The Happy Worker

John Webster: The Happy Worker – Or How Work Was Sabotaged (FI 2022).

The Happy Worker – miten työ sabotoitiin / The Happy Worker – Or How Work Was Sabotaged.
FI © 2022 Yellow Film & TV. P: Marko Talli.
    D+SC: John Webster. Cin: Jarkko T. Laine, Sun Ryung Kim. Graphic design: Jussi Turunen. Second screenwriter and line producer: Eveliina Kantola. M: Olav R. Øyehaug. S: Yngve Leidulv Sætre. ED: Kimmo Taavila, John Webster.
    A non-fiction film.
    Feat: Bernardo Alves, Gemma Faires, David Graeber, Jim Harter, Tiejo Keppler, Eunawn (Hazel) Lee, Christina Maslach, Carlotta Servadio, André Spicer, Vanessa Törnblom.
    82 min
    Original in English.
    Festival premiere: 24 March 2022 CPH DOX
    Finnish premiere: 6 May 2022 – released by SF Studios – with Finnish / Swedish subtitles (n.c.).
    Corona precaution: none.
    Viewed at Finnkino Strand 3, Iso Kristiina, Lappeenranta, 13 May 2022
   
Official synopsis: " THE HAPPY WORKER takes us behind the shiny corporate facades to reveal the systemic problems that plague the workplace: from a culture of silence, fake change and incompetent managers, to how we educate our children. The film is laced with humour and irony, but without losing sight of the very real consequences the toxic workplace has for the health and happiness of the people who work there. "

" Guiding us on this journey are, among others, the late great anthropologist and activist David Graeber (Debt: The First 500 years, Bullshit Jobs) and the Berkeley-based pioneer of burnout research, psychologist Christina Maslach. " (official synopsis)

AA: Its sunny title notwithstanding, The Happy Worker is a critical documentary exposé about the deterioration of working life in contemporary society. John Webster's has created an upbeat film on a devastating subject. The film is substance-driven, briskly edited and packed with illuminating resumes. Webster states his case sharply but without exaggeration and populism.

Alienated labour has been discussed at least since the young Marx (Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844). In Finland for instance Juha Siltala has written an epic survey called Työelämän huonontumisen lyhyt historia : muutokset hyvinvointivaltion ajasta globaaliin hyperkilpailuun ([A Brief History of the Deterioration of Working Life : Changes from the Era of the Welfare State to Global Hyper Competition], 2004).

John Webster has been inspired especially by the case of Nokia: how an exceptional team spirit was destroyed by bad management, a subject also discussed in other high profile films such as Arto Koskinen's excellent Nokia Mobile (2018).

The subject is topical globally. We all know people whose capacity is ignored or diminished in their work. It is not even a question of fair pay. Belittling commitment and wasting talent can be soul-destroying.

Reportedly Sigmund Freud was once asked what a normal person should accomplish well, and his answer was: "to love and to work". Though apocryphal, it is a good maxim that also appears in Leo Tolstoy's correspondence. G. W. F. Hegel thought that work is the essential means for an individual to participate in society. We are discussing our very being.

Personally, I'm currently happy with the best teams I have ever worked with. I have increasingly realized that nothing is more important than a good team spirit. "A happy ship is an efficient ship", as Captain Kinross (Noël Coward) stated in In Which We Serve (1942). No matter how great the adversity (such as the current crisis in world cinema), with a good esprit de corps it can be a joy to meet.

John Webster, a distinguished veteran in documentary film, has been creating exceptional work recently. Eye to Eye (2020) was about families meeting murderers of their children. Donner – privat (2021) was based on the last, frank interview of the great Jörn Donner.

The human dimension is central also in Webster's new film, focusing on the ordeals of committed workers who have experienced bad management and burnout. It should be ideal viewing for workplaces who want to discuss, improve and change.

BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK: A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR (IN FINNISH):

Gerald Peary's poll on women filmmakers (April 2022 on Facebook)

Chantal Akerman: Jeanne Dielman (BE 1975) starring Delphine Seyrig.

Gerald Peary: "Thanks to 139 astute individuals from around the world--Canada, Australia, France, England, Sweden, Finland, etc.--for participating in my poll for your Ten Favorite Fiction Features Directed by Women. For the curious, these were the thirty films which appeared on the most ballots:"

THE TOP THIRTY
31 votes: Jeanne Dielman (Chantal Akerman)
30 votes: Cleo from 5 to 7 (Agnes Varda)
29 votes: Vagabond (Agnes Varda)
28 votes: Daisies (Vera Chytilova), The Piano (Jane Campion)
26 votes:  Beau Travail (Claire Denis), The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino), Wanda (Barbara Loden)
22 votes: Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash)
21 votes:  Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Amy Heckerling)
20 votes:  Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmuller)
19 votes:  The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
18 votes: Europa Europa (Agnieszka Holland), Mikey and Nicky (Elaine May), Winter’s Bone (Debra Granik), The Heartbreak Kid (Elaine May)
17 votes: Angel at My Table (Jane Campion), Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola)
14 votes: Dance Girl Dance (Dorothy Arzner), A New Leaf (Elaine May)
13 votes: Clueless(Amy Heckerling), The Bigamist (Ida Lupino), The Ascent (Larisa Shepitko)
11 votes: Le Bonheur (Agnes Varda), My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong), Outrage (Ida Lupino), The Rider (Chloe Zhao)
10 votes: Nomadland (Chloe Zhao), Swept Away (Lina Wertmuller)
9 votes: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Celine Sciamma)

Jim BeaverSean AxmakerJanet BergstromRobert HortonJohn HallEric MasunagaAmy GellerRob JaretAmy MonaghanLisa Jayne GordonClemence TaillandierMathew BainbridgeMelanie Lynn AddingtonAndrew LuriaAnne ThompsonLucia SmallSandy Flitterman-LewisDonald FarmerDavid HeslinAxel KuschevatzkyNat ChediakJoe EbbingerAllan ArkushLewis KlahrStephen RebelloChristian FontAndy KleinBruce PosnerKarl KaeferDerek LamMike MaggioreEric WerthmanGoldie EderMaitland McDonaghJohn PowersAlan ZweigPaul KornbluehMary Behrens

Lyn VausDick RavinJan LumholdtTom BrueggemannChristian MonggaardDante del CorsoTim MooreDean Michael KuehnSteven Charles BrownDenise WidmanPeter KempRichard BrodyTom MeekDennis FischerGene SeymourReece BeckettLouis BlackJerry CarlsonGeoff AndrewJohn PaizsMatthew SorrentoTerry Curtis FoxKevin DohertyJohn NedPatricia GrubenBarton BygTony Joe StemmeDavid AnsenDanny PearyChris FujiwaraPeg AloiEd SymkusDiane WaldmanHadley ObodiacPaul ByrnesKay ArmatageJayne LoaderPeter LynchMartin BradleyKiki FungWill AitkenStephen WinerSteven EricksonAnthony MannDiane CarsonMary FessendenAdrian MartinJack VermeeBeverly Walker

Jonathan MarlowStephanie PiroRick WinstonRussel HarveyDennis DelroghEvelyn RosenthalHolly Beth GarverDrew ToddBrecht AnderschDror IzharGina MarchettiJack MillerAntti AlanenLiz BurkeCarrie RickeySusan WloszczynaTanja BresanR-win HoutenbrinkJessica RosnerSteven PopeJoan HawkinsSteve ElworthMary DesjardinsPaul BrennerLarry HardestyOscar AderholdtDaniel KremerLaurentius KnappDavid StewartRick KelleyBrad StevensLaurent VachaudGregory RunfeldtDmitry MartovGraham FullerRobyn BahrAnnette InsdorfDennis DorosTim JacksonSteven PopePeter KeoughKevin StoehrRob RiberaGabe KlingerGregory Julian KlymkiwMaurie AlioffDennis DelaneyPaul Mollica

Axel Kuschevatzky
- Point Break
- Bound
- XXY
- The Hitch-hiker
- Seven Beauties
- Friends with Money
- A New Leaf
- Big
- Persepolis
- Winter's Bone

Joe Ebbinger
Thanks for the reminder, Gerry. The poster is of one of my favorites. So warm and empathetic for a teen sex comedy. And also hilarious.
Outrage (Lupino)
Cleo from 5 to 7 (Varda)
A New Leaf (May)
Swept Away (Wertmuller)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Heckerling)
Daughters of the Dust (Dash)
The Piano (Campion)
Lost in Translation (Coppola)
Hannah Arendt (von Trotta)
Lady Bird (Gerwig)

Andrew Luria
Gerald Peary.
Cleo From 5 to 7.
Daisies.
The Hitchhiker.
Wanda.
The Heartbreak Kid.
Terminal Island.
Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
Mrs Soffel.
Near Dark.
Love and Anarchy

Allan Arkush
In no particular order:
Alice Guy Blache- Dick Whittington,
Ida Lupino-The Outrage,
Portrait of a Lady on Fire,
The Piano,
Daughters of the Dust,
Clueless,
Vagabond,
The Babadook,
The Hurt Locker,
High Tide.
...
Missing is Lois Weber, A Girl Walks Home at Night, Ladybird, Desparetly Seeking Susan, 7 Beauties, and many more

Eric Werthman
I will try again:
1. Cleo from 5 to 7 by Agnes Varda
2. Je Tu Il Elle by Chantal Akerman
3. Daughters of the Dust by Julia Dash
4. I Can't Sleep by Clair Denis - not a perfect film but with extraordinary scenes
5. India Song by Marguerite Duras for "pure" originality and daring and
6. Love in a Fallen City by Ann Hui.
7. Detroit by Katheryn Bigalow
8. Working Girls by Lizzie Borden
9. The Piano by Jane Campion
10. It Felt Like Love by Eliza Hitman for a relatively contemporaty film that I liked. Still, it is hard to beat Agnes Varda: I would put her first film, La Pointe Courte as one of my favorites.

Lewis Klahr
I'm assuming narrative features? shorts w artist filmmakers would be an entirely different list. in no particular order:
Merrily We Go to Hell-- Dorothy Arzner;
Cleo From 5 to 7-- Agnes Varda;
Wanda--Barbara Loden;
The Intruder-- Clair Denis;
The Bigamist-- Ida Lupino;
La Captive- Chantal Akerman;
Passing--Rebecca Hall;
Boys Don't Cry-- Kimberly Peirce;
The Power of the Dog-- Jane Campion;
The Headless Woman-- Lucretia Martel

Stephen Rebello
Too disordered to order much of anything at the moment, but here goes --
Entre Nous / Coup de foudre,
Cléo from 9 to 7,
Mikey and Nicky,
Seven Beauties,
Beau travail,
Europa, Europa,
Sugar Cane Alley,
Persepolis,
Antonia's Line,
After the Wedding

Christian Font
Enough Said
Point Break
Gas Food Lodging
Whip It
Seven Beauties
Sleepless In Seattle
A New Leaf
Lost in Translation
Hester Street
Ravenous

Andy Klein
Real Genius (Martha Coolidge)
Heartbreak Kid (Elaine May)
The Piano (Jane Campion)
Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow)
Autumn Moon (Clara Law)
Song of the Exile (Ann Hui)
35 Shots of Rum (Claire Denis)
Hester Street (Joan Micklin Silver)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Amy Heckerling)
The Connection (Shirley Clarke)

Bruce Posner
Here you go:
Passage from Finnegan’s Wake - Mary Ellen Bute
Nude on the Moon - Doris Wishman
Christmas on Earth - Barbara Rubin
The Cool World - Shirley Clarke
Beauty Becomes the Beast - Vivienne Dick
Born in Flames Lizzie Borden
Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles - Chantal Akerman
The Deadman - Peggy Ahwesh, Keith Sanborn
La Coquille et le Clergyman / La Souriante Madame Beudet - Germaine Dulac
Antigone, Rites of Passion - Amy Greenfield
Film No. 4, Bottoms - Yoko Ono

Derek Lam
Gerald Peary three lists for the price of one! 🤗 the first is just to highlight titles i haven't seen many mention; the second is my actual ballot -- others have listed these & i imagine some will get enough votes to make it to the final rankings... the third are an additional dozen (mostly more recent films) i considered shortlisting:
neglected titles:
The Apple (Makhmalbaf)
Autumn Moon (Law)
Bluebeard (Breillat)
The Cool World (Clarke)
Fever (Holland)
I Was at Home, But (Schanelec)
Lives of Performers (Rainer)
The Mourning Forest (Kawase)
Riddles of the Sphinx (Mulvey)
Sup Sap Bup Dup (Tang)
...
heavy hitters: (*my ballot)
The Asthenic Syndrome (Muratova)
The Bigamist (Lupino)
La Captive (Akerman)
Cléo from 5 to 7 (Varda)
Daisies (Chytilová)
Daughters of the Dust (Dash)
The Eternal Breasts (Tanaka)
India Song (Duras)
The Intruder (Denis)
Wanda (Loden)
...
the more the merrier:
Atlantics (Diop)
Born in Flames (Borden)
Certain Women (Reichardt)
The Cloud in Her Room (Zheng Lu)
Detroit (Bigelow)
The Headless Woman (Martel)
Holy Smoke! (Campion)
Memories Look at Me (Song)
The Secret (Hui)
Strong Shoulders (Meier)
Toni Erdmann (Ade)
The Wonders (Rohrwacher)
thanks for doing this! 🥰

Alan Zweig
Mikey and Nicky,
The heartbreak kid, Monster
The Hitchhiker,
Humpday,
First Cow,
Bastards,
In Darkness,
Romance,
Point break,
The Rider (and this wasn't easy)
...
Gerald Peary
Alan Zweig Only one per director, not two Elaine May. You have several hours to substitute for one of them.
Alan Zweig
Gerald Peary take off heartbreak kid sadly and substitute Monster
Gerald Peary
Alan Zweig Thanks!

John Powers
My 10 in alphabetical order:
An Angel at My Table, Jane Campion
Cleo from 5 to 7, Agnes Varda
Daisies, Vera Chytilová
The Headless Woman, Lucrecia Martel
Mikey and Nicky, Elaine May
On the Beat, Ning Ying
River of Grass, Kelly Reichardt
Strange Days, Kathryn Bigelow
Toni Erdmann, Maren Ade
Wings, Larissa Shepitko

Melanie Lynn Addington
I decided to go all modern:
Jennifer Kent, the Babadook;
Ana Lily Amirpour, The Girl Who Walks Home Alone at Night;
Jane Campion, The Piano;
Penny Marshall, Big;
Amy Heckerling, Fast Times at Ridgemont High;
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland;
Celine Sciamma, Petite Maman;
Lynn Shelton; My Effortless Brilliance;
Julie Dash, Daughters of Dust;
Mira Nair; Monsoon Wedding.

Anne Thompson
1. The Piano by Jane Campion
2. Monsoon Wedding by Mira Nair
3. Zero Dark Thirty by Kathryn Bigelow
4. Winter’s Bone by Debra Granik
5. After the Wedding by Susanne Bier
6. Europa Europa by Agnieszka Holland
7. Nomadland by Chloe Zhao
8. Toni Erdmann by Maren Ade
9. A League of Their Own by Penny Marshall
10. One Sings, The Other Doesn’t by Agnes Varda

Maitland McDonagh
Velvet Vampire-Stephanie Rothman/
Maedchen in Uniform-Leontine Sagan/
In the Cut-Jane Campion/
Morvern Caller-Lynne Ramsey/
The Souvenir-Joanna Hogg/
Jean Dielman...--Chantal Akerman/
The Bigamist-Ida Lupino/
Orlando--Sally Potter/
Nomadland--Chloe Zhao/
Winter's Bone--Debra Granik

Mary Behrens
Vagabond
Jeanne Dielmann
Bright Star
High Tide
Nomadland
The Lost Daughter
Away from Her
Swept Away
Friends with Money
Europa Europa

Adrian Martin
Wanda (Barbara Loden) /
A Woman's Revenge (Rita Azevedo Gomes) /
La Captive (Chantal Akerman) /
Clueless (Amy Heckerling) /
Blue Steel (Kathryn Bigelow) /
Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay) /
Cléo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda) /
Notre mariage (Valeria Sarmiento) /
The Asthenic Syndrome (Kira Muratova) /
Daisies (Vera Chytilova)

Jack Vermee
Man, this was hard getting it down to ten! I had to eliminate so many films/filmmakers that I love. Here's my list:
Jeanne Dielman – Chantel Akerman
A New Leaf – Elaine May
Beau Travail – Claire Denis
Morvern Callar – Lynne Ramsay
Sink or Swim – Su Friedrich
Lost in Translation – Sofia Coppola
La ciénaga – Lucretia Martel
Vagabond – Agnès Varda
American Dream – Barbara Kopple, Chilly Scenes of Winter by Joan Micklin Silver
Sweetie – Jane Campion
...
Gerald Peary
Jack Vermee Thanks, Jack, but switch American Dream for a fiction feature. No docs.
Jack Vermee
OOPS Okay -- Chilly Scenes of Winter by Joan Micklin Silver

Jim Beaver   ·
“First Cow” (Kelly Reichardt, 2020)
One Night in Miami” (Regina King, 2020)
“Little Women” (Greta Gerwig, 2019)
“Boys Don’t Cry” (Kimberly Peirce, 1999)
“Big” (Penny Marshall, 1988)
“The Hurt Locker” (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)
“Monster” (Patty Jenkins, 2003)
“Europa Europa” (Agnieszka Holland, 1990)
“Yentl” (Barbra Streisand, 1983)
“Winter’s Bone” (Debra Granik, 2010)

Sean Axmaker
Finally getting it in, after a couple of nudges.
The Blot (1921) Lois Weber
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) Chantal Akerman
The Ascent (1977) Larisa Shepitko
Marianne & Juliane (1981) Margarethe von Trotta
Angry Harvest (1985) Agnieszka Holland
Vagabond (1985) Agnes Varda
The Piano (1993) Jane Campion
Beau travail (1999) Claire Denis
La Cienaga (2002) Lucrecia Martel
The Hurt Locker (2008) Kathryn Bigelow

Robert Horton
Without thinking too hard, and thus undoubtedly leaving out something essential:
ASCENT/Shepitko;
JEANNE DIELMAN/Akerman;
VAGABOND/Varda;
AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE/Campion;
35 SHOTS OF RUM/Denis;
ZAMA/Martel;
L'AVENIR/Hansen-Love;
THE RIDER/Zhao;
FIRST COW/Reichardt;
VALLEY GIRL/Coolidge.

John Hall
Europa, Europa Agnieszka Holland
Zero Dark Thirty Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker is equally good)
The Piano Jane Campion
Whale Rider Niki Caro
The Nightingale Jennifer Kent
Toni Erdmann Maren Ade
Boys Don’t Cry Kimberly Peirce
Vagabond Agnes Varda
The Hitchhiker Ida Lupino
Salaam Bombay! Mira Nair
...
Additional favorites:
Raw Julia Ducournau
Walking and Talking Nicole Holofcener
Leave No Trace Deborah Granik
Mudbound Dee Rees
But the best film of all is Barbara Kopple’s shattering doc Harlan County U.S.A., which you won't allow. 🙁

Amy Monaghan
From my feverish covid isolation, 10 faves:
-Daisies (Vera Chytilova)
-Freak Orlando (Ulrike Ottinger)
-Goodbye, First Love (Mia Hansen-Løve)
-High Art (Lisa Cholodenko)
-The Loneliest Planet (Julia Loktev)
-Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsey)
-Simone Barbés or Virtue (Marie-Claude Treilhou)
-The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola)
-Walking and Talking (Nicole Holofcener)
-Winter's Bone (Debra Granik)

Lucia Small
My Ten:
Rose Troche's GO FISH;
Alison Anders' GAS, FOOD, LODGING,
Nicole Holofcener's WALKING AND TALKING;
Patricia Rozema's I'VE HEARD THE MERMAID SINGING;
Mira Nair's MISSISSIPPI MASALA;
Amy Hercherling's FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH;
Lisa Chodolenko's LAUREL CANYON;
The Wachowski Sisters' THE MATRIX;
Kathryn Bigelow's THE HURT LOCKER;
Emerald Fennell's PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

Donald Farmer
THE BIGAMIST - Ida Lupino
SWEPT AWAY - Lina Wertmuller
BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL - Liliana Cavani
TRIUMPH OF THE WILL - Leni Riefenstahl, The Blue Light
DAISIES - Vera Chytilova
THE HEARTBREAK KID - Elaine May
1001 NIGHTS OF SIMON CINEMA - Agnes Varda
EUROPA, EUROPA - Agnieszka Holland
FAT GIRL - Catherine Breillat
THE VELVET VAMPIRE - Stephanie Rothman
...
Gerald Peary
Hi, Donald: No documentaries, so you need to substitute a fiction feature for Triumph of the Will. Please do this ASAP. The first vote for The Velvet Vampire.
Donald Farmer
Gerald Peary THE BLUE LIGHT by Leni Riefenstahl

Karl Kaefer
Dogfight- Nancy Savoca,
Seven Beauties- Lina Wertmuller,
Daisies, Vera Chytilova,
Orlando- Sally Potter,
The Night Porter- Liliana Cavani,
Roadside Prophets- Abbe Wool,
Lost in Translation- Sofia Coppola,
Gas Food Lodging- Allison Anders,
A Ma Soeur- (Fat Girl)- Catherine Breillat,
Trouble Every Day- Claire Denis

Gerald Peary
7. huhtikuuta 2022
90 people have voted so far, the winners announced April 15: your Favorite Ten Feature Films Directed by Women, from anywhere in the world. Please, please vote. Don't be intimidated. You don't need to know all of film history to list your ten favorites. No documentaries, no shorts. One caveat: only one film per woman director. Anyone may vote, starting with me:
Madchen in Uniform (1931)-Leontine Sagan;
Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)-Dorothy Arzner;
Daisies (1966)-Vera Chytilova;
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)-Chantal Akerman;
Mikey and Nicky (1976)-Elaine May;
Marianne and Juliane (1981)-Margarethe Von Trotta;
Vagabond (1985)-Agnes Varda;
Sweetie (1989)-Jane Campion;
Beau Travail (1999)-Claire Denis;
The Hurt Locker (2008)-Kathryn Bigelow

Mark Rappaport
I don't even know that I can count up to ten here but I would start at number one--
Lynne Ramsay's stupendous YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE (alternately, but not a as great, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN.)
Number 2--Jackie Raynal's extraordinary DEUX FOIS.
And maybe, maybe (only time will tell) Jane Campion's POWER OF THE DOG...
Mark Rappaport Wait.
Number 4. LES PLAGES D'AGNES.

Will Aitken
this was hard:
Craig's Wife, Dorothy Arzner;
2. Marianne and Juliana, Margarethe von Trotta;
Le Bonheur, Agnès Varda;
Bound, Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski;
Golden Eighties, Chantal Akerman;
Beau Travail, Claire Denis;
7. Diary for My Children, Marta Meszaros;
8. The Ratcatcher, Lynne Ramsay;
Clueless, Amy Heckerling;
Power of the Dog, Jane Campion

A list for today. I might change on all of these tomorrow.
Dorothy Arzner - DANCE GIRL DANCE
Jane Campion - THE PIANO
Agnieszka Holland - EUROPA EUROPA
Nicole Holofcener - LOVELY AND AMAZING
Ida Lupino - THE HITCH-HIKER
Elaine May - THE HEARTBREAK KID
Nancy Savoca - DOGFIGHT
Lone Scherfig - AN EDUCATION
Joan Micklin Silver - HESTER STREET
Agnès Varda - LE BONHEUR

Steven Erickson
A top 10:
LE BONHEUR,
JEANNE DIELMAN,
BOAT PEOPLE,
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (Sara Gomez),
THE HOLY GIRL,
POINT BREAK,
FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH,
MIKEY AND NICKY,
LE CAMION,
THE DAY I BECAME A WOMAN

Rodney Welch
Mikey and Nicky (Elaine May)
The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino)
Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmuller)
Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness (Margarethe von Trotta)
Vagabond (Agnes Varda)
Daisies (Vera Chytilova)
My 20th Century (Ildiko Enyedi)
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman)
Europa, Europa (Agnieszka Holland)
An Angel at my Table (Jane Campion)

Garret Savage
Lost in Translation (S. Coppola)
Je Tu Il Elle (Akerman)
Girlfriends (Weill)
The Rider (Zhao)
Old Joy (Reichardt)
Cleo from 5 to 7 (Varda)
Home (Ursula Meier), I'm not sure yet if it’s one of my favorite of all time, but I saw it a few weeks ago and it has really stuck with me.
And now, after thinking about these films and many more that I haven’t even seen, I’m excited about all the new (to me) movies directed by women to watch or rewatch!
Gerald Peary
Garret Savage Hi, Garret. Three more, please. And, yes, I have at least fifty or sixty recommended films directed by women that I've never seen, that I'm eager to watch.

Beverly Walker
Le Bonheur,
Lost Honor of Katherina Blum,
Winter's Bone,
Monsoon Wedding,
Toni Erdmann,
Monster,
Seven Beauties,
Rambling Rose,
Crossing Delancey,
Something's Gotta Give

Janet Bergstrom
I had to drop 2, not feature films. Try this...
Margarita Barskaya, Broken Shoes (1933)
Kathleen Collins, Losing Ground (1982)
Claire Denis, 35 Shots of Rum (2008)
Ida Lupino, Not Wanted (1949)
Agnès Varda, Vagabond (1985)
Chantal Akerman, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Dorothy Arzner, Christopher Strong (1933)
Kelley Reichardt, Certain Women (2016)
Mati Diop, L'Atlantiques (2019)

Eric Masunaga
Winter's Bone, Debra Granik;
Nomadland, Chloe Zhao;
Shirkers (16 mm), Sandi Tan;
You and Me and Everyone We Know, Miranda July;
Waitress, Adrienne Shelley;
Little Fires Everywhere, Lynn Shelton;
A League of Their Own, Penny Marshall;
Mikey and Nicky, Elaine May;
Clueless,
Ladybird, Greta Gerwig;
Turning Red, Domee Shi

Mathew Bainbridge
In no particular Order:
The Hitch-Hiker (1953) - Dir. Ida Lupino,
Daisies (1966) - Dir. Věra Chytilová,
Vagabond (1985) - Dir. Agnès Varda,
Wanda (1970) - Dir. Barbara Loden,
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) - Dir. Chantal Akerman,
Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) - Dir. Tamara Jenkins,
My Brilliant Career (1979) - Dir. Gillian Armstrong,
My 20th Century (1989) - Dir. Ildikó Enyedi,
The Piano (1993) - Dir. Jane Campion,
Red Road (2006) - Dir. Andrea Arnold

David Heslin
Oops, thanks for letting me know!
1. Je, tu, il, elle (Chantal Akerman, 1974)
2. Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966)
3. The Games of Countess Dolingen of Gratz (Catherine Binet, 1981)
4. Documenteur (Agnès Varda, 1981)
5. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)
6. Ticket of No Return (Ulrike Ottinger, 1979)
7. Simone Barbès, or Virtue (Marie-Claude Treilhou, 1980)
8. Invisible Adversaries (Valie Export, 1977)
9. Class Relations (Straub/Huillet, 1984)
10. The Asthenic Syndrome (Kira Muratova, 1989)

Sandy Flitterman-Lewis
Can I send you my list here?
Agnès Varda: Cléo de 5 à 7;
Mira Nair: Mississippi Masala;
Chantal Akerman: Jeanne Dielman;
Julie Dash: Daughters of the Dust;
Barbara Loden: Wanda;
Maïmonna Doucourré: Cuties;
Roselyne Bosch: The Roundup;
Martine Dugowson: Mina Tannenbaum;
Sally Potter: Orlando;
Diane Kurys: Entre Nous

Peg Aloi
Peppermint Soda
An Angel at my Table
Relic
Amulet
The Wind
Ratcatcher
Ladybird
Winter's Bone
The Love Witch
Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Ed Symkus
Kathryn Bigelow -- Strange Days
Julia Ducournau – Titane
Mary Harron – American Psycho
Amy Heckerling – Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Agnieszka Holland – Europa Europa
Ida Lupino – The Bigamist
Sally Potter – Orlando
Lynne Ramsay – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Agnès Varda – Vagabond
Doris Wishman – The Hot Month of August

Kay Armatage
Beau Travail,
Seven Beauties,
Daughter of the Dust,
Silences of the Palace,
Sweetie,
Angel at my Table, Reason Over Passion
Dance Girl Dance,
Olympiad, Dream Life
Riddles of the Sphinx.
...
Gerald Peary
Kay Armatage Thanks. If I replace Olympiad, as documentary, with Dream Life and Reason Over Passion, that makes ten.
Kay Armatage Oops!
Gerald Peary
Only one film per director. So kindly replace one of the Jane Campion films for another fiction feature.

Hadley Obodiac
In No Order : (there could have been doubles for some of the directors)
The Hitch-hiker - Ida Lupino
Le Bonheur - Agnes Varda
Daisies - Vera Chitolva
Europa Europa - Agniezska Holland
35 Shots of Rum - Claire Denis
The Rider - Chloe Zhao
I Am Not A Witch - Rungano Nyoni
Desert Hearts - Donna Deitch
Wanda - Barbara Loden
Winter's Bone -Debra Granik

Peter Lynch
Jane Campion Sweetie
Kathryn Bigelow Blue Steel
Mary Harron American Psycho.
Věra Chytilová Wolf’s Hole (Vlčí bouda),
Agnes Varda Cleo from 5 to 7
Claire Denis Beau Travail
Lina Wertmüller Swept Away
Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland”
Elaine May Heartbreak Kid,
Yuliya Solntsevas Enchanted Desna
...
IN EXTENSO
Peter Lynch
Okay I'm bad I didnt count them heres a list of ones I love.Joanna Hogg the Soveneuer
Andrea Arnold Fish Tank
Jane Campion Sweetie
Julie Taymor Frida,
Kathryn Bigelow Blue Steel
Kelly Reichardt Wendy and Lucy
Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here I
Mary Harron American Psycho.
Lucrecia Martel Zama
Sofia Coppola Lost In Translation
Susan Seidelman Desperately Seeking Susan
Věra Chytilová Wolf’s Hole (Vlčí bouda,
Agnes Varda Cleo from 5 to 7
Mira Nair Monsoon Wedding
Claire Denis Beau Travail
Lina Wertmüller Swept Away
Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” Chloé Zhao,
Elaine May Heartbreak Kid,
Agnieszka HollandEuropa Europa
Margarethe von Trotta. Die bleierne Zeit
Shirley Clarke The Conection
Chantal Akerman Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles
Yuliya Solntsevas Enchanted Desna

Paul Byrnes
No order but quickly:
Beau Travail,
Little Women (Greta G),
Seven Beauties,
Daughter of the Dust,
Meek's Cutoff,
Olympia, Japanese Story, from Sue Brooks
Wadjda,
Zero Dark,
Silences of the Palace,
Sweetie.
And another hundred or so...
...
Gerald Peary
Paul Byrnes Thanks, Paul, and I hope all is well with you. Please replace Olympia with a fiction feature. For me, Sweetie remains the greatest Australian film of all time.
Paul Byrnes
Gerald Peary add Japanese Story, from Sue Brooks. I just realised six ofmine are on Kay Armatage’s list - completely without me knowing what she had chosen. How about that Kay? Great minds….And yes Gerry, all good down here, if a little soft underfoot.

Jayne Loader
Here's my completely arbitrary list, organized into double features for fun viewing:
CHRISTOPHER STRONG - Dorothy Arzner &
HARD, FAST AND BEAUTIFUL - Ida Lupino
VALLEY GIRL - Martha Coolidge &
CLUELESS - Amy Heckerling
JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES - Chantal Akerman &
INDIA SONG - Marguerite Duras
THE NIGHT PORTER - Liliana Cavani &
LOVE AND ANARCHY - Lina Wertmüller
FREAK ORLANDO - Ulrike Ottinger &
ORLANDO - Sally Potter

Dennis Fischer
Top 10 Films by Women Directors
Dance, Girl, Dance
Outrage
Seven Beauties
Vagabond
The Matrix
The Square. A New Leaf
The Piano
Near Dark
The Babadook
...
Gerald Peary
Dennis Fischer First vote for Wadjda. Please replace The Square, a documentary, with a fiction feature.
Dennis Fischer
Gerald Peary All right, replace it with A New Leaf.

Gene Seymour
OK, fine (all mine, no particular order & as always subject to change in 48 hours):
"The Heartbreak Kid" (Elaine May);
"Near Dark" (Kathryn Bigelow);
"Delivered Vacant" (Nora Jacobson);
"Daughters of the Dust" (Julie Dash);
"The Hitchhiker" (Ida Lupino);
"One Night in Miami..." (Regina King);
"Cleo from 5 to 7" (Agnes Varda);
"An Angel at My Table" (Jane Campion);
"Please Give" (Nicole Holofcener);
"Lost in Translation" (Sofia Coppola)

Anthony Mann
Wanda-Loden
Seven Beauties-Wertmüller
The Heartbreak Kid-May
Vagabond-Varda
L'Intrus-Denis
Anatomy of Hell-Breillat
Zero Dark Thirty-Bigelow
Zodiac Killer-Hui
The Piano-Campion
Bergman Island-Hansen-Løve

Reece Beckett
Beau Travail - Claire Denis
Pariah - Dee Rees
The Matrix - Lana and Lilly Wachowski
Girlhood - Celine Sciamma
Girlfriends - Claudia Weill
Strange Days - Kathryn Bigelow
The Selfish Giant - Clio Barnard
The Headless Woman - Lucrecia Martel
Mikey and Nicky - Elaine May
You Were Never Really Here - Lynne Ramsay

Reece Beckett
Beau Travail - Claire Denis
Pariah - Dee Rees
The Matrix - Lana and Lilly Wachowski
Girlhood - Celine Sciamma
Girlfriends - Claudia Weill
Strange Days - Kathryn Bigelow
The Selfish Giant - Clio Barnard
The Headless Woman - Lucrecia Martel
Mikey and Nicky - Elaine May
You Were Never Really Here - Lynne Ramsay

Louis Black
I’m thinking about
Terminal Island
One Sings the Other Doesn’t
Dogfight
And probably Dogfight again
Dance Girl Dance
Born in Flames
Valley Girl
Dudes
Louis Black
Damn Eve’s Bayou
Near Dark

Jerry Carlson
Vagabond -Varda /
Zero Dark Thirty - Bigelow /
Household Saints - Savoca /
Love & Anarchy - Wertmuller /
Daisies - Chytilova /
Daughters of the Dust - Dash /
Beau Travail - Denis /
Zama - Martel /
The Hitch-Hiker - Lupino /
Smiling Madame Beudet - Dulac

Terry Curtis Fox
Definitely
Daughters of Dust. Varda is getting fractionalized. So
One Sings instead of Cleo.
Hitch-hiker.
Daisies.
Wanda.
Eve’s Bayou.
Heartbreak Kid.
Angel at My Table.
My Brilliant Career. With
Terminal Island that’s ten.

Andrew Luria
Cleo From 5 to 7.
Daisies.
The Hitchhiker.
The Heartbreak Kid.
Wanda.
Terminal Island.
Love And Anarchy.
Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
Mrs Soffel.
Near Dark

Mike Maggiore
AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE (Campion),
LE BONHEUR (Varda),
LA CIENAGA (Martel),
DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (Dash),
FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (Heckerling),
FISH TANK (Arnold),
THE HEARTBREAK KID (May),
THE HITCH-HIKER (Lupino),
PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG GIRL AT THE END OF THE 60s IN BRUSSELS (Akerman),
WENDY AND LUCY (Reichardt)

Gregory Julian Klymkiw
In no particular order. They’re the first 10 that popped into my mind (such as it is). Here they are:
The Ascent (Larissa Shepitko)
Outrage (Ida Lupino)
Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmuller)
The Rider (Chloe Zhao)
American Mary (Jen & Sylvia Soska)
Tiefland (Leni Riefenstahl)
Bad Girls Go To Hell (Doris Wishman)
Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow)
Vagabond (Agnes Varda)
The Night Porter (Liliana Cavani)

Maurie Alioff
Ida Lupino’s The Hitchhiker
Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark
Sofia Copola’s The Virgin Suicides
Cynthia Roberts’s Bubbles Galore
Claire Denis’s Beau Travail
Diandrea. Rees’s Mudbound
Anne Emond’s Nelly
Eylem Kaftan’s Keeping the Bees
Patty Jenkins’s Monster
Mary Haron’s American Pysycho

Dennis Delaney
Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970)
The Heartbreak Kid (Elaine May, 1972)
Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmüller, 1975)
Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987)
The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)
Boys Don’t Cry (Kimberly Peirce, 1999)
American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)
Frida (Julie Taymor, 2002)
You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay, 2017)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)

Paul Mollica
Not "favorites" per se (an impossible task) but a list of ten, slightly haphazard, that I would like to program as a series:
BEGINNING (d. Déa Kulumbegashvili, 2020, Georgia-France)
LEAVE NO TRACE (d. Debra Granik, 2018, USA)
THE WONDERS (d. Alice Rohrwacher, 2014, Italy-Switzerland-France)
LA CIÉNAGA (d. Lucrecia Martel, 2001, Argentina)
SONG OF THE EXILE (d. Ann Hui, 1990, Hong Kong)
THE ASTHENIC SYNDROME (d. Kira Muratova, 1989, USSR)
VALLEY GIRL (d. Martha Coolidge, 1983, USA)
LOSING GROUND (d. Kathleen Collins, 1982, USA)
WANDA (d. Barbara Loden, 1970, USA)
CLÉO FROM 5 TO 7 (d. Agnès Varda, 1962, France)

Lyn Vaus
In no particular order:
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum - Margarethe Von Trotta
Wanda - Barbara Loden
La Cienaga - Lucrecia Martel
Seven Beauties - Lina Wertmuller
The Blue Light - Leni Riefenstahl
The Hitch Hiker - Ida Lupino
Mickey & Nickey - Elaine May
Morvern Callar - Lynne Ramsey
The Ascent - Larissa Shepitko
The Seashell and the Clergyman - Germaine Dulac

Dick Ravin
Lost Honor of Katharina Blum - Margarethe von Trotta
The Matrix - Wachowski Sisters
My Brilliant Career - Gillian Armstrong
Salaam Bombay - Mira Nair
Angel at My Table - Jane Campion
The Savages - Tamara Jenkins
Winter's Bone - Debra Granik
The Kids are Alright - Lisa Chodovlenko
The Secret Garden - Agnieszka Holland
The Whale Rider - Niki Caro

Steven Charles Brown
'Night of Truth" - (Fanta Regina Nacro)-,
'Sweetie' Jane Campion -
'Beau Travail', Claire Denis -
'Vagabond' Agnes Varda .
'Jeanne Dielmann' Chantal Ackerman.
'The Souvenir" Joanna Hogg.
'Old Joy" Kelly Reichardt,
'The Hitch-Hiker" Ida Lupino
'Hurt Locker' Bigelow
"Away From Her" Sarah Polley.

Mike Bowes
Gerald Peary +
Morvern Callar &
You Were Never Really Here by Lynne Ramsey,
Lost in Translation by Sofia Coppola,
May's New Leaf,
The Ascent by Larisa Shepitko and most importantly cannot believe I left it off my original list is Barbara Loden's Wanda.

Jan Lumholdt
As per current mood:
Death Is a Caress - Edith Carlmar
Krane's Confectionery - Astrid Henning Jensen
The Heartbreak Kid - Elaine May
Swept Away - Lina Wertmüller
India Song - Marguerite Duras
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself - Lone Scherfig
Shara - Naomi Kawase
Lost in Translation - Sofia Coppola
Things to Come - Mia Hansen Løve
Toni Erdmann - Maren Ade

Dean Michael Kuehn
Feeling somewhat contrarian and outlier here:
Ida Lupino - The Bigamist
Barbara Loden - Wanda
Agnes Varda - Cleo From 5 To 7
Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
Chantal Akerman - Jeanne Dielman
Vera Chytilova - Wolf's Hole
Jeanne Moreau - Lumiere
Jane Campion - The Piano
Jennifer Lynch - Boxing Helena
Elaine May - Mikey And Nicky

Denise Widman
A start:
- Promising Young Woman - Fennell
- Clemency - Chuku
- Power of the Dog - Campion
- Hurt Locker - Bigelow
- Swept Away - Wertmuller
- Nomadland - Zhao
- Boys Don’t Cry - Peirce
- Frida - Taymor
- Lost Daughter - Gyllenhaal
- Enough Said Holofcener

Tom Meek
The Hitch-Hiker - Lupino
Hurt Locker - Bigelow
Vagabond - Varda
White Noise - Denis
Meek’s Cutoff - Reichardt
Fast Times at Ridgemont High - Heckerling
Europa, Europa - Holland
The Last Days of Chez Nous - Armstrong
Angel at My Table - Campion
Lost in Translation - Coppola

Matthew Sorrento
Thank you, Gerald:
The Bigamist (Lupino, 1953)
Seven Beauties (Wertmuller, 1975)
Vagabond (Varda, 1985)
Daughters of the Dust (Dash, 1991)
Strange Days (Bigelow, 1995)
Eve’s Bayou (Lemmons, 1997)
Fat Girl (Breillat, 2001)
Please Give (Holofcener, 2010)
Winter’s Bone (Granik, 2010)
Meek’s Cutoff (Reichardt, 2010)

John Paizs
American Psycho (2000) – Mary Harron;
The Babadook (2014) – Jennifer Kent;
Clueless (1995) – Amy Heckerling;
The Hitch-Hiker (1953) – Ida Lupino;
Kissed (1996) – Lynne Stopkewich;
Lady Bird (2017) – Greta Gerwig;
Lost in Translation (2003) – Sofia Coppola;
Mädchen in Uniform (1931) – Leontine Sagan;
La Pointe-Courte (1955) – Agnes Varda;
Seven Beauties (1975) – Lina Wertmüller

Chris Fujiwara
The Bigamist (Lupino)
News from Home (Akerman)
Daisies (Chytilová)
Asthenic Syndrome (Muratova)
Poem of the Sea (Solntseva)
Losing Ground (Collins)
Wanda (Loden)
The Eternal Breasts (Tanaka)
Merrily We Go to Hell (Arzner)
The Heartbreak Kid (May)

Paul Brenner
Chantal Akerman, Jeanne Dielman
Dorothy Arzner, Merrily We Go To Hell
Ava DuVernay, Selma
Nicole Holocener, Enough Said
Barbara Loden, Wanda
Ida Lupino, The Hitchhiker
Vera Chytilova, Daisies
Lynn Ramsay, You Were Never Really Here
Kelly Reinhardt, First Cow
Lois Weber, The Blot
...
Gerald Peary
Paul Brenner Thanks, but replace Olympia with a fiction feature.
Paul Brenner
Good! I had forgotten Daisies!
Gerald Peary
Paul Brenner Daisies it is! I just resaw it recently and it's tremendous.

Larry Hardesty
I don't really feel qualified to answer, since I've somehow never seen an Agnes Varda or Chantal Akerman film. But it's a list of favorites, and my favorites can only include the ones I've seen:
Mikey and Nicky
I Shot Andy Warhol
Lovely and Amazing
Lost in Translation
Me and You and Everyone We Know
Away from Her
The Namesake
The Hurt Locker
The Kids are All Right
Little Women (Gerwig)

Oscar Aderholdt
Debra Gromick, Down to the Bone
Julie Dash, Daughters of the Dust
Claudia Weill, Girlfriends
Agnes Varda, Cleo From 5 to 7
Joan Micklen Silver, Between the Lines
Lynne Ramsey, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Diane Kurys, Peppermint Soda
Martha Coolidge, Valley Girl
Margauritte Duras, The Lover
Jennifer Kent, The Babadook

Daniel Kremer
I am confining this to narrative fiction.
In Chronological Order:
1. MERRILY WE GO TO HELL - Dorothy Arzner
2. BLUE SCAR - Jill Craigie
3. MR. LORD SAYS NO (THE HAPPY FAMILY) - Muriel Box
4. WANDA - Barbara Loden
5. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE UNDERNEATH - Jane Arden
6. JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES - Chantal Akerman
7. MIKEY AND NICKY - Elaine May
8. THE FAR SHORE - Joyce Wieland
9. GIRLFRIENDS - Claudia Weill
10. CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER - Joan Micklin Silver
Runners Up:
-KRISTINA TALKING PICTURES - Yvonne Rainer
-SEVEN BEAUTIES - Lina Wertmuller
-THE ASCENT - Larisa Shepitko
-SMITHEREENS - Susan Seidelman
-CRYSTAL GAZING - Laura Mulvey
-HOTEL NEW YORK - Jackie Reynal
-ENTRE NOUS - Diane Kurys
-VARIETY - Bette Gordon
-LOSING GROUND - Kathleen Collins
-VAGABOND - Agnes Varda
-AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE - Jane Campion
-LOST IN TRANSLATION - Sofia Coppola
-WENDY AND LUCY - Kelly Reichardt

David Stewart
The Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow
Fish Tank - Andrea Arnold
Ratcatcher - Lynne Ramsay
Grace of My Heart - Allison Anders
Prevenge - Alice Lowe
The Diary of a Teenage Girl - Marielle Heller
One Night In Miami - Regina King
Variety - Bette Gordon
I Shot Andy Warhol - Mary Harron
Lost in Translation - Sofia Coppola

Rick Kelley
This will change in 5 minutes, so may as well go with it now.
Julie Dash: Daughters of the Dust
Vera Chytilova: Daisies
Larisa Shepitko: The Ascent
Lucretia Martel: The Headless Woman
Kelly Reichardt: Old Joy
Antonia Bird: Ravenous
Gina Prince-Bythewood: Love & Basketball
Sally Potter: Orlando
Lynne Ramsey: We Need To Talk About Kevin
Katheryn Bigelow: Near Dark

Brad Stevens
MIKEY AND NICKY - Elaine May
VERTIGES - Christine Laurent
WATER AND SALT - Teresa Villaverde
THE UNPOLISHED - Pia Marais
DANCE, GIRL, DANCE - Dorothy Arzner
WANDA - Barbara Loden
RATCATCHER - Lynne Ramsay, Kira Muratova's THE ASTHENIC SYNDROME
BOTA - Iris Elezi
JEANNE DIELMAN... - Chantal Akerman
LIONS LOVE - Agnes Varda
Brad Stevens
I think I'll remove RATCATCHER and replace it with Kira Muratova's THE ASTHENIC SYNDROME.

Laurent Vachaud
Cléo de 5 à 7 ( Varda )
The Piano ( Campion )
The Hurt Locker ( Bigelow )
The Babadook ( Kent )
Lost in Translation ( Coppola )
Fast times at Ridgemont High ( Heckerling )
The Happening ( Diwan )
Wanda ( Barbara Loden )
Girlfriends ( Weill )
Beau travail ( Denis )

Gregory Runfeldt
1. Seven Beauties
2. Wanda
3. La Nuit de La Verite
4. Vagabond
5. An Angel at My Table
6. Anatomy of Hell
7. American Psycho
8. The Ascent
9. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
10. Ratcatcher

Dmitry Martov
Tough choices, many painful omissions but here is my chronological list:
SEDMIKRASKY [Daisies] (Věra Chytilová, 1966)
JEANNE DIELMAN ... (Chantal Akerman, 1975)
INDIA SONG (Marguerite Duras, 1975)
THE ASTHENIC SYNDROME (Kira Muratova, 1989)
THE STICKY FINGERS OF TIME (Hilary Brougher, 1997)
BEAU TRAVAIL (Claire Denis, 1999)
INNOCENCE (Lucille Hadžihalilović, 2004)
DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT (Julia Loktev, 2006)
A VINGANÇA DE UMA MULHER [A Woman's Revenge] (Rita Azevedo Gomes, 2012)
ZAMA (Lucrecia Martel, 2017)

Dennis Doros
In protest because short films and docs SHOULD be included.
Shoes by Lois Weber,
Sweetie by Jane Campion,
I Shot Andy Warhol by Mary Harron,
Household Saints (or True Love) by Nancy Savoca,
Araya by Margot Benacerraf (a tone poem, not a documentary),
Losing Ground by Kathleen Collins,
Border Radio by Allison Anders,
The Adventures of Prince Achmed by Lotte Reiniger,
Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness by Margarethe von Trotta, and
anything by Agnes Varda, Cléo from 5 to 7
Gerald Peary
Dennis Doros I love short films and documentaries but the category here is fiction features by women. Which "Sisters," as there are two Trotta films which titles are uncomfortably similar? And please name one Varda films.
Gerald Peary
Dennis Doros And please pick one of the Nancy Savoca films.
Dennis Doros
Wow, hardcore here. You're stricter than my volleyball coach in college. Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness. Household Saints. Cleo from 5 to 7. And Harlan County, USA just because you made me. Rebellion!

Tim Miller
Gerald Peary Oops. Sorry. Here's the revised list:
1. The Taste of Others, Agnes Jaoui
2. Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell
3. Dogfight, Nancy Savoca
4. The Souvenir, Joanna Hogg
5. Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig
6. Little Women, Gillian Armstrong
7. Cleo From 5 to 7, Agnes Varda
8. The Ascent, Larisa Shepiko
9. Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola
10. Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow

Tim Jackson
1. Variety Bette Gordon
2. In a Better World Suzanne Bier
3. Bluebeard Catherine Breillat
4. Enough Said Nicole Holofcener
5. Somewhere Sophia Coppola
6. Toni Erdmann Maren Ade
7. Songs My Brother Taught Me Cloé Zhao
8. Wendy and Lucy Kelly Reichardt
9. Humpday Lynn Shelton
10. It Felt Like Love Eliza Hittman
I just really enjoyed these. Missing too many. Trying not to repeat Wertmüller, Bigalow, May, Varda, Lupinio, Campion and Lady Bird (sorry - I loved it)

Adrian Danks
1. Sans toit ni loi/Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985)
2. Beau travail (Claire Denis, 1999)
3. Teströl és lélekröl (On Body and Soul, Ildikó Enyedi, 2017)
4. An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990)
5. Évolution (Lucille Hadzihalilovic, 2015)
6. Korotkie vstrechi (Brief Enounters, Kira Muratova, 1967)
7. Entre nous (Diane Kurys, 1983)
8. La niña santa/The Holy Girl (Lucrecia Martel, 2004)
9. Faithless (Liv Ullmann, 2000)
10. Roozi ke zan shodam/The Day I Became a Woman (Marzieh Meshkini, 2000)

Kevin Stoehr
Campion: Power of the Dog
Riefenstahl: The Blue Light
May: Mikey and Nicky
Denis: Beau Travail
Wertmüller: Swept Away …
Bigelow: The Hurt Locker
Lupino: The Trouble with Angels
Gerwig: Ladybird
Marshall: Awakenings
Meyers: Something’s Gotta Give

Rob Ribera
Beau Travail - Denis
Leave No Trace - Granik
Angel at My Table - Campion
My Brilliant Career - Armstrong
Wendy and Lucy - Reichardt
Ratcatcher - Ramsay
Portrait of a Lady on Fire - Sciamma
The Headless Woman - Martel
The Rider - Zhao
Middle of Nowhere - DuVernay

Christian Monggaard
Tough one.
- An Education, Lone Scherfig
- Jeanne Dielman, Chantal Akerman
- Bergman Island, Mia Hansen-Løve
- Poor Cow, Kelly Reichardt
- The Piano, Jane Campion
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Céline Sciamma
- Grace of My Heart, Allison Anders
- Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola
- Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
- Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik

Dante del Corso
1. “Europa Europa” by Agnieszka Holland
2. “Monster” by Patty Jenkins
3. “In the Land of Blood and Honey” by Angelina Jolie
4. “Somewhere” by Sofia Coppola
5. "Promising Young Woman" by Emerald Fennell
6. “The Piano” by Jane Campion
7. "The Hurt Locker" by Kathryn Bigelow
8. “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” by Amy Heckerling
9. “Valley Girl” by Martha Coolidge
10. “The Boys Next Door” by Penelope Spheeris

Tim Moore
LE BONHEUR Varda
MESHES ... Deren, GIRLFRIENDS Weill
DAISIES Chytilova
ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED Reiniger
OUTRAGE Lupino
DANCE, GIRL, DANCE Arzner
MY BRILLIANT CAREER Armstrong
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME Heller
THE HOUSE IS BLACK Farrokhzad, DESPERATELY ... Seidelman
A NEW LEAF May
Gerald Peary
Tim Moore Thanks, Tim, but check the rules. No docs, no shorts. Please give two more fictional features in places of Meshes and The House is Black.
Tim Moore
Gerald Peary Argh.
GIRLFRIENDS Weill
DESPERATELY ... Seidelman

Kevin Doherty
here are 10 that pen & i loved; no particular order, :
1. shalom bombay (mira nair)
2. the piano (jane campion)
3. certain women (kelly reichardt)
4. the virgin suicides (sophia coppola)
5. water (deepa mehta)
6. the rider (chloe zhao)
7. capernaum (nadine labaki)
8. portrait of a lady on fire (celine scianna)
9. leave no trace (debra granik)
10. mustang (deniz erguren)
...please excuse the typos/finger problems...
Gerald Peary
Kevin Doherty Thanks, Kevin. Firsts for Water and Capernaum. Faces Places is a documentary, so please replace it with a fiction feature.
Kevin Doherty
Gerald Peary ok, will do
Kevin Doherty
Gerald Peary i did it...#10 ,the documentary is replaced ...it was hard to choose...once i find a film by a director , i view them all and usually love them.

Danny Peary
Too many films I haven’t seen in many years. Random:
Maedchen in Uniform;
Away from Her;
Boys Don’t Cry;
Angel at My Table;
Mustang;
Between the Lines;
True Love;
The Hurt Locker;
The Invitation;
Walking and Talking

Peter Kemp
1. HIGH TIDE - Gillian Armstrong;
2. OHM, SHANTI, OHM - Farah Khan;
3. WUTHERING HEIGHTS - Andrea Arnold;
4. ZERO DARK THIRTY - Kathryn Bigelow;
5. BRIGHT STAR - Jane Campion;
6. ORLANDO - Sally Potter;
7. BEAU TRAVAIL - Claire Denis;
8. LES RENDEZ-VOUS D’ANNA - Chantal Akerman;
9. AWAY FROM HER - Sarah Polley;
10. VALLEY GIRL - Martha Coolidge.

Richard Brody
With my own added rule for myself, nothing from this century; in no particular order:
Jeanne Dielman (Chantal Akerman);
Outrage (Ida Lupino);
Hypocrites (Lois Weber);
A New Leaf (Elaine May);
Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash);
Losing Ground (Kathleen Collins);
Forever a Woman (Kinuyo Tanaka);
Stranded (Juleen Compton);
Wanda (Barbara Loden);
Le Camion (Marguerite Duras)

Geoff Andrew
Shoes - Lois Weber/
The Hitchhiker - Ida Lupino/
Le Bonheur - Agnès Varda/
Wanda - Barbara Loden/
A New Leaf - Elaine May/
Hour of the Star - Susana Amaral/
Sweetie - Jane Campion/
The Silences of the Palace - Moufida Tlatli/
Beau Travail - Claire Denis/
Faithless - Liv Ullmann
I have left out films made since 2000 (when it has become just a little easier for women to direct). Besides some very talented British filmmakers whose work I could have included (notably Joanna Hogg, Lynne Ramsay and Andrea Arnold), I should also mention such fine artists working today as Malgorzata Szumowska, Valeska Grisebach, Jessica Hausner, Ruth Mader, Maren Ade, Isabelle Stever, Asli Özge, Catherine Breillat, Mia Hansen-Løve, Lucretia Martel, Karen Moncrieff, Kelly Reichardt and quite a few others,

Patricia Gruben
1. Wendy and Lucy - Kelly Reichardt
2. Monsoon Wedding - Mira Nair
3. Jeanne Dielmann - Chantal Akerman
4. Orlando - Sally Potter
5. Nomadland - Chloe Zhao
6. Vagabond- Agnes Varda
7. The Piano - Jane Campion
8. American Honey - Andrea Arnold
9. Journeys from Berlin/1971 - Yvonne Rainer
10. The Babadook - Jennifer Kent

Mary Fessenden
Agnieszka Holland – Europa, Europa (1990)
Chantal Akerman - Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Claire Denis – Beau Travail (1999)
Gillian Armstrong – High Tide (1987)
Jane Campion - The Piano (1993)
Kelly Reichardt – Wendy and Lucy (2008)
Lynne Ramsay – Ratcatcher (1999)
Maren Ade – Everyone Else (2009)
Sofia Coppola – Marie Antoinette (2006)
Vera Chytilova - Daisies (1966)
...........
If the list could have included another 15 (as it pains me not to include more!), here they are:
Agnes Varda – La Bonheur (1965)
Andrea Arnold – American Honey (2016)
Chole Zhao - The Rider (2017)
Darnell Martin – I Like It Like That (1994)
Deniz Gamze Erguven – Mustang (2015)
Kathleen Collins - Losing Ground (1982)
Lucrecia Martel – La Ciénaga (2001)
Marjane Satrapi – Persepolis (2007)
Martha Coolidge – Rambling Rose (1991)
Miranda July – Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
Nadine Labaki - Capernaum (2018)
Rungano Nyoni – I am Not a Witch (2017)
Sally Potter – Orlando (1992)
Tamara Jenkins – Private Life (2018)

Jonathan Marlow
Admittedly, an overlapping trio with a half-dozen-plus-one of others (in chronological order).
• CLÉO FROM 5 TO 7 (1962) | Agnes Varda
• DAISIES (1966) | Vêra Chytilová
• JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (1975) | Chantal Akerman
• THE ASCENT (1977) | Larisa Shepitko
• LOSING GROUND (1982) | Kathleen Collins
• THE ASTHENIC SYNDROME (1989) | Kira Muratova
• BEAU TRAVAIL (1999) | Claire Denis
• MUNDANE HISTORY (2009) | Anocha Suwichakornpong
• THE OBSERVERS (2011) | Jacqueline Goss
• TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG (2018) | Dominga Sotomayor
[bonus duo]
• MERRILY WE GO TO HELL (1932) | Dorothy Arzner
• THE LITTLE FUGITIVE (1953) | Ruth Orkin + Morris Engel

Stephanie Piro
Ok, great challenge. I didn't put these in order but these are some of my very favorites:
Lina Wertmuller: Swept Away
Ida Lupino: Hitchhiker
Kathryn Bigelow: the Loveless
Jane Campion: Angel at my Table
Katherine Dieckmann: A Good Baby
Amy Heckerling: Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Suzy Yoonessi: Dear Lemon Lima
Debra Granik: Winter's Bone
Ruth Orkin: the Little Fugitive
Donna Deitch: Desert Hearts

Rick Winston
A second for
HESTER ST. Also
Mira Nair's SALAAM BOMBAY,
Susanna Bier's AFTER THE WEDDING,
Lone Scherfig's ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS,
Dee Rees' MUDBOUND,
Moufda Tlatli's SILENCES OF THE PALACE,
Chloe Zhao's THE RIDER,
Debra Granik's WINTER'S BONE,
Euzhan Palcy's SUGAR CANE ALLEY, and
Ava Duvernay's MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

Russel Harvey
I am not much for participation in list making, but I think if it's relevant or meaningful to discuss women film directors, no list should leave out (and I'm just naming one of their memorable films off the top of my head)
Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan),
Mai Zetterling (Scrubbers),
Penny Marshall (Big).
Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging),
Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa),
Sarah Polley (Stories We Tell),
Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation),
Elaine May (A New Leaf),
Marjane Satrapi, (Persepolis), and
Catherine Breillat (36 Fillette).
Russel Harvey
Since Documentary Filmmaker Gerald Peary has a thing against Documentary Films, and has asked me to replace Sarah Polley's funny and nailbiting mystery (Stories We Tell) with a narrative feature, I do so with Barbra Streisand's Yentl. Why Yentl, which some consider overly sentimental? Because it was a very well made big film that could not have been made on such a scale without Ms. Streisand putting her name and reputation on the line. As Orson Welles said: "A filmmaker needs an army." With Yentl: No Streisand, no Army, no opportunities for the next generation of women filmmakers to enlist an Army. So:
Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan),
Mai Zetterling (Scrubbers),
Penny Marshall (Big).
Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging),
Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa),
Barbra Streisand (Yentl),
Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation),
Elaine May (A New Leaf),
Marjane Satrapi, (Persepolis), and
Catherine Breillat (36 Fillette).

Ron Kopp
• Toute une Nuit (Chantal Akerman)
• Cameraperson (Kirsten Johnson)
• Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley)
• Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt)
• Vagabond (Agnes Varda)
• The Arbor (Clio Barnard)
• White Material (Claire Denis)
• Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash)
• Europa, Europa (Agnieszka Holland)
• Citizen Four (Laura Poitras)
Sorry, not sorry for including so many docs. I could easily have chosen more. (These are all features, at any rate.)
Gerald Peary
Ron Kopp I mean fiction features. Please replace the docs and resubmit. Thanks!

Dennis Delrogh
Street Corner, Muriel Box;
Rambling Rose, Martha Coolidge;
A Simple Life, Ann Hui;
The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach, Daniele Huillet & friend;
Eve's Bayou, Kosi Lemmons;
What Women Want, Nancy Meyers;
Mabel's Strange Predicament, Mabel Normand (oops, not a feature); Point Break
Rough Magic, Clare Peploe;
Suburbia, Penelope Spheeris;
Frida, Julie Taymor.
...
Gerald Peary
Dennis Delrogh Please send in a feature substitute for the Mabel Normand.
Dennis Delrogh
Gerald Peary I'm not familiar with any other features directed by women. Not even that fond of the ones I mentioned (except Anna Magdalena Bach). Sontag's Duet For Cannibals wasn't as awful as Brother Carl. And the Gillian Armstrong Little Women at least isn't passive aggressive and clueless like the Greta Gerwig one. Is Crocodile Dundee directed by a woman? How about Point Break?--I've heard of it, and it sounds Riefenstahlian, so let's go with that.
Gerald Peary
Dennis Delrogh Since you mostly watch old Hollywood "B" films, you are not going to see anything from women except Dorothy Arzner. You should check out her movies, good stuff!
Dennis Delrogh
Gerald Peary Been there, done that. Am not a fan--but she's less bad for me than her reputation among my film buddies in the 80's (one friend at the time had a theory that the talent of a woman director was in direct relation to her looks, which has since been disproven). I remember Dance Girl Dance as being okay, and Merrily We Go to Hell had perhaps something or other here and there. I like The Last of Mrs. Cheney, but she didn't direct that. Haven't revisited her in years and years and years.

Evelyn Rosenthal
Joan Micklin Silver, "Hester Street" and
“Crossing Delancey”;
Susan Seidelman, "Desperately Seeking Susan";
Adrienne Shelly, "Waitress";
Jane Campion, "Angel at My Table";
Gillian Armstrong, "My Brilliant Career";
Amy Heckerling, "Clueless";
Lina Wertmuller, "Love and Anarchy";
Penny Marshall, "A League of Their Own";
Agnieszka Holland, "Europa, Europa";
Chloé Zhao, "The Rider."
...
Evelyn Rosenthal
And I totally forgot about “My Brilliant Career” by Gillian Armstrong, with the great Judy Davis!
Holly Beth Garver
Evelyn Rosenthal, Crossing Delancey! I could watch that film a million times and I always love it like it's brand new to me.
Gerald Peary
Evelyn Rosenthal Please replace one of your two Jane Campion films with another film, perhaps My Brilliant Career.
Evelyn Rosenthal
Gerald Peary Done!
Gerald Peary
Evelyn Rosenthal You missed the rule. ONE film per director, so two Joan Micklin Silver won't do. Try again! You can just give me the film here and I will change it on your ballot.
Evelyn Rosenthal
Gerald Peary I'll go with Crossing Delancey

Holly Beth Garver
Thanks for letting me play!

Holly Beth Garver
Gerald Peary I edited it, but will repost it below.
1. One Sings, the Other Doesn't/1977/Agnes Varda
2. Girlfriends/1978/ Claudia Weill
3. Fat Girl/2001/ Catherine Breillat
4. Between The Lines/1977/Joan Micklin Silver
5. Friday Night/2002/ Claire Denis
6. The Diary of a Teenage Girl/2015/ Marielle Heller
7. My Brilliant Career/1979/GillianArmstrong
8. Tiny Furniture/2010/Lena Dunham
9. Smooth Talk/1985/ Joyce Chopra
10. Heartbreak Kid/ 1972/Elaine May

Drew Todd
In no particular order:
FAST TIMES... (Heckerling, 1982)
RED ROAD (Arnold, 2006)
VAGABOND (Varda, 1985)
SHOES (Weber, 1916)
BRIEF CROSSING (Breillat, 2001)
WANDA (Loden, 1970)
A NEW LEAF (May, 1971)
OLD JOY (Reichardt, 2006)
LA CIENEGA (Martel, 2001)
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (Ramsay, 2011)

Brecht Andersch
Jeanne Dielman
The Ascent
The Hurt Locker
India Song
Swept Away
Cleo de 5 a 7
A New Leaf
Wanda
Demon Lover Diary, Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Portrait of Jason, Terminal Island
It’s interesting to frame this as lists of favorites as opposed to “greatest,” as sentiment is favored over aesthetic accomplishment. If I was thinking more about the latter, I might be inclined to add Olympia. If the former, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. But, alas, we haven’t been given room for more than 10.
Gerald Peary
Brecht Andersch
Gina Marchetti
Brecht Andersch In the musical grouping, I always enjoyed Penelope Spheeris’ WAYNE’S WORLD 1992.
Brecht Andersch
Gerald Peary Feature docs aren't allowed? Did you specify that? Anyway, I should expect tough rules from a taskmaster like Mr. Peary. OK, you win: Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Terminal Island.
Brecht Andersch
Gina Marchetti I like that, but prefer Suburbia and The Boys Next Door.

Dror Izhar
One sings the other doesn't, Varda,
New Leaf, May,
The Piano, Campion,
Hurt Locker, Bigelow,
Laavor et Hakir, Burstein,
Lo Roim alaich, Mikal Aviad,
Shalosh Ahayot / Three Sisters, Riklis,
Aya, Autobiografia Dimionit, Mikal Bat Adam,
The second awakening of Christa von Klages, von Trotta,
and a documentary made by a woman, Phoenix Arise, Amy Berg, Seven Beauties, Wertmuller
...
Gerald Peary
Dror Izhar No docs, so substitute one more feature film.
Dror Izhar
Gerald Peary Seven Beauties, Wertmuller
Gerald Peary
Dror Izhar You also need to translate into English Shalosh Ahayot Riklis. I have no idea what that means, and what is the name of the director.
Dror Izhar
Gerald Peary three sisters directed by Dina Zvi Riklis.
Dror Izhar
Let's not forget, Israel has more lady directresses than your country. A fact.

Kiki Fung
Gerald Peary OK, if you are still accepting votes:
1. The Bigamist, Ida Lupino
2. News From Home, Chantal Akerman
3. India Song, Marguerite Duras
4. Vagabond, Agnes Varda
5. Tales, Rakhshan Banietemad
6. Summer Snow, Ann Hui
7. The Wonders, Alice Rohrwacher
8. China Behind, Tong Shu Shuen
9. Bright Sunshine In, Claire Denis
10. I’m No Angel, Mae West (does this count? I reckon she directed it…) / if not, then The Piano by Jane Campion
Gerald Peary
Kiki Fung I'm only doing credited directors, so sorry, Mae West. First votes for your number 5-9. Thanks, Kiki!

Diane Carson
In chronological order, for various historical and thematic cinematic contributions: Alice Guy-Blaché, “La Fée aux choux” (“The Cabbage Fairy”) (1896), Celine Sciamma, "Portrait of a Lady on Fire"
Mabel Normand, “Tillie’s Punctured Romance” (1914)
Lois Weber, “Where Are My Children?” (1916)
Dorothy Arzner, “Dance, Girl, Dance” (1940)
Ida Lupino, “The Bigamist” (1953)
Shirley Clarke, “Portrait of Jason” (1967)
Marleen Gorris, “De stilte rond Christine M.” (“A Question of Silence”) (1982)
Agnes Varda, “Visages Villages” (“Faces Places”) (2017), Kelly Reichardt, "Meek's Cutoff"
Jane Campion, “The Piano” (1993)
Claire Denis, “Beau travail” (“Good Work”) (1999)
...
Gerald Peary
Diane Carson Thanks, Diane, but for this list only fiction features. Please replace the Alice Guy short and the Varda documentary.
Diane Carson
Gerald Peary Oh, apologies. Rushing too much here. So:
Diane Carson
oops, hit return. Please substitute: Celine Sciamma, "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" and Kelly Reichardt, "Meek's Cutoff." Interesting lists, thanks.

Gina Marchetti
I think there will lots of overlap with all the ten best lists, so let me change things up. Here’s my list of ten films of interest by women directors from the PRC, HKSAR, Taiwan, Singapore, and other parts of the Chinese diaspora playing on Netflix right now. Maybe you’ll see something to add to your ten best list?
AN AUTUMN’S TALE (Mabel Cheung, 1987)
20 30 40 (Sylvia Chang, 2004)
FINDING MR. RIGHT (Xue Xiaolu, 2013)
THE GOLDEN ERA (Ann Hui, 2014)
US AND THEM (Rene Liu, 2018)
CROSSING (Bai Xue, 2018)
SHIRKERS (Sandi Tan, 2018)
THE HALF OF IT (Alice Wu, 2020)
BIRDS OF PREY (Cathy Yan, 2020)
AN AMERICAN GIRL (Feng-I Fiona Roan, 2021)

Jack Miller
JE, TU, IL, ELLE (Chantal Akerman, 1974)
OUTRAGE (Ida Lupino, 1950)
CHRONICLE OF ANNA MAGDALENA BACH (co-directed by Danièle Huillet, 1968)
LE BONHEUR (Agnes Varda, 1965)
MIKEY AND NICKY (Elaine May, 1976)
THE ENCHANTED DESNA (Yuliya Solntseva, 1964)
DE CIERTA MANERA / ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (Sara Gómez, 1977)
THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED (Lotte Reiniger, 1926)
WENDY AND LUCY (Kelly Reichardt, 2008)
SAMBIZANGA (Sarah Maldoror, 1972)

Antti Alanen
The Women of Ryazan (Olga Preobrazhenskaya)
La Maternelle (Marie Epstein co-d)
The Eternal Breasts (Kinuyo Tanaka)
Sambizanga (Sarah Maldoror)
Brief Encounters (Kira Muratova)
Die bleierne Zeit / Marianne & Juliane / The German Sisters (Margarethe von Trotta)
Wayne's World (Penelope Spheeris)
Clueless (Amy Heckerling)
Love Is a Treasure (Eija-Liisa Ahtila)
Nomadland (Chloé Zhao)
...
Antti Alanen
I don't regret the selection I already contributed, but here is a BUBBLING UNDER:
Francesca Bertini (co-d): Assunta Spina
Nell Shipman: Something New
Dinara Asanova: Woodpeckers Don't Get Headaches
Nelly Kaplan: La Fiancée du pirate
Coline Serreau: Three Men and a Cradle
Nadezhda Kosheverova: Cinderella
Vera Stroyeva: Boris Godunov
Marziyeh Meshkini: The Day I Became a Woman
Samira Makhmalbaf: At Five in the Afternoon
Lorene Scafaria: Hustlers
...
Antti Alanen
MORE BUBBLING UNDER:
Wanda Jakubowska: The Last Stage
Marguerite Duras: India Song
Larisa Shepitko: Wings
Chantal Akerman: La Captive
Nora Fingscheidt: The System Crasher
Malgorzata Szumowska: Body
Alice Rohrwacher: Le meraviglie
Rose Glass: Saint Maud
Miia Tervo: Aurora

Liz Burke
VAGABOND (Agnes Varda)
BEDEVIL (Tracey Moffatt)
VACANT POSSESSION (Margot Nash)
MY BRILLIANT CAREER (Gillian Armstrong)
THE PIANO (Jane Campion)
OUTRAGE (Ida Lupino)
DANCE GIRL DANCE (Dorothy Arzner)
INNOCENCE (Lucille Hadzihalilovic)
CLUELESS (Amy Heckerling)
THINGS TO COME (Mia Hansen-Love)

Carrie Rickey
THE BLOT (Lois Weber);
DANCE, GIRL, DANCE (Dorothy Arzner);
HARD, FAST & BEAUTIFUL (Ida Lupino);
CLEO FROM 5 to 7 (Agnes Varda);
A NEW LEAF (Elaine May);
MARIANNE and JULIANNE (Margarethe von Trotta)
CLUELESS (Amy Heckerling);
LOVE & BASKETBALL (Gina Prince-Byttewood);
THE NAMESAKE (Mira Nair);
MUDBOUND (Dee Rees)
SELMA (Ava DuVernay).

Susan Wloszczyna
The Trouble With Angels (Ida Lupino, 1966);
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Amy Heckerling, 1982);
Desperately Seeking Susan (Susan Seidelman,1985);
The Prince of Tides (Barbra Streisand, 1991);
A League of Their Own (Penny Marshall, 1992);
Wayne's World (Penelope Spheris,1992);
You've Got Mail (Nora Ephron, 1998);
Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003);
Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, 2017);
Winter's Bone (Debra Granik, 2010)

Tanja Bresan
In no particular order…
Andrea Arnold - Fish Tank, 2019
Amy Heckerling - Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Anne Bancroft - Fatso
Donna Deitch - Desert Hearts
Barbra Streisand- The Prince of Tides
Kathryn Bigelow - Near Dark
Agnes Varda - Kung Fu master!
Joan Tewkesbury- Old Boyfriends
Ida Lupino - The Hitch- Hiker
and although uncredited… Gloria Katz - The Messiah of Evil
( if this last one is not according to the rules - Chilly Scenes of Winter by Joan Micklin Silver as substitute)

Erwin Houtenbrink
In many cases it’s not necessarily the best film I’ve seen of this director, but the only film, so here goes, in no particular order:
Al di là del bene e del male – Liliana Cavani
Bright Star – Jane Campion
Lore - Cate Shortland
You Were Never Really Here - Lynne Ramsay
The Asthenic Syndrome - Kira Muratova
Lost in Translation - Sofia Coppola
Jeanne Dielman etc. - Chantal Akerman
Red Road - Andrea Arnold
Trance - Teresa Villaverde
Old Joy - Kelly Reichardt

Jessica Rosner
This is a personal list and does not perhaps reflect "greatest" I am obviously partial to silent films as I did the first set of women directed silent films. One problem is that there are many I can't include as it has been decades since I saw them ( and rarely watch film online or DVD etc) and also I worked directly on the distribution on a couple of these so I am a bit prejudiced
WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN ? By Lois Weber
THE OCEAN WAIF by Alice Guy
LINDA by Dorothy Davenport Reid
ENTRE NOUS by Diane Kurys
EUROPA, EUROPA by Holland
The Outrage by Lupino
Song of the Exile Hui
Daughters of the Dust Julie Dash
Crossing Delancey-Silver
Seven Beauties Wertmuller

Steven Pope
Seven Beauties - Lina Wertmüller.
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum - Margarethe von Trotta
Monster - Patty Jenkins
Outrage - Ida Lupino
Vagabond - Agnes Varda
Clueless - Amy Heckerling
Virgin Suicides - Sofia Coppola
Now and Then - Lesli Linka Glatter
Little Women - Gillian Armstrong
Slums of Beverly Hills - Tamara Jenkins

Joan Hawkins
The “no shorts” unfortunately eliminates Maya Deren’s “Meshes in the Afternoon”—
so
Bette Gordon, Variety
Maedchen in Uniform
Jeanne Dielman
Night Porter
Demon Lover Diary, Helke Sanders, The All Around Reduced Personality
Raw
Sophie Calle, “No Sex Last Night”, Shirley Clarke, The Connection
Vagabond
Dance Girl Dance
The Bigamist
...
Gerald Peary
Joan Hawkins Also, no documentaries, so please substitute two fiction features for Demon Lover Diary and No Sex Tonight.
Joan Hawkins
Gerald PearyHelke Sanders The All Around Reduced Personality, Shirley Clarke, The Connection

Steve Elworth
No order,
Suspense, Shoes
Dance Girl Dance,
The Bigamist,
One way or the other,
Mikey and Nicky,
Cleo from Five to Seven,
Jeanne Dielmann,
Beau Travail,
Clueless,
Wendy and Lucy
...
Gerald Peary
Steve Elworth Your list is the most so far like mine, but I have no idea what the film "Suspense" is. Please explain.
Steve Elworth
Gerald Peary an amazing Lois Weber film from 1913. But I realize it is a short. I will replace it with her Shoes from 1915.
Gerald Peary
Steve Elworth OK, you are the third "Shoes" vote,and I have never seen it! Maybe this week.
Steve Elworth
Gerald Peary see Suspense anyway.

Mary Desjardins
Jeanne Dielman,
Shoes,
Dance Girl Dance,
Portrait of a Lady on Fire,
Germany Pale Mother,
Cleo from 5 to 7,
Leave No Trace,
My Brilliant Career,
An Education,
The Rider.

Graham Fuller
Spontaneously and in no order:
In the Cut (Campion),
Red Road (Arnold),
High Tide (Armstrong),
Wanda (Loden),
The Virgin Suicides (Coppola),
Forever a Woman (Tanaka),
Vagabond (Varda),
Certain Women (Reichardt),
Leave No Trace (Granik),
Zama (Martel).

Robyn Bahr
Clueless (Amy Heckerling)
Little Women (Gillian Armstrong)
Booksmart (Olivia Wilde)
Hester Street (Joan Micklin Silver)
Can’t Hardly Wait (Deborah Kaplan)
The Brady Bunch Movie (Betty Thomas)
The Little Rascals (Penelope Spheeris)
The Hairy Bird (Sarah Kernochan)
Yentl (Barbra Streisand)
Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair)

Annette Insdorf
OK, here is my revised list, in alphabetical order (of the director's last name):
Greta Gerwig, LITTLE WOMEN
Marion Hansel, THE BED
Agnieszka Holland, ANGRY HARVEST
Nadine Labaki, WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
Ida Lupino, THE BIGAMIST
Dee Rees, MUDBOUND
Larissa Shepitko, THE ASCENT
Jill Sprecher, 13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING
Margarethe von Trotta, ROSA LUXEMBOURG
Lina Wertmuller, SEVEN BEAUTIES

Diane Waldman
Kind of late to the party but want to make sure
A QUESTION OF SILENCE (Marleen Gorris, 1982),
DIARY FOR MY LOVED ONES (Marta Meszaros, 1987), and
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Emerald Fennell, 2020) are included. Didn't see them mentioned yet but could have missed them. And if I must include 7 others:
MADCHEN IN UNIFORM,
DAISIES,
MARIANNE AND JULIANE,
VAGABOND,
DAUGHTERS IN THE DUST,
EVE'S BAYOU, and
THE FAREWELL (already mentioned).

Amy Geller
Gerald Peary -Here is my list, not in any particular order -
Lisa Cholodenko - High Art
Julie Dash - Daughters of the Dust
Nicole Holofcener Walking & Talking
Claire Denis - Beau Travail
Andrea Arnold - Red Road
Catherine Breillat - Romance
Joan Micklin Silver - Hester Street
Nora Ephron - When Harry Met Sally
Amy Heckerling - Clueless
Ana Lily Amirpour - A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Alex Sichel - All Over Me

Rob Jaret
Monster - Patty Jenkins
The Bad Batch - Ana Lily Amirpour
Strange Days - Kathryn Bigelow
Shiva Baby - Emma Seligman
Lost in Translation - Sofia Coppola
Desperately Seeking Susan - Susan Seidelman
Big - Penny Marshall
Bound - Wachowski Sisters
Fast Times at Ridgemont High - Amy Heckerling
Jennifer's Body - Karyn Kusama

Lisa Jayne Gordon
Here's my list, no particular order:
Chilly scenes of winter - Joan Micklin Silver
The Farewell - Lulu Wang
The Hitchhiker - Ida Lupino
Promising Young Woman - Emerald Fennell
Desert Hearts - Donna Deitch
The Piano - Jane Campion
Rambling Rose - Martha Coolidge
Seven Beauties - Lina Wertmuller
Desperately Seeking Susan- Susan Seidelman
We need to talk about Kevin - Lynne Ramsay

Petite maman

Céline Sciamma: Petite maman (FR 2021) starring Joséphine Sanz (Nelly) and Gabrielle Sanz (Marion).

Maja lapsuuden reunalla / Lilla mamma.
    FR © 2021 Lilies Films / France 3 Cinéma. PC: Lilies Films. P: Bénédicte Couvreur.
    D+SC: Céline Sciamma. Cin: Claire Mathon – color – 1,85:1 – DCP. PD: Lionel Brison. Cost: Céline Sciemma. M: Jean-Baptiste de Laubier / Para One. S: Julien Sicart, Valérie de Loof, Daniel Sobrino. ED: Julien Lacheray. Casting: Chrisel Baras.
    Theme song: "La Musique du futur" (comp. Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, lyr. Céline Sciamma).
    C: Joséphine Sanz (Nelly), Gabrielle Sanz (Marion), Nina Meurisse (La mère), Stéphane Varupenne de la Comédie française (Le père), Margot Abascal (La grand-mère).
    Loc: Cergy-Pontoise (Val-d'Oise, France).
    72 min
    Visa n° 153434
    Festival premiere: 15 June 2021 Berlin International Film Festival.
    French premiere: 2 June 2021.
    Finnish premiere: 25 March 2022, released by Cinemanse with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Janne Kauppila / Michaela Palmberg.
    Corona precaution: full capacity, hand hygiene, face masks.
    Viewed at Finnkino Strand 2, Iso Kristiina, Lappeenranta, 26 March 2022.

Official synopsis:

" Nelly a huit ans et vient de perdre sa grand-mère.
Elle part avec ses parents vider la maison d’enfance de sa mère, Marion.
Nelly est heureuse d’explorer cette maison et les bois qui l’entourent où sa mère construisait une cabane. Un matin la tristesse pousse sa mère à partir.
C’est là que Nelly rencontre une petite fille dans les bois.
Elle construit une cabane, elle a son âge et elle s’appelle Marion.
C’est sa petite maman. "

AA: There is a sympathetic tradition in French cinema of film directors as songwriters, including Jean Renoir ("La Complainte de la Butte" in French CanCan), Julien Duvivier ("Quand on s'promène au bord de l'eau" in La belle équipe), Henri Colpi ("Trois petites notes de musique" in Une aussi longue absence), Jacques Demy (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort) and Leos Carax (Kylie Minogue's "Who Were We?" in Holy Motors).

Céline Sciamma brings a distinguished contribution to this legacy with her "La Musique du futur" sung by a child choir in Petite maman (see beyond the jump break).

Petite maman is a wise and profound exploration in the great adventure of childhood and motherhood. The death of a beloved grandmother opens a flood of memories at the mother's childhood home. The viewpoint is of that of her daughter Nelly (Joséphine Sanz).

There is a wonderful forest and a river next to the house, and there Nelly meets her mother as a child. Time travel is a topical theme in today's cinema with Christopher Nolan as the reigning specialist in playing with time. Céline Sciamma brings an original and engaging approach to the preoccupation.

Grounded in everyday realism, Sciamma offers a novel cinematic concept of the dream play. For a moment I was thinking about Florian Zeller's Le Père / The Father where we move unobtrusively between hallucination and reality in the consciousness of a man at the end of his life. Here Sciamma does something similar with a protagonist whose life is still ahead of her.

Petite maman is a celebration of childhood as a golden age, a privileged stage of life. The actors Joséphine Sanz and Gabrielle Sanz convey this remarkably well.

The forest milieu is essential. The director confesses that she was asking herself what Hayao Miyazaki would do. Petite maman has been conceived also for a child audience. A Finnish viewer can discover a lot to identify with in Sciamma's subtly pantheistic view of a benevolent forest experience.

INTRODUCTION FROM THE PRESS KIT BEYOND THE JUMP BREAK:

We Make Movies Better (AMC campaign commercial starring Nicole Kidman)

We Make Movies Better (US 2021): Nicole Kidman starring in the AMC campaign commercial promoting the cinema experience.

" We come to this place for magic,

that indescribable feeling we get

when the lights begin to dim.

Dazzling images on the huge silver screen :

somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this,

and stories feel perfect and powerful,

because here, they are.

We make movies better. "

For months in every screening at the Finnkino Strand Lappeenranta I have seen the Finnkino edition of the 2021 AMC Theatres campaign commercial starring Nicole Kidman. This is reportedly the biggest advertising campaign any theatre has ever made.

Checking the commercial online I discovered that there are various versions: the AMC original, the Odeon version, etc. I find the Finnkino version the best of the ones I have seen. I have actually come to look forward to it, and I never get tired, even on a five film weekend binge at the Strand.

Nicole Kidman may have been made to look a bit like digital animation, but her Australian accent is irresistible.

Samantha Geimer: The Girl : A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski (a book)

Samantha Geimer : The Girl : A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski. Cover photograph of Samantha Geimer at 13 by Roman Polanski.

Samantha Geimer : The Girl : A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski. Together with: Lawrence Silver and Judith Newman. First Atria Books hardcover edition. ISBN: 978-1-4767-1683-1, 1476716838. New York : Atria Books, 2013

Simon & Schuster: "In this searing and surprising memoir, Samantha Geimer, "the girl" at the center of the infamous Roman Polanski sexual assault case, breaks a virtual thirty-five-year silence to tell her story and reflect on the events of that day and their lifelong repercussions."

"March 1977, Southern California. Roman Polanski drives a rented Mercedes along Mulholland Drive to Jack Nicholson's house. Sitting next to him is an aspiring actress, Samantha Geimer, recently arrived from York, Pennsylvania. She is thirteen years old."

"The undisputed facts of what happened in the following hours appear in the court record: Polanski spent hours taking pictures of Samantha-on a deck overlooking the Hollywood Hills, on a kitchen counter, topless in a Jacuzzi. Wine and Quaaludes were consumed, balance and innocence were lost, and a young girl's life was altered forever-eternally cast as a background player in her own story."

"For months on end, the Polanski case dominated the media in the US and abroad. But even with the extensive coverage, much about that day-and the girl at the center of it all-remains a mystery. Just about everyone had an opinion about the renowned director and the girl he was accused of drugging and raping. Who was the predator? Who was the prey? Was the girl an innocent victim or a cunning Lolita artfully directed by her ambitious stage mother? How could the criminal justice system have failed all the parties concerned in such a spectacular fashion? Once Polanski fled the country, what became of Samantha, the young girl forever associated with one of Hollywood's most notorious episodes? Samantha, as much as Polanski, has been a fugitive since the events of that night more than thirty years ago."

"Taking us far beyond the headlines, The Girl reveals a thirteen-year-old who was simultaneously wise beyond her years and yet terribly vulnerable. By telling her story in full for the first time, Samantha reclaims her identity, and indelibly proves that it is possible to move forward from victim to survivor, from confusion to certainty, from shame to strength." (Simon & Schuster)

AA: An important and illuminating book by Samantha Geimer, published four years before the global Me Too movement.

Sexual abuse by Roman Polanski was harrowing enough, but that is only the beginning of Samantha Geimer's account of her 36 year ordeal.

Arguably, far worse abuse took place in the miscarriages of justice and in the media harassment suffered by Samantha Geimer and her family.

To state this does not diminish Polanski's guilt and responsibility one bit.

But it helps understand why women who suffer sexual harassment and exploitation prefer to stay silent.

Even today, in Finland's current "Spedegate" debate, women who testified acts of sexual violence by the top entertainer Spede Pasanen, were insulted and vilified.

Media attention can be the worst punishment.

Nobody wants to become famous as a rape victim of a celebrity.

A rape trial can be worse than the rape itself.

I am grateful for Samantha Geimer for this direct, honest and dignified memoir.

Everyone commenting on l'Affaire Polanski should read this book. Judging by what has been written, nobody has.

The Beatles: Get Back – the Rooftop Concert (2022)

Peter Jackson: The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert (GB 2022) with George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals), John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Ringo Starr (drums), Paul McCartney (bass, vocals).

Peter Jackson: The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert (GB 2022) with Ringo Starr (drums), Paul McCartney (bass, vocals), John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals).

Peter Jackson: The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert (GB 2022). On their Apple Corps headquarters rooftop at 3 Savile Row, their final live concert, 30 Jan 1969.

The Beatles: the lunchtime rooftop concert, 30 Jan 1969. Paul McCartney (bass, vocals), John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Ringo Starr (drums), in the background Billy Preston at the keyboards.

GB © 2022 Apple Corps Limited. PC: WingNut Films / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
    A concert documentary film.
    D: Peter Jackson. ED: Jabez Olssen. Digitally remastered and re-edited. Released on DCP in IMAX theatres sound remixed in Dolby Atmos.
    ORIGINAL FOOTAGE 1969: D: Michael Lindsay-Hogg. P: Neil Aspinall. DP: Anthony B. Richmond – 16 mm – Eastman 100T 7254 – 1,37:1 – colour – camera: Arriflex 16 BL. S: Peter Sutton.
    THE BEATLES:
John Lennon – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar; lead guitar on "Get Back"
Paul McCartney – lead and backing vocals, bass guitar
George Harrison – backing vocals, lead guitar; rhythm guitar on "Get Back"
Ringo Starr – drums
    TOGETHER WITH:
Billy Preston – electric piano
    GUESTS INCLUDING: Yoko Ono, Linda McCartney, Maureen Starkey.
    SET LIST:
0. "Get Back" (Trial Run)
1. "Get Back" (Take 1)    4:43
2. "Get Back" (Take 2)    3:24
3. "Don't Let Me Down" (Take 1) 3:22
4. "I've Got a Feeling" (Take 1) 4:44
5. "One After 909" 3:09
6. "Dig a Pony" 5:52
7. "I've Got a Feeling" (Take 2) 5:35
8. "Don't Let Me Down" (Take 2) 3:30
9. "Get Back" (Take 3) 3:47
    SOUNDTRACK: Dozens of tracks sampled in the opening and ending montage medleys, "Let It Be" the last one heard.
    65 min
    US premiere: 30 Jan 2022
    Finnish premiere: 13 Feb 2022 released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures at Finnkino Itis IMAX as event cinema only, without Finnish or Swedish titles, but there are captions in English.
    Corona precaution: maximum capacity, hand hygiene, face masks.
    Viewed at Finnkino Itis IMAX, 16 Feb 2022

The vintage footage was shot for: Let It Be (GB 1969), D: Michael Lindsay-Hogg.
    [NB. Get Back (GB/US 1991), D: Richard Lester, is a concert documentary of Paul McCartney's 1989–1990 World Tour.]
    Based on Michael Lindsay-Hogg's vintage 1969 footage, Peter Jackson created an eight hour documentary series The Beatles: Get Back 1–3 (GB/NZ/US 2021) for Disney+ and Disney Platform Distribution.
    The Beatles: Get Back – the Rooftop Concert is included in Part 3: Days 17–22 of the series.

AA: I have a distant memory from more than 50 years ago of Michael Lindsay-Hogg's documentary film Let It Be (1969), covering the making of the Beatles album. I remember it as loose, rambling and unpretentious, sympathetic but not something I have been looking forward to revisit.

From the same footage Peter Jackson discovered a treasure trove. Last year he created one of the most acclaimed music documentaries ever, The Beatles: Get Back 1–3. That documentary I am looking forward to see, but during the corona pandemic I have grown totally fed up with home viewing.

Thus I was excited about the possibility to see in the cinema the rooftop concert at least. It was excerpted in the 1969 Let It Be documentary, but Peter Jackson lets us see it in extenso.

It makes a difference. The concert has an organic growth, a consistent flow, and a living, breathing unity. We hear "Get Back" four times, and both "Don't Let Me Down" and "I've Got a Feeling" twice, but it makes sense, because each take is different, and we become increasingly deeply immersed in the development of the musical performance.

The book of the year in 2021 for me was Oliver Sacks's Musicophilia, for many reasons, the most important of which was the revelation of neurogamy ("the marriage of nervous systems"), a phenomenon acutely missed in the pandemic era of social distancing. We miss the communal live experience of music and other performing arts. Even cinema is diminished without the presence of a live audience.

But Sacks's book is also a tour of exploration to the mysterious inner sanctum of music, and further, to what is beyond music. We can have brilliant melody, rhythm and harmony, the best instruments and mastery in performance and personal interpretation. Yet there is still something more, something hard or impossible to define, something that we feel and recognize but fail to express in words. A heartbeat, an oceanic tide, a mysterious but confident surge. A sense of urgency, a sense of a compelling joy of life, or a sense of cosmic agony. Unique for any artist, yet able to engage something in the innermost core of the listener.

The Beatles: Get Back – the Rooftop Concert, unlike the 1969 Let It Be documentary, is all about this. Paul's "Let It Be" is a display of the pure joy of life. John's "Don't Let Me Down" is a revelation of agony, a confession of love as a matter of "to be or not to be", a cry from the bottom of the heart. "I've Got a Feeling" is a synthesis of both extremes. "One After 909" is a flashback to the origins of The Beatles. "Dig a Pony" is a display of John's Dadaist / nonsense / absurdist stream of consciousness, an experimental passage before the return to the final takes of the three key tracks.

What impressed me most was the growing assurance and sophistication in the sonority of the rooftop performance. This is real ensemble work, a final celebration of a legendary team spirit. Even in the rooftop concert it is evident that Paul has taken the role of the band leader, and he carries the responsibility in an exemplary way, always full of energy and inspiration.

George, who was at his creative best at this very time, chose not to have a single song in this set, and he even lets John play the lead guitar on the title track.

A special hero is Billy Preston, a friend of The Beatles since the 1962 days in Hamburg, at the electric piano, prominent in "Get Back" and particularly shimmering in the haunting piano passages of "Don't Let Me Down". He became the only non-Beatle credited on a The Beatles record cover title: on the "Get Back" / "Don't Let Me Down" single.

Although neither rooftop film was directed by Richard Lester, there is an unintended element of slapstick comedy due to the part played by the policemen who try to stop the concert. I feel sorry for the policemen (credited in the IMDb in the Let It Be cast list) who thus gain unwanted fame as latterday followers to the Keystone Kops.

I am not convinced about the wisdom of producing IMAX event cinema from footage shot on 16 mm film (meant originally for a television documentary), but the split screen editing is perfect, sometimes in double, triple, quadruple or six-screen views.

It is a mighty gratifying experience to hear this complete concert in Dolby Atmos. The soundscape is full and deep, the harmony is wonderful, the sonority is rich and vigorous, the surge is irresistible, and these familiar songs have never sounded better.

Finally, I was particularly impressed by "Don't Let Me Down", this time evoking the anguish of "Suspicion" by Elvis Presley and the oceanic flow of "Albatross" by Fleetwood Mac / Peter Green. And "Dig a Pony", tonic, inspiring and lateral.

Figuratively and literally speaking, the band ended their performing career at the top.