Female FriendshipFilms

A groundbreaking work by Indian director Payal Kapadia, this historic masterpiece won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Following three women of different ages - Prabha, Anu, and Parvaty - working together at a hospital in Mumbai, it explores their complex personal lives and the power of their mutually supportive friendship. With its poetic visual language, the film deeply examines crucial themes including female friendship, intergenerational solidarity, identity formation in urban development, and gender politics in modern India.

A superhero film directed by Nia DaCosta, the first Black woman to helm a Marvel movie, following three female superheroes Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan who are forced to work together to save the universe when their powers become entangled. The film explores themes of intergenerational female solidarity, multicultural identity, and women's representation in superhero cinema.

A surreal campus comedy directed by Emma Seligman about two queer high school students who start an after-school fight club to win over their dream cheerleader crushes. This film explores themes of queer identity, female friendship, gender power subversion, and adolescent sexual awakening through extremely exaggerated techniques, becoming a representative work of new-era queer feminism.

Kaouther Ben Hania combines testimony, reenactment, and visible performance to examine how violence, maternal authority, political upheaval, and extremist recruitment move through one Tunisian family.

Adapted from Judy Blume's groundbreaking 1970 novel, follows 11-year-old Margaret Simon as she navigates puberty's physical changes, religious exploration, and identity formation. This warm and honest coming-of-age film explores female adolescent experiences, mother-daughter relationships, religious freedom, and the universality of women's intergenerational experiences through a delicate perspective.

The feature directorial debut from 'We Are Lady Parts' creator Nida Manzoor, an action-comedy that blends Bollywood, martial arts, and sisterhood in an empowering story. Following rebellious teenager Ria's mission to save her sister Lena from becoming a wealthy man's caged-bird wife by organizing a friend rescue operation. The film explores themes of cultural identity, family expectations, female autonomy, and intergenerational female solidarity through innovative visual language.

A drama film written and directed by Sarah Polley, adapted from Miriam Toews' novel of the same name. Set in a Bolivian Mennonite community, following a group of women who gather to discuss their future after discovering systematic sexual assault by men in their community. The film deeply explores important issues including religious patriarchy critique, collective trauma and healing, women's political awakening, and the power of silence versus voice.

A historical action epic directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, starring Viola Davis. Set against the backdrop of the 19th-century West African Kingdom of Dahomey's all-female warrior regiment, the Agojie, following General Nanisca as she trains a new generation of female warriors to defend the kingdom. The film explores important themes of Black female power, African historical narrative, decolonialism, and women's military leadership.

When her fifteen-year-old daughter seeks an abortion in N’Djamena, Amina discovers that survival depends on a clandestine network of women whose solidarity exceeds law, stigma, and kinship.

Three girls grow up in a Mexican poppy-growing region where mothers disguise daughters from armed men, making girlhood, friendship, and protective care the center of narco-violence.

In 1650 Kilkenny, Ireland, the friendship story between English girl Robyn and wild girl Mebh. This hand-drawn animation masterpiece fuses Irish folklore with feminist themes, deeply exploring gender role constraints, environmental protection, cultural colonialism, and female friendship and empowerment through two girls' journey of challenging patriarchal constraints and embracing natural forces.

In the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court, Eliza Hittman's Never Rarely Sometimes Always is necessary viewing. A tiny independent film that topped critics' best-of lists, it's about a pair of friends who are forced to travel from their small Pennsylvania town to New York City in search of medical aid for an unwanted pregnancy.

An adaptation of Jane Austen's novel directed by Autumn de Wilde, starring Anya Taylor-Joy. The film follows wealthy young woman Emma Woodhouse in Regency-era England as she enthusiastically matchmakes for others, discovering her own true emotions in the process. The director reinterprets this classic literary work with exquisite visual aesthetics and a modern feminist perspective, deeply exploring important themes including female independence, class consciousness, marriage choices, and coming-of-age awakening.

Based on A'Ziah King's viral Twitter story, follows part-time stripper Zola who is convinced by her new friend to go on a road trip to Tampa to earn money dancing, only to get trapped in a sex work situation. This black comedy explores the complex realities of sex work, racial dynamics, female agency, and narrative truth in the social media age through Zola's perspective.

The story of East London Black teenage girl Olushola (nicknamed 'Rocks') who must survive independently with her brother Emmanuel after their mother suddenly leaves home, evading social services. This coming-of-age drama showcases deep friendships between girls, urban youth resilience, and the vital role of female mutual aid networks in times of crisis through delicate perspective.

During Algeria’s Black Decade, a student turns fashion into collective defiance as armed fundamentalism closes public space around women’s bodies, education, and friendship.

A crime comedy-drama directed by Lorene Scafaria, starring Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu. Based on true events, following a group of strippers who band together to scam wealthy Wall Street clients after the 2008 financial crisis. The film deeply explores crucial issues including class revenge, female solidarity, economic inequality, sex worker rights, and the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on working-class women, presenting a complex story of how marginalized women seek survival and fight back in economic hardship.

Olivia Wilde's directorial debut revolutionizes the high school comedy genre, following two academic overachievers who decide to cram four years of fun into one wild night before graduation. This self-aware coming-of-age comedy explores female friendship, academic pressure, sexual identity, and teenage identity formation through an inclusive lens.

A tropical melodrama about two sisters separated by patriarchal deception, revealing how women’s ambitions, labor, sexuality, and kinship are made invisible in mid-century Brazil.

In late 18th century Brittany, France, female painter Marianne is commissioned to paint a portrait of aristocrat Héloïse. This portrait will determine Héloïse's marriage, but she refuses to cooperate. During their time together, the two gradually develop a profound and secret emotional connection.

A tender romance between two young women in Nairobi uses color, music, and everyday joy to resist a public culture in which queer love is treated as political betrayal.

Set in 18th-century British court, the power game between Queen Anne and two women - Sarah Churchill and Abigail Hill. This dark comedy explores complex themes of female power, gender politics, female friendship and competition through gorgeous visual style and sharp satire, challenging traditional gender role expectations.

A biographical sports drama centered on the famous 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. Emma Stone portrays tennis legend Billie Jean King, while Steve Carell plays former tennis champion Bobby Riggs. The film deeply explores crucial issues including sports equality, equal pay, women's rights, and LGBTQ+ identity, showcasing a historic showdown that changed both sports history and the trajectory of the women's rights movement.

Over five hours and seventeen minutes, Ryusuke Hamaguchi follows four women approaching forty in Kobe as friendship, marriage, work and departure test what it takes to speak honestly and truly hear one another.

Early summer. In a village in northern Turkey, Lale and her four sisters are walking home from school, playing innocently with some boys. The immorality of their play sets off a scandal that has unexpected consequences. The family home is progressively transformed into a prison; instruction in homemaking substitutes for school, and marriages begin to be arranged. The five sisters who share a common passion for freedom, find ways of getting around the constraints imposed on them.

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Imperator Furiosa leads a group of women escaping the tyrannical rule of Immortan Joe in search of a promised land of freedom. This action film places female resistance and sisterhood at the heart of a traditionally male-dominated genre.

Director Maryam Keshavarz's coming-of-age drama focuses on a wealthy Iranian family, particularly headstrong teenager Atafeh whose relationship with her friend Shireen evolves from friendship into romance and even eroticism, alongside her brother's journey from recovering drug addict to religious extremist. This vibrant exploration of sexual rebellion showcases high school protagonists confronting patriarchal oppression, culminating in a penetrating examination of women's treatment under Iranian theocracy.

High school cheerleader Jennifer becomes possessed by a demon after being sacrificed by a male band seeking fame, then begins hunting the town's men. This initially misunderstood horror-comedy gained critical reappraisal during the MeToo era, recognized as a feminist horror film ahead of its time that explores toxic masculinity, complex female friendship, and gender violence under patriarchy.

A British comedy-drama about two girls pursuing their football dreams, exploring gender expectations in South Asian immigrant families, cultural conflict, and women's participation in sports. Gurinder Chadha's groundbreaking film profoundly depicts women's struggles and growth in male-dominated sports.

A groundbreaking comedy film where Reese Witherspoon's Elle Woods challenges stereotypes about blonde women. This 2001 film deeply explores female intelligence, workplace discrimination, and multiple facets of feminism through the story of a fashion-conscious girl entering Harvard Law School.

A crime action film about four African American women from Los Angeles' underclass who team up to rob banks out of desperation. This 1996 classic powerfully depicts the triple oppression of race, class, and gender, as well as the power of female friendship in desperate circumstances, becoming a milestone in Black feminist cinema.

A comedy film about three middle-aged women who team up for revenge after being abandoned by their husbands. This 1996 work starring Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, and Goldie Hawn humorously explores the marriage crisis, age discrimination, and self-worth reconstruction faced by middle-aged women.

A "way existential" 1990s time capsule of fashion, pop culture, and Valley girl verbiage, Amy Heckerling's rom-com riff on Jane Austen's Emma celebrates female friendship and sexuality, and it puts a woman's self-fulfillment above finding a man. Even if "fulfillment" technically includes finding a man.

Feminism isn't just about women kicking ass - it's also about allowing us the freedom to be who we want. For the protagonist sisters in Gillian Armstrong's adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel, that means a writer, a musician, a housewife, and a free spirit.

The late Penny Marshall directed this gem about the very first female professional baseball league. Geena Davis stars as the World War II - era catcher fighting the patriarchy, and Tom Hanks plays the cranky team manager with a heart of gold. As inspirational as it is just plain entertaining, the film encourages female viewers young and old to embrace the champion stifled inside each one of us.

Two ordinary women - housewife Thelma and diner waitress Louise - embark on a weekend trip that turns into a fugitive journey after killing in self-defense. During their cross-country road trip, they experience a transformation from fear to liberation, ultimately choosing freedom over surrender.

Canadian avant-garde cinema mostly seen and analyzed by college students, Patricia Rozema's fairy-tale whimsy, about an artist on her journey to self-discovery, is one you should seek out - particularly because it's made by a fantastic team of women.

Whoopi Goldberg brings Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize - winning novel to life as Celie, a Southern Black woman who has suffered abuse for decades. A project brought to a hesitant Steven Spielberg by producer Quincy Jones, the film was the director's first with a female lead.

A classic workplace revenge comedy featuring three female employees who unite against their sexist boss, starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton. This groundbreaking film profoundly reveals gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and pay inequality issues in the 1980s workplace.

If you don't yet worship at the altar of Pam Grier, then good lord, what are you waiting for? An action legend who has been shattering glass ceilings for decades, the woman has made a film or television show nearly every single year since 1970. And one of her best is Foxy Brown, a crime classic that has a feminist streak piercing through all its revenge-glory chaos.

A romp through a Catholic girls' school courtesy of a pair of mischievous teens, this Hayley Mills classic is all about sisterhood. But the real feminism is happening behind the lens: Ida Lupino, the sole working female director of the '50s, was blazing a trail for the women who would follow.

Agnès Varda's 1962 masterpiece uses real-time filming to depict the psychological journey of a young singer awaiting cancer diagnosis results over two hours, standing as a landmark of both French New Wave and feminist cinema.

Released in 1940, this Howard Hawks rom-com still resonates with progressive themes today. It stars Rosalind Russell as Hildy, a star journalist who has her own ideas about what she wants for her life (traditional and non-) and isn't going to let her boss-slash-husband, played by Cary Grant, get in the way.