Saturday, March 31, 2012

Ten Women Filmmakers You Need To Know Better

The following was tweeted on 3/31/2012, between 6:45 & 7:15 PDT.

As Women's History Month draws to a close, I thought I'd tweet a list of 10 female filmmakers you should know about.

This list will not include the great filmmakers you probably already know of.

Not on this list but superb directors: Agnes Varda, Jane Campion, Kathryn Bigelow, Chantal Akerman.

Not on this list but directors I have mixed feelings about (tho ultimately admire): Sally Potter, Julie Taymor, Catherine Breillat.

Not on this list because I can't abide them: Miranda July, Sofia Coppola, Lena Dunham. If I were Macbeth, they'd be the 3 Weird Sisters.

10. Dee Rees: Pariah wasn't perfect but a promising debut and an interesting new voice.

9. Maryam Keshavarz: Like Pariah, Circumstance makes some rookie mistakes but I'm very excited to see what she does next.

8. Kelly Reichardt: an old hand in the indie world, she carries the neglected torch for low key American Indies proudly.

7. Sarah Polley: Away From Her was an impressive debut. Looking forward to her follow up.

6. Ava DuVernay: a veritable one woman movement. Her arrival gives one hope Black Cinema will soon mean something again.

5. Tanya Hamilton: I pray to the God of Cinema that she gets to follow up Night Catches Us very soon.

4. Andrea Arnold: Red Road took days to shake, and Fish Tank is one of the best films in recent years.

3. Nicole Holofcener: Every inch the auteur and an excellent TV director as well. Very rare.

2. Lynne Ramsay: I would never have forgiven Peter Jackson if his hijacking of The Lovely Bones had driven her to retire.

1. Claire Denis: Arguably the best woman in film today. That French Cinema is finally dealing w/ non-whites is hugely her doing.