Kiss of the Spider Woman is a 1985 drama film, based on the 1976 novel of the same title by Argentine writer Manuel Puig. It is directed by Argentine-Brazilian filmmaker Héctor Babenco from a screenplay by Leonard Schrader, and stars William Hurt, Raul Julia, and Sônia Braga.
Breaking the Waves is a 1996 psychological drama film directed and co-written by Lars von Trier and starring Emily Watson in her feature film acting debut, and with Stellan Skarsgård, a frequent collaborator with von Trier.
Cheryl Dunye is a Liberian-American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and actress. Dunye's work often concerns themes of race, sexuality, and gender, particularly issues relating to black lesbians. She is known as the first out black lesbian to ever direct a feature film with her 1996 film The Watermelon Woman. She runs the production company Jingletown Films based in Oakland California.
François Verster is an independent South African film director and documentary maker.
Julie Sokolow is an American film director, musician, and writer. Her body of work includes documentary films, personal essays, and musical compositions. She directed the films Barefoot: The Mark Baumer Story (2019), Woman on Fire (2016), Aspie Seeks Love (2015), and the Healthy Artists series (2012-4). She first came to public attention with her music album Something About Violins (2006).
Xiaolu Guo FRSL is a Chinese-born British novelist, memoirist and film-maker, who explores migration, alienation, memory, personal journeys, feminism, translation and transnational identities.
Letter from an Unknown Woman is a 1948 American drama romance film released by Universal-International and directed by Max Ophüls. It was based on the novella of the same name by Stefan Zweig. The film stars Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Mady Christians, and Marcel Journet (actor).
Pastoral: To Die in the Country, also known as Pastoral Hide and Seek, is a 1974 Japanese drama film directed by Shūji Terayama. The film employs a film-within-film structure, depicting a young man wrestling with the film he is attempting to complete - a reimagination of his adolescence. It was entered into the 1975 Cannes Film Festival.
Wanuri Kahiu is a Kenyan film director, producer, and author. She is considered to be “one of Africa's most aspiring directors, being part of a new, vibrant crop of talents representing contemporary African culture”. She has received several awards and nominations for the films which she directed, including the awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2009 for her dramatic feature film From a Whisper. She is also the co-founder of AFROBUBBLEGUM, a media collective dedicated to supporting African art for its own sake.
Leena Manimekalai is an Indian filmmaker, poet and an actor. Her works include five published poetry anthologies and several films in genres, documentary, fiction and experimental poem films. She has been recognised with participation, mentions and best film awards in many international and national film festivals.
Linh Nga, is an American-Vietnamese film director, film producer, actress, and screenwriter. Linh Nga's 2019 documentary "Inside this peace" won "Award Of Merit" at the Impact DOCS Awards, won "Best Feature Documentary" at the California Women's Film Festival, and nominated for "Best Feature Documentary" at the Action On Film International Film Festival. Her 2003 film Up and Down the Dust Way won "TV Best Series" at the Vietnamese International Film Festival. She is the founder of 9669 films.
Queen of Katwe is a 2016 American biographical sports drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by William Wheeler. Starring David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, and Madina Nalwanga, the film depicts the life of Phiona Mutesi, a girl living in Katwe, a slum of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. She learns to play chess and becomes a Woman Candidate Master after her victories at World Chess Olympiads.
Menelik Shabazz was a Barbados-born British film director, producer, educator, and writer, acknowledged as a pioneer in the development of independent Black British cinema, having been at the forefront of contemporary British filmmaking for more than 30 years. Shabazz is best known for the 1981 film Burning an Illusion, his first feature. He was also co-founder in the 1980s of Kuumba film production company and Ceddo Film and Video Workshop, as well as being "founding father of the BFM media project" as the publisher of Black Filmmaker Magazine (BFM) and creator of BFM International Film Festival.
The Apology is a 2016 documentary film by Tiffany Hsiung about three former “comfort women” who were among the 200,000 girls and young women kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The film is produced by Anita Lee for the National Film Board of Canada.
Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami is a Sundance Award-winning Iranian documentary filmmaker who was born in Tehran. She has directed one full-length documentary, four short documentaries and one animated documentary.
Samhita: The Script is a 2013 Indian Marathi film directed by duo Sumitra Bhave—Sunil Sukthankar and produced by Mukta Arts in association with Ashokk Movies. The film stars Devika Daftardar, Milind Soman, and Rajeshwari Sachdev along with Uttara Baokar and Jyoti Subhash in supporting roles. The film had its theatrical release on 18 October 2013 and won several awards including two National Film Awards at the 60th National Film Awards; the Best Female Playback Singer for Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar and the Best Music Direction (Songs) for Shailendra Barve. The director-producer Subhash Ghai, the founder of Mukta Arts, was not initially part of the film and was approached when the director duo faced financial problems.
A Dog Story is a Ugandan short film about Atim, a young woman who tries to escape from her abductor Bongwat and comes face to face with the reality of what it means to be an abductee, and the consequences of requiting his love. It was produced by actress and dental assistant Doreen Mirembe as her debut production.
Cleopatra Kambugu Kentaro is a Ugandan transgender woman and human rights activist, advocating for equality and social justice with particular focus on sex workers and gender non-conforming communities. Kentaro is recognised for her advocacy and was featured in the 2016 award-winning feature-length documentary The Pearl of Africa.
A Night at Switch n' Play is a 2019 American documentary film produced by Chelsea Moore and directed by Cody Stickels. The film is about the long-running, Brooklyn based drag and burlesque artist collective, Switch n’ Play. The documentary features performances and commentary by Divina GranSparkle, Pearl Harbor, K. James, Miss Malice, Vigor Mortis, Nyx Nocturne and Zoe Ziegfeld. The film had its world premiere at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival in Toronto on June 1, 2019 and its New York City premiere was at NewFest on October 26, 2019, where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. It also won Best Ensemble Performance at the Fargo-Moorhead LGBT Film Festival, and won for Best Feature Film at the Trans Stellar Film Festival. The collective has also won 'Best Burlesque Show' at the Brooklyn Nightlife Awards in 2017, 2018, and 2019. It was filmed on location in Brooklyn at the Branded Saloon, where the group regularly performs.
Simple as Water is a 2021 American documentary film by Oscar-winning director Megan Mylan. The film documents Syrian families across five countries, revealing the impact of war, separation, and displacement. The film is a meditation on the elemental bonds of family told through portraits of four Syrian families in the aftermath of war. Simple as Water premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 20, 2021. It was released on November 16, 2021, on HBO Max.
