With each coming year, I fear navigating the growing pains of adulthood, yet I find solace in the touching pieces female directors have made— their works grounded by a thoughtful lens and colored with delightful humor. To honor the narratives written and directed by women, here’s a list that highlights a few women whose unique and creative voices have graced my screen in the past few years.
- Greta Gerwig
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Greta Gerwig became a major household name when her 2017 solo directorial debut, Lady Bird, captured the hearts of many fans for its tender depiction of senior year and difficult yet moving family dynamics. In my junior year, my whole grade spent lunch crowded around a single laptop screen, lamenting at all the relatable moments. As the movie ended, we glanced at each other, realizing that in just a year, that would be us, trying to escape from home but still searching for traces of it in our new surroundings. Her latest directorial work, Little Women (2019), adapted Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel while offering a new perspective and glimpse of the characters. This beautiful rendition is a testimony to her ability to convey her own message with a distinct voice while understanding characters at a deep level.
- Alice Wu
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Alice Wu’s The Half Of It made waves for its representation of queer Asian Americans. While it’s a modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, it makes the story whole its own. The characters are genuine and earnest with passions that develop them dimensionally. Wu provides viewers with a dynamic duo: equally hilarious as they are ultimately supportive. Wu’s been telling queer Asian American stories since 2004 with her film entitled Saving Face. Her works weave cultural sensitivity with the turbulence of finding one’s place in the world in an emotionally poignant way.
- Lulu Wang
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A24 has become recognized for distributing critically acclaimed works. A few well known ones include Moonlight (2016), Lady Bird (2017), A Ghost Story (2017), and Minari (2021). In 2019, A24 picked up Lulu Wang’s The Farewell. Although the plot is rather somber, dealing with bridging cultural and generational gaps within a family and death, Wang allows us to smile despite the bickering. She paints a family that is far from perfect, but very endearing. Watch her works for a good cathartic cry!
- Patty Jenkins
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Wonder Woman (2017) and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) were both directed by Patty Jenkins. Wonder Woman (2017) introduced us to the world of the Amazons while transposing Princess Diana into the midst of World War I. Jenkins constructs a dynamic protagonist who is a mixture of naive, strong, unrelenting, and independent. Where other action and superhero movies try to cram in underdeveloped romantic relationships into their storylines, Patty Jenkins understands that women are more than just love tropes. The romance in her films develops in a natural and beautiful way, and who isn’t a fan of the Diana x Steve ship?
From big box office movies to the indie films, let’s celebrate the stories told by women!