By Matt Rosen

Hi All - Matt Rosen here. You know, just another white dude who loves movies. Luckily for you, I don’t write for any of the big film websites...so you don’t have to listen to me talk about Christopher Nolan/David Fincher films for months on end.

I love The Fem Word and wanted to write about some women I adore who have made some really wonderful films. In the midst of Hollywood finally realizing just how systemically racist and sexist it has been, I find that there’s a really genuine moment here to lift up so many female filmmakers who made films that were either ignored or not given the attention or accolades they deserved when they originally came out. Some of them have had more success than others, and actually broken through, but the one thing these women all share in common is that they have all made great movies that deserved to be studied, watched, and loved.

So, without further ado, here’s my list.

Cheryl Dunye CREDIT: Indiana University Cinema - Indiana University Bloomington — **Cheryl Dunye** CREDIT: Indiana University Cinema - Indiana University Bloomington

Cheryl Dunye - to discover the films of Cheryl Dune is to fall in love with independent cinema again. In 1996, she wrote and directed The Watermelon Woman - one of the first films made by a queer black woman. To call it a landmark is an understatement. Dune’s films explore sexuality, gender, and race with a genuine, comedic curiosity. Her films about queer Black women are now a starting point for so many young women looking to show the world that they don’t just exist on the margins of society - her films continue to matter and resonate.

Lisa Cholodenko CREDIT: Los Angeles Times

Lisa Cholodenko - Cholodenko’s films (High Art, The Kids are Alright) have garnered awards and tons of critical praise - she remains one of the distinct queer voices in film and TV. Revisiting her films now is quite a gift.

Lynn Shelton - I’m going to try and get through this without crying but believe me when I tell you Lynn Shelton made some of the most beautiful independent films of the last decade. She passed away suddenly in May, and the film community is still grieving from the loss. Shelton told stories about ordinary humans and the extraordinary situations they found themselves in. Her films (Outside In, Swords of Trust, and Your Sister's Sister to name a few favorites) are full of comedic and poignant moments and characters that are flawed and full of love for one another. Her films all feel like moments - ones that continue to inspire us and make us smile and move us to tears.

Euzhan Palcy CREDIT: www.ronaldgrantarchive.com

Euzhan Palcy - Palcy was the first black woman to make a movie for a major studio. Her film, distributed by MGM and titled A Dry White Season, was a South African apartheid thriller starring Marlon Brando (making her the only woman to ever direct him). Palcy got her start in the early 80’s, where her “French Godfather” Francois Truffaut convinced her to make her first film. She’s continued to make films and docs for the past few decades, but White Season remains an unflinching look at violence in the face of oppression.

Kathleen Collins - Collins, a black woman who made the revolutionary film Losing Ground in the early 1980s, had a career that was tragically cut short when she passed away from breast cancer at the age of 46. Losing Ground, a startling, intimate look at a marriage on the rocks between a Black couple, is a gorgeous study of gender identity, art, and love. Not plagued by the racial stereotypes that accompany so many Black narratives, Collins’s film is one of the first films ever made about Black lives for the masses. Her story, like her characters, is one of celebration.

Mira Nair - Mira Nair’s work has been so underappreciated these past two decades, but what a miracle her filmography is - Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding, and The Namesake - to name a few of the best. Always grounded in character driven stories that have appealed to broader, international audiences, Nair’s films carry with them an emotional honesty that makes so many of her films essential to cinema.

Leslie Harris CREDIT: American Program Bureau

Leslie Harris - If there is ever a film to point to as one of the most underrated, important films of the 90s, look no further than Harris’ Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. The film tells the story of a young Black girl in Brooklyn who refuses to be put in the box that society has drawn for her. Complex and courageous, Harris’ indie film paved the way for so many filmmakers of color, and now’s the time to give her the recognition she deserves.

Radha Blank - A name you’re going to need to know in 2020. Blank wrote, directed, and starred in the The 40 Year Old Version - a deeply personal, semi-autobiographical story about her life in New York City which premiered at Sundance last January and is set to be released by Netflix in September.

Tamara Jenkins - Whenever someone asks you for a director who has yet to make a bad film, you can give this woman's name. Her three films - Slums of Beverly Hills, The Savages, and Private Life - are all terrific. Private Life especially, which came out in 2018 and explores a couple (played to perfection by Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn) desperately trying to have a child by any means necessary, is a bruising comedy that may be her finest work to date.

There are so many more women that are about to have their moments - Tayarisha Poe, Issa Lopez, Sarah Adina Smith, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Janicza Bravo, and Tiffanie Hsu. I’m telling you, this moment calls for so much more than just reflection. It calls for so much more than just the term “promoting diversity.” It actually calls for us to watch and recognize the stories we missed along the way. The ones from women that mattered then and still matter now - they have always been there, existing in the fray, fighting for the right to be seen and heard.

To watch them now is to joyfully discover life like you have never seen it.

TFW contributor Matt Rosen is an independent film producer and manager in Los Angeles, California. When he’s not watching movies, he’s usually delivering brutally honest hot film takes on his Instagram and recommending films to anyone that will listen. He firmly stands by the fact that the 1991 Masterpiece Point Break is the greatest love story of all time.

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