BBC Culture just dropped its most comprehensive international poll of film experts ever, with votes from 368 critics in 84 countries, including Women and Hollywood Founder and Publisher Melissa Silverstein. Critics weighed in on what they consider the 10 best films helmed by women. They voted for 761 different films in total. BBC Culture announced its findings in the form of a list, the 100 Greatest Films Directed by Women, aka #100FilmsbyWomen.
“The Piano” topped the list, earning votes from 43.5 percent of participating critics. Written and directed by Jane Campion, the drama is set in the Victorian era and sees Holly Hunter playing a mute Scotswoman sent to New Zealand for an arranged marriage with a wealthy landowner (Sam Neill). The talented pianist arrives with her daughter and prized piano. She takes an immediate dislike to the man she’s meant to marry after he refuses to carry the piano home with them and instead sells it to his overseer (Harvey Keitel).
Agnès Varda was the most popular director in terms of number of films, with six films in the top 100: “Cléo from 5 to 7” (#2); “Vagabond” (#13); “Le Bonheur”(#28); “The Gleaners and I” (#31); “One Sings, The Other Doesn’t” (#85); and “The Beaches of Agnès” (#89). The late French New Wave pioneer also received the most individual votes.
Titles to crack the top 10 include Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust,” a portrait of three generations of Gullah women in the Peazant family (#10), Andrea Arnold’s “Fish Tank,” a coming-of-age drama about a teen whose life changes when her mom brings home a new boyfriend (#9), and Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq War drama “The Hurt Locker” (#7).
Two films released in 2019 made the top 100: Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir,” an intimate look into a film student’s dysfunctional relationship with an older man (#99), and Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” a period romance about an artist and the reluctant bride she’s commissioned to paint.
“We are delighted to present BBC Culture’s biggest and most international poll of film critics yet of the 100 greatest films directed by women,” said BBC Culture editor Rebecca Laurence. She emphasized that the poll is “gender-balanced, with slightly more female critics taking part than male.” Laurence added, “We hope, as ever, that this list will provoke debate and inspire discovery of the wonderful and diverse collection of films created by women throughout cinema’s history.”
Check out the top 10 films below and head over to BBC’s website for the full list.
10. Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash, 1991)
9. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009)
8. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016)
7. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
6. Daisies (Věra Chytilová, 1966)
5. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
4. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)
3. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975)
2. Cléo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962)
1. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)
