2017 Films Directed or Written by Women

This list started with my personal film diary. When I started thinking about writing this blog, it was mid-December, and I had watched 28 new films over the course of the year. Only five of those were directed by women! When I added in movies written by women, that brought my total up to nine, which is still low. So, I started collecting titles of movies released in 2017 that were either directed or written by women.

A few of the titles listed below are still in the theaters, and many of them are streaming online and available to rent. And, just to be super-wonky, my definition of 2017 is “films released in the U.S. in 2017.” There are some films that premiered at film festivals in 2017 that are not in this list because they will not be in wide release until 2018.

I’ve organized them into three categories: Auteur Films by Women, Films Directed by Women, and Films Written by Women. Women also wrote some of the films in the first and second categories and I’ve noted those writing credits, but I did not repeat those films in the third category. I’ve also put together a combined list of these films on letterboxd.  These lists are by no means complete, especially the writing category, which was a little more difficult to research. Please alert me to any glaring omissions! I’ll update this it as needed, and I’ll also be plucking titles from it for reviews.

Auteur Films by Women

• Bandaid Writer & Dir. Zoe Lister-Jones
• Beach Rats Writer & Dir. Eliza Hittman
• The Beguiled Writer & Dir. Sofia Coppola Writers: Screenplay by Sofia Coppola, based on the novel by Thomas Cullinan and screenplay by Albert Maltz and Irene Kamp
• Bitch Writer & Dir. Marianne Palka
• Cezanne and I Writer & Dir. Daniele Thompson
• Home Again Writer & Dir. Hallie Meyers-Shyer
• The Feels Writer & Dir. Jenée LaMarque
• I Do Until I Don’t Writer & Dir. Lake Bell
• It Happened in L.A. Writer & Dir. Michelle Morgan
• Lady Bird Writer & Dir. Greta Gerwig
• Landline Writer & Dir. Gillian Robespierre
• Loving Vincent Writers & Co-Dirs: Dorothea Kobiela and Hugh Welchman
• Mr. Roosevelt Writer & Dir. Noël Wells (my review)
• Mudbound Writer & Dir. Dee Rees, screenplay written with Virgil Williams and based on a novel by Hillary Jordan
• My Abandonment Writer & Dir. Dana Granik, based on a novel by Peter Rock
• My Happy Family Writer & Dir. Nana Ekvitimishvili
• Novitiate Writer & Dir. Margaret Betts (my review)
• Oh Lucy! Writer & Dir. Atsuko Hirayanagi
• Paris Can Wait Writer & Dir. Eleanor Coppola  (my review)
• Permanent Writer and Dir. Colette Burson
• Professor Marston and the Wonder Women Writer & Dir. Angela Robinson (my review)
• Raw Writer & Dir. Julia Ducournau
• Rough Night Dir. Lucia Anello Writers: Lucia Anello & Paul Downs
• They Writer & Dir. Anahita Ghazvinizadeh
• To The Bone Writer & Dir. Marti Noxon

Films Directed by Women

• Battle of the Sexes Co-Dirs. Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton Writer: Simon Beady
• Before I Fall Dir. Ry Russo-Young Writer: Maria Maggenti, based on a novel by Lauren Oliver
• Berlin Syndrome Dir. Cate Shortland Writer: Shaun Grant, based on a novel by Melanie Joosten
• Deidra and Laney Rob a Train Dir. Sydney Freeland Writer: Shelby Farrell
• Detroit Dir. Kathryn Bigelow
• Everything, Everything Dir. Stella Meghie Writer J. Mills Goodloe, based on a novel by Nicola Yoon
• First They Killed My Father Dir. Angelina Jolie Writers: Loung Ung and Angelina Jolie, based on book by Loung Ung
• Fun Mom Dinner Dir. Alethea Jones Writer: Julie Rudd
• Lemon Dir. Janicza Bravo Writers: Janicza Bravo and Brett Gelman
• Let The Sun Shine In Dir. Claire Denis Writers: Christine Angot and Claire Denis
• Lovesong Dir. So Yong Kim Writer: Bradley Rust Gray
• Maudie Dir. Aisling Walsh Writer: Sherry White
• Megan Leavey Dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite Writers: Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo and Tim Lovestedt
• Pitch Perfect 3 Dir. Trish Sie Writers: Kay Cannon and Mike White
• Step Dir. Amanda Lipitz
• Their Finest Dir. Lone Scherfig Writer: Gaby Chiappe, based on the novel by Lissa Evans
• Unforgettable Dir. Denise Di Novi Writer: Christina Hodson
• Unicorn Store Dir. Brie Larson Writer: Samantha McIntyre
• Whose Streets? Co-Dirs. Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis
• Wonder Woman Dir. Patty Jenkins
• The Zookeeper’s Wife Dir. Niki Caro Writer: Angela Workman, based on a book by Diane Ackerman

Films Written by Women

• The Big Sick Writers: Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
• Girls Trip Writers: Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver
• Lady Macbeth Writer: Alice Birch, based on a novel by Nikolai Leskov
• The Post Writers: Liz Hannah and Josh Singer
• The Promise Writers: Terry George and Robin Swicord
• The Shape of Water Writers: Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor
• Snatched Writer: Kate Dippold