A Powerful Response to a Male-Dominated Film Industry: 7 Must-Watch Films Through the Lens of Female Directors

The world of cinema holds immense power in shaping how we see stories and perceive the world. Unfortunately, the balance behind this magical world is still overwhelmingly male-dominated. Statistics show that only 30% of films made in Europe and a mere 16% in the US are brought to life by female directors and screenwriters. The lack of the female gaze in cinema also limits our perspectives and capacity for empathy.

Exactly for this reason, we are putting on our radar these 7 fantastic films signed by female directors—films that left their mark on cinema history and will stay in your mind long after the credits roll.

1. Anatomy of a Fall (Anatomie d’une chute – 2023)

• Director: Justine Triet
• Aura: Thriller, Courtroom Drama, Human Relationships
• Why You Should Watch: Centering on the trial of a woman accused of killing her husband, French director Justine Triet actually dissects the anatomy of a marriage and interpersonal relationships. The film intricately explores that quiet rage which emerges when individual freedom and the desire for self-fulfillment are suppressed. A striking courtroom drama that places the viewer in the judge’s seat, oscillating between trust and doubt.

2. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu – 2019)

• Director: Céline Sciamma
• Aura: Period Drama, Romance, Visual Feast
• Why You Should Watch: In this spellbinding period film featuring not a single man, Céline Sciamma tells the story of the passionate bond between two women on an isolated island in Brittany in the late 18th century. That quiet yet high-voltage tension between a painter and the young woman whose portrait is to be painted merges with the raw beauty of the landscape and the power of glances. One of the most elegant, touching, and masterfully crafted expressions of the “female gaze” in cinema history.

3. System Crasher (Systemsprenger – 2019)

• Director: Nora Fingscheidt
• Aura: Drama, Social Critique, Realistic
• Why You Should Watch: The story of 9-year-old Benni, whose uncontrollable anger pushes every boundary of the German child welfare system. In this radical film that feels almost like a documentary, Nora Fingscheidt pulls no punches, boldly confronting us with the helplessness of children who fall outside the system—and the truth that behind that uncontrolled rage lies a hurt child stripped of love.

4. In die Sonne schauen (2025)

• Director: Mascha Schilinski
• Aura: Historical Drama, Psychological, Intergenerational Trauma
• Why You Should Watch: Set on a farm, the film focuses on intergenerational traumas and fears passed down across generations through the stories of four women from four different eras. Containing elements of psychological thriller and horror, it is a striking masterpiece that echoes in your mind long after watching—making you feel an almost physical pain while watching, just like its title suggests, yet keeping your eyes glued to the screen.

5. The Watermelon Woman (1996)

• Director: Cheryl Dunye
• Aura: Mockumentary, Queer Cinema, Race & Cultural History
• Why You Should Watch: One of the cult works of 90s independent cinema, Cheryl Dunye plays a young queer director in search of a Black actress from 1930s cinema whose name wasn’t even listed in the credits. Shuttle-cocking between humor and seriousness, the film serves as an eye-opening, entertaining, and exceptionally intelligent lesson on racism and queer visibility in cinema history.

6. Past Lives (2023)

• Director: Celine Song
• Aura: Romance, Drama, Poetic
• Why You Should Watch: A marvel by Celine Song that touches the heart of anyone who has ever asked “What if?” at least once in their life. Connected in childhood but swept in different directions by life, the paths of Na-young and Hae-sung cross again years later… An emotionally powerful contemporary classic that articulates that indescribable, deep bond beyond words between two people through silences, pauses, and delicate dialogue.

7. Priscilla (2023)

• Director: Sofia Coppola
• Aura: Biography, Isolation, Destructive Love
• Why You Should Watch: Sofia Coppola opens a window into the lonely, claustrophobic world woven with power abuse of Priscilla, who remained in the shadow of Elvis Presley. Beginning when she was just 14, the film tells the story of this relationship through Priscilla’s eyes in a deeply melancholic voice—exposing the suffocating shadows behind the seemingly perfect 70s aesthetic of bouffant hair, long eyelashes, and empty beige rooms, alongside a woman’s struggle to find her own identity.