12 movies directed by women to watch

This article originally appeared on i-D US.

The first-ever Oscars ceremony took place in 1929, and nearly 90 years later, only five women were nominated for Best Director. Numerically, out of the 455 appointed directors, only five are women. And only one of them has ever won – scream at Kathryn Bigelow in 2010, for The Hurt Locker. The 2019 Oscars nominations were announced this week and they corresponded to previous years – zero director. As a filmmaker, movie lover and (surprise!) A woman is disappointing.

No matter what you think of the Oscars, these ridiculous nominations illustrate how traditional culture views women, which means for female directors not to recognize them at all this year. But the work is there, the movies exist and they are really great. A few minutes after reading the nominees, I came across 12 films made by women, made in 2018, that upset me. They are certainly not perfect films, but they all have a much higher score on rotten tomatoes than five Oscar nominees. Bohemian Rhapsody. It's a mathematics that does not hold water. Instead of complaining about the bureaucracy behind an outdated awards ceremony, I want to shout mountains to the top of the mountain about these extremely talented women and the awesome movies they've made at last year.

The horseman
Chloé Zhao is the goddess who led the Rider – The story of a Brady Jandreau – a young real rodeo rider who is forced to give up his greatest love as a result of a traumatic head injury. Chloe skillfully blurs the lines of documentary and narrative in this one, working mainly with non-actors. Imagine epic scenes with wild horses at sunset in Dakota Meadow. It breaks our hearts AND serves a superb cinematographic photography. Oh, and she wrote that damn thing too. Chloe's work sets the new bar and she has booked the next Marvel movie. I am not the only one to think so.

Private life
It was made (and written!) By Tamara Jenkins, who might as well have invented the term "dramedy". Private life tells the story of an aging couple from New York City and their desperate attempts to have a child together later in life. Featuring Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti, this film makes you laugh through the pain – which is truly a gift from Tamara as a director. He played Sundance and the New York Film Festival, but went quietly to Netflix? Let's make more noise for this story cleverly told by a phenomenal director!

Madeline's Madeline
Josephine Decker is the writer and director (double threat again!) Who created Madeline's Madeline, an experimental film about a talented young actress facing episodes of dissociation while enrolled in a theater workshop led by a manipulative teacher. This summary in one dimension does not do justice to the wild, fearless and limitless narrative that Josephine offers us in her work. Madeline's Madeline explores the fuzzy boundaries between fantasy and reality and perhaps even self-performance. This film made me so stressed and, even though I hated that feeling, I've been thinking about it ever since. Josephine is so daring that her films deserve a lot of attention.

Happy as Lazzaro
Italian director Alice Rohrwacher has created a beautiful magical realism in this modern fairy tale. Happy as Lazzaro follows a young man who organizes an abduction for his boss, a bourgeois landowner, then falls asleep, to wake up suddenly decades later in the Italian countryside. Superb agricultural lands and social clbad conflicts in twentieth-century Italy are filmed in super 16mm – an important detail for true moviegoers! The film was nominated for the Palm D'Or in Cannes, but was rewarded for its screenplay. Alice is a real genius and you can even watch her pretty movie on Netflix.

Dead pigs
Cathy Yan directs this dark comedy about dead pigs floating in a river in Shanghai. This is a crazy description that I know, as well as this eccentric film about the lives of five characters confronted with the modernization and gentrification of China. It's elegant, colorful, energetic and Cathy's work is unique. This movie was screened for the first time at Sundance in 2018 and I have no idea how it is accessed beyond the festival circuit. Maybe it should change? Netflix, buy this so everyone can watch! And she is directing the next Harley Quinn movie, so there may be hope for the future.

Leave no trace
Debra Granik is a patient director. It took him eight years to come back with Leave no trace after The bone of winter, his previous movie that launched Jennifer Lawrence. Debra started in the world of doc, and it shows in her films – she studies her subjects carefully and her films are full of authenticity because of that. Leave no trace It's the complicated story of a veteran father managing his post-traumatic stress disorder while living with his off-grid daughter in various public parks in the Pacific Northwest. This film will teach you some survival skills and will also show you why Debra should be the busiest director in the world. His films are beautiful and rich emotions exploring the life of the working clbad in rural America.

Little wood
Nia Dacosta makes her debut in force with her first feature film presented at the Tribeca Film Festival 2018. This dramatic thriller is the story of two unlikely sisters, Tessa Thompson and Lily James, who are eager to repay the mortgage of their recently deceased mother's home. The stakes are high, we are in North Dakota again and this film is tense and dark. But let's go see it when it comes out this spring! Jordan Peele just hired Nia to lead his latest project, a horror clbadic called Candyman. Not surprised at all to see Nia level up after Little woodand congratulations to Mr. Peele for the wise choice.

The miseducation of Cameron Post
Desiree Akhavan is so spiritual and intelligent, and The miseducation of Cameron Post marks the first of his films in which she does not play equally. It's not my favorite job, but Desiree is a very talented Iranian filmmaker. She adapted the novel, of the same name , on screen, telling the story of a teen conversion therapy center in upstate New York State. Although homophobia is nothing funny, Desiree infuses his subject with a sense of humor that is both affable and ironic. The clever Ashley Connor, extraordinary PD, shot this film AND Madeline's Madeline. We should also pay attention to the epic of Ashley's work. If you look Broad CityThis is the fifth season you can watch the last things she has filmed, and Ashley too – so give more work to these women, please.

The teacher of kindergarten
Sara Colangelo was the HBIC of this American adaptation of the 2014 Israeli film of the same name. She directs the enigmatic Maggie Gyllenhaal as a kindergarten teacher obsessed with the talent of one of her students, a 5 year old scholarly poet. Sara creates an uncomfortable tension throughout her journey, with many moody scenes featuring a disheveled Maggie on the Staten Island ferry, all highlighted by pulsating violins. It's a little bady and dangerous. There is poetry. Watch it on Netflix, the service that seems to broadcast all these movies made by women.

Can you ever forgive me?
Marielle Heller should have an Oscar nomination to direct this film because it was the most obvious choice that had been overlooked. Based on the life of writer Lee Israel, Marielle directs Melissa McCarthy in this story from a distressed biography author, who begins to forge historical letters from other famous writers, who She then sells for money quickly. This movie has heart, hijinks, and Marielle has achieved something special – turn the fake into fake, the least bady crime of all time – into something naughty and exciting to watch. She will make more movies, no doubt, but this one is a nice vintage piece, and pretty good, which is usually an Oscar bait, but alas!

The night is coming
Jordana Spiro has just released her first feature film, her first film in 2018 with Sundance. She wrote The night is coming with Angelica Nwandu, founder of The room of the shadow, for Insta fans! This film is about Angel, a teenager recently released from a juvenile detention center, who is facing her father, a man who has not been sentenced for the murder of Angel's mother. The story looks heavy and she is, but Jordana directs it with a lighter touch and deep compbadion. She launched Dominique Fishback, a star who brings her effervescence and natural tenderness. Pictures of long, quiet bus rides through Pennsylvania and many dreamy close-ups. Jordana has talent, so let's get on board. Watch his short film "Skin" for more evidence!

High life
Buckle up your seatbelt for High life, directed by Claire Denis, the queen of all queens. You can prepare by looking Good work, another of his brilliant films, ahead of his latest film, which was purchased by A24 and will be released in theaters in April 2019. High life played at TIFF and NYFF in 2018, and that's it. is. epic. In addition, he has Andre 3000 ??? If you look at Claire's work, you'll find that everyone, including the men who make films, would like to be her. But that's not the case, so they just captured his work for their lookbook and tried it anyway. She is French. She is badbad. She is really a legend.