12 Female Filmmakers Shaping the Future of Cinema

Fall festival season has arrived, bringing with it a bounty of cinematic riches. But female filmmakers are still underrepresented in the lineups of the Toronto and Venice International Film Festivals and the New York Film Festival.

This year is no different—male directors still dominate. 

The women whose work is being showcased, however, includes an impressive array of talent: first-time filmmakers like renowned essayist Durga Chew-Bose, veterans like Marielle Heller, and actor-directors like Angelina Jolie. Here are films from 12 of the best, whether you’re traveling the world or watching from home.  

“All We Imagine as Light”

Writer-director: Payal Kapadia
Screening at: TIFF, NYFF

One of the most acclaimed movies at Cannes this year, Grand Prix winner “All We Imagine as Light” was the first Indian film to be selected for the festival’s Official Competition in three decades. The drama is now set to captivate Toronto and New York audiences with its delicate story of two nurses—Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and Anu (Divya Prabha)—sharing an apartment in Mumbai. Though they’re years apart in age, they bond over their emotional entanglements with men. When their colleague Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam) moves back home to her seaside village, Anu and Prabha accompany her on the trip, leading to a series of emotional revelations. 

“I started thinking about family and friendships,” Kapadia says. “In a family, our relationships are well-defined throughout society; but friendships are defined as we want to define them. As I’ve grown older, I have started relying more and more on friendships and [those kinds of] support systems. I wanted to explore themes of friendship among three very different working women in Mumbai.”

“April”

Writer-director: Dea Kulumbegashvili
Screening at: Venice, TIFF, NYFF

This Georgian drama is being shown all over the world this fall. Kulumbegashvili’s follow-up to her celebrated 2020 drama “Beginning” is the unsparing tale of Nina (Ia Sukhitashvili), the gynecologist in charge when a delivery results in the death of the infant. The outraged father threatens to reveal Nina’s secret: that she performs abortions for women in need in nearby villages. “Challengers” director Luca Guadagnino, who’s also on the festival circuit with his latest project, “Queer,” co-produced this methodical, haunting film. 

To research the story, Kulumbegashvili spent about a year observing the medical professionals at a hospital in the town where she grew up. “I wanted to understand the life of a doctor in this clinic,” she says, adding that she considers “April” to be a “huge step” for her as a filmmaker. “I started to trust the process more; and also, I understood that I needed to be maybe even more minimalistic, somehow.”

“Babygirl”

Writer-director: Halina Reijn
Screening at: Venice, TIFF

This A24 drama is quite possibly the sexiest movie you’ll see at any festival this year—a true heir apparent to the classic ’90s erotic thriller. Oscar winner Nicole Kidman stars as Romy, the CEO of a robotics company who becomes romantically entangled with her very forward intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson). Though she shares a loving relationship with her husband, Jacob (Antonio Banderas), this strange younger man intuits her darkest sexual desires; their connection threatens to undo the perfect life Romy has built. Kidman is at her best when she leans into her freaky side, and Dickinson (“Triangle of Sadness”) is a true standout. With “Babygirl,” Reijn—building on the success of her 2022 horror flick “Bodies Bodies Bodies”—has given us one of the tensest, most genuinely hot films in years. 

“I wanted to create a story about female desire in a playful, fun way that would celebrate sexual joy and sexual liberation in a time [when] there is still a lot of suppression for people around that topic,” Reijn says. “Pairing Harris and Nicole felt like fireworks to me. Nicole is maybe the best actress on the planet right now, and Harris is one of the most interesting and talented actors of his generation. When I saw them interact for the first time, I couldn’t have been more excited and inspired.”

“Bonjour Tristesse”

Writer-director: Durga Chew-Bose
Screening at: TIFF

Chew-Bose was initially recruited to write the script for this new adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s beloved 1954 coming-of-age novel. But once it became clear that her vision extended beyond the page, the producers asked her to direct, as well. Her debut film is now set to open the Discovery program at TIFF. The movie stars breakout Lily McInerny as Cécile, an 18-year-old on a beach holiday in France with her father, Raymond (Claes Bang), and his lover, Elsa (Nailia Harzoune). Their vacation is shaken up by the arrival of Anne (Chloë Sevigny), a friend of Cécile’s dead mother. 

Chew-Bose moves the action to the present day; she brought her own point of view to the story as she was reading the book. “I’m someone who will just stop when a sentence does something to me that’s outside of my own power,” she says. When she began working on the film, she discovered that directing was something she truly loved. “I found the act of collaborating extraordinary. It was like having a different creative playground.” 

“Familiar Touch”

Writer-director: Sarah Friedland
Screening at: Venice

Friedland drew on her own experiences to create her first feature: watching her grandmother move into the memory-care wing of an assisted living facility, working as a caregiver for artists with dementia, and teaching filmmaking to seniors. “Familiar Touch” is a unique take on aging told from the perspective of Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant), an older woman whose son moves her into a retirement community when her memory starts to fail. 

Though Ruth is resistant to the idea that anything is wrong, “Familiar Touch” never views her with condescension. “The anti-ageist politics of the film, for me, [were about] trying to take the coming-of-age story from us young people and reimagining it for an older adult to say she’s going through a major transformation,” Friedland explains. She shot the movie on location at a senior care center in Pasadena, California. Before production began, she held a workshop on filmmaking for the residents, some who went on to participate in the process as actors and crew members.

“The Fire Inside”

Director: Rachel Morrison
Screening at: TIFF

In 2018, Morrison became the first woman to earn an Oscar nomination for cinematography in recognition of her work on Dee Rees’ “Mudbound.” Now, she’s making her feature directing debut with “The Fire Inside,” a sports drama penned by “Moonlight” filmmaker Barry Jenkins. The film follows Claressa Shields (newcomer Ryan Destiny), a real-life professional boxer who became the first American to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in the sport. Morrison and Jenkins focus on the relationship between Shields and her
coach, Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry), as they fight their way to glory despite the lack of resources in their hometown of Flint, Michigan. 

Morrison can relate to Shields’ experiences in a male-dominated field. “As a cinematographer, there was this perception of, like: How can you carry the camera?” she says. But she was also eager to see the process of filmmaking in a more holistic way. “Part of the reason I wanted to move into directing was the chance to complete the thing.”

“Harvest”

Co-writer–director: Athina Rachel Tsangari
Screening at: Venice, TIFF, NYFF

If you’re a fan of Yorgos Lanthimos’ work, you’ll want to check out this film from Tsangari, who produced some of the “Poor Things” filmmaker’s early works (“Dogtooth,” “Alps”) in addition to helming her own features, including “Attenberg” and “Chevalier.” “Harvest” is Tsangari and Joslyn Barnes’ adaptation of Jim Crace’s 2013 novel, set in a remote English village where newcomers are scapegoated and the cruelty of human nature is on full display. The solitary Walter Thirsk, played by Caleb Landry Jones (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), is at the center of the story. He stars opposite Harry Melling, who broke out as an adult in “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” and “The Queen’s Gambit” after his early work in the “Harry Potter” films.

“The Last Showgirl”

Director: Gia Coppola 
Screening at: TIFF

n It’s a big year for the Coppola family: Not only is Francis Ford’s long-awaited “Megalopolis” hitting theaters later this month, but his granddaughter Gia is debuting her film “The Last Showgirl” at TIFF. Written by Kate Gersten, the movie stars Pamela Anderson as Shelley, a Vegas performer who’s set adrift after the show she’s been in for decades closes. It’s an intriguing match of premise and star, considering the public has recently been reevaluating Anderson’s career thanks to the 2023 Netflix documentary “Pamela: A Love Story.” The film also stars Kiernan Shipka, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Dave Bautista.  

Anderson is ripe for a screen renaissance, and Coppola sees “The Last Showgirl” as the perfect vehicle. “I feel that everyone is rooting for Pamela, and I believe they will be proud to see the heartfelt performance she delivers,” the director says. “This is a story about women and motherhood; she’s unafraid to be raw, and for that, she’s also a role model.”

Coppola has a knack for dreamy visuals, which were on display in her first feature, 2013’s “Palo Alto.” She says she learned to trust herself more in the process of making her latest.

“Nightbitch”

Writer-director: Marielle Heller
Screening at: TIFF

Heller’s work has been featured at TIFF many times over the years, including her acclaimed films “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” and “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” Now, she’s back at the fest with the world premiere of her boldest effort yet. “Nightbitch” is an adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s 2021 novel about a mother who, crushed by the monotony of staying at home with her toddler, starts to believe she’s turning into a dog. Six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams gives an unvarnished performance as the unnamed protagonist, alongside Scoot McNairy as her inattentive husband.  

“It has elements of body horror, and it’s got comedy elements and dramatic elements and magical-realist elements,” Heller explains. “I just wanted to go full-out and do things that scared me.” One of those things? Creating a film about being a mom—an experience she’s been conditioned to believe isn’t a very interesting subject. “I wanted to make a movie about motherhood and about how different it’s felt than I expected it to feel.” 

“Rez Ball”

Co-writer–director: Sydney Freeland 
Screening at: TIFF

When Freeland read a series of articles by New York Times reporter Michael Powell about a Navajo high school basketball team, she recognized the material intimately: Like Powell’s subjects, the filmmaker is Navajo and grew up playing basketball on a reservation. She says she took an “inside-out” approach when she began adapting the material with Sterlin Harjo, the Emmy-nominated co-creator of FX on Hulu’s “Reservation Dogs.” The result is a stirring sports drama featuring many first-time actors—including its star, Kauchani Bratt—set over the course of a season for the fictional Chuska Warriors as they grapple with a recent tragedy. 

Freeland is thrilled to introduce her cast to the world. “These are bona fide, dyed-in-the-wool rez kids. And [it’s meant a lot to see] them go through this process that I’ve gone through myself,” she says. “Impostor syndrome, like: I’m not supposed to be here. I don’t deserve to be here. I’m a kid from the reservation. [I saw] them come into their own and get that confidence and move forward with it and embrace it. And then we were able to capture that lightning in a bottle.”

“The Substance”

Writer-director: Coralie Fargeat
Screening at: TIFF

Director, writer, and producer Fargeat grossed out the Cannes jury back in May with this disgusting, perverse body-horror fantasia, which won her best screenplay at the festival. Now, it’s set to open the Midnight Madness section at TIFF. “The Substance” stars Demi Moore in a career-reviving turn as Elisabeth Sparkle, an aging actor and workout-show host who injects a drug that creates a younger version of herself, emerging from her spine in the form of Margaret Qualley. Though they share the same soul, the two versions of Elisabeth battle for control of their lives, resulting in truly revolting changes to both of their physical forms. 

With the film, Fargeat proves that vomit-inducing blood spatter isn’t just for the boys. “I was ready to confront, in a much more direct way, what I was living and feeling as a woman in our world and how society had made me feel about it: the constant judgment that is on us about our appearance and/or our behavior every single day of our lives,” she explains.
“I wanted to say a big ‘Fuck off! This is enough! Look at what you do to us!’ And I was also ready to cope with the criticisms and resistances that [the movie] would for sure generate.”

“Without Blood”

Writer-director: Angelina Jolie 
Screening at: TIFF

Jolie is pulling double duty this festival season. First, she’s starring as famed opera singer Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s “Maria,” which had its world premiere at Venice. Then, she’s traveling to TIFF with her film “Without Blood,” based on Alessandro Baricco’s 2002 novel. The drama features Salma Hayek Pinault as Nina, a woman haunted by the memory of witnessing her father and brother’s brutal murder—an act of revenge for the former’s actions in an unnamed war. As an adult, Nina crosses paths with Tito (Demián Bichir), a man from her past. Jolie’s filmmaking output has often grappled with the horrors of war, which dovetails with her extensive humanitarian work. “Without Blood” promises to be another harrowing effort from the multihyphenate. 

This story originally appeared in the Sept. 5 issue of Backstage Magazine.