Category Archives: female director

6,0-6,9, drama,, female director

“Sworn Virgin” by Laura Bispuri (Italy, 2015)

man/woman/other…

Sworn Virgin

Interesting debut feature that tells the story of two women who escape “the gender-imposed hardships of their native culture,” [Godfrey Cheshire] one by fleeing an imposed marriage, the other by becoming a ‘sworn virgin,’ status that allows her to live her life like if she was a man, except for the fact that she may not have sex.

Cast: Alba Rohrwacher, Emily Ferratello, Lars Eidinger, Flonja Kodheli, Luan Jaha, Bruno Shllaku, Ilire Vinca Celaj
Director: Laura Bispuri
Writer: Elvira Dones
Writer: Laura Bispuri, Francesca Manieri
Cinematographer: Vladan Radovic
Editor: Carlotta Cristiani, Jacopo Quadri

7,0-7,9, drama,, female director, first feature, love, sex

“Altered Perception” by Kate Rees Davies (USA, 2017)

first feature / cinema of substance

Altered Perception

With its strong but disturbing message, its unconventional camera work. and its very original script, this movie deserves a much more encouraging reaction, but it seems that few critics ventured to see it. Or is it because the pharmaceutical industry has been lobbying around? 🙂
Very original first feature in the trend “cinema-vérirté” / Nice team-work although at times awkwardly amateurish / Pity Kate Davies didn’t find it necessary to provide the viewer with a cinematic conclusion other than a few quotes from Forbes and Vanity Fair.

Cast:  Jon Huertas, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Mark Burnham
Director: Kate Rees Davies
Writers: Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Jon Huertas, Travis Romero
Music by Randy Chance
Cinematography by Steve Romano
Film Editing by Jon Artigo, Vance Crofoot

8,0-8,9, drama,, female director, female lead, first feature, true story

“The Tale” by Jennifer Fox (USA, 2018)

first feature / cinema of substance

The Tale

An adult woman re-live her abuse childhood / Disturbing story put together in the way memories of past events come back to mind, pieces by pieces

Cast: Laura Dern, Isabelle Nélisse, Jason Ritter, Elizabeth Debicki, Ellen Burstyn, Common, John Heard
Director: Jennifer Fox
Writer: Jennifer Fox
Editor: Anne Fabini, Alex Hall, Gary Levy
Director of Photography: Ivan Strasburg, Denis Lenoir

3,0-5,9, comedy, female director, female lead, romance,

“Jenny’s Wedding” by Mary Agnes Donoghue (USA, 2015)

Jenny's Wedding

A few surprising moments do not erase the accumulation of clichés in this coming-out-of-the-closet comedy, with love/marriage/children shown as the defining goals of a woman’s life!

Cast: Katherine Heigl, Tom Wilkinson, Linda Emond
Director: Mary Agnes Donoghue
Writer: Mary Agnes Donoghue
Music by Brian Byrne
Cinematography by Seamus Tierney
Film Editing by Éva Gárdos, Nick Moore

7,0-7,9, drama,, female director, female lead, first feature, true story

“Augustine” by Alice Winocour (France, 2012)

first feature / cinema of substance

Augustine

Jean-Martin Charcot, a 19th-century neurologist famous for his work on female hysteria, owes his success to the influence of his wife and the capacity of his favorite patient to ‘fake’ her seizures.

Cast: Soko, Chiara Mastroianni, Olivier Rabourdin, Vincent Lindon, Grégoire Colin, Roxane Duran, Sophie Cattani
Director: Alice Winocour
Music by Jocelyn Pook
Cinematography by Georges Lechaptois
Film Editing by Julien Lacheray

7,0-7,9, comedy, female director, female lead, love, sex

“Lucky Them” by Megan Griffiths (USA, 2013)

Lucky Them

Good dialogues and humor, with a movie within the movie

Cast: Toni Collette, Thomas Haden Church, Oliver Platt, Ryan Eggold, Ahna O’Reilly, Amy Seimetz, Joanne Woodward, Lynn Shelton, Johnny Depp
Director: Megan Griffiths
Screenplay: Huck Botko, Emily Wachtel
Music by Craig Wedren
Cinematography by Ben Kutchins
Film Editing by Meg Reticker

6,0-6,9, comedy, drama,, female director, female lead, love, romance,

“Just Wright” by Sanaa Hamri (USA, 2010)

Just Wright

Just like her first feature, Hamri’s third movie uses romance to break prejudices – this time against non-canon forms of beauty / More formulaic than her first feature / Good performance by Queen Latifah / Same fatherly figure as in her previous two movies 🙂

Cast: Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton, James Pickens Jr., Phylicia Rashad, Pam Grier
Directed by Sanaa Hamri
Written by Michael Elliot
Music by Lisa Coleman, Wendy Melvoin
Cinematography by Terry Stacey
Film Editing by Melissa Kent