Subgenre Sampler

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Divertimento (2023): Dir. Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar
Feat. Oulaya Amamra, Lina El Arabi, Niels Arestrup; A biopic of Zahia Ziouani, one of the few worldwide renowned female conductors. Classical symphonic music is everything for 17–year–old…
Goodbye Julia (2023): An outstanding drama from Sudan about two women – a retired Muslim singer and a Southern Sudanese widow – who forge an unusual friendship…
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023): Dir. Ariane Louis-Seize
Feat. Sara Montpetit, Félix-Antoine Bénard, Marie Brassard…; A delightfully deadpan French–Canadian comedy about a doleful adolescent vampire who is too compassionate to kill for her special dietary…
Two Tickets To Greece (2022): Dir. Marc Fitoussi
Feat. Laure Calamy, Olivia Cote, Kristin Scott Thomas; A sunlit escapist comedy set in Les Cyclades (the original French title) starring Laure Calamy and Olivia Côte as long–estranged childhood…
Full Time (A Plien Temps) (2021): Dir. Eric Gravel
Feat. Laure Calamy, Genevieve Mnich, Anne Suarez; A cracker of a French drama that teeters on the edge of a thriller throughout because it’s all about the pressure cooker that is modern life.…
Hatching (2021): Dir. Hanna Bergholm
Feat. Siiri Solalinna, Sophia Heikkilä, Jani Volanen; Hanna Bergholm's feature debut has finally put Finland on the horror film map – an enchanting pubescent allegory about a 12–year–old…
To Chiara (A Chiara) (2021): Dir. Jonas Carpignano
Feat. Swamy Rotolo, Claudio Rotolo, Giorgia Rotolo…; A rites–of–passage drama in the Italian neo–realist tradition that examines the impact of Mafia activity on those in the close…
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Guzen to Sozo) (2021): Dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi; An unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding, the director of DRIVE MY CAR explores…
Worst Person in the World, The (2021): Dir. Joachim Trier
Feat. Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum; Gloriously provocative and richly perceptive comedy drama from talented Norwegian director Joachim Trier (THELMA), which follows an unpredictable,…
Divine Order, The (2018): Dir. Petra Biondina Volpe
Feat. Marie Leuenberger; A passionate drama set in Switzerland, following a mother and housewife who campaigns for a referendum on the right of women to vote – in 1971…
Girl (2018): Dir. Lukas Dhont
Feat. Victor Polster; This Belgian drama was a hit at Cannes owing to it's grace and emotional depth. Transsexual teenager Lara is committed to becoming a professional…
Girls of the Sun (Les filles du soleil) (2018): Dir. Eva Husson
Feat. Golshifteh Farahani; Powerful wartime film following a Kurdish female battalion who are fighting against ISIS extremists to take back control of their village. Stars…
Roma (2018): Dir. Alfonso Cuaron
Feat. Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira; Another masterclass in storytelling from Mexican maestro Alfonso Cuarón, about a year in the life of a middle–class family's maid in Mexico…
Working Woman (2018): Dir. Michal Aviad
Feat. Liron Ben-Shlush; Workplace drama capturing the spirit of the "Me Too" movement to tell the story of a smart and capable mother of three who returns to the workforce…
Aurore (I Got Life!) (2017): Dir. Blandine Lenoir
Feat. Agnes Jaoui, Thibault de Montalembert, Pascale Arbillot; Actress and co–writer Jaoui is the heart and soul of this witty if overly–familiar rom–com as the eponymous 50–year–old…
I Am Not a Witch (2017): Dir. Rungano Nyoni; Full of joy and tragedy in the equal measure, this assured debut from Zambian writer–director Rungano Nyoni follows the story of 9–year…
Let the Sunshine In (2017): Dir. Claire Denis
Feat. Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beauvois, Philippe Katerine…; Juliette Binoche is radiant as a Parisian artist and divorced mother who bravely searches for sexual fulfillment and companionship in middle age.…
Eagle Huntress, The (2016): A 13–year–old nomadic Mongolian girl breaks a 2,000 year–old gender barrier to follow her father and train hunting eagles in this…
Happy Hour (2016): Dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Feat. Tanaka Sachie, Kikuchi Hazuki, Mihara Maiko…; Intelligent and novelistic drama exploring the private and professional lives of four Japanese women in their 30's across an ambitious, but…
Innocents, The (Agnus Dei) (2016): Dir. Anne Fontaine
Feat. Lou de Laâge, Agata Kulesza, Agata Buzek…; In Poland after World War II, a young French Red Cross intern who is sent to assist the survivors of the German camps discovers several nuns in…
Like Crazy (La Pazza Gioia) (2016): Dir. Paolo Virzi
Feat. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Micaela Ramazzotti; Gratifying comedy–drama following two women, one a troubled introvert, one an impassioned mythomaniac, who break out of a psychiatric facility…
Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016): Dir. Alankrita Shrivastava
Feat. Ratna Pathak, Konkona Sen Sharma, Aahana Kumra…; Set in the crowded by–lanes of small town India, Lipstick Under My Burkha chronicles the secret lives of four women in search of a little…
Planetarium (2016): Dir. Rebecca Zlotowski
Feat. Natalie Portman, Lily-Rose Depp, Emmanuel Salinger; Natalie Portman and Lily–Rose Depp play two American sisters in pre–war France with apparent psychic abilities that engage the interest…
Polina (2016): Dir. Valérie Müller, Angelin Preljocaj
Feat. Anastasia Shevtsova, Veronika Zhovnytska, Juliette Binoche; Elegant, methodical drama about a gifted Russian dancer who gives up the chance to join the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet when she moves to France to…
Raw (Grave) (2016): Dir. Julia Ducournau
Feat. Garance Marillier , Ella Rumpf; A bright young veterinary student and ardent vegetarian is unexpectedly subjected to a series of cruel hazing rituals in her first week at college,…
Sami Blood (2016): Dir. Amanda Kernell
Feat. Lene Cecilia Sparrok , Hanna Alström; Emotionally powerful female coming–of–age movie set in 1930's Sweden, where a reindeer–herding teenager, an indigenous Sami child,…
Modus (TV Series) (2015-2017): Feat. Melinda Kinnaman, Greg Wise, Kim Cattrall…; Swedish psychological thriller series following the work of a criminal psychologist and profiler who has previously assisted both the Swedish police…
Mustang (2015): Dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Feat. Gunes Senoy, Doga Doguslu, Elit Iscan…; Sublime female coming–of–age story set in a remote Turkish village, where five sisters face the stifling expectations of their…
Our Little Sister (Umimachi Diary) (2015): Dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu
Feat. Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho …; Another exquisite domestic drama from Kore–eda Hirokazu that revolves around the loves and working lives of three sisters who accommodate their…
Girlhood (2014): Dir. Céline Sciamma
Feat. Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh…; Potent coming–of–age drama set on the margins of Paris that follows a 16–year–old girl whose poor prospects tempt her to join…
Gloria (2013): Dir. Sebastián Lelio
Feat. Paulina García, Sergio Hernández; Another superb Chilean drama in the wake of the previous year's NO, Paulina Garcia plays a free–spirited 58–year–old divorcee who…
In Bloom (2013): Dir. Nana Ekvtimishvili
Feat. Lika Babluani, Mariam Bokeria; Set in the newly independent state of Georgia in the wake of the Soviet regime, this powerful story follows two young girls as they courageously…
We Are the Best (Vi är bäst!) (2013): Dir. Lukas Moodysson
Feat. Mira Grosin, Mira Barkhammar, Liv LeMoyne; Endearing portrait of teenage experimentation set in early '80s Stockholm where two decidedly unmusical 13–year–old girls decide to form…
Wetlands (2013): Dir. David Wnendt
Feat. Carla Juri, Christoph Letkowski, Marlen Kruse; Provocative comic tale of an eccentric girl who has strange attitudes towards hygiene and sexuality longs for the reunion of her divorced parents.
Wrestling Queens (Les Reines du Ring) (2013): Dir. Jean-Marc Rudnicki
Feat. Marilou Berry, Nathalie Baye, Andre Dussollier…; Broad French sports spoof with Nathalie Baye as an under–appreciated mother who recruits her working class friends to train to be wrestling…
Beyond the Hills (2012): Dir. Cristian Mungiu
Feat. Cosmina Stratan, Cristina Flutur; Cristian Mungiu directs this engrossing companion piece to his Cannes–winning 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, about the test of closeness between…
Jackie (2012): Dir. Antoinette Beumer
Feat. Carice Van Houten, Jelka van Houten, Holly Hunter; Two Dutch sisters (played by real life siblings Carice and van Houten) trek from the Netherlands to mid–west America in aid of a mother they've…
Wadjda (2012): Dir. Haifaa Al-Mansour
Feat. Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah; This humanist triumph is the first ever feature to be shot in Saudi Arabia, centering on a plucky young girl who attempts to raise money for a…
Corpo Celeste (2011): Dir. Alice Rohrwacher
Feat. Salvatore Cantalupo, Anita Caprioli; A thirteen–year–old girl moves back to southern Italy with her mother and older sister and struggles to find her place, restlessly…
Source, The (La Source des femmes) (2011): Dir. Radu Mihaileanu
Feat. Leïla Bekhti, Hafsia Herzi, Hiam Abbass; A dashing feminist dramedy sprung from the male bias in the Middle East, about a village of women who take up a 'sex strike' after their husbands…
This Girl is Badass!! (2011): Dir. Mum Jokmok
Feat. JeeJa Yanin; Jija Yanin (CHOCOLATE) stars in this martial arts comedy about a girl whose family life is turned upside–down when she gets mixed up with…
Attenberg (2010): Dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari
Feat. Ariane Labed, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelia Randou…; Highly original Greek oddity following the surreal antics of two young women who take life inspiration from the wildlife documentaries of David…
Copacabana (2010): Dir. Marc Fitoussi
Feat. Isabelle Huppert, Aure Atika, Lolita Chammah; Free–spirited and perpetually unemployed Isabelle Huppert must get with the program after learning her newly engaged daughter (played by her…
Lost Kisses (I baci mai dati) (2010): Dir. Roberta Torre
Feat. Carla Marchese, Donatella Finocchiaro; A 13–year–old girl in the deprived outskirts of a sprawling Sicilian city becomes a local celebrity to her needy community when word…
Potiche (2010): Dir. Francois Ozon
Feat. Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Fabrice Luchini…; Bubbly satire has 60–something Catherine Deneuve transform from trophy wife to a strong–headed businesswoman after her chauvinist husband…
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2010): Dir. Wayne Wang
Feat. Gianna Jun, Bingbing Li, Russell Wong…; Wayne Wang (THE JOY LUCK CLUB) directs this unsubtle but sweeping multi–generational weepie, framed around the enduring bond between two women…
We Are the Night (Wir sind die Nacht) (2010): Dir. Dennis Gansel
Feat. Karoline Herfurth, Nina Hoss, Jennifer Ulrich; A fraulein vampire flick of sleek, urbane sensibility, centred on an alpha–female vamp (Nina Hoss) who descends on Germany in search of a soul…
Coco Avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel) (2009): Dir. Anne Fontaine
Feat. Audrey Tautou, Benoit Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola…; Fittingly stylish and appealing biopic of legendary couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, tracing her early life from the rags of an orphaned childhood…
Girl Who Played with Fire, The (2009): Dir. Daniel Alfredson
Feat. Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Lena Endre; Part two of Stieg Larsson's 'Millennium Trilogy' sees the return of touch–as–nails Lisbeth Salander, who must clear her name of murder…
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The (2009): Dir. Niels Arden Oplev
Feat. Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre; One of the highest–grossing foreign language hits at the NZ box office, this riveting, full–bodied Swedish thriller follows an escalating…
My Tehran for Sale (2009): Dir. Granaz Moussavi
Feat. Marzieh Vafamehr, Amir Chegini, Asha Mehrabi; Marzieh is a young female actress living in Tehran. The authorities ban her theatre work and she is forced to lead a secret life in order to express…
Raging Phoenix (2009): Dir. Rashane Limtrakul
Feat. JeeJa Yanin; The female star of CHOCOLATE returns with break dancing moves to complement her sick martial arts skills, in this over–the–top kickboxing…
Bride Flight (2008): Dir. Ben Sombogaart
Feat. Karina Smulders, Waldemar Torenstra, Anna Drijver…; New Zealand in the 1950's from a Dutch perspective makes this melodrama an intriguing, unique experience for Kiwi audiences, which also has the…
Chocolate (2008): Dir. Prachya Pinkaew
Feat. JeeJa Yanin, Hiroshi Abe, Pongpat Wachirabunjong; Impressive newcomer Jeeja Yanin plays a butt kicking autistic girl (!) in this exhilarating revenge movie, a standout amongst Thailand’s recent…
Everlasting Moments (2008): Dir. Jan Troell
Feat. Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt, Jesper Christensen; A touching, delicately shot memoir told from the perspective of a Finnish immigrant in Sweden who finds relief from her abusive husband in the art of…
Female Agents (Les femmes de l'ombre) (2008): Dir. Jean-Paul Salome
Feat. Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillain…; Substantial, exciting WWII espionage thriller following an all–female commando unit of the French Resistance recruited to rescue a British…
Rosario + Vampire (TV Series) (Rozario To Banpaia) (2008): Tskune accidentally gets on a bus to a school of monsters.
Tears for Sale (Charleston and Vendetta) (2008): Dir. Uros Stojanovic
Feat. Katarina Radivojevic, Sonja Kolacaric; The sombre title belies what is in fact a joyously bawdy Balkan fairytale that blends fantastical folklore, striking burlesque visuals and ample…
Caramel (Sukkar banat) (2007): Dir. Nadine Labaki
Feat. Nadine Labaki; Charming Lebanese soap opera with a social conscience, the latest in an emerging wave of dissenting Middle Eastern dramas divulges the stifled lives…
Exodus (Cheut ai kup gei) (2007): Dir. Pang Ho-Cheung
Feat. Simon Yam, Nick Cheung, Annie Liu; An indifferent Hong Kong detective slowly becomes convinced that women are conspiring to kill off the entire male species in this curious melange of…
Fighter (2007): Dir. Natasha Arthy
Feat. Semra Turan, Nima Nabipour, Cyron Bjørn Melville; Girls–can–do–anything drama focused around a young Turkish–Danish teenager who is determined to become a kung–fu…
La Vie en Rose (2007): Dir. Olivier Dahan
Feat. Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Emmanuelle Seigner…; Marion Cotillard excels (and deservingly won a Best Actress Oscar) in this stunning new biopic of the life and times of French singer Edith…
Mind the Gap (Se upp för dårarna) (2007): Dir. Helena Bergstrom; Feelgood coming–of–age comedy drama focused on two twenty–somethings from different backgrounds who form a solid friendship when…
Two Days in Paris (2 Days in Paris) (2007): Dir. Julie Delpy
Feat. Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg; Delightful, self–starring directorial debut from Julie Delpy about an angsty Franco–American couple who drop in to visit her very…
Yella (2007): Dir. Christian Petzold
Feat. Nina Hoss; Engrossing metaphysical thriller set in a predatory corporate world in which a divorcee accountant (Hoss) decides to leave behind her redundant life…
Anna Pihl (TV Series) (2006-2008): Feat. Charlotte Munck, Iben Hjejle; Praised for its realism, this Danish police drama centres around a Copenhagen policewoman also having to deal with solo parenthood.
Black Book (Zwartboek) (2006): Dir. Paul Verhoeven
Feat. Carice Van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman; A Jewish singer goes deep undercover for the Dutch resistance in this splashy, larger–than–life WWII yarn set in Nazi–occupied…
Hey Good Looking! (Comme t'y es belle!) (2006): Dir. Lisa Azuelos
Feat. Aure Atika; Frank French chick flick centred around a SEX AND THE CITYish cast of four gal pals who share with each other the trials of finding (and keeping) the…
Hula Girls (2006): Dir. Sang-il Lee
Feat. Yasuko Matsuyuki, Yu Aoi; Feel–good true story of a depleted coal–mining town in Japan, and its residents’ efforts to build a Hawaiian–themed tourist…
Volver (2006): Dir. Pedro Almodovar
Feat. Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas; Formidable Spanish brand–name dir. Almodovar re–embracing what he knows best – womanhood – in a vibrant and tempestuous tale of…
Linda Linda Linda (2005): Dir. Nobuhiro Yamashita
Feat. Doona Bae, Aki Maeda, Yu Kashii…; Guided by a rousing rock anthem, three high school seniors – and one gawky Korean exchange student – strive to have three Japanese punk classics…
Sisters in Law (2005): Dir. Kim Longinotto, Florence Ayisi; Spirited portrait of two women working in the Cameroonian Judiciary – a State Prosecutor and a judge in the magistrate’s court, respectively –…
Cutie Honey (Kyûtî Hanî) (2004): Dir. Hideaki Anno
Feat. Eriko Sato; Colourful cluster bomb romp pits a sexy supercharged heroine against an assembly line of comic book villains in a camp futuristic netherworld. Fun,…
Maria Full of Grace (2004): Dir. Joshua Marston
Feat. Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yenny Paola Vega, Guilied Lopez…; An accomplished delve into the experience of a 'drug mule', a teenage Colombian girl who enlists to smuggle heroin into the United States, so as to…
Moolaade (2004): Dir. Ousmane Sembene
Feat. Fatoumata Coulibaly; A rare glimpse for New Zealanders of the work of elderly Sengalese dir. Sembene – novelist, newspaper editor and founder of the New African…
Twenty Thirty Forty (20 30 40) (2004): Dir. Sylvia Chang
Feat. Sylvia Chang, Rene Liu, Lee Sinji; The destinies of three women in contemporary urban Taiwan – aged 20, 30 and 40 – evolve in parallel as each feels their way through the…
Anatomy of Hell (Anatomie De L'enfer) (2003): Dir. Catherine Breillat
Feat. Amira Casar, Rocco Siffredi; A queasily explicit sex drama about a suicidal woman who challenges (and pays) a promiscuous gay man to participate in an uneasy nightly ritual of…
High Tension (Haute tension, Switchblade Romance) (2003): Dir. Alexandre Aja
Feat. Cecile De France, Maïwenn; A grisly yet indeed tense French horror movie directed with stunning virtuosity, about two women whose rural weekend getaway turns horrific when they…
Joy of Madness (Lezate divanegi) (2003): Dir. Hana Makhmalbaf; An unusual and invigorating self–reflexive documentary created by the teenage sister of acclaimed filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf, during the…
Osama (2003): Dir. Siddiq Barmak
Feat. Marina Golbahari; Though nothing to do with a certain infamous terrorist, this first Afghani film made since the rise and fall of the Taliban also happens to be a…
Singing Behind Screens (Cantando dietro i paraventi) (2003): Dir. Ermanno Olmi
Feat. Bud Spencer, Davide Dragonetti; Visually opulent Italian epic directed by Ermanno Olmi (THE TREE OF WOODEN CLOGS) set in coastal China and centred on a plucky widow who takes her…
A Tale of a Naughty Girl (Mondo Meyer Upakhyan) (2002): Dir. Buddhadev Dasgupta
Feat. Samata Das, Rituparna Sengupta, Arpan Basar; Caught between the push of tradition and the pull of the promise of a new life, a bright prostitute's daughter runs away to Calcutta to escape a…
Satin Rouge (2002): Dir. Raja Amari
Feat. Hiam Abbass, Hend El Fahem; A still–attractive but lonely widow is liberated through the world of belly–dancing in this infectious romantic drama from Tunisia. At…
So Close (Chik yeung tin sai) (2002): Dir. Corey Yuen
Feat. Shu Qi, Karen Mok, Vicki Zhao; Presenting... a heroic trio of femmes for a new generation – a kind of high–octane "Asian Charlie's Angels". This super–flash…
8 Women (8 Femmes) (2001): Dir. Francois Ozon
Feat. Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Beart…; In the classic whodunnit mould, this whimsical French "thriller" starts with a man’s dead body in a snowbound Alpine manse in the 1950s, and eight…
A Ma Soeur! (For My Sister, aka Fat Girl) (2001): Dir. Catherine Breillat
Feat. Anais Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, Libero de Rienzo…; An artfully impassive study of sexual predation that takes place during the summer holidays of two teenage sisters – the dumpy Anais Reboux and…
Amelie (2001): Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Feat. Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz; A charming romantic comedy stamped with the purely cinematic style of dir. Jean–Pierre Juenet, who here remixes intricate set pieces, editing…
Princess Blade (Shurayuki-Hime) (2001): Dir. Shinsuke Sato; Post–apocalyptic Japanese samurai action adapted from a graphic novel, employs a stark visual style to convey its tale of a disturbed young…
Read My Lips (Sur Mes Levres) (2001): Dir. Jacques Audiard
Feat. Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Devos; Sturdy, unconventional French thriller about an insecure, partially–deaf office clerk who tries to help an irascible ex–con integrate…
Day I Became a Woman, The (2000): Dir. Marziyeh Meshkini
Feat. Fatemeh Cherag Akhur, Hassan Nebhan, Shahr Banou Sisizadeh; A trio of strong metaphorical tales that outline three aspects of “a woman’s lot” in contemporary Iran, with humour and cinematic…
Girls Can't Swim (Les filles ne savent pas nager) (2000): Dir. Anne-Sophie Birot
Feat. Isild Le Besco, Karen Alyx, Pascale Bussieres…; Moody French coming–of–age drama about two girls, one who lives in the coastal town in Brittany, the other from the city. Best…
Me You Them (Eu Tu Eles) (2000): Dir. Andrucha Waddington
Feat. Regina Case, Lima Duarte, Stenio Garcia; Set in the arid hinterlands of Brazil, this serio–comic study of rural polyandry has Regina Case (Brazil’s Oprah Winfrey) hitch up three…
All About My Mother (1999): Dir. Pedro Almodovar
Feat. Cecilia Roth; Almodovar's "celebration of mother and womanhood" has been hailed as something of a departure for the director, though in fact all of his (beloved)…
Venus Beauty Institute (Venus Beauty) (1999): Dir. Tonie Marshall
Feat. Nathalie Baye, Audrey Tautou; A modest beauty salon is the setting for this wry ensemble piece about the vagaries of womanhood, with an engagingly eccentric collection of clients…
An Autumn Tale (1998): Dir. Eric Rohmer
Feat. Marie Riviere, Beatrice Romand, Alain Libolt; Completing his suite of films based on the four seasons, dir. Rohmer provides another mellow, seemingly unplotted comedy, in which Rhone valley…
Run Lola Run (1998): Dir. Tom Tykwer
Feat. Franke Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu; Runaway foreign–language hit clocks up mileage from a simple conceit – flame–haired punkette Lola has twenty minutes to go like the…
Terrorist, The (1998): Dir. Santosh Sivan
Feat. Ayesha Dharkar; Discovered and championed by the actor John Malkovich, this intensely concentrated thriller depicts the hardening and training of 19–yr old…
Artemisia (1997): Dir. Agnes Merlet
Feat. Valentina Cervi, Miki Manojlovic, Michel Serrault; Study of the first significant female painter, Artemisia Gentileschi, the daughter of Caravaggio's one–time assistant in 17th Century…
Post Coitum (1997): Dir. Brigitte Rouan
Feat. Brigitte Rouan; The director herself plays a 40–year–old wife, mother and book editor who has her respectable life devastated after a whirlwind affair…
Antonia's Line (1996): Dir. Marleen Gorris
Feat. Willeke van Ammelrooy, Els Dottermans, Jan Decleir; The deserving winner of the '96 Best Foreign Film Oscar recalls the 50 year history of matriarch Antonia and her defiantly unconventional brood in…
Flower of My Secret, The (1996): Dir. Pedro Almodovar
Feat. Marisa Paredes; An artistic maturing for the director of kitsch sex comedies like HIGH HEELS and KIKA, this is an introspective study of a successful authoress…
Lady Ninja: Reflections of Darkness (1996): Dir. Masaru Tsushima
Feat. Yuka Ohnishi, Tetsuo Kurata, Rina Kitahara; Snappy example of the Martial Sex–Arts sub–genre, with a gang of 'Lady Ninjas' hired by a lascivious Emperor to wipe–out his royal…
Libertarias (1996): Dir. Vincente Aranda
Feat. Victoria Abril, Ana Belen, Miguel Bose…; Examining the Spanish Civil War from a left–wing point–of–view, this passionate war drama focuses on a trio of women – a…
D'Artagnan's Daughter (Revenge of the Musketeers) (1995): Dir. Bertrand Tavernier
Feat. Sophie Marceau, Philippe Noiret; This gleefully French swashbuckler checks in as a loose sequel to the Three Muskeeters. The magnetic Sophie Marceau stars as the feisty titular…
La Ceremonie (Judgement in Stone, A) (1995): Dir. Claude Chabrol
Feat. Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Bonnaire, Jacqueline Bisset; Veteran new–wave director Chabrol takes this HEAVENLY CREATURES–ish tale of the unholy synergy between two women, adds some class theory,…
Heroic Trio 2 - Executioners (1994): Dir. Johnnie To, Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui, Maggie Cheung…; Downbeat sequel returns the trio of feisty femmes to combat the evil mega–corporation that taken a stranglehold on the world's…
Silences of the Palace (1994): Dir. Moufida Tlatli
Feat. Amel Hedhili, Hend Sabri, Najia Ouerghi…; The daughter of a palatial servant reflects on her upbringing and steady revolt of her birthright obligations. Impassioned look at the status of…
Wing Chun (1994): Dir. Yuen Woo Ping
Feat. Michelle Yeoh, Donnie Yen; Martial–arts star Michelle Yeoh lends some charisma to a cotton–sugar tale of remote villagers plagued by robbers. In the title role Yeoh…
Bandit Queen (1993): Dir. Shekhar Kapur
Feat. Seema Biswas; Far and away from the innocuous fluff that dominates India's film industry, comes this bold, controversial true story of Phoolan Devi, a notorious…
Heroic Trio (1993): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui; An invisible criminal is stealing babies for a sewer–dwelling villain and it's up to three dazzling super–chicks. Hugely entertaining…
Moon Warriors (1993): Dir. Sammo Hung
Feat. Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui; Flashy feudal martial arts adventure features the high kicks of Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung and Anita Mui, in a battle of noble siblings to regain the…
Dragon Inn (New Dragon Gate Inn) (1992): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung (Kar-fai)…; Gory Ming Dynasty–set epic in which forces of good and evil clash swords over the fate of feudal China. An extravagant climax, featuring…
Naked Killer (1992): Dir. Clarence Fok-Yiu
Feat. Chingmy Yau, Simon Yam, Carrie Ng; Sex and violence potently combust in a tale of nubile assassins and a love–struck, traumatised cop. The plot may typically wander but it…
Saviour of the Soul (1992): Dir. David Lai
Feat. Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok; Breathtaking camerawork and special effects combine with hallucinatory plotting as two city–dwelling mercenaries do battle with the silver fox,…
Black Cat (1991): Dir. Dickson Poon
Feat. Jade Leung; The Hong Kong industry could not resist a crack at French action fave Nikita, the foxy misfit trained as an assassin for the secret service. A…
Danzon (1991): Dir. Maria Novaro
Feat. Maria Rojo; Lovely film about a phone operator and mother in Mexico City enthralled by the popular Cuban dance, known as "danzon". When her regular dance partner…
Nikita (La Femme Nikita) (1990): Dir. Luc Besson
Feat. Anne Parillaud, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Tcheky Karyo…; A stylish thriller if ever there was one. The director combines the visual ostentation from his THE BIG BLUE with the plot mechanics of a classic…
Seduction: The Cruel Woman (1990): Dir. Monika Treut, Elfi Mikesch
Feat. Udo Kier; The director of VIRGIN MACHINE takes her subversive sensibilities further with this outing exploring the activities of a domanatrix. Udo Kier takes…
She Shoots Straight (Huang jia nu jiang) (1990): Dir. Corey Yuen
Feat. Joyce Godenzi, Sammo Hung; Taut and melodramatic, this HK policier concerns a decorated and ultra–competent female police officer (Godenzi) who arouses jealousy in her…
36 Filette (Virgin) (1988): Dir. Catherine Breillat
Feat. Delphine Zentout, Etienne Chicot, Olivier Parniere; The thrills and fears of a young girl's willed sexual awakening are explored when she opts to accept a ride from a mysterious stranger in order to…
A Taxing Woman (1987): Dir. Juzo Itami
Feat. Nobuko Miyamoto; A nicely offbeat look at the potentially boring subject of tax evasion. Nobuko Miyamoto plays our star tax collector who meets her match in a hotshot…
Peking Opera Blues (1986): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung, Sally Yeh; One of prolific Hong Kong director/producer Tsui Hark's most celebrated films is a genre–blending romp set around the Peking Opera in 1913. A…
Police Assassins (Yes Madam) (1985): Dir. Corey Yuen
Feat. Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock, Tsui Hark; Cheesy but fun outing has two hard–as–nails policewomen Michelle Yeoh (in her first lead role) and Cynthia Rothrock turning in their…
Vagabond (1985): Dir. Agnes Varda
Feat. Sandrine Bonnaire; Award–winning drama that artfully presents poetic moments from young vagabond Sandrine Bonnaire’s last month alive, listlessly drifting…
Ladies On the Rocks (1984): Dir. Christian Thomsen
Feat. Gotha Anderson, Bruno Bjorn, Peter Boesen; Two women cabaret performers win the hearts of provincial audiences with their raucous brand of feminist humour. Ironically, their increasing…
What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984): Dir. Pedro Almodovar
Feat. Carmen Maura; Carmen Maura plays a delirious feminist housewife in this early black–comic farce from Almodovar, here working at his freshest and most…
Sisters or the Balance of Happiness (Schwestern oder Die Balance des Glücks) (1979): Dir. Margarethe von Trotta; 1970s West German drama about two sisters whose unusually close relationship negatively impacts their individual personal lives.
Celine & Julie Go Boating (Celine et Julie vont en bateau) (1974): Dir. Jacques Rivette
Feat. Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier; Rivette assaults the narrative form for his epic–lengthed, dream–like, near indescribable tale of two girls whose lives and imaginations…
Female Yakuza Tale (Yasagure anego den: sôkatsu rinchi) (1973): Dir. Teruo Ishii
Feat. Reiko Ike; A scorned Reiko Ike returns in this remarkably trashier sequel to SEX AND FURY, ready to unleash another roaring rampage of revenge on sadistic…
Lady Snowblood 1 (Shurayukihime) (1973): Dir. Toshiya Fujita
Feat. Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon…; A classic samurai B–movie made in the heyday of 'Wu Xia' influence, with Kaji playing a bereaved young woman who seeks revenge on the gangsters…
Sex and Fury (Furyô anego den: Inoshika Ochô) (1973): Dir. Norifumi Suzuki
Feat. Reiko Ike; Japanese exploitation cinema proves itself unrivaled with this slice of 70s celluloid anarchy, trailing a mostly nude Reiko Ike as she slashes and…
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972): Dir. Shunya Ito
Feat. Meiko Kaji, Fumio Watanabe, Kayuko Shiraishi; A classic of Japanese 70s exploitation cinema, this charts the grim road to freedom for a gaggle of women escaped–convicts with a feverish…
Daisies (1966): Dir. Vera Chytilova
Feat. Julius Albert, Jitka Cerhova, Marie Ceskova; Much–loved cinematic firecracker from the halcyon days of 60s Czech radicalism, in which two girls (both called Marie) live out their anarchist…
Gertrud (1964): Dir. Carl Dreyer; Exploring similar territory to fellow Scandinavian Ingmar Bergman, Dreyer's final film is an intense psychological study about a middle–aged…
Mother India (1957): Dir. Mehboob Khan
Feat. Nargis , Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar; A quintessential Indian classic, depicting the struggle of a woman through her adult life to reconcile traditional values and village life with a…
Les Diaboliques (1954): Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
Feat. Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot, Paul Meurisse…; Simone Signoret stars as one of two women who conspire to murder the man they share – a sadistic schoolmaster. Iconic French thriller with a…
Bete Humaine, La (1938): Dir. Jean Renoir
Feat. Jean Gabin, Simone Simon, Fernand Ledoux…; Adaptation of Zola's romantic tragedy brims with tension and exults the presense of French icon Jean Gabin as a hot–headed train driver coaxed…
Sisters of the Gion (1936): Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
Feat. Isuzu Yamada, Yoko Umemura; An early feminist film from director Kenji Mizoguchi, focusing on two geisha sisters – one of whom enters into a codependent relationship with…

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