girl, The (2015)
- Dir. Marielle Heller
Feat. Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgard, Kristen Wiig…
- This brave and bittersweet portrait of an unusual sexual awakening has Bel Powley as a fledgling cartoonist entering into a relationship with her…
- Dressmaker, The (2015)
- Dir. Jocelyn Moorhouse
Feat. Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth…
- Kate Winslet cuts a dashing figure (and a true–blue Aussie accent) as a talented dressmaker who returns home from Paris to the tiny isolated…
- Girl Asleep (2015)
- Dir. Rosemary Myers
Feat. Bethany Whitmore, Harrison Feldman, Amber McMahon
- Based on the theatre production, this colourful coming–of–age tale set in 1970’s Australia expressively journeys into the absurd, scary…
- Girls - Season 4 (TV Series) (2015)
- Feat. Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke…
- Further episodes from Lena Dunham's savvy HBO series on the highs and lows of living and dating in New York – a show that's at once witty,…
- I Smile Back (2015)
- Dir. Adam Salky
Feat. Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski…
- Comedian Sarah Silverman demonstrates her impressive dramatic range portraying a middle–class suburban housewife suffering from depression,…
- Into the Forest (2015)
- Dir. Patricia Rozema
Feat. Elliot Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Callum Keith Rennie…
- Quiet, character driven post–apocalyptic drama following two sisters whose peaceful Pacific Northwestern lives are disrupted by a…
- Jem and The Holograms (2015)
- Dir. Jon M. Chu
Feat. Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Hayley Kiyoko…
- Live–action update of the popular '80's cartoon about a small–town girl who catapults from underground video sensation to global…
- Mustang (2015)
- Dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Feat. Gunes Senoy, Doga Doguslu, Elit Iscan…
- Sublime female coming–of–age story set in a remote Turkish village, where five sisters face the stifling expectations of their…
- Our Little Sister (Umimachi Diary) (2015)
- Dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu
Feat. Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho …
- Another exquisite domestic drama from Kore–eda Hirokazu that revolves around the loves and working lives of three sisters who accommodate their…
- Sunset Song (2015)
- Dir. Terence Davies
Feat. Agyness Deyn, Peter Mullan, Kevin Guthrie
- Dir. Terence Davies applies his refined visual sensibility to this luminescent adaptation of the Scottish literary classic of the 1930's by Lewis…
- Anzac Girls (TV Mini-series) (2014)
- Feat. Georgia Flood, Antonia Prebble, Laura Brent
- Honouring the centenary of the commencement of World War One, this six–part mini–series is based on true stories of Australian and New…
- Big Eyes (2014)
- Dir. Tim Burton
Feat. Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston…
- Director Tim Burton refreshingly breaks with fantasy for this resplendent biopic of painter Margaret Keane, whose prolific and popular work was…
- Girlhood (2014)
- Dir. Céline Sciamma
Feat. Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh…
- Potent coming–of–age drama set on the margins of Paris that follows a 16–year–old girl whose poor prospects tempt her to join…
- Girls - Season 3 (TV Series) (2014)
- Dir. Lena Dunham
Feat. Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke…
- Further episodes from Lena Dunham's savvy HBO series on the highs and lows of living and dating in New York – a show that's at once witty,…
- In The Club (TV Series) (2014)
- Dir. Kay Mellor
Feat. Hermione Norris, Katherine Parkinson, Jill Halfpenny…
- Warm, gutsy British ensemble drama following six pregnant women in various stages of life. From the creator of COLD FEET.
- Keeping Rosy (2014)
- Dir. Steve Reeves
Feat. Maxine Peake, Brooke Skylar Baptist, Delta Storm Baptist…
- Maxine Peake plays a women whose life is shattered after her company's board of directors betrays her, in this chilly thriller based on director…
- Life Partners (2014)
- Dir. Susanna Fogel
Feat. Leighton Meester, Gillian Jacobs, Adam Brody…
- A lawyer and her lesbian best friend experience a dramatic shift in their longtime bond after one enters a serious relationship.
- Nancy Wake: Gestapo's Most Wanted (2014)
- The heroics of Wellington–born Nancy Wake, aka 'The White Mouse', are given a pulpy treatment in this doco–drama celebrating the famed…
- Afternoon Delight (2013)
- Dir. Jill Soloway
Feat. Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor…
- A dissatisfied thirtysomething woman seeks "a cure for the common marriage" through her friendship with a young stripper in this serio–comic…
- Girls - Season 2 (TV Series) (2013)
- Dir. Lena Dunham
Feat. Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke…
- Further episodes from Lena Dunham's savvy HBO series on the highs and lows of living and dating in New York – a show that's at once witty,…
- Gloria (2013)
- Dir. Sebastián Lelio
Feat. Paulina García, Sergio Hernández
- Another superb Chilean drama in the wake of the previous year's NO, Paulina Garcia plays a free–spirited 58–year–old divorcee who…
- In Bloom (2013)
- Dir. Nana Ekvtimishvili
Feat. Lika Babluani, Mariam Bokeria
- Set in the newly independent state of Georgia in the wake of the Soviet regime, this powerful story follows two young girls as they courageously…
- Orange is the New Black (TV Series) (2013)
- Feat. Taylor Schilling, Laura Prepon, Kate Mulgrew…
- A bracing, darkly humorous addition to the women–in–prison genre, centred on the plight of a privileged young woman whose fling with a…
- Short Term 12 (2013)
- Dir. Destin Cretton
Feat. Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Stephanie Beatriz…
- A counselor at a foster–care facility for at–risk teenagers struggles with her own troubled past as a youngster in this tough but tender…
- Touchy Feely (2013)
- Dir. Lynn Shelton
Feat. Rosemarie DeWitt, Elliot Page, Scoot McNairy…
- Rosemarie DeWitt returns for the dir. of YOUR SISTER'S SISTER in this drama about two siblings – one a succesful massage therapist, the other a…
- Very Good Girls (2013)
- Dir. Naomi Foner
Feat. Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Ellen Barkin…
- Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen play best friends determined to lose their virginity over one long hot summer. A pseudo–serious treatment of…
- We Are the Best (Vi är bäst!) (2013)
- Dir. Lukas Moodysson
Feat. Mira Grosin, Mira Barkhammar, Liv LeMoyne
- Endearing portrait of teenage experimentation set in early '80s Stockholm where two decidedly unmusical 13–year–old girls decide to form…
- Wetlands (2013)
- Dir. David Wnendt
Feat. Carla Juri, Christoph Letkowski, Marlen Kruse
- Provocative comic tale of an eccentric girl who has strange attitudes towards hygiene and sexuality longs for the reunion of her divorced parents.
- WPC 56 (TV Series) (2013)
- Feat. Jennie Jacques
- In the tradition of JULIET BRAVO, this Birmingham–set police drama follows the trials and triumphs of a woman constable to serving in the…
- Beyond the Hills (2012)
- Dir. Cristian Mungiu
Feat. Cosmina Stratan, Cristina Flutur
- Cristian Mungiu directs this engrossing companion piece to his Cannes–winning 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, about the test of closeness between…
- Black & White & Sex (2012)
- Dir. John Winter
Feat. Katherine Hicks, Roxane Wilson, Anya Beyersdorf…
- Provocative, multifaceted portrait of a sex worker –played by eight different actresses – who through a series of interviews with a…
- Bomb Girls (TV Series) (2012)
- Feat. Meg Tilly, Jodi Balfour, Ali Liebert…
- A first–rate Canadian drama centred on the lives of women on the home–front who were recruited to work in dangerous munitions factories…
- Call the Midwife (TV Series) (2012)
- Feat. Jessica Raine, Jenny Agutter, Miranda Hart…
- Immensely popular BBC series follows – in fashionable period detail – the trials and tribulations of a newly–qualified midwife, who begins…
- Foxfire (2012)
- Dir. Laurent Cantet
Feat. Raven Adamson, Katie Coseni
- From a Joyce Carol Oates story, Laurent Cantet (THE CLASS) directs this plucky period drama of a girl gang who rally against male oppression in 1950s…
- Frances Ha (2012)
- Dir. Noah Baumbach
Feat. Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver…
- The whimsical exploits of a struggling dancer at the tail end of her adolescence are semi–improvised in this Manhattan indie rom–com,…
- Free Samples (2012)
- Dir. Jay Gammill
Feat. Jess Weixler, Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter…
- A small–scale but deceptively smart and engaging "retail comedy" that spends a day in the life with a sarcastic LA law–school dropout who…
- Girls - Season 1 (TV Series) (2012)
- Dir. Lena Dunham
Feat. Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke…
- Following her "mumblecore" hit TINY FURNITURE, wunderkind Lena Dunham's breakthrough into television (with the help of kingpin Judd Apatow) heralds a…
- Jackie (2012)
- Dir. Antoinette Beumer
Feat. Carice Van Houten, Jelka van Houten, Holly Hunter
- Two Dutch sisters (played by real life siblings Carice and van Houten) trek from the Netherlands to mid–west America in aid of a mother they've…
- Just Like a Woman (2012)
- Dir. Rachid Bouchareb
Feat. Sienna Miller, Golshifteh Farahani, Roschdy Zem
- Sienna Miller plays a Chicago housewife who joins a North African belly dancer en route to Santa Fe in this light comedy of…
- Wadjda (2012)
- Dir. Haifaa Al-Mansour
Feat. Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah
- This humanist triumph is the first ever feature to be shot in Saudi Arabia, centering on a plucky young girl who attempts to raise money for a…
- What Really Happened: Votes for Women (2012)
- Feat. Sara Wiseman, Craig Hall, Stephen Lovatt
- Another edifying take on a key turning point in New Zealand history (following What Really Happened: Waitangi), this Sunday Theatre commission…
- Corpo Celeste (2011)
- Dir. Alice Rohrwacher
Feat. Salvatore Cantalupo, Anita Caprioli
- A thirteen–year–old girl moves back to southern Italy with her mother and older sister and struggles to find her place, restlessly…
- Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
- Dir. Sean Durkin
Feat. Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy…
- A damaged young woman struggles to re–assimilate with her sister after fleeing an abusive cult in this unnerving, suggestive psycho–drama…
- Mildred Pierce (TV Mini-Series) (2011)
- Dir. Todd Haynes
Feat. Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel Wood…
- Kate Winslet gives a towering performance as the titular housewife of James M. Cain's classic noir novel of Depression Era desperation and…
- Source, The (La Source des femmes) (2011)
- Dir. Radu Mihaileanu
Feat. Leïla Bekhti, Hafsia Herzi, Hiam Abbass
- A dashing feminist dramedy sprung from the male bias in the Middle East, about a village of women who take up a 'sex strike' after their husbands…
- Winners and Losers (TV Series) (2011)
- Feat. Zoe Tuckwell-Smith, Melissa Bergland, Virginia Gay…
- Winning female–centric dramedy concerns the altered lives of four Melbournian women who score big on the Lottery. Gets great mileage from the…
- Your Sister's Sister (2011)
- Dir. Lynn Shelton
Feat. Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass
- A note–perfect indie drama from the dir. of HUMPDAY, this 'chick flick' may well appeal as much to male audiences with its engaging cast and…
- Another Year (2010)
- Dir. Mike Leigh
Feat. Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville…
- A happily married middle–aged couple attempt to fix up their cheery, if secretly depressed friend in this honest domestic drama, another winner…
- Copacabana (2010)
- Dir. Marc Fitoussi
Feat. Isabelle Huppert, Aure Atika, Lolita Chammah
- Free–spirited and perpetually unemployed Isabelle Huppert must get with the program after learning her newly engaged daughter (played by her…
- For Colored Girls (For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf) (2010)
- Dir. Tyler Perry
Feat. Kimberly Elise, Janet Jackson, Anika Noni Rose…
- Potent, if melodramatic, adaptation of the acclaimed play that has an extraordinarily diverse cast exploring the lives of nine black women through…
- Lost Kisses (I baci mai dati) (2010)
- Dir. Roberta Torre
Feat. Carla Marchese, Donatella Finocchiaro
- A 13–year–old girl in the deprived outskirts of a sprawling Sicilian city becomes a local celebrity to her needy community when word…
- Made in Dagenham (2010)
- Dir. Nigel Cole
Feat. Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson…
- Nostalgic, uplifting dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford car plant in Dagenham, where female machinists famously walked out in protest…
- Please Give (2010)
- Dir. Nicole Holofcener
Feat. Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet…
- Writer–director Nicole Holofcener secures her informal reputation as a "female Woody Allen" with this bittersweet New York story that again…
- Sex and the City 2 (2010)
- Dir. Michael Patrick King
Feat. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon…
- While wrestling with the pressures of life, love, and work in Manhattan, Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte join Samantha for a trip to Abu Dhabi, where…
- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2010)
- Dir. Wayne Wang
Feat. Gianna Jun, Bingbing Li, Russell Wong…
- Wayne Wang (THE JOY LUCK CLUB) directs this unsubtle but sweeping multi–generational weepie, framed around the enduring bond between two women…
- Tiny Furniture (2010)
- Dir. Lena Dunham
Feat. Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Alex Karpovsky…
- A prototype for Lena Dunham's hugely successful HBO series GIRLS, this smart–funny indie finds the talented actress/director mining the…
- Agora (2009)
- Dir. Alejandro Amenabar
Feat. Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac…
- A strident and admirable account of Greek scholar Hypatia, whose principles and pagan beliefs attracted the ire of Christians in 4th century…
- Amelia (2009)
- Dir. Mira Nair
Feat. Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor…
- A conventional retelling of the Amelia Earhart legend, examining the ground–breaking aviator’s turbulent love life during the years between…
- An Education (2009)
- Dir. Lone Scherfig
Feat. Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina…
- An assured and alluring coming–of–age drama set in swinging sixties London (1961 in fact), with teenage ingenue Carey Mulligan falling in…
- Blessed (2009)
- Dir. Ana Kokkinos
Feat. Miranda Otto, Frances O’Connor, Deborra-Lee Furness
- Four vivid stories of mothers and their children are interwoven in this confronting drama set in Melbourne's outer suburbs, blessed by the acting…
- Cheri (2009)
- Dir. Stephen Frears
Feat. Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend, Kathy Bates…
- Gorgeously–appointed period drama set in the "Belle Époque" of 1900s Paris, focused on a love affair between a retired courtesan (Pfeiffer)…
- Coco Avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel) (2009)
- Dir. Anne Fontaine
Feat. Audrey Tautou, Benoit Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola…
- Fittingly stylish and appealing biopic of legendary couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, tracing her early life from the rags of an orphaned childhood…
- Cracks (2009)
- Dir. Jordan Scott
Feat. Eva Green, Juno Temple, Maria Valverde…
- Moody boarding–school set drama follows a clique of six girls whose dynamic is thrown off–kilter by the arrival of a new girl whose…
- Georgia O'Keeffe (2009)
- Dir. Bob Balaban
Feat. Joan Allen, Jeremy Irons, Ed Jr. Begley
- This made–for–television biopic of American artist Georgia O'Keeffe and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, is distinguished as…
- Grey Gardens (2009)
- Dir. Michael Sucsy
Feat. Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange, Jeanne Tripplehorn…
- Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore resurrect iconic mother–daughter eccentrics Big and Little Edie, in this neat little biopic that’s a must…
- Land Girls (TV Series) (2009)
- Feat. Summer Strallen, Christine Bottomley, Jo Woodcock…
- Four Women's Land Army recruits experience the highs and lows of wartime service in this stirring BBC drama which pays tribute to the lives of…
- Mother and Child (2009)
- Dir. Rodrigo Garcia
Feat. Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington…
- Thoughtfully handled ensemble drama focuses on the maternal and filial ties that bind, centered around three women; an unhappy therapist, the…
- My Tehran for Sale (2009)
- Dir. Granaz Moussavi
Feat. Marzieh Vafamehr, Amir Chegini, Asha Mehrabi
- Marzieh is a young female actress living in Tehran. The authorities ban her theatre work and she is forced to lead a secret life in order to express…
- Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The (2009)
- Dir. Rebecca Miller
Feat. Robin Wright, Blake Lively, Alan Arkin…
- Drama boasting a formidable performance from Robin Wright Penn as the beautiful, middle–aged Pippa Lee, who finds herself living in a…
- Whip It (2009)
- Dir. Drew Barrymore
Feat. Elliot Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig…
- Drew Barrymore's directorial debut is a joyful tale of a small town outsider (Page) who empowers herself through the bruising sport of roller…
- Bride Flight (2008)
- Dir. Ben Sombogaart
Feat. Karina Smulders, Waldemar Torenstra, Anna Drijver…
- New Zealand in the 1950's from a Dutch perspective makes this melodrama an intriguing, unique experience for Kiwi audiences, which also has the…
- Cashmere Mafia (TV Series) (2008)
- Dir. Peyton Reed
Feat. Lucy Liu, Miranda Otto, Frances O’Connor…
- Short–lived drama series centred on four career hungry New York friends who turn to each other in times of personal and professional crisis.…
- Coco Chanel (2008)
- Dir. Christian Duguay
Feat. Shirley Maclaine, Malcolm McDowell, Robert Dawson…
- Made–for–television biopic of prolific fashion designer Coco Chanel, covering three different stages of her life from childhood through…
- Duchess, The (2008)
- Dir. Saul Dibb
Feat. Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling…
- Costume connoisseurs will rejoice in the splendour of Keira Knightley’s dazzling dresses and eye–catching cranial plumage in this depiction…
- Everlasting Moments (2008)
- Dir. Jan Troell
Feat. Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt, Jesper Christensen
- A touching, delicately shot memoir told from the perspective of a Finnish immigrant in Sweden who finds relief from her abusive husband in the art of…
- Good Dick (2008)
- Dir. Marianna Palka
Feat. Marianna Palka, Jason Ritter, Martin Starr…
- A romantic–comedy fraught with emotional damage, this unique American indie follows the strange yet touching relationship between a troubled,…
- Gracie (2008)
- Dir. Davis Guggenheim
Feat. Dermot Mulroney, Elisabeth Shue, Carly Schroeder
- Feel–good drama focused on a passionate female soccer player faced with the death of her brother and a battle against the odds to play for an…
- Lipstick Jungle (TV Series) (2008)
- Feat. Brooke Shields, Kim Raver, Lindsay Price
- Sassy, if at times sappy, TV drama based on another Candace Bushnell book (author of SEX AND THE CITY) centred on three NYC gal pals attempting to…
- Mistresses (TV Series) (2008)
- Feat. Sarah Parish, Sharon Small, Orla Brady…
- Provocative Brit series featuring four 30 something friends – a doctor, 9/11 widow, party gal and married mistress that get themselves into all…
- Secret Life Of Bees, The (2008)
- Dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood
Feat. Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson…
- Honey–soaked drama set in the South during the Civil Rights era follows 14 year old Lily Owens (Fanning), and her relationship with a group of…
- Sex and the City - The Movie (2008)
- Dir. Michael Patrick King
Feat. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon…
- Highly–anticipated movie version of the groundbreaking series SEX AND THE CITY, meeting up with the Big Apple's four hottest gal pals Carrie,…
- Women, The (2008)
- Dir. Diane English
Feat. Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes…
- Fluffy remake of the 1930s original focuses on a group of shrieking high–society women who rally together to help their friend deal with a…
- Caramel (Sukkar banat) (2007)
- Dir. Nadine Labaki
Feat. Nadine Labaki
- Charming Lebanese soap opera with a social conscience, the latest in an emerging wave of dissenting Middle Eastern dramas divulges the stifled lives…
- Elizabeth - The Golden Age (2007)
- Dir. Shekhar Kapur
Feat. Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen…
- Cate Blanchett reprises her all–conquering role as Queen of England, in dir. Shekhar Kapur’s grandiose sequel to 1998’s acclaimed…
- Fighter (2007)
- Dir. Natasha Arthy
Feat. Semra Turan, Nima Nabipour, Cyron Bjørn Melville
- Girls–can–do–anything drama focused around a young Turkish–Danish teenager who is determined to become a kung–fu…
- Georgia Rule (2007)
- Dir. Garry Marshall
Feat. Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan, Felicity Huffman…
- Jane Fonda leads three generations of strong–minded females in this uneasy mix of comedy and drama.
Georgia (Fonda), the…
- Jane Austen Book Club, The (2007)
- Dir. Robin Swicord
Feat. Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, Emily Blunt…
- A refreshing 'click flick' in which six Californians convene to discuss the literary works of Jane Austen and discover their own lives are starting…
- Juno (2007)
- Dir. Jason Reitman
Feat. Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner…
- Upstart indie comedy that broke wide into the mainstream, this packages up Gen–Y angst and 'riot–grrl' attitude into a commercially…
- La Vie en Rose (2007)
- Dir. Olivier Dahan
Feat. Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Emmanuelle Seigner…
- Marion Cotillard excels (and deservingly won a Best Actress Oscar) in this stunning new biopic of the life and times of French singer Edith…
- Margot at the Wedding (2007)
- Dir. Noah Baumbach
Feat. Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black
- Nicole Kidman stars as an acid–tongued, permafrosty writer in Noah Baumbach's (THE SQUID & THE WHALE) ongoing treatment of middle–aged…
- Starter Wife, The (Mini-Series) (2007)
- Dir. Jon Avnet
Feat. Debra Messing, Miranda Otto, Judy Davis…
- Attractive, summery affair concerns a pampered Hollywood trophy wife (Messing) who must get back on the horse after her marriage comes abruptly to an…
- World Unseen, The (2007)
- Dir. Shamim Sarif
Feat. Sheetal Sheth, Lisa Ray
- Actors Lisa Rayand and Sheetal Sheth team up again for director Shamim Sarif (I CAN'T THINK STRAIGHT) in this beautiful depiction of a lesbian love…
- Bonneville (2006)
- Dir. Christopher Rowley
Feat. Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Joan Allen…
- Endearing road dramedy featuring a trio of Mormon friends that set out for Santa Barbara in a vintage 66' Bonneville Convertible to deliver the ashes…
- Friends with Money (2006)
- Dir. Nicole Holofcener
Feat. Jennifer Aniston, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener…
- Diverting relationship–drama skips through dir. Holofcener's (LOVELY AND AMAZING) perennial wry life lessons, presenting the tribulations of…
- Hills, The (TV Series) (2006-2008)
- Heavy–handed Reality TV series focused on Laguna Beach It girl Lauren Conrad and her sassy friends trying to gain careers, a great tan and the…
- Hula Girls (2006)
- Dir. Sang-il Lee
Feat. Yasuko Matsuyuki, Yu Aoi
- Feel–good true story of a depleted coal–mining town in Japan, and its residents’ efforts to build a Hawaiian–themed tourist…
- Jane Eyre (TV Mini-Series) (2006)
- Dir. Susanna White
Feat. Toby Stephens, Ruth Wilson
- Commendable mini–series version of the classic Charlotte Bronte tale of a headstrong governess who falls madly in love with her employer.…
- Lipstick (Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy) (2006)
- Dir. Peter Werner
Feat. Sarah Chalke, Jay Harrington
- Based on a true story of a woman's fight to maintain her humour and passion while battling breast cancer, Sarah Chalke (SCRUBS) gives a raw and…
- Notes on a Scandal (2006)
- Dir. Richard Eyre
Feat. Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy
- Authorities Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench go head–to–head in this psychological gambit between a pottery teacher engaged in an illicit…
- Volver (2006)
- Dir. Pedro Almodovar
Feat. Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas
- Formidable Spanish brand–name dir. Almodovar re–embracing what he knows best – womanhood – in a vibrant and tempestuous tale of…
- Heartbreak Hotel (2005)
- Dir. Colin Nutley
Feat. Helena Bergstrom, Maria Lundqvist
- Two recently–divorced Swedish women form an unlikely bond and navigate their way through the perils of singledom in this fresh–faced…
- In Her Shoes (2005)
- Dir. Curtis Hanson
Feat. Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley Maclaine
- Intelligent, if overly conventional adaptation of Jennifer Weiner's chick–lit novel about two contrasting and clashing sisters: the ebullient…
- Nine Lives (2005)
- Dir. Rodrigo Garcia
Feat. Robin Wright, Holly Hunter, Sissy Spacek…
- Soulful ensemble drama delving into the lives of nine women, portrayed by nine top–notch actresses gifted a single vignette each to portray the…
- North Country (2005)
- Dir. Niki Caro
Feat. Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek…
- Fact–based drama about a group of women miners in 1970s Minnesota who endured a hostile work environment, bullying and sexual abuse after…
- Virgin Queen, The (TV Mini-Series) (2005)
- Dir. Coky Giedroyc
Feat. Anne-Marie Duff, Joanne Whalley, Dexter Fletcher…
- Imprecise yet compelling mini–series portraying the life and loves of the infamously independent Queen Elizabeth I – from her fearful…
- Desperate Housewives (TV Series) - Season 1 (2004)
- Feat. Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross…
- A wildly popular "super–soap" which explores the secrets, neuroses, affairs and generally intriguing lives of a group of middle–aged…
- Iron Jawed Angels (2004)
- Dir. Katja von Garnier
Feat. Hilary Swank, Anjelica Huston, Frances O’Connor…
- Fairly inventive telemovie concerning the rise of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, which had the aim of gaining voting and other…
- Maria Full of Grace (2004)
- Dir. Joshua Marston
Feat. Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yenny Paola Vega, Guilied Lopez…
- An accomplished delve into the experience of a 'drug mule', a teenage Colombian girl who enlists to smuggle heroin into the United States, so as to…
- Million Dollar Baby (2004)
- Dir. Clint Eastwood
Feat. Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood…
- Clint Eastwood's straight–ahead drama about a feisty young woman who trains under his grizzled, reluctant coach to become a boxing champion…
- Moolaade (2004)
- Dir. Ousmane Sembene
Feat. Fatoumata Coulibaly
- A rare glimpse for New Zealanders of the work of elderly Sengalese dir. Sembene – novelist, newspaper editor and founder of the New African…
- Somersault (2004)
- Dir. Cate Shortland
Feat. Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington, Lynette Curran…
- Visually impressive though underwritten account of a fragile Australian teenager who flees her home for the wider world after being caught in bed…
- Twenty Thirty Forty (20 30 40) (2004)
- Dir. Sylvia Chang
Feat. Sylvia Chang, Rene Liu, Lee Sinji
- The destinies of three women in contemporary urban Taiwan – aged 20, 30 and 40 – evolve in parallel as each feels their way through the…
- Vera Drake (2004)
- Dir. Mike Leigh
Feat. Imelda Staunton, Phil Davis, Peter Wight
- An impeccable period drama from Mike Leigh that ranks alongside the director's best work, this is the moving story of a middle aged woman who was…
- Anatomy of Hell (Anatomie De L'enfer) (2003)
- Dir. Catherine Breillat
Feat. Amira Casar, Rocco Siffredi
- A queasily explicit sex drama about a suicidal woman who challenges (and pays) a promiscuous gay man to participate in an uneasy nightly ritual of…
- Ashes and Sand (2003)
- Dir. Bob Blagden
Feat. Nick Moran, Lara Belmont
- Promising but ultimately disappointing drama set among the members of a girl–gang in Brighton, England.
Although based on an…
- Casa de los Babys (2003)
- Dir. John Sayles
Feat. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daryl Hannah, Marcia Gay Harden…
- Another quality ensemble drama from dir. John Sayles, that this time brings together six American women waiting to start a family through a Mexican…
- Mother, The (2003)
- Dir. Roger Michell
Feat. Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Stephen Mackintosh…
- An unforgettable British drama about an aging widow, alienated from her ambitious son and neurotic daughter, who confronts the vacuum of her life…
- Osama (2003)
- Dir. Siddiq Barmak
Feat. Marina Golbahari
- Though nothing to do with a certain infamous terrorist, this first Afghani film made since the rise and fall of the Taliban also happens to be a…
- Prey For Rock n Roll (2003)
- Dir. Alex Steyermark
Feat. Gina Gershon, Drea De Matteo, Lori Petty
- Gina Gershon puts her all into a role playing an aging rock–singer who must decide whether to continue pursuing the dream after her 40th…
- Real Women Have Curves (2003)
- Dir. Patricia Cardoso
Feat. America Ferrera
- A natural antidote to Hollywood silicone, this tells the charming coming–of–age story of an ‘ordinary’ Mexican–American…
- Singing Behind Screens (Cantando dietro i paraventi) (2003)
- Dir. Ermanno Olmi
Feat. Bud Spencer, Davide Dragonetti
- Visually opulent Italian epic directed by Ermanno Olmi (THE TREE OF WOODEN CLOGS) set in coastal China and centred on a plucky widow who takes her…
- Thirteen (2003)
- Dir. Catherine Hardwicke
Feat. Holly Hunter, Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed
- Startling depiction of a young teenager who spins out of control as she falls in with the wrong crowd and beyond the reach of her struggling…
- Whale Rider (2003)
- Dir. Niki Caro
Feat. Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton…
- A stirring, widely–acclaimed adaptation of Witi Ihimaera’s novel about a young girl’s struggle to win the approval of her patriarchal…
- A Tale of a Naughty Girl (Mondo Meyer Upakhyan) (2002)
- Dir. Buddhadev Dasgupta
Feat. Samata Das, Rituparna Sengupta, Arpan Basar
- Caught between the push of tradition and the pull of the promise of a new life, a bright prostitute's daughter runs away to Calcutta to escape a…
- Between Strangers (2002)
- Dir. Edoardo Ponti
Feat. Sophia Loren, Pete Postlethwaite, Mira Sorvino…
- The lives of three quite different women move into thematic proximity in this lightweight, but worthy drama.
As played by Loren, Sorvino and…
- Blue Car (2002)
- Dir. Karen Moncrieff
Feat. Agnes Bruckner, David Strathairn
- A rites–of–passage drama of distinction, this is realistic and affecting in its account of a high–school student whose flair for…
- Face (2002)
- Dir. Bertha Bay-Sa Pan
Feat. Ling Bai, Will Yun Lee, Kirsty Wu…
- Chinese–American drama that deals commendably with familiar themes of relationships, marriage and cultural identity.
Alternating its…
- Frida (2002)
- Dir. Julie Taymor
Feat. Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Ashley Judd…
- Long awaited biopic of the celebrated 20th–century Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, whose troubled marriage to Diego Riviera and crippling injuries…
- Hysterical Blindness (2002)
- Dir. Mira Nair
Feat. Uma Thurman, Juliette Lewis, Gena Rowlands
- A red–maned Uma Thurman comes to terms with her 'Jersey Girl' existence in this noted telemovie from dir. Mira Nair (MONSOON…
- Linda Green (TV Series) (2002)
- Feat. Liza Tarbuck
- Surprisingly endearing comic drama, follows the life of swinging single girl Linda (played by former TV presenter Liza Tarbuck) from work to home to…
- Morvern Callar (2002)
- Dir. Lynne Ramsay
Feat. Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott
- Enigmatic drama from the dir. of RATCATCHER that unreels a woman's journey into the unknown after her boyfriend commits suicide and she purloins his…
- Personal Velocity (2002)
- Dir. Rebecca Miller
Feat. Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, Fairuza Balk
- Daughter of playwright Arthur Miller, Rebecca, announces herself as a talent worthy of her famous father on evidence of her second feature – a…
- Satin Rouge (2002)
- Dir. Raja Amari
Feat. Hiam Abbass, Hend El Fahem
- A still–attractive but lonely widow is liberated through the world of belly–dancing in this infectious romantic drama from Tunisia.
At…
- Secretary (2002)
- Dir. Steven Shainberg
Feat. James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies…
- A spanking good black comedy detailing the bizarre relationship between a peculiar, ill–tempered lawyer and the meek secretary he…
- Suddenly (2002)
- Dir. Diego Lerman
Feat. Carla Crespo, Tatiana Saphir, Veronica Hassan
- Grimy, punkish road movie morphs that into a rather tender tale with two tough girls from the hood kidnapping a local shop girl and taking her on an…
- Teknolust (2002)
- Dir. Lynn Hershman-Leeson
Feat. Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Davies, Karen Black
- Human and artificial frontiers overlap to intriguing effect in this independent feature propelled by Tilda Swinton in four incarnations – a…
- A Ma Soeur! (For My Sister, aka Fat Girl) (2001)
- Dir. Catherine Breillat
Feat. Anais Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, Libero de Rienzo…
- An artfully impassive study of sexual predation that takes place during the summer holidays of two teenage sisters – the dumpy Anais Reboux and…
- Business of Strangers, The (2001)
- Dir. Patrick Stettner
Feat. Stockard Channing, Julia Stiles, Frederick Weller
- In what amounts to a gender–flip of “In the Company of Men”, Stocking Channing and Julia Stiles are business women polarized by money,…
- Down and Out With the Dolls (2001)
- Dir. Kurt Voss
- Based around the rise and fall of an all–grrl goth–rock band in early 1990s Portland, Oregon, this packs enough scene authenticity to…
- Ghost World (2001)
- Dir. Terry Zwigoff
Feat. Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi…
- Nothing to do with the paranormal, but everything to do with the anti–normal, this independent gem is a surprisingly endearing tale of two…
- Lovely and Amazing (2001)
- Dir. Nicole Holofcener
Feat. Catherine Keener, Brenda Blethyn, Jake Gyllenhaal…
- Rewarding indie drama – seasoned with touches of painful comedy – that observes the troubles between three sisters waiting for their…
- Me Without You (2001)
- Dir. Sandra Goldbacher
Feat. Anna Friel, Kyle MacLachlan, Oliver Milburn…
- Growing up on the outskirts of 1970s London, Anna Friel and Michelle Williams make a friendship–pact that helps them through the sex, drugs and…
- Read My Lips (Sur Mes Levres) (2001)
- Dir. Jacques Audiard
Feat. Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Devos
- Sturdy, unconventional French thriller about an insecure, partially–deaf office clerk who tries to help an irascible ex–con integrate…
- Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)
- Dir. Penny Marshall
Feat. Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, James Woods
- Based on the bestselling Me–generation memoir of Beverly D’Onofrio, this follows Drew Barrymore’s efforts to fulfill her dreams…
- Wild Iris (2001)
- Dir. Daniel Petrie
Feat. Gena Rowlands, Laura Linney, Fred Ward…
- Superior tele drama that cultivates a convincingly dysfunctional relationship between mother Gena Rowlands and daughter Laura Linney, returning home…
- Contender, The (2000)
- Dir. Rod Lurie
Feat. Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridges…
- Strongly performed political thriller centred around the confirmation of Vice–Presidential candidate Joan Allen, whose enemies try every trick…
- Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000)
- Dir. Michael Radford
Feat. Daryl Hannah, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Tilly…
- Revealing the mixed–up lives of those who work at an L.A. stripclub, this well–meaning drama was written chiefly through the…
- Day I Became a Woman, The (2000)
- Dir. Marziyeh Meshkini
Feat. Fatemeh Cherag Akhur, Hassan Nebhan, Shahr Banou Sisizadeh
- A trio of strong metaphorical tales that outline three aspects of “a woman’s lot” in contemporary Iran, with humour and cinematic…
- Erin Brockovich (2000)
- Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Feat. Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart
- An interesting and successful marriage of a Hollywood star vehicle (Julia Roberts) and independent credentials (dir. Soderbergh), that takes an…
- Gilmore Girls - Season 1 (TV Series) (2000-2001)
- Feat. Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel
- Critically lauded and invitingly fresh TV drama about an amiably eccentric mother and daughter, whose suburban American lives in Connecticut explore…
- Girlfight (2000)
- Dir. Karyn Kusama
Feat. Michelle Rodriguez
- A teenage girl breaks out of her working–class rut by training as a boxer, an arena that presents sexual prejudice as her chief opponent.…
- Girls Can't Swim (Les filles ne savent pas nager) (2000)
- Dir. Anne-Sophie Birot
Feat. Isild Le Besco, Karen Alyx, Pascale Bussieres…
- Moody French coming–of–age drama about two girls, one who lives in the coastal town in Brittany, the other from the city.
Best…
- Me You Them (Eu Tu Eles) (2000)
- Dir. Andrucha Waddington
Feat. Regina Case, Lima Duarte, Stenio Garcia
- Set in the arid hinterlands of Brazil, this serio–comic study of rural polyandry has Regina Case (Brazil’s Oprah Winfrey) hitch up three…
- Wonderland (2000)
- Dir. Michael Winterbottom
Feat. Shirley Henderson, Ian Hart, Gina McKee…
- A sobering view of contemporary London life as three sisters, friends and relatives struggle to connect in a stressful urban world. Plot mechanics…
- All About My Mother (1999)
- Dir. Pedro Almodovar
Feat. Cecilia Roth
- Almodovar's "celebration of mother and womanhood" has been hailed as something of a departure for the director, though in fact all of his (beloved)…
- Anywhere But Here (1999)
- Dir. Wayne Wang
Feat. Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman
- Creating a credible array of intelligent female characters, the dir. of THE JOY–LUCK CLUB deals honestly with the plight of flaky Mum Susan…
- Aristocrats (TV Mini-series) (1999)
- Dir. David Caffrey
Feat. Sian Phillips, Alun Armstrong, Ben Daniels…
- BBC costumer set in 18th–century England and Ireland tells the story of four beautiful, privileged sisters who are the…
- Bad Girls (TV Series) (1999)
- Feat. Simone Lahbib, Mark Pegy, Jack Ellis
- Top rating and dramatically juicy ITV series set in a British women’s prison, which directly confronts bisexuality, female violence, drugs and the…
- Cooler Climate, A (1999)
- Dir. Susan Seidelman
Feat. Sally Field, Judy Davis
- Exploring the emotional climate between newly–separated Sally Field and her new boss, rich–bitch Judy Davis, this small–scale drama…
- Girl, Interrupted (1999)
- Dir. James Mangold
Feat. Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie
- Winona Ryder flies over the cuckoo's nest as the confused middle–class waif of Susanna Kaysen's 60s counterculture memoir, who's persuaded by…
- Holy Smoke (1999)
- Dir. Jane Campion
Feat. Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel
- An adventurous attempt to fuse psychological thriller, broad caricature and Eastern spirituality has guru–besotted Kate Winslet being lured…
- Soft Fruit (1999)
- Dir. Christina Andreef
Feat. Jeanie Drynan, Linal Haft, Russell Dykstra…
- From NZ short film dir. Christina Andreef comes this ripely entertaining comic drama about the ties that separate and bind as four Aussie siblings…
- Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (1999)
- Dir. Rodrigo Garcia
Feat. Glenn Close, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter…
- A quietly impressive portmanteau film, portraying the interior lives of five Los Angeles women in crisis, this was unfairly shelved after its…
- Tumbleweeds (1999)
- Dir. Gavin O'Connor
Feat. Janet McTeer, Gavin O'Connor, Kimberly J Brown
- Exceptional mother–daughter drama that won British actress Janet McTeer an Oscar nomination for her dedicated portrait of a sassy, impetuous…
- Venus Beauty Institute (Venus Beauty) (1999)
- Dir. Tonie Marshall
Feat. Nathalie Baye, Audrey Tautou
- A modest beauty salon is the setting for this wry ensemble piece about the vagaries of womanhood, with an engagingly eccentric collection of clients…
- An Autumn Tale (1998)
- Dir. Eric Rohmer
Feat. Marie Riviere, Beatrice Romand, Alain Libolt
- Completing his suite of films based on the four seasons, dir. Rohmer provides another mellow, seemingly unplotted comedy, in which Rhone valley…
- Charmed (TV Series) (1998-2005)
- Feat. Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs
- A career–reviving hit for Doherty and Milano, as two of a trio of sisters who discover they have the supernatural powers of witches. This…
- Destiny of Her Own, A (Dangerous Beauty) (1998)
- Dir. Marshall Herskovitz
Feat. Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell
- Historical romance that profits from a sensuous 16th century Venetian setting, as the low–prospect Catherine McCormack opts for the tradeoffs…
- Elizabeth (1998)
- Dir. Shekhar Kapur
Feat. Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes…
- Attended by much ballyhoo, Australian actress Cate Blanchett fruitfully represents England's famous Queen as a key player in the sex…
- Fishing Trip, The (1998)
- Dir. Amnon Buchbinder
Feat. Jhene Erwin, Melissa Hood, Anna Henry
- Independent drama made when director Amnon Buchbinder was a student at the Candian Film Centre, telling a story of two sisters who confront their…
- Girls' Night (1998)
- Dir. Nick Hurran
Feat. Julie Walters, Brenda Blethyn
- A windfall at the local bingo hall puts air in the wings of forty–something factory gals Julie Walters and Brenda Blethyn, but a wheel of…
- Land Girls, The (1998)
- Dir. David Leland
Feat. Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel
- Gently romantic look at the lives of three young women serving old Blighty during World War II as members of the nearly forgotten Women's Land Army.…
- Price Above Rubies, A (1998)
- Dir. Boaz Yakin
Feat. Renee Zellweger, Christopher Eccleston, Julianne Margulies…
- Sincere though meddlesome attempt to depict life in the closed society of Hasidic Judaism, finds it hard to measure up to dir. Boaz Yakin's…
- Terrorist, The (1998)
- Dir. Santosh Sivan
Feat. Ayesha Dharkar
- Discovered and championed by the actor John Malkovich, this intensely concentrated thriller depicts the hardening and training of 19–yr old…
- A Thousand Acres (1997)
- Dir. Jocelyn Moorhouse
Feat. Jessica Lange, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michelle Pfeiffer…
- Daughters of rancher Jason Robards are an embattled trio, in this adaption of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. Story attempts to…
- All Over Me (1997)
- Dir. Alex Sichel
Feat. Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, Cole Hauser…
- A lesbian festival hit that has 'crossover' hit written all over it, as it persuasively pinpoints some of the universal, intense emotions of…
- Artemisia (1997)
- Dir. Agnes Merlet
Feat. Valentina Cervi, Miki Manojlovic, Michel Serrault
- Study of the first significant female painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, the daughter of Caravaggio's one–time assistant in 17th Century…
- Career Girls (1997)
- Dir. Mike Leigh
Feat. Katrin Cartlidge, Lynda Steadman
- Mike Leigh sidesteps the impossibly tall order of living up to SECRETS AND LIES with a character–driven two–hander about a pair of…
- Female Perversions (1997)
- Dir. Susan Streitfeld
Feat. Tilda Swinton
- Based on the Freudian texts of noted psychoanalyst Louise Kaplan, this serious–minded, erotically charged and stylish film probes several…
- Post Coitum (1997)
- Dir. Brigitte Rouan
Feat. Brigitte Rouan
- The director herself plays a 40–year–old wife, mother and book editor who has her respectable life devastated after a whirlwind affair…
- Radiance (1997)
- Dir. Rachel Perkins
Feat. Rachel Maza, Deborah Mailman, Trisha Morton-Thomas
- An Aboriginal mother's funeral brings disparities among the surviving daughters into vibrant relief.
Adapted from Louis Nowra's play, this…
- True Women (1997)
- Dir. Karen Arthur
Feat. Dana Delaney, Annabeth Gish, Angelina Jolie…
- A female–driven historical saga spanning five decades from the Texas Revolution through to the American Civil War. A Hallmark production based…
- Washington Square (1997)
- Dir. Agnieszka Holland
Feat. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ben Chaplin, Maggie Smith…
- Portrait of a lady adapted from the pen of Henry James profits from an exemplary Jennifer Jason Leigh performance – as an eccentric, plain…
- Antonia's Line (1996)
- Dir. Marleen Gorris
Feat. Willeke van Ammelrooy, Els Dottermans, Jan Decleir
- The deserving winner of the '96 Best Foreign Film Oscar recalls the 50 year history of matriarch Antonia and her defiantly unconventional brood in…
- Dogs (Dogs: The Rise and Fall of an All-Girl Bookie Joint) (1996)
- Dir. Eve Annenburg
Feat. Pam Columbus, Pam Gray, Melody Beal…
- Four Brooklyn women opt for a life of running an illegal bookie joint, over the dead–end, unemployed lifestyle of the local area. In her debut,…
- Emma (1996)
- Dir. Douglas McGrath
Feat. Gwyneth Paltrow, James Cosmo, Greta Scacchi…
- A clued up reworking of Jane Austen's classic, set in 19th century England, about a congenial young lady's well–intentioned but misjudged…
- Entertaining Angels (1996)
- Dir. Michael Ray Rhodes
Feat. Moira Kelly, Martin Sheen
- Stirring biopic of American champion of the poor Dorothy Day (played with passion by Moira Kelly), who rose from obscurity in 1920s New York to…
- Evita (1996)
- Dir. Alan Parker
Feat. Madonna, Antonio Banderas
- The Broadway Extravaganza, complete with Madonna, wall–to–wall songs and political melodrama, is bravely swallowed whole by Hollywood. …
- Flower of My Secret, The (1996)
- Dir. Pedro Almodovar
Feat. Marisa Paredes
- An artistic maturing for the director of kitsch sex comedies like HIGH HEELS and KIKA, this is an introspective study of a successful authoress…
- Girls Town (1996)
- Dir. Jim McKay
Feat. Lili Taylor, Idina Harris, Anna Grace
- Winner of both the Filmmaker's Trophy and the Special Jury prize at Sundance, this little seen film was one of genuine highlights of the 1997 NZ Film…
- How to Make an American Quilt (1996)
- Dir. Jocelyn Moorhouse
Feat. Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn…
- Pleasurable, star–domed female–stitching movie has Winona Ryder sorting out her personal foibles with an ear for the mixed–fortuned…
- I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
- Dir. Mary Harron
Feat. Lili Taylor, Jared Harris, Martha Plimpton
- Both an absorbing time capsule of Warhol's 'factory' ultra–decadence and a gutsy portrait of extremism and delusion. Lili Taylor is a dynamo of…
- If These Walls Could Talk (1996)
- Dir. Nancy Savoca, Cher
Feat. Cher, Demi Moore, Sissy Spacek
- Cher, Demi Moore and Sissy Spacek examine issues and attitudes surrounding abortion in three separate stories spread over 40 years. Strong…
- Jane Austen Collection, The (1996-2007)
- Feat. Kate Beckinsale, Billie Piper, Samantha Morton…
- Collection of three of Austen's greatest stories; Emma, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park, brought to life by prestigious British casts.
Emma…
- Jane Eyre (1996)
- Dir. Franco Zeffirelli
Feat. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anna Paquin, William Hurt…
- Zeffirelli's version of Charlotte Bronte's gothic romance, filmed in appropriately murky hues, preserves the sombre integrity of the novel. Charlotte…
- Libertarias (1996)
- Dir. Vincente Aranda
Feat. Victoria Abril, Ana Belen, Miguel Bose…
- Examining the Spanish Civil War from a left–wing point–of–view, this passionate war drama focuses on a trio of women – a…
- Moll Flanders (1996)
- Dir. Pen Densham
Feat. Robin Wright, Morgan Freeman
- The hardships of the 18th century England prove a lifelong test of character for the eponymous heroine, born into poverty, then graduating to both…
- Spitfire Grill, The (1996)
- Dir. Lee David Zlotoff
Feat. Alison Elliott, Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden…
- If you enjoyed the down–home cookin' of FRIED GREEN TOMATOES you might wanna sample this fare, but otherwise this is a folkie melodrama, with a…
- Angel Baby (1995)
- Dir. Michael Rymer
Feat. John Lynch, Jacqueline McKenzie
- Searing tragicomedy in which two schizophrenics fall in love and for better and worse navigate a path to independence and happiness.
The…
- Boys On the Side (1995)
- Dir. Herbert Ross
Feat. Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker, Drew Barrymore
- Strangers hit the road together and share more in common than they expect. As disparate women–of–the–nineties the three stars keep…
- Edie and Pen (1995)
- Dir. Matthew Irmas
Feat. Stockard Channing, Jennifer Tilly, Scott Glenn…
- Unhappily–marrieds Stockard Channing and Jennifer Tilly cut out to Reno to dispense with husbands, bad luck and sobriety. Bittersweet comedy…
- Georgia (1995)
- Dir. Ulu Grosbard
Feat. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mare Winningham
- Sibling rivalry in the music industry contrasts the careers and temperaments of two sisters. Jennifer Jason–Leigh and Mare Winningham are in…
- Moonlight and Valentino (1995)
- Dir. David Anspaugh
Feat. Whoopi Goldberg, Kathleen Turner, Gwyneth Paltrow…
- Whoopi Goldberg, Kathleen Turner and Gwyneth Paltrow gather to console Elizabeth Perkins on the tragic death of her hubby. Enter house–painting…
- Now and Then (1995)
- Dir. Lesli Linka Glatter
Feat. Demi Moore, Melanie Griffith, Rosie O'Donnell…
- Pleasant enough stroll down memory lane – estranged childhood chums reunite after 25 years for tears and celebration of their lives, er, now…
- Politician's Wife, The (TV mini-series) (1995)
- Dir. Graham Theakston
Feat. Juliet Stevenson, Trevor Eve, Minnie Driver…
- Hell hath no fury like Juliet Stevenson in this Bafta and Emmy award–winning drama as a woman humiliated by the public revelation that her…
- Waiting to Exhale (1995)
- Dir. Forest Whitaker
Feat. Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett
- Well–trodden version of men–bemoaning female bonding flick in which Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett among others share tales of…
- West Side Waltz (1995)
- Dir. Ernest Thompson
Feat. Shirley Maclaine, Liza Minnelli, Jennifer Grey…
- Cold widow Shirley Maclaine lives for playing the piano and isolates all except her violin accompanist, Liza Minnelli. A prelude to change comes in…
- Double Happiness (1994)
- Dir. Mina Shum
Feat. Sandra Oh, Allanah Ong, Stephen Chang…
- A Chinese–Canadian woman faces a common dilemma – how far is she willing to compromise her parents expectations and values in pursuit of…
- Fun (1994)
- Dir. Rafal Zielinski
Feat. Renee Humphrey, Alicia Witt
- Two teenage girls just want to have fun, but their obsessive pursuit of it leads them to murder an old lady for no other reason.
This remarkable…
- Getting Gotti (1994)
- Dir. Roger Young
Feat. Lorraine Bracco, Ellen Burstyn, Anthony John Denison
- Lorraine Bracco pre–SOPRANOS stardom takes on the role of a determined U.S. Attorney Assistant tracking down a Mafia Crime Boss that grew up in…
- Little Women (1994)
- Dir. Gillian Armstrong
Feat. Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Claire Danes…
- Impeccable version of Louisa May Alcott's classic of American girlhood updates the warm–hearted saga of four sisters and their…
- Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
- Dir. Alan Rudolph
Feat. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Matthew Broderick, Campbell Scott
- Jennifer Jason Leigh lends her perfectly mannered precision to Dorothy Parker, anguished writer, poet and lonely socialite who merrily drowned her…
- My Crazy Life (Mi Vida Loca) (1994)
- Dir. Allison Anders
Feat. Angel Aviles, Seidy Lopez, Jacob Vargas
- Latino, girl–centic spin on BOYZ 'N THE HOOD from the director of GAS, FOOD, LODGING derives its script from anecdotes from real gang girls and…
- Oleanna (1994)
- Dir. David Mamet
Feat. Debra Eisenstadt, William H. Macy
- David Mamet brings his penetrating tete–a–tete about sexual agendas from the stage to screen in purely theatrical form. Stay with its…
- Only the Brave (1994)
- Dir. Ana Kokkinos
Feat. Elena Mandalis, Dora Kaskanis, Maud Davey
- Gritty portrait of a bleak rite–of–passage for two Greek girls in the wasteland of suburban Melbourne. Succinct feature possesses a…
- Serving in Silence (1994)
- Dir. Jeff Bleckner
Feat. Glenn Close, Judy Davis
- Glenn Close and Judy Davis star in this biopic of Margarethe Cammermeyer, an exemplary colonel of the US military who was forced to fight for her…
- Silences of the Palace (1994)
- Dir. Moufida Tlatli
Feat. Amel Hedhili, Hend Sabri, Najia Ouerghi…
- The daughter of a palatial servant reflects on her upbringing and steady revolt of her birthright obligations.
Impassioned look at the status of…
- Ballad of Little Jo (1993)
- Dir. Maggie Greenwald
Feat. Suzy Amis
- Suzy Amis is terrific as a cowgirl who masquerades as a man in order to realise her fiercely independent dreams. A refreshing revision of the Wild…
- Bandit Queen (1993)
- Dir. Shekhar Kapur
Feat. Seema Biswas
- Far and away from the innocuous fluff that dominates India's film industry, comes this bold, controversial true story of Phoolan Devi, a notorious…
- Bhaji On the Beach (1993)
- Dir. Gurinder Chadha
Feat. Kim Vithana, Jimmi Harkishin, Sarita Khajuria
- Warm and energetic comedy joins a mini–bus full of Indian women on a day–trip to Blackpool. The first Asian woman to helm a Brit feature…
- Bread and Roses (1993)
- Dir. Gaylene Preston
Feat. Genevieve Picot
- A gracious tribute to the post–war generation of New Zealand women, Gaylene Preston does a job worthy of her forebears in charting the early…
- Chantilly Lace (1993)
- Dir. Linda Yellen
Feat. Lindsay Crouse, JoBeth Williams, Martha Plimpton
- Satisfying story of friendship among seven women who trade memories at a country retreat.
- Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (TV Series) (1993-1998)
- Feat. Jane Seymour, Chad Allen
- Appealing western series starring Jane Seymour as the wilful Dr. Quinn starting up a practice in the wilds of redneck Colorado while dealing with the…
- Go Fish (1993)
- Dir. Rose Troche
Feat. Guinevere Turner, V.S Brodie
- A free–wheeling and revealing study of things lesbian with all its inherent prejudices and dilemmas. Not a 'coming–out' movie, but rather…
- Joy Luck Club, The (1993)
- Dir. Wayne Wang
Feat. Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin
- From Amy Tan's novel, this story of four Chinese–American women and their daughters will touch a chord with mums and daughters of all races,…
- Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. (1993)
- Dir. Leslie Harris
Feat. Ariyan Johnson
- This cautionary tale from the Brooklyn streets lacks technical polish, but its heart–felt enthusiasm paints a geniune picture of what it is to…
- Piano, The (1993)
- Dir. Jane Campion
Feat. Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin…
- A romantic masterpiece set in pioneering New Zealand worthy of its reputation and phenomenal success. Worth a second glance for the cast's impeccable…
- Poetic Justice (1993)
- Dir. John Singleton
Feat. Janet Jackson
- Janet Jackson plays Justice, a girl who writes poetry and stuff about the problems of the 'hood. She's the best thing on offer in this tepid follow…
- Crush (1992)
- Dir. Alison Maclean
Feat. Marcia Gay Harden
- A downbeat analysis of female personal politics, with Marcia Gay Harden, an American vixen in Rotorua who neglects her dear friend recently paralysed…
- Enchanted April (1992)
- Dir. Mike Newell
Feat. Joan Plowright, Miranda Richardson, Polly Walker…
- A gentle, lucid ensemble piece about four women who escape the constrictions of Edwardian London for a month in a castle on the Riviera.
- Leaving Normal (1992)
- Dir. Edward Zwick
Feat. Christine Lahti, Meg Tilly
- Post–THELMA AND LOUISE female–bonding drama with the ever–likeable Christine Lahti and Meg Tilly, who abandon their lives of…
- Orlando (1992)
- Dir. Sally Potter
Feat. Tilda Swinton
- Majestic interpretation of Virginia Woolf's 'unfilmable' novel salutes the work of Greenaway and gives Tilda Swinton the role of a lifetime, not to…
- Passion Fish (1992)
- Dir. John Sayles
Feat. Mary MacDonnell, Alfre Woodard, David Strathairn
- After a debilitating accident, soap–opera super–bitch Mary MacDonnell returns to Louisiana and finds an unlikely soulmate in her black…
- Danzon (1991)
- Dir. Maria Novaro
Feat. Maria Rojo
- Lovely film about a phone operator and mother in Mexico City enthralled by the popular Cuban dance, known as "danzon". When her regular dance partner…
- Fried Green Tomatoes (Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe) (1991)
- Dir. Jon Avnet
Feat. Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary-Louise Parker…
- Kathy Bates strikes up a friendship with Jessica Tandy who waxes nostalgic about a pair of Southern belles who triumphed over adversity in the '30s.…
- Gas, Food, Lodging (1991)
- Dir. Allison Anders
Feat. Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, Fairuza Balk
- Delectable romantic tale of life in a truck–stop town for mom and two teenage daughters adds up to much more than the sum of its incidental…
- Not Without My Daughter (1991)
- Dir. Brian Gilbert
Feat. Sally Field, Alfred Molina
- Sally Field stars in this gripping true story of a woman who accompanied her Iranian–born husband to his homeland, and became his permanent…
- Antonia and Jane (1990)
- Dir. Beeban Kidron
Feat. Saskia Reeves, Imelda Staunton
- Whimsical portrait of friendship will tickle the fancy of women in particular. Insecurities abound for long–time chums – attractive…
- Company of Strangers (Strangers in Good Company) (1990)
- Dir. Cynthia Scott
Feat. Alice Diabo, Constance Garneau, Winifred Holden
- A special film created from a script that was inspired by the real lives of the seven elderly women who play the roles. Relationships are forged and…
- Men Don't Leave (1990)
- Dir. Paul Brickman
Feat. Jessica Lange
- Jessica Lange stars as the mother of two precocious sons, forced to adapt to a new environment after losing her husband and their rural home.
- Seduction: The Cruel Woman (1990)
- Dir. Monika Treut, Elfi Mikesch
Feat. Udo Kier
- The director of VIRGIN MACHINE takes her subversive sensibilities further with this outing exploring the activities of a domanatrix. Udo Kier takes…
- Thelma and Louise (1990)
- Dir. Ridley Scott
Feat. Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel…
- Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon take action and escape their housebound repression in a T–Bird, but discover the road to freedom is littered…
- Hush-A-Bye-Baby (1989)
- Dir. Margo Harkin
Feat. Seamus Ball, Rosina Brown, Sean Carlin…
- Excellent portrayal, using 'workshop' methods, of the tribulations of four teenage girls in Northern Ireland, as they negotiate the local facts of…
- Island (1989)
- Dir. Paul Cox
Feat. Irene Papas, Eva Sitta
- Three disparate women cross paths on a remote Greek island where they come to terms with their past to reconsider their place in the world.
- Rainbow, The (1989)
- Dir. Ken Russell
Feat. Sammi Davis, Amanda Donohoe
- The director steers away from his usual excesses for D.H. Lawrence's portrait of a young woman's sexual and feminist liberation, set in Edwardian…
- 36 Filette (Virgin) (1988)
- Dir. Catherine Breillat
Feat. Delphine Zentout, Etienne Chicot, Olivier Parniere
- The thrills and fears of a young girl's willed sexual awakening are explored when she opts to accept a ride from a mysterious stranger in order to…
- Echoes (TV Mini-series) (1988)
- Dir. Barbara Rennie
Feat. Siobhan Garahy, Robert Hines, Geraldine James…
- Set in Ireland in the 1950's, this picturesque romance traces the life of a small town girl whose dreams of escape come true when she wins a…
- High Tide (1987)
- Dir. Gillian Armstrong
Feat. Judy Davis, Claudia Karvan, Colin Friels
- The director of MY BRILLIANT CAREER encores with Judy Davis for this bittersweet exploration of mother–daughter relations at a bleak coastal…
- Whales of August, The (1987)
- Dir. Lindsay Anderson
Feat. Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price
- A gently homespun slice of life in one's final years, with the joyous presence of late cinema icons Bette Davis, Lillian Gish and Vincent Price.
- Winter Tan, A (1987)
- Dir. Jackie Burroughs, Louise Clark, John Frizzell
Feat. Jackie Burroughs
- Based on the late Maryse Holder's raw, confessional letters from Mexico, Jackie Burroughs brilliantly interprets this woman who "took a holiday from…
- Crimes of the Heart (1986)
- Dir. Bruce Beresford
Feat. Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek…
- Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange and Sissy Spacek play the Magrath sisters, who reunite in their family home in Mississippi to regroup and settle their…
- Peking Opera Blues (1986)
- Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung, Sally Yeh
- One of prolific Hong Kong director/producer Tsui Hark's most celebrated films is a genre–blending romp set around the Peking Opera in 1913. A…
- Space Camp (1986)
- Dir. Harry Winer
Feat. Kate Capshaw, Kelly Preston, Larry B. Scott…
- Good natured 80's adolescent romp in which a group of young attendees of a space camp find themselves in space for real when their shuttle is…
- Working Girls (1986)
- Dir. Lizzie Borden
Feat. Louise Smith, Deborah Banks
- A frankly realistic, 'fly–on–the–wall' insight into the daily lives of women working in a high–class New York brothel.…
- Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean (Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean) (1985)
- Dir. Robert Altman
Feat. Sandy Dennis, Cher, Karen Black
- The repressed anxieties and memories of five women are triggered when they congregate to celebrate their childhood hero, James Dean. Stunningly…
- Desert Hearts (1985)
- Dir. Donna Deitch
Feat. Helen Shaver, Patricia Charbonneau
- '50s Nevada provides the backdrop for a freindship between two women that develops in a love affair. Provocative yet dignified drama is well served…
- Legend of Billie Jean, The (1985)
- Dir. Matthew Robbins
Feat. Helen Slater, Christian Slater, Keith Gordon…
- Under–rated 80's youth drama about a young woman and her pals who become media–hyped "legends" after an incident involving a gun and…
- Plenty (1985)
- Dir. Fred Schepisi
Feat. Meryl Streep, John Gielgud, Sam Neill…
- Meryl Streep plays a hero of WWII, who finds the rest of her life an anticlimax.
- Smooth Talk (1985)
- Dir. Joyce Chopra
Feat. Laura Dern, Treat Williams, Mary Kay Place…
- Poignant yet sinister coming–of–age tale chronicles a young girl's sexual awakening and the attention she attracts from a mysterious…
- Steaming (1985)
- Dir. Joseph Losey
Feat. Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, Brenda Bruce…
- A low–rent London bathhouse is the setting for six women’s weekly get–togethers, in this adaptation of Neil Dunn’s stageplay. Often…
- Vagabond (1985)
- Dir. Agnes Varda
Feat. Sandrine Bonnaire
- Award–winning drama that artfully presents poetic moments from young vagabond Sandrine Bonnaire’s last month alive, listlessly drifting…
- She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas (1984)
- Dir. John Goldschmidt
Feat. Julie Walters, Anthony Higgins
- Eight women come together to have a crack at a week–long survival course, so as to let off some steam and gather life–focus.
Leading…
- Widows (TV Series) (1984)
- Feat. Ann Mitchell, Ann Mitchell
- Gritty crime TV from the writer of PRIME SUSPECT, Lynda La Plante, about the widows of three armed robbers who take over their husbands' crime busines
- Heart Like a Wheel (1983)
- Dir. Jonathan Kaplan
Feat. Jesse Aragon, Bonnie Bedelia
- Well–rated biopic of woman racing–car driver, Shirley Muldowney.
- Issues Facing Women (1983-1987)
- Dir. Patricia Robins, Diana Rowan, Melanie Read
Feat. Judy McIntosh, Elizabeth McRae, Bridgette Allen…
- Three short films from New Zealand made by and about women.
Instincts (1987) 20 mins
The story of a woman in a communal relationship in the 70's…
- Jane Eyre (TV Series) (1983)
- Dir. Julian Amyes
Feat. Zelah Clarke, Timothy Dalton
- Charlotte Bronte's ever–popular story, of orphan Jane's marriage to the enigmatic Mr Rochester (Timothy Dalton), is here adapted to its…
- Losing Ground (1982)
- Dir. Kathleen Collins
Feat. Seret Scott, Bill Gunn, Duane Jones
- Noted as the first feature–length drama directed by a black American woman since the 1920s – a semi–autobiographical story of a…
- Personal Best (1982)
- Dir. Robert Towne
Feat. Mariel Hemingway, Glenn Close
- Excellent directorial debut for scriptwriter Towne (of CHINATOWN fame), that uses slow–motion photography to dynamise its story of two lesbian…
- Scrubbers (1982)
- Dir. Mai Zetterling
Feat. Imogen Bain, Honey Bane, Debby Bishop
- A women–behind–bars movie that sidesteps exploitative trappings to deliver a grimly realistic reminder of tragic and frustrated lives.…
- Woman Called Golda, A (1982)
- Dir. Alan Gibson
Feat. Ingrid Bergman, Ned Beatty, Judy Davis…
- Much–praised biopic in which Ingrid Bergman gives her final performance as Israeli Prime Minister and so–called "mother of Israel', Golda…
- Raggedy Man (1981)
- Dir. Jack Fisk
Feat. Sissy Spacek, Eric Roberts, Sam Shepard…
- Texas–set drama led by Spacek (fresh from her Oscar winning performance in COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER) portraying a perturbed divorcee mother who…
- Foxes (1980)
- Dir. Adrian Lyne
Feat. Jodie Foster, Scott Baio, Sally Kellerman…
- Four teenage loose cannons speed towards self–destruction in this frank, impressionistic portrait of L.A. teen culture. A young Jodie Foster…
- Agatha (1979)
- Dir. Michael Apted
Feat. Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman, Timothy Dalton…
- Speculating over the 11 days in 1926 when detective–writer Agatha Christie (Vanessa Redgrave) went missing, this gently–toned drama sees…
- My Brilliant Career (1979)
- Dir. Gillian Armstrong
Feat. Judy Davis, Sam Neill
- Landmark Australian film, with Judy Davis as a determinedly independent femme in the late 19th century. From the novel by Miles Franklin.
- An Unmarried Woman (1978)
- Dir. Paul Mazursky
Feat. Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy…
- Jill Clayburgh endeared herself to a generation of women with this well–loved character study of a divorced New Yorker navigating the single…
- Classic Bronte Collection, The (TV Series) (1978-1996)
- Dir. Julian Amyes, Mike Barker
Feat. Timothy Dalton, Zelah Clarke, Tara Fitzgerald…
- Five–disc box–set containing three BBC television drama productions from the pen of the Bronte sisters.
– Jane Eyre (83')…
- Little Women (TV Mini-series) (1978)
- Dir. David Lowell Rich
Feat. Susan Dey, Meredith Baxter-Birney, Ann Dusenberry…
- Emmy Award–winning two part miniseries adapting Louisa May Alcott's autobiographical novel. Mostly unsurprising except for the casting of…
- Caddie (1976)
- Dir. Donald Crombie
Feat. Helen Morse, Drew Forsythe, Jack Thompson…
- Key film of the Australian cinema renaissance with Helen Morse exceptional as a young solo mother struggling to get by in a male dominated…
- Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
- Dir. Martin Scorsese
Feat. Ellen Burstyn, Kris Kristofferson, Harvey Keitel…
- Resonant account of a young widow trying to secure self–assurance and financial stability for herself and her pre–teen son. Scorsese's…
- A Doll's House (1973)
- Dir. Joseph Losey
Feat. Jane Fonda
- Jane Fonda plays the liberated 19th Century woman of Ibsen's play.
- Elizabeth R (TV Series) (1971)
- Dir. Claude Whatham, Herbert Wise, Various.
Feat. Glenda Jackson, Robert Hardy, Robert Ellis
- Glenda Jackson makes a banquet of English history, as Elizabeth I, one of Auld England's most influential monarchs. This BBC series is exceptional in…
- Chalk Garden, The (1964)
- Dir. Ronald Neame
Feat. Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills, John Mills…
- British melodrama based on the eccentric stage play by Enid Bagnold, with Hayley Mills playing a rebellious teenager who meets her match in governess…
- Gertrud (1964)
- Dir. Carl Dreyer
- Exploring similar territory to fellow Scandinavian Ingmar Bergman, Dreyer's final film is an intense psychological study about a middle–aged…
- Yield to the Night (Blonde Sinner) (1956)
- Dir. J. Lee Thompson
Feat. Diana Dors, Yvonne Mitchell, Michael Craig
- British crime drama film that features a celebrated performance by "blonde bombshell" Diana Dors. Bearing a coincidental resemblance to the Ruth…
- Three Secrets (1950)
- Dir. Robert Wise
Feat. Eleanor Parker, Patricia Neal, Ruth Roman
- Three women exchange handkerchiefs and spill their secrets while awaiting news of their children after a plane crashes. You may need the tissues…
- Letter to Three Wives, A (1949)
- Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Feat. Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern…
- Three women each hear from a friend that she is about to run off with one of their husbands. Replete with characteristically sharp dialogue from the…
- Snake Pit, The (1948)
- Dir. Anatole Litvak
Feat. Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Celeste Holm
- Hollywood melodrama that gives serious attention to the subject of mental illness with Olivia de Havilland (in a career–best performance) as a…
- Lydia (Illusions) (1941)
- Dir. Julien Duvivier
Feat. Merle Oberon, Joseph Cotton, Alan Marshall…
- Dreamy, melancholic melodrama follows the life and numerous loves of a society gal (Oberron) in New England over thirty odd years. Dir. Duvivier…
- Jezebel (1938)
- Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Bette Davis, Henry Fonda
- A classic, Oscar–winning role for Bette Davis, as a southern belle who defies the arch conventions of 19th century New Orleans high society…
- Rain (1932)
- Dir. Lewis Milestone
Feat. Joan Crawford, Walter Huston
- A turbulent adaptation of Somerset Maugham's short story 'Miss Thompson' set on a Samoan island quarantine station during the rainy season.
When a…