Women hit a road bump on their way to shattering the glass ceilng this year, but Chlotrudis members decided to take not of all the amazing work that they have done in the world of film. While the academy may be slow to acknowledge talented female filmmakers, Chlotrudis has often seen wome receive accolades for their independent film work. This year members chose to celebrate the top 100 films directed by women. We got a great response for this list which is always exciting and better represents the group as a whole. One element that was discussed by members was whether films co-directed by men and women would be counted on this list. Ultimately we decided to feature films that were directed only by women to celebrate a vision that is uniquely female. Obviously, we all know that film is a collaborative medium, and there are men and women providing creative input in almost all films, but for this list, we focused on directors, and kept to the women. This did knock several great films that would have made the list out of contention, incuding AMERICAN SPLENDOR, PERSEPOLIS, JELLYFISH, GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, and THE STORY OF WEEPING CAMEL.
While two films from the 1930’s by Leni Riefenstahl appear on the list, it should come as no surprise that the majority of this list comes form the last, with a full 66 films coming post-2000, and another 28 coming from 1980 – 1999. In addition, the ladies from the USA dominate the list by far, with just over half, 51, having USA listed as a producing country. It is still a very international list, with 28 countries represented. After the USA, France, UK, Germany and Canada saw films numbering in the double digits.
Finally while there was no one single woman who stood out far above the pack, we did have 23 directors appear more than once, with 9 women appearing three times! Sarah Polley, Agnès Varda, Jane Campion, Claire Denis, Andrea Arnold, Kelly Reichardt, Nicole Holofcener, Kathryn Bigelow and Mira Nair all had three films appear on this list. In addition, Polley and Varda each had two films in the top 10! Congratulations to first-time filmmaker Miranda July taking the top spot with her quirky but heartfelt film ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW. July’s second film, THE FUTURE, also made the list at #97.
We hope you enjoy our list of the 100 Best Films directed by women.
| 1 | Me and You and Everyone We Know | Miranda July | 2005 |
| 2 | Boys Don’t Cry | Kimberly Peirce | 1999 |
| 3 | Lost in Translation | Sofia Coppola | 2003 |
| 4 | Stories We Tell | Sarah Polley | 2012 |
| 5 | Winter’s Bone | Debra Granik | 2010 |
| 6 | Away From Her | Sarah Polley | 2006 |
| 7 | The Gleaners & I | Agnès Varda | 2000 |
| 8 | The Piano | Jane Campion | 1993 |
| 9 | A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night | Ana Lily Amirpour | 2014 |
| 10 | Cleo From 5 to 7 | Agnès Varda | 1962 |
| 11 | Clueless | Amy Heckerling | 1995 |
| 12 | Beau Travail | Claire Denis | 1999 |
| 13 | I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing | Patricia Rozema | 1987 |
| 14 | 35 Shots of Rum | Claire Denis | 2008 |
| 15 | American Psycho | Mary Haron | 2000 |
| 16 | Fat Girl | Catherine Breillat | 2001 |
| 17 | An Angel at My Table | Jane Campion | 1990 |
| 18 | My Life Without Me | Isabel Coixet | 2003 |
| 19 | Red Road | Andrea Arnold | 2006 |
| 20 | Wendy and Lucy | Kelly Reichardt | 2008 |
| 21 | An Education | Lone Scherfig | 2009 |
| 22 | Archipelago | Joanna Hogg | 2010 |
| 23 | Walking & Talking | Nicole Holofcener | 1996 |
| 24 | Marion Bridge | Wiebke von Carolsfeld | 2002 |
| 25 | Open Hearts | Susanne Bier | 2002 |
| 26 | Whale Rider | Niki Caro | 2002 |
| 27 | High Art | Lisa Cholodenko | 1998 |
| 28 | The Kids Are All Right | Lisa Cholodenko | 2010 |
| 29 | Fish Tank | Andrea Arnold | 2009 |
| 3 | Unrelated | Joanna Hogg | 2007 |
| 31 | Hannah Arendt | Margarethe von Trotta | 2012 |
| 32 | Zero Dark Thirty | Kathryn Bigelow | 2012 |
| 33 | Jeanne Dielman | Chantal Ackerman | 1975 |
| 34 | The Hurt Locker | Kathryn Bigelow | 2008 |
| 35 | Fast Times at Ridgemont High | Amy Heckerling | 1982 |
| 36 | A League of Their Own | Penny Marshall | 1992 |
| 37 | Monsoon Wedding | Mira Nair | 2001 |
| 38 | The Virgin Suicides | Sofia Coppola | 1999 |
| 39 | Or (My Treasure) | Keren Yedaya | 2004 |
| 40 | Girlhood | Céline Sciamma | 2014 |
| 41 | Italian for Beginners | Lone Scherfig | 2000 |
| 42 | Sweetie | Jane Campion | 1989 |
| 43 | Lovely & Amazing | Nicole Holofcener | 2001 |
| 44 | Waitress | Adrienne Shelley | 2007 |
| 45 | The Diary of a Teenage Girl | Marielle Heller | 2015 |
| 46 | After the Wedding | Susanne Bier | 2006 |
| 47 | Mississippi Masala | Mira Nair | 1991 |
| 48 | Slums of Beverly Hills | Tamara Jenkins | 1998 |
| 49 | Titus | Julie Taymor | 1999 |
| 50 | Please Give | Nicole Holofcener | 2010 |
| 51 | Chocolat | Claire Denis | 1998 |
| 52 | Frozen River | Courtney Hunt | 2008 |
| 53 | My Brilliant Career | Gillian Armstrong | 1979 |
| 54 | Orlando | Sally Potter | 1992 |
| 55 | Take This Waltz | Sarah Polley | 2011 |
| 56 | Shut Up & Sing | Barbara Kopple; Cecila Peck | 2006 |
| 57 | The Beaches of Agnès | Agnès Varda | 2008 |
| 58 | Paris is Burning | Jennie Livingston | 1990 |
| 59 | Wadjda | Haifaa Al Mansour | 2012 |
| 60 | Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work | Ricki Stern | 2010 |
| 61 | Salaam Bombay! | Mira Nair | 1988 |
| 62 | Water Lilies | Céline Sciamma | 2007 |
| 63 | The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girlls in Love | Maria Maggenti | 1995 |
| 64 | Protagonist | Jessica Yu | 2007 |
| 65 | The Safety of Objects | Rose Troche | 2001 |
| 66 | The Saver | Wiebke von Carolsfeld | 2015 |
| 67 | A Simple Life | Ann Hui | 2011 |
| 68 | Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations, and Part Two: Festival of Beauty | Leni Riefenstahl | 1938 |
| 69 | High Tide | Gillian Armstrong | 1987 |
| 70 | Morvern Callar | Lynne Ramsay | 2002 |
| 71 | American Honey | Andrea Arnold | 2016 |
| 72 | Cherry Blossoms | Doris Dörrie | 2008 |
| 73 | Eve’s Bayou | Kasi Lemmons | 1997 |
| 74 | La Ciénaga | Lucrecia Martel | 2001 |
| 75 | Harlan County, U.S.A. | Barbara Kopple | 1976 |
| 76 | Certain Women | Kelly Reichardt | 2016 |
| 77 | Stander | Bronwen Hughes | 2003 |
| 78 | In the Realms of the | Jessica Yu | 2004 |
| 79 | Thirteen | Catherine Hardwicke | 2003 |
| 80 | Advantageous | Jennifer Phang | 2015 |
| 81 | The Innocents | Anne Fontaine | 2016 |
| 82 | Triumph of the Will | Leni Riefenstahl | 1935 |
| 83 | Proof | Jocelyn Moorhouse | 1991 |
| 84 | Mustang | Deniz Gamze Ergüven | 2015 |
| 85 | Look at Me | Agnès Jaoui | 2004 |
| 86 | Near Dark | Kathryn Bigelow | 1987 |
| 87 | Go Fish | Rose Troche | 1994 |
| 88 | Meek’s Cutoff | Kelly Reichardt | 2010 |
| 89 | Day Night Day Night | Julia Loktev | 2006 |
| 90 | Pariah | Dee Rees | 2011 |
| 81 | Concussion | Stacie Passion | 2013 |
| 92 | The Babadook | Jennifer Kent | 2014 |
| 93 | Monster | Patty Jenkins | 2003 |
| 94 | Bye Bye Blues | Anne Wheeler | 1989 |
| 95 | Strangers in Good Company | Cynthia Scott | 1990 |
| 96 | Europa Europa | Agnieszka Holland | 1990 |
| 97 | The Future | Miranda July | 2011 |
| 98 | XXY | Lucía Puenzo | 2007 |
| 99 | Kissed | Lynn Stopkewich | 1996 |
| 100 | Your Sister’s Sister | Lynn Shelton | 2011 |