Female Directors Who Changed The Face of Hollywood

By Anamika S | 1.4k | 21 Jan 2018

Cinema is predominantly a man’s space, especially direction. Here is a list of 6 directors who struggled but came out to be the best that Hollywood has seen.

1. Patty Jenkins

The very well-known director has many movies that are popular as well as critically acclaimed like Wonder Woman , Monster etc. Wonder Woman got the Guinness Record for being the first DC Extended Universe movie directed by a female director to get a 100 million dollars opening week. Monster, on the other hand, won an Academy Award for the best actress. Jenkin’s brilliance lies in identifying the proper theme which she could handle.

2. Amy Heckerling

Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Clueless are the two classic flicks directed by her. She is the queen of high school flicks which was shadowed in her later movies like Vamps and I Could Never Be Your Woman .

3. Leslye Headland

Sleeping with Other People and Bachelorette are enough to prove the brilliance of this young female director. She is also a well-known screen writer. She is making quite some good flicks in the romantic comedy genre.

4. Sofia Coppola

Who has watched Lost in Translation and never liked it? The director of the movie is Sofia Coppola. Her next movie The Beguiled is a Gothic Horror. She won the best director award at Cannes International Film festival for the movie Beguiled. Sofia Coppola is one of the finest female directors we have in the industry. She has done 6 feature films till now each of which is known for its super feminine frames and subtle melancholy that runs through the whole film.

5. Lily Wachowski

The best thing she perhaps did was to direct The Matrix. But there is an issue. She set her debut direction so high that people always started expecting much better from her which didn’t turn out to be so. Still, her contribution cannot be ignored.

6. Kathyrn Bigelow

Only and I stress again only female director to win an Oscar to date, she won it over David Cameroon’s Avatar that year. The peculiarity of her filmography might lie in the fact as to how she always managed to make films on subcultures. However, the biggest criticism she has received was for over glorification of torture in her movies. Kathyrn’s talent lies in making movies on Gangsters, Vampires and various action thrillers that is generally considered a genre of men.

The contributions of all these female directors are immense. They have paved a way for future female directors to the world of cinema.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the view of the website.
Anamika is currently pursuing masters in Communication from the University of Hyderabad. Good books, movies, and coffee make her day.