If you were on Twitter recently, you might have seen
director Ava DuVernay’s clever call to social media to name films with “black,
brown, native or Asian women leads” which were also directed by women.
Writing break time. Anyone wanna join me in my procrastination? Name three films you like with black, brown, native or Asian women leads.
— @avaetc
Though it seems like common sense that these films exist,
the question proved to be a serious challenge for Twitter, with many listing
the same handful of titles.
The clear point is that there are too few films that fit the
above criteria, and that those of us claiming to support diversity in
entertainment should do our part to change that. All of this helps bolster the
case for DuVernay’s AFFRM + Array
Releasing, which distributes black films and is in the midst of an annual
membership drive.
With efforts like AFFRM, the ACLU’s
push for an investigation into Hollywood’s hiring practices and other recent
initiatives for the inclusion of women and diverse voices in film, change
appears to be on the horizon.
In the meantime, here’s a list of the films that Twitter
came up with starring women of color and helmed by women directors. When
cross-referenced with data sources from The Black
List, Shadow
& Act and others, there were about 85 titles that fit the bill.
Find them below. Watch, enjoy and most importantly, support!
“35 Shots of Rum” by
Claire Denis (2008)
“A Different Image” by
Alile Sharon Larkin (1982)
“A Girl Walks Home Alone at
Night” by Ana Lily Amirpour (2014)
“Advantageous” by
Jennifer Phang (2015)
“Ala Modalaindi” by
Nandini Bv Reddy (2011)
“All About You” by
Christine Swanson (2001)
“Alma’s Rainbow” by
Ayoka Chenzira (1994)
“Appropriate Behavior”
by Desiree Akhavan (2014)
“B For Boy” by Chika
Anadu (2013)
“Bande de Filles/Girlhood”
by Céline Sciamma (2014)
“Belle” by Amma Asante
(2013)
“Bend it Like Beckham”
by Gurinder Chadha (2002)
“Bessie” by Dee Rees
(2015)
“Beyond the Lights” by
Gina Prince-Bythewood (2014)
“Bhaji on the Beach” by
Gurinder Chadha (1993)
“Caramel” by Nadine
Labaki (2007)
“Circumstance” by Maryam
Keshavarz (2011)
“Civil Brand” by Neema
Barnette (2002)
“Compensation” by
Zeinabu irene Davis (1999)
“Daughters of the Dust”
by Julie Dash (1991)
“Double Happiness “ by
Mina Shum (1994)
“Down in the Delta” by Maya
Angelou (1998)
“Drylongso” by Cauleen
Smith (1988)
“Earth” by Deepa Mehta
(1998)
“Elza” by Mariette
Monpierre (2011)
“Endless Dreams” by
Susan Youssef (2009
“Eve’s Bayou” by Kasi
Lemmons (1997)
“Fire” by Deepa Mehta
(1996)
“Frida” by Julie Taymor
(2002)
“Girl in Progress” by
Patricia Riggen (2012)
“Girlfight” by Karyn
Kusama (2000)
“Habibi Rasak Kharban”
by Susan Youssef (2011)
“Hiss Dokhtarha Faryad
Nemizanand (Hush! Girls Don’t Scream)” by Pouran Derahkandeh (2013)
“Honeytrap” by Rebecca
Johnson (2014)
“I Like It Like That” by
Darnell Martin (1994)
“I Will Follow” by Ava
DuVernay (2010
“In Between Days” by
So-yong Kim (2006)
“Introducing Dorothy
Dandridge” by Martha Coolidge (1999)
“It’s a Wonderful
Afterlife” by Gurinder Chadha (2010)
“Jumpin Jack Flash” by
Penny Marshall (1986)
“Just Another Girl on the
IRT” by Leslie Harris (1992)
“Just Wright” by Sanaa
Hamri (2010)
“Kama Sutra” by Mira
Nair (1996)
“Losing Ground” by
Kathleen Collins (1982)
“Love & Basketball”
by Gina Prince-Bythewood (2000)
“Luck by Chance” by Zoya
Akhtar (2009)
“Mi Vida Loca” by
Allison Anders (1993)
“Middle of Nowhere” by
Ava DuVernay (2012)
“Mississippi Damned” by
Tina Mabry (2009)
“Mississippi Masala” by
Mira Nair (1991)
“Mixing Nia” by Alison
Swan (1998)
“Monsoon Wedding” by Mira
Nair (2001)
“Mosquita y Mari” by
Aurora Guerrero (2012)
“Na-moo-eobs-neun san
(Treeless Mountain)” by So-yong Kim (2008)
“Night Catches Us” by
Tanya Hamilton (2010)
“Pariah” by Dee Rees
(2011)
“Picture Bride” by Kayo
Hatta (1994)
“Rain” by Maria Govan (2008)
“Real Women Have Curves”
by Patricia Cardoso (2002)
“Saving Face” by Alice
Wu (2004)
“Second Coming” by
Debbie Tucker Green (2014)
“Something Necessary” by
Judy Kibinge (2013)
“Something New” by Sanaa
Hamri (2006)
“Still the Water” by
Naomi Kawase (2014)
“Stranger Inside” by
Cheryl Dunye (2001)
“Sugar Cane Alley/Black Shack
Alley” by Euzhan Palcy (1983)
“The Kite” by Randa
Chahal Sabag (2003)
“The Rich Man’s Wife” by
Amy Holden Jones (1996)
“The Secret Life of
Bees” by Gina Prince-Bythewood (2008)
“The Silence of the
Palace” by Moufida Tlatli (1994)
“The Watermelon Woman”
by Cheryl Dunye (1996)
“The Women of Brewster
Place” by Donna Deitch (1989)
“Their Eyes Were Watching
God” by Darnell Martin (2005)
“Things We Lost in the
Fire” by Susanne Bier (2007)
“Wadjda” by Haifaa
Al-Mansour (2012)
“Water” by Deepa Mehta
(2005)
“Whale Rider” by Niki
Caro (2002)
“What’s Cooking?” by
Gurinder Chadha (2000)
“Where Do We Go Now?” by
Nadine Labaki (2011)
“Whitney” by Angela Bassett
(2015)
“Woman Thou Art Loosed: On
The 7th Day” by Neema Barnette (2012)
“Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down
Girl” by Joan Chen (1998)
“Yelling to the Sky” by
Victoria Mahoney (2011)
“Young and Wild” by
Marialy Rivas (2012)
What are your favorite films that tell the stories of women of color, which are also directed by women?
jai tiggett is a
writer, content creator and curator. Find her at jaitiggett.com.
