The collection that IFC Films Unlimited has curated in honour of International Women’s History Month is different than any other list we’ve seen, and includes several critically-acclaimed films that we’ve never even heard of. But what we love most is that it isn’t just focusing on women’s stories, or female filmmakers, but they’re also spotlighting women cinematographers and producers. Cool.
“IFC Films has a long history of nurturing and supporting women filmmakers telling stories that are bold, innovative, and spark discussion. Now, more than ever, we need to champion women, in all roles across the entertainment business, to build a better and more inclusive industry,” says Arianna Bocco, President, IFC Films. “We invite film lovers to spend time with the IFC Films library this month, exploring new works and revisiting landmark films that may resonate differently now.”
This list is a crash course in feminist filmmaking. Watch them this month; watch them anytime! IFC Films Unlimited is available in Canada on Amazon Prime Video Channels and Apple TV.
FEMALE DIRECTORS
*Titles listed by date
A Call to Spy (2020) – Drama
Director: Lydia Dean Pilcher
Starring: Sarah Megan Thomas, Stana Katic, Radhika Apte, Linus Roache
Synopsis: At the dawn of WWII, a desperate Churchill orders his new spy agency to train women for covert ops. Together, they help to undermine the Nazi regime and turn the tide of the war.
Relic (2020) – Horror
Director: Natalie Erika James
Starring: Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin, Bella Heathcote
Synopsis: A daughter, mother and grandmother are haunted by a manifestation of dementia that consumes their family’s home.
Knives and Skin (2019) – Drama
Director: Jennifer Reeder
Starring: Marika Engelhardt, Grace Smith, Ireon Roach, Kayla Carter, Tim Hopper, Kate Arrington, Audrey Francis, James Vincent Meredith, Ty Olwin, Raven Whitley, Jalen Gilbert, Emma Ladji, Robert T. Cunningham, Tony Fitzpatrick, Marilyn Dodds Frank
Synopsis: What happened to Carolyn Harper? Part suburban nightmare, part neon-soaked teenage fever dream, this tantalizing mystery traces the wave of fear and distrust that spreads across a small Midwestern town in the wake of a high school girl’s mysterious disappearance. As the loneliness and darkness lurking beneath the veneer of everyday life gradually comes to light, a collective awakening seems to overcome the town’s teenage girls—gathering in force until it can no longer be contained. Unfolding in a hallucinatory haze of lushly surreal images, Knives and Skin is a one-of-a-kind coming-of-age noir that haunts like a half-remembered dream.
Sword of Trust (2019) – Comedy
Director: Lynn Shelton
Starring: Marc Maron, Jon Bass, Michaela Watkins, Jillian Bell
Synopsis: Mel (Marc Maron) is a cantankerous pawnshop owner in Alabama who spends most of his time swindling customers while trying and failing to get his man-child employee Nathaniel (Jon Bass) to do any work. When Cynthia (Jillian Bell) and her wife Mary (Michaela Watkins) try to hawk a Civil War-era sword inherited from Cynthia’s recently deceased grandfather, he tries to get the better of them. The sword, however, comes with a convoluted report from Cynthia’s grandfather claiming the relic to be proof the South actually won the war. It isn’t long before the coveted “prover item” draws the attention of overzealous conspiracy theorists and the two duos have to join forces in order to sell the sword to the highest bidder. The journey that ensues takes the ragtag bunch on a tour through the deep South and the minds of the local fanatics who inhabit it. Created from the raw talent of its cast and infused with a lot of heart and laughs, Sword of Trust takes a stab at uncovering emotional truths through moments of hilarity and hits right on the mark.
Out of Blue (2019) – Drama
Director: Carol Morley
Starring: Patricia Clarkson, Toby Jones, Jacki Weaver, James Caan, Mamie Gummer, Aaron Tveit, Yolonda Ross, Jonathan Majors, Devyn Tyler
Synopsis: The hunt for a killer draws a detective into an even larger mystery: the nature of the universe itself. Mike Hoolihan (Patricia Clarkson) is an unconventional New Orleans cop investigating the murder of renowned astrophysicist Jennifer Rockwell (Mamie Gummer), a black hole expert found shot to death in her observatory. As Mike tumbles down the rabbit hole of the disturbing, labyrinthine case, she finds herself grappling with increasingly existential questions of quantum mechanics, parallel universes, and exploding stars—cosmic secrets that may hold the key to unraveling the crime, while throwing into doubt her very understanding of reality. Awash in a dreamlike, neo-noir atmosphere, this one-of-a-kind thriller is both a tantalizing whodunnit and a rich, metaphysical mind-bender.
Furlough (2018) – Drama
Director: Laurie Collyer
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Whoopi Goldberg, Melissa Leo, La La Anthony, Drena De Niro, Azhy Robertson, Jerry Dean
Synopsis: When an inmate is granted one weekend out of prison to see her dying mother, a rookie correction officer struggles to keep her under control.
The Female Brain (2018) – Comedy
Director: Whitney Cummings
Starring: Whitney Cummings, Sofia Vergara, Cecily Strong, Toby Kebbell, James Marsden, Lucy Punch, Beanie Feldstein
Synopsis: A comedy about modern day relationships that takes us from the heart into the inner workings of brain chemistry to understand love among couples at different stages of their relationships.
Evolution (2016) – Thriller
Director: Lucile Hadžihalilović
Starring: Max Brebant, Roxane Duran, Julie-Marie Parmentier
Synopsis: In this sci-fi thriller, a remote island is inhabited by young boys who are subjected to strange medical treatments. Soon one boy makes a disturbing discovery beneath the waves.
#Horror (2015) – Horror
Director: Tara Subkoff
Starring: Sadie Seelert, Haley Murphy, Bridget McGarry
Synopsis: Inspired by actual events, a group of 12 year old girls face a night of horror when the compulsive addiction of an online social media game turns a moment of a cyber bullying to a night of insanity.
Bare (2015) – Drama, Thriller
Director: Natalia Leite
Starring: Dianna Agron, Paz de la Huerta,
Synopsis: A young girl living in a small desert town in Nevada becomes romantically involved with a female drifter who leads her into a life of drugs, stripping, and psychedelic spiritual experiences.
Slow Learners (2015) – Comedy
Director: Sheena Joyce, Don Argott
Starring: Adam Pally, Sarah Burns, Reid Scott, Catherine Reitman
Synopsis: High school teachers Jeff and Anne are work BFFs all too familiar with the woes of romance. Desperate to turn their luck around they take on new personas and embark, withgusto, on an adventurous summer of uncharacteristic encounters.
Free the Nipple (2014) – Comedy
Director: Lina Esco
Starring: Casey LaBow, Zach Grenier, Monique Coleman, Lola Kirke, Lia Esco
Synopsis: An army of passionate women launch a revolution to “Free the Nipple” and decriminalize the female body. Based on a true story, this mass movement of topless women, armed with First Amendment lawyers, graffiti installations and national publicity stunts, invade New York City to protest the backwards censorship laws in the USA.
Kelly & Cal (2014) – Comedy
Director: Jen McGowan
Starring: Juliette Lewis, Cybill Shepherd, Jonny Weston
Synopsis: A former rock chick turned suburban housewife (Juliette Lewis) rediscovers her wild side when she befriends the teenaged boy next door. Also stars Cybill Shepherd.
Beyond the Edge (2014) – Thriller, Documentary
Director: Leanne Pooley
Starring: Chad Moffitt
Synopsis: A 3D feature film about Sir Edmund Hillary’s monumental and historical ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953 – an event that stunned the world and defined a nation.
Dancing in Jaffa (2014) – Documentary
Director: Hilla Medalia
Starring: Pierre Dulaine
Synopsis: Over a ten-week period, renowned ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine teaches Jewish and Palestinian Israeli children to dance and compete together. The film explores the complex stories of three children, all of whom are forced to confront issues of identity, segregation, and racial prejudice as they dance with their enemy.
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me (2014) – Documentary
Director: Chiemi Karasawa
Starring: Elaine Stritch, Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey , Nathan Lane
Synopsis: What does it mean to be a performing artist – first, last and always? Broadway legend Elaine Stritch can answer that. At 87, Stritch is still here, dominating the stage in her one woman cabaret act, torturing Alec Baldwin on 30ROCK, giving us her take on aging, her struggle with alcohol and diabetes, and the fear of leaving the follow spot behind. In stolen moments from her corner room at the Carlyle, and on breaks from her tour and work, candid reflections about her life are punctuated with rare archival footage, words from friends (Hal Prince, George C. Wolfe, Nathan Lane, Cherry Jones and John Turturro) and photographs from her personal collection. By turns bold, hilarious and achingly poignant, the journey connects Stritch’s present to her past, and an inspiring portrait of a one-of-a-kind survivor emerges.
The Selfish Giant (2013) – Drama
Director: Clio Barnard
Starring: Sean Gilder, Steve Evets
Synopsis: THE SELFISH GIANT is a contemporary fable about two teenage boys who get caught up in the world of copper theft.
Dark Touch (2013) – Horror
Director: Marina de Van
Starring: Marie Missy Keating, Marcella Plunkett, Padraic Delaney, Aidan Gillen, Charlotte Flyvholm
Synopsis: One night, the furniture and objects in an isolated house runs riot against the family within, leaving only an eleven-year-old girl alive.
Una Noche (2013) (Spanish) – Drama
Director: Lucy Mulloy
Starring: Dariel Arrechaga, Anailin de la Rua de la Torre, Javier Nuñez Florian
Synopsis: Havana: Accused and desperate, Raul is forced to the edge. 90 miles of treacherous ocean stand between him and his dream: Miami.
Breaking the Girls (2013) – Thriller
Director: Jamie Babbit
Starring: Madeline Zima, Agnes Bruckner, Shawn Ashmore
Synopsis: Two college girls become more than friends when they make a pact to kill off each other’s nemesis.
The Loneliest Planet (2012) – Thriller
Director: Julia Loktev
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Hani Furstenberg, Bidzina Gujabidze
Synopsis: A local guide takes a young couple through a twisted backpacking trip across the Georgian wilderness.
The Decoy Bride (2012) – Comedy
Director: Sheree Folkson
Starring: David Tenant, Kelly McDonald, Alice Eve
Synopsis: When the media descend on the remote Scottish island where a Hollywood actress is getting married, a local girl is hired as a decoy bride to put the paparazzi off the scent.
Buck (2011) – Documentary
Director: Cindy Meehl
Starring: Buck Brannaman
Synopsis: In a story about the power of non-violence, master horse trainer Buck Brannaman uses principles of respect and trust to tame horses and inspire their human counterparts.
Tiny Furniture (2010) – Comedy
Director: Lena Dunham
Starring: Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, David Call, Alex Karpovsky
Synopsis: 22-year-old Aura returns home after college to her artist mother’s loft with the following: a useless film theory degree, 357 hits on her YouTube page, and no shoulders to cry on. Starring Dunham and her real-life family, Tiny Furniture is tragicomedy about what does and does not happen when you graduate with no skills, no love life, and a lot of free time.
LADIES OF HORROR
*Titles listed by date
Kindred (2020) – Thriller
Director: Joe Marcantonio
Starring: Fiona Shaw, Edward Holcroft, Jack Lowden, Tamara Lawrance, Chloe Pirrie, Anton Lesser, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Michael Nardone
Synopsis: A chilling tale of one young woman slowly losing her grip on reality…or is she being brainwashed and psychologically tortured by her deceased boyfriend’s family?
The Other Lamb (2020) – Horror, Drama
Director: Malgorzata Szumowska
Starring: Raffey Cassidy, Michiel Huisman, Denise Gough.
Synopsis: A girl born into an all-female cult led by a man in their compound begins to question his teachings and her own reality.
Relic (2020) – Horror
Director: Natalie Erika James
Starring: Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin, Bella Heathcote
Synopsis: A daughter, mother and grandmother are haunted by a manifestation of dementia that consumes their family’s home.
Knives and Skin (2019) – Drama
Director: Jennifer Reeder
Starring: Marika Engelhardt, Grace Smith, Ireon Roach, Kayla Carter, Tim Hopper, Kate Arrington, Audrey Francis, James Vincent Meredith, Ty Olwin, Raven Whitley, Jalen Gilbert, Emma Ladji, Robert T. Cunningham, Tony Fitzpatrick, Marilyn Dodds Frank
Synopsis: What happened to Carolyn Harper? Part suburban nightmare, part neon-soaked teenage fever dream, this tantalizing mystery traces the wave of fear and distrust that spreads across a small Midwestern town in the wake of a high school girl’s mysterious disappearance. As the loneliness and darkness lurking beneath the veneer of everyday life gradually comes to light, a collective awakening seems to overcome the town’s teenage girls—gathering in force until it can no longer be contained. Unfolding in a hallucinatory haze of lushly surreal images, Knives and Skin is a one-of-a-kind coming-of-age noir that haunts like a half-remembered dream.
Beyond the Gates (of Hell) (2016) – Thriller
Director: Jackson Stewart
Starring: Barbara Crampton, Brea Grant, Ryan Kunert
Synopsis: Dice turn deadly when two brothers fight to survive a nightmarish role-playing game run by a sinister host (Barbara Crampton) in this throwback thriller.
Anesthesia (2016) – Drama
Director: Tim Blake Nelson
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Corey Stoll, Glenn Close, Michael K. Williams, Tim Blake Nelson, Mickey Sumner, Sam Waterston
Synopsis: Multiple lives intersect in the aftermath of the violent mugging of a Columbia University philosophy professor.
The Abandoned (2016) – Horror
Director: Eytan Rockaway
Starring: Jason Patric, Louisa Krause, Mark Margolis
Synopsis: A struggling single mother works as a security guard for a corporation, where she becomes trapped in the dark catacombs of the structure and her sanity is terrorized.
The Den (2014) – Horror, Thriller
Director: Zachary Donohue
Starring: Melanie Papalia, David Schlachtenhaufen, Matt Riedy, Adam Shapiro
Synopsis: A young woman studying the habits of webcam chat users from the apparent safety of her apartment witnesses a brutal murder online and is quickly immersed in a nightmare in which she and her loved ones are targeted for the same grisly fate as the first victim.
Dark Touch (2013) – Horror
Director: Marina de Van
Starring: Marie Missy Keating, Marcella Plunkett, Padraic Delaney, Aidan Gillen, Charlotte Flyvholm
Synopsis: One night, the furniture and objects in an isolated house runs riot against the family within, leaving only an eleven-year-old girl alive.
Breaking the Girls (2013) – Thriller
Director: Jamie Babbit
Starring: Madeline Zima, Agnes Bruckner, Shawn Ashmore
Synopsis: Two college girls become more than friends when they make a pact to kill off each other’s nemesis.
Contracted (2013) – Horror, Thriller
Director: Eric England
Starring: Najarra Townsend, Caroline Williams
Synopsis: A young girl has a one-night stand with a random stranger and contracts, what she thinks is, a sexually-transmitted disease – but is actually something much worse.
The Pact (2012) – Horror
Director: Nicholas McCarthy
Starring: Caity Lotz, Casper Van Dien, Haley Hudson, Sam Ball
Synopsis: When their mother dies, sisters Annie and Nicole begin to face their disturbing childhood. Nicole visits her mother’s house to deal with the estate and vanishes.
Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2011) – Horror
Director: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska
Starring: Rikki Gagne, Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska, CJ Wallis, John Tench
Synopsis: A Canadian grindhouse film about a group of friends, including twin sisters (who are also the directors), who somehow end up with a dead hooker in their trunk. As they try to figure out how it happened, they become chased by cops, a sleazy hotel manager, chainsaw wielding triads, a brutal serial killer, and a mysterious cowboy pimp.
The Housemaid (2011) (Korean) – Thriller
Director: Im Sang-soo
Starring: Do-yeon Jeon, Jung-jae Lee, Woo Seo, Yuh-Jung Youn
Synopsis: A remake of Kim Ki-young’s Housemaid from the 1960s. A strange housemaid joins a peaceful family only to destroy them.
Exorcismus (2011) – Horror
Director: Luis de la Madrid
Starring: Sophie Vavasseur, Stephen Billington, Douglas Bradley, Jo Anne Stockham
Synopsis: Medical tests have ruled out any illness of 15 year old daughter Suzy but she gets worse every day. Father Ellis resorts to hypnosis to help Suzy but to find out what happens during the sessions, Suzy sets up a video camera.
FEMALE CINEMATOGRAPHERS
*Titles listed by date
Furlough (2018) – Drama
Director: Laurie Collyer
Cinematographer: Berenice Eveno
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Whoopi Goldberg, Melissa Leo, La La Anthony, Drena De Niro, Azhy Robertson, Jerry Dean
Synopsis: When an inmate is granted one weekend out of prison to see her dying mother, a rookie correction officer struggles to keep her under control.
Marguerite and Julien (2016) – Romance
Director: Valérie Donzelli
Cinematographer: Céline Bozon
Starring: Anaïs Demoustier, Jérémie Elkaïm, Frédéric Pierrot
Synopsis: An aristocratic brother and sister embrace passion and hope as they flee from society. A story of desire, love and death beyond all morality.
Anesthesia (2016) – Drama
Director: Tim Blake Nelson
Cinematographer: Christina Voros
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Corey Stoll, Glenn Close, Michael K. Williams, Tim Blake Nelson, Mickey Sumner, Sam Waterston
Synopsis: Multiple lives intersect in the aftermath of the violent mugging of a Columbia University philosophy professor.
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