Wonder Woman Tops the List of Best Films Made in the Last Decade in our First Twitter Poll
Written by Kara Headley
Developmentally Edited by Alexandra Hidalgo
Copy Edited & Posted by Sophie Schmidt
We conducted a poll to see, in the opinions of our followers, what the best films of the decade directed by women are. Here are the top five films of the decade, along with some of the runner-ups. Thank you to everyone who participated, and we hope this list inspires you to discover a new favorite film.
This is the first of a series of Twitter polls we plan to conduct. If you have an idea for a poll, Tweet it to us at @agnesfilms!
Wonder Woman (2017), dir. Patty Jenkins
Wonder Woman is the first big-budget superhero film that is focused on a woman protagonist. Starring Gal Gadot as the titular Wonder Woman, or Diana Prince, and Chris Pine as Steven Trevor, an American pilot during WWI. Diana lives on the hidden island of Themyscira and trains with the Amazons when Steven crashes his plane into the island. Diana and Steven leave the island together and team up to stop the Germans from releasing a deadly gas at the Western Front. Wonder Woman is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014), dir. Ana Lily Amirpour
In the Iranian town of Bad City, there is a vampire (Sheila Vand) who preys on men who disrespect women. One night, she encounters Arash (Arash Marandi), a young man who is taking care of his drug-addicted father who owes money to his dealer. When the vampire meets Arash, her perception of the world changes forever. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
Queen & Slim (2019), dir. Melina Matsoukas
When Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) are pulled over for a minor traffic violation, the situation escalates and Slim shoots the white officer in self-defense. A video of the incident goes viral, and Queen and Slim go on the run from the law, becoming symbols of resistance and love. It is a poetic and magical rumination on American racism and those who dare stand up to it. As of writing this, Queen & Slim is still out in theatres.
Charlie’s Angels (2019), dir. Elizabeth Banks
The 2019 Charlie’s Angels film is a continuation of the original world as established in the 2000 and 2003 films. It follows Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott), the inventor of Calisto, a new sustainable energy source that has the ability to revolutionize power. Calisto falls into the wrong hands, so Elena must team up with Sabina Wilson (Kristen Stewart) and Jane Kano (Ella Balinska) from the Townsend agency to get it back. Charlie’s Angels is not yet available to stream.
Faces Places (2017), dir. Agnès Varda and JR
Faces Places is a French documentary that follows director Agnès Varda and photographer and muralist JR as they travel through rural France in JR’s van which doubles as a photobooth. The duo takes photos of the people they meet and create whimsical and thought-provoking murals that ask passersby and film audiences alike to reflect on our current values and way of life. Faces Places is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
Our followers invite you to lose yourself in women-directed films.
This is the full list of films that were suggested by our poll participants because we found it to be a fantastic and eclectic collection of work that can provide the perfect viewing guide for this winter:
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012), dir. Alison Klayman
American Honey (2016), dir. Andrea Arnold
Archipelago (2010), dir Joanna Hogg
Atlantics (2019), dir. Mati Diop
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), dir. Pamela B. Green
Booksmart (2019), dir. Olivia Wilde
Brave (2012), dir. Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews
Cameraperson (2016), dir. Kirsten Johnson
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), dir. Marielle Heller
Captain Marvel (2019), dir. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Certain Women (2017), dir. Kelly Reichardt
Citizenfour (2014), dir. Laura Poitras
Dreams of a Life (2011), dir. Carol Morley
Frozen (2013), dir. Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck
Frozen 2 (2019), dir. Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck
Happy as Lazzaro (2018), dir. Alice Rohrwacher
Lady Bird (2017), dir. Greta Gerwig
Lemonade (2016), dir. Beyoncé and Kahlil Joseph
Little Women (2019), dir. Greta Gerwig
Mary Queen of Scots (2018), dir. Josie Rourke
Meek’s Cutoff (2010), dir. Kelly Reichardt
Mudbound (2017), dir. Dee Rees
No Home Movie (2015), dir. Chantal Akerman
Pariah (2011), dir. Dee Rees
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), dir. Céline Sciamma
Radiogram (2017), dir. Rouzie Hassanova
Shirkers (2018), dir. Sandi Tan
Stories We Tell (2013), dir. Sarah Polley
The Babadook (2014), dir. Jennifer Kent
The Brink (2019), dir. Alison Klayman
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015), dir. Marielle Heller
The Farewell (2019), dir. Lulu Wang
The Foxy Merkins (2013), dir. Madeleine Olnek
The Kitchen (2019), dir. Andrea Berloff
The Rider (2017), dir. Chloé Zhao
Toni Erdmann (2016), dir. Maren Ade
Waru (2017), dir. Ainsley Gardiner, Casey Kaa, Renae Maihi, Awanui Simich-Pene, Briar Grace Smith, Paula Whetu Jones, Chelsea Winstanley, Katie Wolfe
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2012), dir. Lynne Ramsay
Winter’s Bone (2010), dir. Debra Granik
Wuthering Heights (2011), dir. Andrea Arnold
These films were voted for, but were not made in the 2010s. Since they are spectacular works, we thought we’d still share them with you:
Daughters of the Dust (1991), dir. Julie Dash
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels (1975), dir. Chantal Akerman
Paris is Burning (1990), dir. Jennie Livingston
Persepolis (2007), dir. Marjane Satrapi and Winshluss
Ratcatcher (1999), dir. Lynne Ramsay
The Watermelon Woman (1997), dir. Cheryl Dunye
Walking and Talking (1996), dir. Nicole Holofcener
Wendy and Lucy (2008), dir. Kelly Reichardt