Spotlight on Women Directors: World FilmsLike this list

15 items

• Leonor will never die

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  An affectionate hyper-creative feature movie debut from Martika Ramirez Escobar. It’s an ode to wonderfully kitschy action films from the '80s and to the life of Leonor, a retired Filipina film director. When Leonor is knocked unconscious, she finds…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The blue caftan

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  Maryam Touzani directs a powerful, philosophical, and tender movie from Morocco that explores the many types of love with quiet yet commanding performances from the cast. Focusing on a woman and her closeted gay husband, who run a caftan shop that…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Neptune Frost

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  Rwandan actor and playwright Anisia Uzeyman not only codirected this film with her partner Saul Williams, she also was the cinematographer. It’s marvelously engaging and beautifully weird, a fluorescent work of musical sci-fi Afrofuturism that has…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Song without a name

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  Inspired by true events and set in 1988 Peru, the story follows Georgina, an Indigenous young woman whose newborn baby is stolen from a clinic that advertised free assistance. Dismissed by the police, Georgina teams up with a journalist to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Identifying features

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  Winner of the Sundance Audience Award in 2020, writer/director Fernanda Valadez calls attention to the corruption and violence that many face in Mexico and acknowledges the challenges and powerlessness migrants feel in this slow burn social…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The desert bride

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  Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato's feature film debut stars acclaimed actor Pauline Garcia as a maid named Teresa, whose long-time employer unexpectedly lets her go, with a reference to work for another family in a distant town. There is much grace…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Bar bahar

  In between

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  Palestinian Israeli director Maysaloun Hamoud is definitely someone to keep on your radar. Her debut film looks at three Palestinian women from different backgrounds who share a flat in Tel Aviv. Sisterhood has a way. We see their experiences and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Toni Erdmann

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  Maren Ade's film blends gentle absurdism with heartfelt comedy as a loving but eccentric father attempts to lure his austere, hard working professional daughter from the gloomy throes of 21st-century capitalism. It's not just a hilarious,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Sweet bean

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  Sentaro runs a bakery that specializes in doriyaki pastries. He puts a help wanted sign in the window and, to his surprise, 76-year-old Tokue applies for the position. In this case, you can trust the title. The movie really is sweet, yet not over…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The second mother

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  We meet Val, who is a live-in domestic for a wealthy family, caring for a variety of their needs, including being like a second mother to the son of the family. When Val's estranged daughter comes to stay while taking entrance exams for college, she…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A girl walks home alone at night

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  From Ana Lily Amirpour, we get a spaghetti western with a feminist twist. This is an Iranian vampire tale that unfolds in a dead end ghost town called Bad City. Filmed in glorious black and white, this movie oozes with retro cool. It was nominated…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• למלא את החלל

  Fill the void

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  Set in a strictly Orthodox community of Tel Aviv, 18-year-old Shira Mendelman is looking forward to an arranged marriage with a boy she likes. However, when her older sister Esther dies in childbirth, Shira is pressured to marry her deceased…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Enगlish Vingliश

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  This lovely film celebrates a woman named Shashi Godbole who is finding her inner strength to stand out, stand up, and speak out. It is incredibly satisfying to witness her journey of self discovery and proving to herself and others that she's more…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Goodbye first love

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  Just about any movie made by director Mia Hansen-Løve is worth recommending, though this is the one that firmly established her. It's a sensitive, shimmering portrayal of a young woman coming to terms and growing from her first relationship. The…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Beyond silence

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  In Caroline Link's feature film debut, Lara is the daughter of deaf parents, and she has spent years acting as their bridge between the worlds of sign and sound. A gifted clarinet player, as Lara approaches adulthood, she wants to leave home to…Read moreRead more of this annotation