The big screen has dazzled us and captured our hearts with a variety of classic and stunning films over the years. Oftentimes, however, women are left out of the spotlight and overlooked for recognition, especially when it comes to film production and creative direction. But even the women who star in these movies are snubbed for awards and acknowledgement.
Here is a list of women who you should be on the lookout for:
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw
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Gugu Mbatha-Raw is an English actress who has been the frontrunner in films such as Belle and Beyond The Lights (these films were also directed by minority women). Although her talent is unmistakable as she dazzles the screen with her powerful acting, she has only won a single award: the British Independent Film Award. With her starring in the drama series The Morning Show, I hope that she finally gets the recognition she deserves.
- Anya Taylor-Joy
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Born in the United States but raised in the United Kingdom, Anya Taylor-Joy is an actress who is most notable for her roles in the 2016 thrilled Split and its 2019 sequel Glass. She recently starred in the 2020 adaptation of Emma, a novel originally written by Jane Austen. This female-directed movie proves Anya Taylor-Joy’s flexibility as an actress in a variety of roles from different films.
- Jessica Brown Findlay
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Another British actress, Jessica Brown Findlay is a gem in dramatic acting. She has won the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in the delightful series Downton Abbey and starred in other drama films such as Albatross and This Beautiful Fantastic. She is currently starring in the historical drama Harlots, and I can only hope that she is given the respect she deserves as an actress who is expert in dramatic productions.
- Emily Browning
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If we’re talking about experts in dialect, we’re talking about Emily Browning. Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Emily Browning displays her talent as a true connoisseur of accents. Her talents are showcased in her roles as an East Londoner in Legend and an American orphan in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. It took me a long time to figure out that she is indeed an Aussie, not a Brit. She has yet to win a major award for her contribution as an actress to a variety of projects, but I’m here for it when she finally does.
- Naomi Scott
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I not only met Naomi Scott back in 2011 at my secondary school in the UK, I also attended the same two institutions she did for both primary and secondary school. Most notable for her role as Mo in Disney’s Lemonade Mouth, Naomi Scott is a British actress who shows what raw talent is. She sings and acts and does a fantastic job at doing both. However, she was recently snubbed for her roles in the 2019 reboots of Aladdin and Charlie’s Angels, where she received no recognition for her adaptable acting style for both a Disney classic and a female-empowered film. I’ll wait until she is given the acknowledgment she deserves. For now, I’ll just watch and sing along to Lemonade Mouth on repeat.
Hollywood has blessed us with many films we’ll remember forever and quote non-stop. However, the film industry has yet to give the right amount of recognition to all the women who contribute to hundreds and thousands of brilliant movies and television shows. Until they do, keep an eye out for talented actresses, directors, screenwriters and production crew – they’ll soon be given the neverending applause they deserve.