Woman Directors

1. Unjoo Moon

Unjoo Moon is known for I Am Woman (2019), Sorrow's Child (1998) and Frankly in Love.

Marjane Satrapi was born on November 22, 1969 in Rasht, Iran. She is a director and actress, known for Persepolis (2007), The Voices (2014) and Chicken with Plums (2011). She is married to Mattias Ripa. She was previously married to Reza.

3. Ana Lily Amirpour

Director | A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

Ana Lily Amirpour was born in Margate, Kent, England, UK. She is a director and writer, known for A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014), The Bad Batch (2016) and Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2021).

4. Rose Glass

Director | Saint Maud

Rose Glass was destined to be a director from a young age. Upon leaving home she studied film and video at London College of Communication, UAL - where she directed her first 'proper' shorts - and also gained experience as a runner on professional sets. Eventually she made her way to the NFTS, ...

5. Uisenma Borchu

Actress | Schau mich nicht so an

Uisenma Borchu was born in 1984 in Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator), Mongolia, and moved to Germany in 1989. She studied French, History, and Linguistics at Mainz University from 2004-2006 and worked as a journalist. Since 2006, she has been studying Directing in the documentary department of the Munich ...

6. Byambasuren Davaa

Director | Die Höhle des gelben Hundes

Byambasuren Davaa was born in 1971 in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. She is a director and writer, known for The Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005), Veins of the World (2020) and Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel (2003).

7. Mati Diop

Director | Atlantique

Mati Diop was born on June 22, 1982 in Paris, France. She is an actress and director, known for Atlantics (2019), A Thousand Suns (2013) and Dahomey (2024).

8. Rungano Nyoni

Writer | Mwansa the Great

Directors born in Zambia and willing to bear witness on this country are something of a rarity. This is nonetheless the case of Rungano Nyoni, a young woman whose native town is Lusaka although she did not stay there long. She was indeed still a little girl when she emigrated to Great Britain with ...

9. Claire McCarthy

Director | The Colour Room

Writer, director, producer and visual artist, Claire most recently completed production on THE COLOUR ROOM starring Phoebe Dynevor, Matthew Goode and Kerry Fox, due for theatrical release in October 2021 in Europe and the US. Prior to this she was set-up / lead director and EP for SKY series DOMINA...

10. Natalie Erika James

Director | Relic

Natalie Erika James is known for Relic (2020), Creswick (2017) and Drum Wave (2018).

11. Amanda Kernell

Writer | Sameblod

Amanda Kernell was born on September 9, 1986 in Umeå, Västerbottens län, Sweden. She is a writer and director, known for Sami Blood (2016), Charter (2020) and Northern Great Mountain (2015).

12. Sarah Polley

Actress | My Life Without Me

Sarah Polley is an actress and director renowned in her native Canada for her political activism. Blessed with an extremely expressive face that enables directors to minimize dialog due to her uncanny ability to suggest a character's thoughts, Polley has become a favorite of critics for her ...

13. Bora Kim

Director | Beolsae

Bora Kim graduated from Dongguk University with a degree in film. In 2007, she left for Columbia University in the U.S., and received a Masters of Fine Arts in film directing. Her first film was her created graduation film project, and it won Best Student Filmmaker for the East Region from the ...

14. Kris Rey

Actress | It Was Great, But I Was Ready to Come Home

Kris Rey was born on November 11, 1980 in Virginia, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for It Was Great, But I Was Ready to Come Home (2009), Baby Mary (2014) and Young American Bodies (2006). She was previously married to Joe Swanberg.

15. Amy Seimetz

Actress | Upstream Color

Amy Seimetz first came to prominence producing and directing shorts and independent films. Most notably associate producing Barry Jenkins' Medicine For Melancholy which was nominated for Gotham and Independent Spirit Awards, after playing at South By Southwest and the Toronto International Film ...

16. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre

Director | The Mustang

Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre was born on July 26, 1983 in Paris, France. She is an actress and director, known for The Mustang (2019), Rabbit (2014) and Atlantic Avenue (2013).

17. Nia DaCosta

Writer | Candyman

Nia DaCosta was born on November 8, 1989 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Candyman (2021), Little Woods (2018) and The Marvels (2023).

18. Emerald Fennell

Writer | Saltburn

Emerald Lilly Fennell is an English actress, filmmaker, and writer. She has received many awards and nominations, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. Fennell first ...

19. Miranda July

Writer | Me and You and Everyone We Know

Filmmaker Magazine rated her #1 in their "25 New Faces of Indie Film" in 2004!

She is a performance artist and published short story writer. Since becoming a filmmaker, her debut feature, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) has won several film awards.

Daughter of Lindy Hough and Richard ...

20. Mona Fastvold

Director | The World to Come

Mona Fastvold was born on March 7, 1986 in Oslo, Norway. She is an actress and producer, known for The World to Come (2020), The Sleepwalker (2014) and The Childhood of a Leader (2015). She was previously married to Sondre Lerche.

21. Julia Ducournau

Director | Titane

Julia Ducournau is a French film director and screenwriter. She attended film school at La Fémis in Paris, where she studied screenwriting. In 2011, her short film JUNIOR won the Petit Rail d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Her first feature, the horror movie Raw (2016), won the coveted ...

22. Maria Schrader

Director | She Said

Maria Schrader was born in Hanover, Federal Republic of Germany, on September 27th, 1965. She directed and co-wrote the screenplay of the awards-winning film Liebesleben (2007). As well, she directed Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe (2016) and the Emmy-award wining miniseries Unorthodox (2020) (...

23. Gia Coppola

Director | Palo Alto

Gia Coppola was born on January 1, 1987 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Palo Alto (2013), Mainstream (2020) and Somewhere (2010).

24. Rene Liu

Writer | Hou lai de wo men

Rene Liu was born on June 1, 1969 in Taipei, Taiwan. She is an actress and writer, known for Us and Them (2018), A World Without Thieves (2004) and The Personals (1998).

25. Lynne Ramsay

Director | You Were Never Really Here

Lynne Ramsay was born on December 5, 1969 in Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK. She is a director and writer, known for You Were Never Really Here (2017), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and Ratcatcher (1999). She was previously married to Rory Stewart Kinnear.

26. Autumn de Wilde

Director | Emma.

Autumn de Wilde was born on October 21, 1970 in Woodstock, New York, USA. She is a director, known for Emma. (2020), Florence + the Machine: My Love (2022) and The Postman Dreams (2016).

27. Isabel Sandoval

Director | Lingua Franca

Isabel Sandoval is known for Lingua Franca (2019), Apparition (2012) and Señorita (2011).

28. Misha Green

Writer | Lovecraft Country

Misha Green was born on September 22, 1984 in Sacramento, California, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Lovecraft Country (2020), The Mother (2023) and Underground (2016).

29. Chanya Button

Director | Burn Burn Burn

Chanya Button was born in London in 1986. After studying drama and literature at Oxford University she became an assistant director in a few of the most prestigious theaters of the English capital (The Globe, the Bush, the Tricycle). She then turned to film and was immediately noticed by her first ...

30. Danis Goulet

Director | Night Raiders

Danis Goulet is an award-winning writer and director. Her films have screened at festivals around the world including Sundance, the Berlin International Film Festival, MoMA and the Toronto International Film Festival. She is a former programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival and a ...

31. Kasi Lemmons

Director | Harriet

Kasi Lemmons was born on February 24, 1961 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Harriet (2019), The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Candyman (1992). She has been married to Vondie Curtis-Hall since August 19, 1995. They have two children.

32. Gina Prince-Bythewood

Writer | Love & Basketball

Gina Prince-Bythewood (Writer/Producer/Director) studied at UCLA Film School, where she received the Gene Reynolds Scholarship for Directing and the Ray Stark Memorial Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate. She was a member of UCLA's track and field team, qualifying for the Pac-10 Championships...

33. Chloe Okuno

Director | Slut

Chloe Okuno was born on August 1, 1987 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Slut (2014).

34. Agnieszka Smoczynska

Director | Córki dancingu

Agnieszka Smoczynska was born on May 18, 1978 in Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland. She is a director and writer, known for The Lure (2015), Fugue (2018) and The Silent Twins (2022). She is married to Andrzej Konopka. They have two children.

35. Abi Damaris Corbin

Director | The Suitcase

Abi Damaris Corbin is known for The Suitcase (2017), Breaking (2022) and Chasing Shadows (2014).

36. Chinonye Chukwu

Producer | Till

Chinonye Chukwu was born on May 19, 1985 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She is a director and writer, known for Till (2022), Clemency (2019) and A Long Walk (2013).

37. Lorene Scafaria

Producer | Hustlers

Lorene Scafaria was born on May 1, 1978 in Holmdel, New Jersey, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Hustlers (2019), Coherence (2013) and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012).

38. Lila Neugebauer

Director | Causeway

Lila Neugebauer is known for Causeway (2022), Room 104 (2017) and The Last Thing He Told Me (2023).

39. Nikyatu Jusu

Director | Nanny

Sierra Leonean-American Filmmaker Nikyatu's films have screened at festivals nationally and internationally. With a BA from Duke University and an MFA from NYU's Tisch Graduate Film school, she's earned various awards including NYU's Spike Lee Fellowship Award, the Princess Grace Narrative film ...

40. Megan Park

Actress | The F Word

Megan Marie Park is a Canadian actress and singer. She is known for her work in the ABC Family television series The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008), and romantic comedy film What If (2013) and Charlie Bartlett (2007). Her first major roles came with a guest spot on the Lifetime series ...

41. Anisia Uzeyman

Director | Neptune Frost

Anisia Uzeyman was born in Rwanda and is an international actress, playwright, and director. Her experimental film Dreamstates which premiered at LAFF (2016), is one of the first feature films shot entirely on iPhone. She is the co-director and the director of photography of the sci-fi musical ...

42. Savanah Leaf

Director | Earth Mama

Savanah Leaf has transitioned from a 2012 Olympian to Award-winning filmmaker. Her debut feature EARTH MAMA premiered last year at Sundance to critical acclaim before getting released theatrically by A24 and Film4. Savanah just won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut Winner, a BIFA for Debut ...

43. Sally El Hosaini

Director | The Swimmers

Sally El Hosaini was born in 1976 in Swansea, Wales, UK. She is a director and writer, known for The Swimmers (2022), My Brother the Devil (2012) and Green Zone (2010).

44. Chloe Domont

Writer | Ballers

Chloe Domont was born in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Ballers (2015), Shooter (2016) and Haze (2014).

45. Sherren Lee

Director | Float

Sherren Lee is known for Float (2023), The Things You Think I'm Thinking (2017) and Coroner (2019).

46. Eliza Hittman

Director | Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Eliza Hittman was born on January 1, 1979 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is a director and producer, known for Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020), Beach Rats (2017) and It Felt Like Love (2013).