Did you know that out of the top 50 highest grossing movies of all time, only one has been directed by a woman? Even though the first female director, Alice Guy-Blache, directed her first film back in 1896, women still have not been able to balance out the number of male directors in Hollywood. To this day, there has only been one female director who has earned an Academy Award for directing. The statistics suck, but that's no reason for aspiring female directors out there to give up on their dreams. It's just going to be a challenge worth facing, a silver screen ceiling worth breaking. Here are some amazing female directors doing their part to change the industry and be an inspiration in capturing the untold stories of cinema.
1. Kathryn Bigelow, the only woman to ever receive an Academy Award for directing. Her work on The Hurt Locker (2008) brought her an Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture- ultimately beating her ex-husband James Cameron who was nominated for directing Avatar. Currently, Kathryn is one of four women that have been nominated for Best Director. She was also nominated for Best Picture for Zero Dark Thirty (2012).
"If there's specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can't change my gender and I refuse to stop making movies."
2. Sofia Coppola, born into a family of filmmakers, writers, actors, does her part to achieve all three. She is the first American woman nominated for Best Director for Lost In Translation (2003), but she is also the youngest person to ever be nominated in that category. Lost In Translation won for Best Original Screenplay which made her apart of the second three-generation winning family (Her father Francis Ford Coppola and grandfather Carmine Coppola) since The Huston family.
"When you direct is the only time you get to have the world exactly how you want it. My movies are very close to what I set out to do. And I'm super-opinionated about what I do and don't like."
3. Ava DuVernay is a driving force for social activism and a director who should be on everyone's must-watch list. DuVernay brings audiences to look into the past struggles faced by African-Americans and the new world of mass incarceration and modern racism. Not only is she the black female director to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her work on Selma (2014) and the first African-American to win Best Director Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for her film Middle of Nowhere (2012) , but DuVernay is also an accomplished screenwriter, film marketer, film distributor, journalist, and public relations specialist.
"I didn't start out thinking that I could ever make films. I started out being a film lover, loving films, and wanting to have a job that put me close to them and close to filmmakers and close to film sets."
4. Patty Jenkins, director of film and television, has just begun a huge adventure as the director for the highly anticipated Wonder Woman (2017). This will be DC's first solo superhero movie with the female crime fighter and to have a woman directing the project is absolutely inspirational. Jenkins' most popular film is Monster (2003) in which she both directed and wrote about serial killer Aileen Wuornos. The film received glowing reviews and Charlize Theron, who portrayed Wuornos, won seventeen awards for her performance.
"I think making a film that you think is good and you believe in is going to be difficult forever."
5. Penny Marshall is the famous sister of Garry Marshall and holds her own in every way. From acting, directing, and producing, Marshall's forty-eight year career is extraordinary. Her work on Big (1988) made it possible for her to be credited as the first female to ever direct a film that grossed in excess of $100 million in the United State's box office. She is the brilliant mind behind A League of Their Own (1992), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), Awakenings (1990), and The Preacher's Wife (1996). Marshall is currently in remission from lung cancer.
"I'll try anything. What are they gonna do, kick me out of show business?"
6. Jennifer Lee is reason behind everyone's favorite question "do you want to build a snowman?". Lee directed the global phenomenon Frozen (2013) and became the first female director of a Walt Disney Animation Studios feature film. In addition, she also is the first female director of a feature film to earn more than $1 billion in gross box office revenue, making her #9 on the highest grossing film list (not adjusted to inflation). Lee is the first writer of any major animation studio to become a director and earned an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Frozen.
"Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire."
Need some more inspiration? Here are some amazing female directors to be on the lookout for: Mira Nair, Angelina Jolie, Lisa Cholodenko, Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Banks, Julie Dash, Jill Soloway, Kasi Lemmons, and Allison Anders. The only way we can ensure that female directors have a chance is if we support female directors so please, watch their films and expand your film knowledge.
