Top 5 Female Directors

5. Jane Campion

One of the most critically acclaimed female film-makers in recent history, Jane Campion has a distinguished career of directing bold and artistically stunning films.  While she stresses that she doesn’t identify herself as a feminist film-maker, her films are full of fiercely strong, independent women who often clash with society.  She gained early notoriety for Sweetie, a black comedy about a severely dysfunctional family.  However, notoriety turned to fame and acclaim with the release of An Angel at My Table, dramatization of the life of famous New Zealand author Janet Frame.  However, her most famous work is The Piano, a film about the tribulations of two women in nineteenth century New Zealand.  The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and snatched three Academy Awards.
4. Lone Sherfig

The Danish director Lone Scherfig has just begun to receive acclaim and fame in the States with the release of her film An Education.  The film was the story of British journalist Lynn Barber’s early life and her quest
for identity.  However, for those who know a thing or two about European cinema, Scherfig has been one of their most acclaimed female directors.  She first gained recognition for Italian for Beginners, a film that was made as part of the Dogme 95 movement.  This comedy won the hearts of audiences at the Berlin Film Festival where it won the Jury Grand Prix Silver Bear.  She would continue to make several critically acclaimed films such as Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself.  Her most recent film, One Day starring Anne Hathaway, is set for release later in August of this year.
3. Claire Denis

Since the start of her career, Claire Denis has created a large body of work that examines the West’s place in other countries.  More often than not, her films involve immigrants or characters living in Africa, not doubt inspired by her own childhood living in colonial African countries in the Fifties.  Her debut film, Chocolat, was a participant in the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and examined a French family living in Cameroon.  Her most famous film, Beau Travail, was an existential exploration of a group of foreign legion troops living in Djibouti.  More recently, she has earned international acclaim with her films 35 Rhums and White Material.  In addition to her large body of feature films, Denis has an impressive collection of short films and documentaries to her credit.  With an eye for careful cinematic construction, Claire Denis is one of Europe’s most important modern auteurs.
2. Mira Nair

Originally a documentary film-maker from India, Mira Nair has established herself as one of India’s greatest directors, regardless of gender.  Her breakout work, Salaam Bombay!, which documented the lives of children living in Bombay, won her international accolades from the Cannes Film Festival, Montréal World Film Festival, and many other film organizations.  She delved into the world of fiction film with Mississippi Masala which starred Denzel Washington.  Since then, she has proven herself to be a cinematic chameleon, able to change and adapt to different genres and cultural settings for her films.  Her more notable works include Monsoon Wedding, an examination of Indian cultural traditions set against an arranged marriage ceremony and Vanity Fair, an adaptation of the William Thackeray novel which depicts the trials of social hierarchy in post-colonial England.
1. Sofia Coppola

The only daughter of the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola has had the burden of living up to one of the most towering legacies in cinematic history.  If her recent work is any indication, she is quickly becoming a fitting successor to her father.  While her first film, The Virgin Suicides, was a minor commercial and critical success, it wasn’t until 2003 with the release of Lost in Translation that she received major attention.  Her next film, Marie Antoinette, was cooly received by both audiences and critics.  However, it was her latest film, Somewhere, where she proved that she was not a one-hit wonder.  The film won the Golden Lion at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, making her the first female American director to win the prize.  At only 40 years old, Sofia Coppola has a long, and rich, career in directing ahead of her.
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