March is Women’s History Month! To celebrate, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite films directed by women! Women have such incredible perspectives and ideas about the world, I think it’s critical we uplift and amplify their voices in cinema. Starting off with one of the most iconic rom-coms ever:
Sleepless In Seattle (Dir. Nora Ephron, 1993)
“After the death of his wife, Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) moves to Seattle with his son, Jonah (Ross Mallinger). When Jonah calls in to a talk-radio program to find a new wife for his father, Sam grudgingly gets on the line to discuss his feelings. Annie Reed (Meg Ryan), a reporter in Baltimore, hears Sam speak and falls for him, even though she is engaged. Unsure where it will lead, she writes Sam a letter asking him to meet her at the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day.”
Watch on Amazon Prime!
Little Women (Dir. Greta Gerwig, 2019)
“In the years after the Civil War, Jo March lives in New York and makes her living as a writer, while her sister Amy studies painting in Paris. Amy has a chance encounter with Theodore, a childhood crush who proposed to Jo but was ultimately rejected. Their oldest sibling, Meg, is married to a schoolteacher, while shy sister Beth develops a devastating illness that brings the family back together.”
Watch on Hulu Premium!
Promising Young Women (Dir. Emerald Fennell, 2020)
“Nothing in Cassie’s life is what it appears to be — she’s wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she’s living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.”
Watch on HBO Max!
Lady Bird (Dir. Greta Gerwig, 2017)
“A nurse works tirelessly to keep her family afloat after her husband loses his job. She also maintains a turbulent bond with a teenage daughter who is just like her: loving, strong-willed and deeply opinionated.”
Watch on Netflix!
Booksmart (Dir. Olivia Wilde, 2019)
“Academic overachievers Amy and Molly thought keeping their noses to the grindstone gave them a leg up on their high school peers. But on the eve of graduation, the best friends suddenly realize that they may have missed out on the special moments of their teenage years. Determined to make up for lost time, the girls decide to cram four years of not-to-be missed fun into one night — a chaotic adventure that no amount of book smarts could prepare them for.”
Watch on Hulu!
The Virgin Suicides (Dir. Sofia Coppola, 1999)
“In an ordinary suburban house, on a lovely tree-lined street, in the middle of 1970s America, lived the five beautiful, dreamy Lisbon sisters, whose doomed fates indelibly marked the neighborhood boys who to this day continue to obsess over them. A story of love and repression, fantasy and terror, sex and death, memory and longing. It is at its core a mystery story: a heart-rending investigation into the impenetrable, life-altering secrets of American adolescence.”
Watch on Hulu & Paramount+!
Clueless (Dir. Amy Heckerling, 1995)
“Shallow, rich and socially successful Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school’s pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other. Emboldened by her success, she decides to give hopelessly klutzy new student Tai (Brittany Murphy) a makeover. When Tai becomes more popular than she is, Cher realizes that her disapproving ex-stepbrother (Paul Rudd) was right about how misguided she was — and falls for him.”
Watch on HBO Max!
I hope you found at least one movie on this list to watch or rewatch! Also, keep in mind that this is only one way to reflect on Women’s History Month. It’s so important to continue to grow and learn new ways to appreciate the women in your life (write them a thank you card, make them a gift, or just tell them what they mean to you)!