Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
This whole thing started with a mission: support female led films on opening weekend whenever possible.* If you want to read more about why, you can read that post here.
If you caught the SAG Awards last weekend, or even just the speeches from the SAG Awards last weekend, you’ll notice that women had big, bold voices with big, bold messages. It’s a strange time to be a woman, in any profession, not just the entertainment profession. But if one thing can most certainly unite all of us - it’s the notion that women are deserving of the spotlight. The work women are doing is not secondary to the work of men - it’s primary. It’s worthy of attention. And it’s worthy of EVERYONE’S attention.
That’s why I have a new challenge for you this month. If you know a little boy, or even a young man, take him to a movie that was written by, directed by or starring a woman this month. Start to help him understand his role by making him open to the stories of women. That is how we make small changes. That is how we help to make women’s stories EVERYONE’S stories.
FEBRUARY 10:
A United Kingdom (Directed by Amma Usante and Starring Rosamund Pike)
Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana causes an international stir when he marries a white woman from London in the late 1940s.
Running Wild (Starring Sharon Stone and Written by Christina Moore)
The story of a young widow trying to save her ranch following her husband’s fatal car crash. She creates a convict rehabilitation program, working with a herd of wild horses that have wandered onto her property. She did not anticipate the greed, bureaucracy and vanity that she must overcome to heal the convicts, the horses and ultimately herself.
Kedi (Directed by Ceyda Torun)
A profile of an ancient city and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.
FEBRUARY 17:
Everybody Loves Somebody (Directed by Catalina Aguilar Mastretta)
On the surface, the young and beautiful Clara Barron seems to have everything- a great job as an OB-GYN; a great house in LA; and a big fun-loving Mexican family. But, the one thing Clara doesn’t have figured out is her love life. Pressured by a family wedding in Mexico, Clara asks a co-worker to pose as her boyfriend for the weekend festivities - only to be caught by surprise when her ex- boyfriend suddenly shows up after disappearing from her life completely.
My Name is Emily (Starring Evanna Lynch)
A teenage girl runs away from a foster home with the boy who loves her. She searches for her visionary writer father who is locked up in a psychiatric institution. It is a story of redemption.
Lovesong (Directed by So Yong Kim)
When an emotionally neglected woman and her best friend go on an impromptu road trip, their bond deepens and intensifies until an abrupt farewell separates them.
American Fable (Directed by Anne Hamilton)
A dark, dreamlike mystery plays out amidst the expansive farmlands of the American Midwest in this wondrous, storybook thriller. With her family’s livelihood imperiled by the farm crisis of the 1980s, eleven-year-old Gitty loses herself in a world of fantasy and make believe. But she stumbles into her own fairytale when she makes a startling discovery: a well-dressed mystery man being held captive in her family’s silo. It’s the beginning of a labyrinthine journey that will turn Gitty’s world upside down and force her to question her loyalty to her own family.
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One additional note before I go: I am not able to tell you if these movies are objectively good or feminist friendly, as I have not seen all of them. The point of this list is to give you a place to start. The truth is that we don’t have a lot to choose from, but part of the battle is giving you the information. Information is power. However, shared knowledge is also key. So if you see one of these films or have seen an early screening, please let us know if you recommend it or not in the comments.
This whole thing started with a mission: support female led films on opening weekend whenever possible.* If you want to read more about why, you can read that post here.
I think I speak for all of us when I say: FINALLY, WE CAN SEE HIDDEN FIGURES. This month proves two things: women aren’t exclusively making movies about love, parenthood and being single. In fact, there isn’t a damn movie in the bunch that wouldn’t surprise you. The diversity of trailers here is a delight to witness, even if you just breeze through them.
With that, let’s all make it a priority to see more women in the movies this year. We won’t make things change - if we don’t show up. So, I’m gonna show up. Are you?
JANUARY 6:
Hidden Figures (Screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Starring Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monáe and Octavia Spencer)
Three brilliant African-American women at NASA – Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – serve as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn (Glen Powell) into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race and galvanized the world.
Underworld: Blood Wars (Directed by Anna Foerster and Starring Kate Beckinsale)
Death dealer Selene must fend off brutal attacks from both the Lycan clan and the vampire faction that betrayed her. Joining forces with allies David and Thomas, she embarks on a quest to end the eternal war between the two races, even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.
JANUARY 13:
The Bye, Bye Man (Directed by Stacy Title)
People commit unthinkable acts every day. Time and again, we grapple to understand what drives a person to do such terrible things. But what if all of the questions we’re asking are wrong? What if the cause of all evil is not a matter of what…but who? When three college friends stumble upon the horrific origins of the Bye Bye Man, they discover that there is only one way to avoid his curse: don’t think it, don’t say it. But once the Bye Bye Man gets inside your head, he takes control. Is there a way to survive his possession?
20th Century Women (Starring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig)
In 1979 Santa Barbara, Calif., Dorothea Fields is a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie, at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women – Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist living as a boarder in the Fields’ home and Julie, a savvy and provocative teenage neighbor – to help with Jamie’s upbringing.
Claire in Motion (Written and Directed by Annie J. Howell, Lisa Robinson)
Three weeks after Claire’s husband mysteriously disappeared, the police end their investigation and her son is beginning to grieve. The only person who hasn’t given up is Claire. Soon, she discovers his troubling secrets, including an alluring yet manipulative graduate student with whom he had formed a close bond. As she digs deeper, Claire begins to lose her grip on how well she truly knew her husband and questions her own identity in the process.
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One additional note before I go: I am not able to tell you if these movies are objectively good or feminist friendly, as I have not seen all of them. The point of this list is to give you a place to start. The truth is that we don’t have a lot to choose from, but part of the battle is giving you the information. Information is power. However, shared knowledge is also key. So if you see one of these films or have seen an early screening, please let us know if you recommend it or not in the comments.
This whole thing started with a mission: support female led films on opening weekend whenever possible.* If you want to read more about why, you can read that post here.
This is late. But it’s better than never. And honestly, can you blame me? It’s been a rough couple of weeks for women at the box office. As in, they are hardly present. Normally, I wouldn’t put movies on this list that are only starring one woman in a principle role, as I’d look for at least two or one other major contribution on the crew, but this month was so paltry, I had to break my own rules.
Since I started doing this a little over a year ago, this is the worst its been. I hope it is never this bad again. Because if there was ever a case for why 7 or 8 movies would be released every weekend and there isn’t even ONE every week for a month that has a woman in a leadership role, then I would like to know what the excuse should be.
OCTOBER 7:
The Girl on the Train (Starring Emily Blunt)
A divorcee becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that promises to send shockwaves throughout her life.
OCTOBER 14:
Certain Women (Written and Directed by Kelly Reichard and starring Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern)
The lives of three women intersect in small-town America, where each is imperfectly blazing a trail.
Aquarius (Starring Sonia Braga)
Clara, a 65-year-old widow and retired music critic, vows to live in her apartment until she dies after a developer buys all of the units around her.
OCTOBER 21:
The Whole Truth (Directed by Courtney Hunt and Starring Renée Zellweger)
A defense attorney works to get his teenage client acquitted of murdering his wealthy father.
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One additional note before I go: I am not able to tell you if these movies are objectively good or feminist friendly, as I have not seen all of them. The point of this list is to give you a place to start. The truth is that we don’t have a lot to choose from, but part of the battle is giving you the information. Information is power. However, shared knowledge is also key. So if you see one of these films or have seen an early screening, please let us know if you recommend it or not in the comments.
This whole thing started with a mission: support female led films on opening weekend whenever possible.* If you want to read more about why, you can read that post here.
The fall can be a depressing time for movies. With the summer blockbusters now wrapped and the award hungry titles waiting for the winter, there is usually a shortage of compelling stories to pick from. However, it’s a full month for female directors who both write and direct their films. It’s practically a cinematic prozac.
SEPTEMBER 2:
White Girl (Written and Directed by Elizabeth Wood. Starring Morgan Saylor)
Summer, New York City. A college girl falls hard for a guy she just met. After a night of partying goes wrong, she goes to wild extremes to get him back.
SEPTEMBER 9:
Ithaca (Directed by and Starring Meg Ryan)
During the summer of 1942, a 14-year-old looks after his widowed mother and two siblings while working as a bicycle messenger.
SEPTEMBER 16:
Bridget Jones’s Baby (Directed by Sharon Maguire, Written by Helen Fielding and Starring Renee Zellweger)
The continuing adventures of British publishing executive Bridget Jones as she enters her 40s. This time, she’s pregnant!
Miss Stevens (Written and directed by Julia Hart)
A comedy focused on a teacher who chaperones a group of high schoolers to a state drama competition.
Wild Oats (Written by Claudia Myers and Starring Jessica Lange, Demi Moore and Shirley MacLaine)
Everything changes for EVA when she receives a life insurance check accidentally made out for $5,000,000 instead of the expected $50.000. She and her best friend take the money and head out for the adventure of a lifetime.
SEPTEMBER 23:
Girl Asleep (Directed by Rosemary Myers and Starring Bethany Whitmore)
The world is closing in on Greta Driscoll. On the cusp of turning fifteen she can’t bear to leave her childhood, it contains all the things that give her comfort.
The Dressmaker (Written and Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse and Starring Kate Winslet)
In 1950s Australia, beautiful, talented dressmaker Tilly returns to her tiny hometown to right wrongs from her past. As she tries to reconcile with her mother, she starts to fall in love while transforming the fashion of the town.
My Blind Brother (Written and Directed by Sophie Goodhart)
Robbie, a blind athlete, is loved and adored as a local sports hero, and his brother, Bill, has never received the same adoration, which leads to a rivalry that boils over when they both fall for the same girl.
SEPTEMBER 30:
Queen of Katwe (Directed by Mira Nair and Starring Lupita Nyong’o)
A young girl from Uganda trains to become a world chess champion.
American Honey (Written and Directed by Andrea Arnold)
A teenage girl with nothing to lose joins a traveling magazine sales crew, and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love as she criss-crosses the Midwest with a band of misfits.
Generation Startup (Directed by Cheryl Miller Houser and Cynthia Wade)
Generation Startup takes us to the front lines of entrepreneurship in America, capturing the struggles and triumphs of six recent college graduates who put everything on the line to build startups in Detroit. Shot over 17 months, it’s an honest, in-the-trenches look at what it takes to launch a startup. Directed by Academy Award winner Cynthia Wade and award-winning filmmaker Cheryl Miller Houser, the film celebrates risk-taking, urban revitalization, and diversity while delivering a vital call-to-action-with entrepreneurship at a record low, the country’s economic future is at stake.
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One additional note before I go: I am not able to tell you if these movies are objectively good or feminist friendly, as I have not seen all of them. The point of this list is to give you a place to start. The truth is that we don’t have a lot to choose from, but part of the battle is giving you the information. Information is power. However, shared knowledge is also key. So if you see one of these films or have seen an early screening, please let us know if you recommend it or not in the comments.
This whole thing started with a mission: support female led films on opening weekend whenever possible.* If you want to read more about why, you can read that post here.
This is one of those depressing months that reminds me how much more work there is to do in terms of getting more women in leading roles. There is only ONE, ONE movie this entire month that stars a woman in the leading role and that woman is Meryl Streep. While I’m happy for Meryl, I’m a little depressed that this is the state of our cinema. The Intervention comes close, but ultimately, it’s an ensemble cast full of amazing women (and dudes) so it doesn’t reach the same threshold.
So let me make a plug for a movie I saw last weekend that had many great women in supporting roles: The Hunt for the Wilderpeople. While there was not a female lead, the women that served as supporting characters were funny, thoroughly thought out and talented beyond belief in their roles. So, if this list depresses you, go check that one out.
AUGUST 5TH:
Five Nights in Maine (Written and Directed by Maris Curran)
A young African American man, reeling from the tragic loss of his wife, travels to rural Maine to seek answers from his estranged mother-in-law, who is herself confronting guilt and grief over her daughter’s death.
AUGUST 12TH:
Florence Foster Jenkins (Starring Meryl Streep)
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.
Disorder (Written and Directed by Alice Winocour)
Vincent is an ex-soldier with PTSD who is hired to protect the wife and child of a wealthy Lebanese businessman while he’s out of town. Despite the apparent tranquility on Maryland, Vincent perceives an external threat
AUGUST 26TH:
The Intervention (Written and Directed by Clea DuVall)
A weekend getaway for four couples takes a sharp turn when one of the couples discovers the entire trip was orchestrated to host an intervention on their marriage.
Black Songbird (Written by Raquel Deloatch)
Blinded by ambition to find the killers of her childhood friends and advance her career, rookie journalist Knight Daye is recruited by the FBI to go undercover as a party hostess at a club that fronts for organize crime. Knight enters there glamorous world, but learns that there is something more sinister lurking behind all the glamour.
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One additional note before I go: I am not able to tell you if these movies are objectively good or feminist friendly, as I have not seen all of them. The point of this list is to give you a place to start. The truth is that we don’t have a lot to choose from, but part of the battle is giving you the information. Information is power. However, shared knowledge is also key. So if you see one of these films or have seen an early screening, please let us know if you recommend it or not in the comments.
