Great Female-Directed Films

Now playing in the FLC Virtual Cinema, Mounia Meddour’s powerful directorial debut Papicha—a New York Times Critic’s Pick —is an unflinching story of resistance and resilience during the Algerian Civil War, earning Meddour the 2020 Academy Gold Fellowship Award for Women. To celebrate the film and continue our series of online community conversations, we asked movie lovers on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to share their favorite films by female directors.

The results exemplify the extraordinary creativity, diversity, and essential perspectives that female directors bring to the landscape of the moving image. Your contributions include boundary-pushing works by Agnès Varda, Mati Diop, Claire Denis, Ava DuVernay, Jane Campion, Chantal Akerman, Germaine Dulac, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, Sofia Coppola, Dee Rees, Greta Gerwig, Ida Lupino, Lucrecia Martel, Lynn Shelton, Mia Hansen-Løve, Céline Sciamma, Elaine May, Eliza Hittman, Kelly Reichardt, Sylvia Chang, Alice Rohrwacher, Shirley Clarke, Joanna Hogg, and many more. Thanks to everyone who contributed—and if you’re looking to continue the conversation, check out our playlist of female filmmaker masterclasses at Film at Lincoln Center.

Although our theaters are currently closed, our Virtual Cinema and Media Center remain open 24/7. Stay connected to Film at Lincoln Center by joining our online community on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, and don’t miss a thing by subscribing to the weekly newsletter.

We’d also like to thank you for your continued support and commitment to cinema. As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, we need your help now more than ever. We have created an Emergency Fund in response to the ongoing crisis and its devastating financial impact on our organization. We know these are challenging times for everyone, but your support and generosity are critical and we hope you will consider making a tax-deductible donation. Film at Lincoln Center has been New York’s home for cinema since 1969 thanks to movie lovers like you. We can’t wait to share the best of film culture with you again very soon.

“Daughters of the Dust” by @JulieDash , “Kamasutra” by @MiraPagliNair, “Eve’s Bayou” by @kasi_lemmons #womendirectors pic.twitter.com/H042HklBlU

— Sheree Renée Thomas (@blackpotmojo) May 28, 2020

The Piano.

— Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck) May 28, 2020

‘Cleo from 5 to 7’ (1962, Agnès Varda) / ‘Lost In Translation’ (2003, Sofia Coppola) pic.twitter.com/k8kgBtfFrg

— Lost In Film (@LostInFilm) May 28, 2020

DANCE, GIRL, DANCE, 1940, Dorothy Arzner pic.twitter.com/gyrtgj73Pu

— Anna Biller (@missannabiller) May 28, 2020

SIMON AND LAURA (1955), a Technicolor treat directed by Muriel Box. https://t.co/NSv30Bh8jz

— The Nitrate Diva (@NitrateDiva) May 28, 2020

The Nightingale. Shirkers. Sherpa. Babyteeth. You Were Never Really Here.

— Alex Billington (@firstshowing) May 28, 2020

Diary of a Teenage Girl (Marielle Heller)
The Seduction of Mimi (Lina Wertmuller)

— Elizabeth (@outsideofadog) May 28, 2020

I agree with 98% of the titles already mentioned and will throw in: pic.twitter.com/TnIOhoDKtp

— Alonso Duralde 🌹🎄 (@ADuralde) May 28, 2020

Ahem I just wrote about it this week for @BWDR: Mira Nair’s The Namesake. https://t.co/xOuWcCAf7k https://t.co/4o7nRV43bB

— ✍🏼 roxana | ✊🏼 zivar | ⚒️ hadadi (@roxana_hadadi) May 28, 2020

THE ASTHENIC SYNDROME (Muratova)
L’INTRUS (Denis)
JEANNE DIELMANN (Akerman)
THE CONNECTION (Clarke)
THE HITCHHIKER (Lupino)
QUEEN OF DIAMONDS (@menkesfilm )

— Robert Koehler (@bhkoe) May 29, 2020