Women Filmmakers of The 21st Century

Kelly Reichardt

Kelly Reichardt is an American director and screenwriter who has made nine feature length films. Her credits include: Wendy and Lucy (2008), Night Moves (2013), Certain Women (2016), First Cow (2019), and most recently the 2022 film Showing Up. Reichardt got started in her career as a filmmaker by being a production assistant and then working in art departments for films. Despite being a critically acclaimed director, Reichardt still doesn't get the funding or opportunities to direct like male filmmakers do, there was a 12 year gap in between the making of her first feature River Of Grass, and her second feature Old Joy. Reichardt attributes that to the difficulty of getting a film made as a woman, saying in 2020 to GQ that "independent filmmaking, or any kind of filming, was really not open and generous to women in any way". Reichardt is in fact a film professor at Bard College because it's the only stable form of income she could achieve. All of Reichardt's films are raw and beautiful portrayals of life and Certain Women - one of her better known films - is certainly that. Certain Women chronicles three different women who all live in the same small American town, showing the struggles and pressures they all face despite having very different life circumstances. It's a film that's slow paced, as is characteristic for Reichardt, and the pace adds to the film by making it feel like you're really watching the lives of these women. Reichardt's newest film, The Mastermind, will be released in cinemas later this year.

Sarah Polley

Sarah Polley is a Canadian director, writer, and actress. Polley used to be a child actor and has now become one of the most celebrated Canadian filmmakers, having won one adapted screenplay Oscar, having a star on Canada's Walk of Fame, and having many other award wins and nominations. Polley has directed four feature length films and written two miniseries, her most recent project being Women Talking (2022). Polley is known for independent films that portray women and their struggles. Women Talking is an emotional and powerful film about the true story of women in a mennonite community. It's a slower paced film that allows women who don't normally have a voice in their lives to be able to talk and make life changing decisions. Her 2012 film, Stories We Tell is a documentary about Polley's own life in which she gives herself and her family a voice and the ability to speak about secrets (like her mother's affair) kept from the public, on their own terms. With films that are always impactful and memorable, Sarah Polley is a filmmaker that everyone should watch.

Nia DaCosta

Nia DaCosta is an american director and writer who has made three films and a television show. Her film, The Marvels (2023) is the highest grossing film by a black woman. DaCosta made her start in film by working as a production assistant and crew member on films. While she was doing this, she was writing scripts for short films and for what would become her first feature film, Little Woods (2013). Little Woods is a powerful film about two sisters trying to live through poverty and the opioid crisis. DaCosta's films all have very powerful women in them and she prioritizes "having women in [her] films that are active" as opposed to women characters that are passive.

These are just three of many very talented women filmmakers from the 21st century. A few more to check out are Claire Denis, Rose Glass, and Emma Seligman. Rose Glass and Emma Seligman focus on telling stories about queer women and Claire Denis is an filmmaker with a style similar to Kelly Reichardt and Sarah Polley. All these women are admirable in their talent and their constant mission to uplift women's voice through filmmaking.