The 270 Best Movies Directed By Women of the 21st Century

Critics Consensus: Equal parts edification and entertainment, Kempner's tender tribute to a forgotten pioneer of American entertainment is both richly deserved and long overdue.

Synopsis: Gertrude Berg rose to prominence in the 1930s as the star of "The Goldbergs," a pioneering radio program and, later, a TV sitcom, which she... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Aviva Kempner

Critics Consensus: Though the latter part of the film may not appeal to all, An Education is a charming coming-of-age tale powered by the strength of relative newcomer Carey Mulligan's standout performance.

Synopsis: Despite her sheltered upbringing, Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a teen with a bright future; she's smart, pretty, and has aspirations of attending Oxford University. When... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper

Directed By: Lone Scherfig

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: This acclaimed documentary provides insight into the actions of Daniel Ellsberg, a leading American military strategist who leaked the Pentagon Papers, a massive top-secret document... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Peter Arnett, Ben Bagdikian

Directed By: Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith

Critics Consensus: At once tender and unsentimental, Sweetgrass gracefully captures the beauty and hardships of a dying way of life.

Synopsis: This spare documentary follows a group of shepherds as they guide hundreds of sheep through endless miles of Montana wilderness. Herding the livestock through the... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Illisa Barbash

Critics Consensus: An enlightening and sobering documentary on Afghanistan's very own X-Factor.

Synopsis: Director Havana Marking dives into the booming, but still young and growing, world of pop culture in Afghanistan. Newly liberated after more than 30 years... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Havana Marking

Critics Consensus: A heartbreaking, haunting historical document, A Film Unfinished excavates particularly horrible chapter of Holocaust history, and in doing so, the film provides a glimpse into the Nazi propaganda machine.

Synopsis: Israeli director Yael Hersonski examines a recently found film reel from an unfinished Nazi movie entitled "Das Ghetto" in this award-winning documentary. For decades, historians... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Yael Hersonski

Critics Consensus: This incredible documentary displays the tragedy and mismanagement of Katrina along with the heroism of strangers and survivors.

Synopsis: As Hurricane Katrina raged around them, Scott and Kimberly Rivers Roberts took shelter with some neighbors in their attic in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. Kimberly,... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Carl Deal

Critics Consensus: An enchanting self-portrait by a veteran director, Beach of Agnes is equal parts playful and profound.

Synopsis: In this autobiographical documentary, celebrated French filmmaker Agnes Varda provides a window into her eventful life as she revisits various locales that have been important... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Agnès Varda, André Lubrano, Blaise Fournier, Vincent Fournier

Directed By: Agnès Varda

Critics Consensus: This slow-moving French family drama is rich, complex, subtle and emotionally eloquent.

Synopsis: Lionel (Alex Descas), a widower, has raised his daughter, Josephine (Mati Diop), on his own since she was young. The two are used to living... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Alex Descas, Mati Diop, Nicole Dogue, Grégoire Colin

Directed By: Claire Denis

Critics Consensus: A well-acted, intensely shot, action filled war epic, Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker is thus far the best of the recent dramatizations of the Iraq War.

Synopsis: Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner), Sgt. J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) are members of a bomb-disposal unit in Baghdad.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce

Directed By: Kathryn Bigelow

Critics Consensus: Persepolis is an emotionally powerful, dramatically enthralling autobiographical gem, and the film's simple black-and-white images are effective and bold.

Synopsis: Based on Satrapi's graphic novel about her life in pre and post-revolutionary Iran and then in Europe. The film traces Satrapi's growth from child to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian

Directed By: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud

Critics Consensus: The Devil Came on Horseback is both a strong primer on the complexities of the situation in Darfur and a harrowing first-person doc.

Synopsis: While serving with the African Union, former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle documents the brutal ethnic cleansing occurring in Darfur. Determined that the Western public should... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg

Critics Consensus: Blame it on Fidel is a charming comedy of manners, class, and politics, elevated by a remarkable performance from lead child actor Nina Kervel.

Synopsis: Anna must deal with losing her privileges when her well-off parents become leftist activists.

Starring: Nina Kervel-Bey, Julie Depardieu, Stefano Accorsi, Benjamin Feuillet

Directed By: Julie Gavras

Critics Consensus: Equal parts mystery and biography, Deep Water is both an engrossing documentary and an affecting treatise on human folly and obsession.

Synopsis: In 1968, Donald Crowhurst, an inexperienced British sailor, puts up his home as collateral, gains financial backing and enters the Golden Globe, the first nonstop... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tilda Swinton

Directed By: Louise Osmond, Jerry Rothwell

Critics Consensus: A powerful glimpse of the possibilities for transcendence in straightforward documentary filmmaking -- and extreme physical disability.

Synopsis: Six blind Tibetan teenagers, shunned by their culture as sinners or possessed by demons, band together to climb the north side of Mount Everest. With... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Erik Weihenmayer, Jeff Evans, Stefani Jackenthal, Kami Tenzing Sherpa

Directed By: Lucy Walker

Critics Consensus: Candid, eye-opening footage gives viewers a close-up -- and educational -- look at the experiences of American soldiers in Iraq, a viewpoint not normally seen.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Deborah Scranton provides three U.S. soldiers with cameras so they can document their experiences during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The soldiers, Sgt. Steve Pink, Sgt.... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Deborah Scranton

Critics Consensus: An accomplished directorial debut by Sarah Polley, Away From Her is a touching exploration of the effects of Alzheimer's, in which the tender wisdom of Polley's script is beautifully complemented by a wonderful performance from Julie Christie.

Synopsis: Long married, Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant (Gordon Pinsent) find their mutual devotion tested by her struggle with Alzheimer's disease. When it becomes apparent that... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy

Directed By: Sarah Polley

Critics Consensus: An emotionally blunt and gripping drama, Grbavica deftly explores the emotional toll that all wars take upon those who survive them.

Synopsis: A full decade after the ethnic conflict that left the city of Sarajevo in ruins, the widowed Esma (Mirjana Karanovic) and her adolescent daughter, Sara... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mirjana Karanovic, Luna Zimic Mijovic, Leon Lucev, Kenan Catic

Directed By: Jasmila Zbanic

Critics Consensus: A fascinating, enlightening behind-the-scenes look at the Al Jazeera network.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Jehane Noujaim provides a behind-the-scenes look at the operations of Al-Jazeera -- the most prominent television news network in the Arab world -- during... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Josh Rushing, Hassan Ibrahim, Tom Mintier, David Shuster

Directed By: Jehane Noujaim

Critics Consensus: A powerful and uplifting documentary.

Synopsis: Documentary photographer Zana Briski journeyed into Calcutta's underworld to photograph the city's prostitutes. In return, she offered to teach the prostitutes' children the basics of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Avijit Halder, Shanti Das

Directed By: Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman

Critics Consensus: Exhilarating both stylistically and for its entertaining, moving portrayal of an everyman, American Splendor is a portrait of a true underground original.

Synopsis: Underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar, portrayed by Paul Giamatti but also appearing as himself, is the subject of this inventive biopic. Much of the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Harvey Pekar, Shari Springer Berman, Earl Billings

Directed By: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini

Critics Consensus: Effectively balancing humor and subtle pathos, Sofia Coppola crafts a moving, melancholy story that serves as a showcase for both Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.

Synopsis: A lonely, aging movie star named Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and a conflicted newlywed, Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), meet in Tokyo. Bob is there to film... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris

Directed By: Sofia Coppola

Critics Consensus: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is as persuasive and engrossing as it is unapologetically biased.

Synopsis: In April 2002, the democratically elected Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, faces a coup d'état by an American-backed opposition party. The two-day coup fails to topple... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Hugo Chavez

Directed By: Kim Bartley, Donnacha O'Briain

Critics Consensus: Delightful and strangely moving.

Synopsis: In Mongolia's Gobi desert, a camel belonging to a group of nomadic shepherds gives birth to a white calf. It's a rare occurrence, and the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ikhbayar Amgaabazar, Zeveljamz Nyam, Amgaabazar Gonson, Chimed Ohin

Directed By: Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni

Critics Consensus: The Lost boys of Sudan works as both a riveting documentary and scathing indictment of colonialism.

Synopsis: Santino Majok Chuor and Peter Nyarol Dut are two orphaned Sudanese boys whose lives have been ravaged by civil war in their country. This film... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Santino Majok Chuor, Peter Kon Dut

Directed By: Megan Mylan, Jon Shenk

Critics Consensus: A drama that's both funny and moving.

Synopsis: Elderly Eka (Esther Gorintin) lives with her daughter, Marina (Nino Khomasuridze), and granddaughter Ada (Dinara Drukarova) in a depressed Georgian city. Eka spends most of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Esther Gorintin, Nino Khomasuridze, Dinara Drukarova, Temur Kalandadze

Directed By: Julie Bertuccelli

Critics Consensus: Interesting and appealing as both a study of man and nature.

Synopsis: A homeless musician's life is transformed after he discovers a flock of wild South American parrots living in San Francisco. How they got there is... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Judy Irving

Critics Consensus: Pulsing with honesty, this film lays bare the rawness of human emotion with a story made all the more believable thanks to its gritty, low-budget approach.

Synopsis: Cecilie (Sonja Richter) and Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) are engaged to be married, when tragedy strikes: Joachim is the victim of a car crash that... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sonja Richter, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Paprika Steen

Directed By: Susanne Bier

Critics Consensus: An insightful, energetic blend of Hollywood and Bollywood styles, Monsoon Wedding is a colorful, exuberant celebration of modern-day India, family, love, and life.

Synopsis: The exuberant ensemble comedy unites a Punjabi family for the wedding of a family member. Relatives from all over the world descend on Delhi for... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shetty, Kulbhushan Kharbanda

Directed By: Mira Nair

Critics Consensus: A heartbreaking and illuminating look at the Israeli and Palestinian conflict through the eyes of children.

Synopsis: Rather than focusing on political events, the seven children featured in "Promises" offer a compelling human portrait of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. The film... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Justine Shapiro, Carlos Bolado, B.Z. Goldberg

Critics Consensus: The Taste of Others is a fresh, witty comedy about the attraction of opposites. The characters are well-drawn and engaging and their social interactions believable.

Synopsis: Castella (Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a successful businessman caught behind the fast-changing times. More out of boredom than out of interest, he allows his wife Anglique... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Anne Alvaro, Agnès Jaoui, Gérard Lanvin

Directed By: Agnès Jaoui

Critics Consensus: The Gleaners and I takes a compassionate look at a rarely considered subculture whose individualism resonates powerfully with director Agnès Varda's humanistic approach.

Synopsis: An 1867 painting by Jean-Francois Millet inspired septuagenarian documentarian Agnes Varda to cross the French countryside to videotape people who scavenge. Taking everything from surplus... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Agnès Varda, Francois Wertheimer

Directed By: Agnès Varda

Critics Consensus: The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is an affectionate, often very funny portrait of a baseball pioneer.

Synopsis: "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" is a humorous and nostalgic documentary about an extraordinary baseball player who transcended religious prejudice to become an... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Hank Greenberg, Alan Dershowitz, Bob Feller, Charlie Gehringer

Directed By: Aviva Kempner