Subgenre Sampler

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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…
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…
Vermilion (2018): Dir. Dorthe Scheffmann
Feat. Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Theresa Healey, Emily Campbell; The story of a group of women – mothers, daughters, friends and neighbours – set over a summer month. Jennifer Ward–Lealand…
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…
Crazy in Love (1992): Dir. Martha Coolidge
Feat. Holly Hunter, Gena Rowlands; Romantic complications ensue for three generations of women – especially Holly Hunter – whose worries about her 'perfect' husband's…
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…
Life and Loves of a She-Devil, The (1986): Dir. Philip Saville
Feat. Julie T Wallace, Dennis Waterman, Patricia Hodge…; Splendidly ripe BBC adaptation of Fay Weldon's quasi–feminist satire in which a housewife (Wallace) discovers her husband's (Waterman)…
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 Pajamas (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…

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