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women's issues
Nov–Dec 2002
Sept–Oct 2002

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© Senses of Cinema
1999–2005


Top Five Lists of Films by Women Directors

Over the last two issues of 2002, Senses of Cinema ran a focus on women in cinema, and so we thought to run concurrently a poll of the greatest films of all time by female directors. Just beneath this preamble you will find 14 lists towards a final tally, atop those of the 63 film buffs, writers, critics, programmers, and filmmakers who first took up this particular “dare to a cinephile”, and whose lists are preserved further down the page. Between the accounts of these two rounds of polling lie our two concluding Top Ten tables, offering this two issue-strong poll's assessment of history's greatest films by women and its greatest women directors.

With the second round's polling, I was less than wholly stringent in cracking down on submissions that deviated from the stipulated form. This corresponds to the spirit in which I came to feel this poll ought be conducted, feeling that it should serve more as an exercise in highlighting and celebrating the extraordinary contribution women behind the camera have made to the history of the cinema, across all modes of filmmaking, rather than as an attempt to (im)possibly arrive at a canonical list of the greatest women's films of all time. Hence, in the 14 new lists, a few liberties can be observed as having been taken with the instructions that contributors simply provide a list of no more than but the five titles...

A women's film canon impossible? Well, I think so. As Natalie Neill noted at the head of her review of Alison Butler's Women's Cinema: The Contested Screen (Wallflower, 2002) in Senses, “women's cinema” is a most protean subject matter. The biological gender of their directors aside, there is so little appreciably in common between so many of the nigh-on 200 films a feature of the 77 lists below, as to render clearly nonsensical any notion that they might all be representative of the one form, or model, of cinematic production. Furthermore, whom amongst us would argue that Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), or Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia (1938), both of which polled very highly, are in any way characteristic of a “women's film”, a term rather more often applied to the cinema of a Max Ophuls or a George Cukor, directors famously not women themselves. (!)

I feel that, in running this poll, a greater, albeit still qualifiable, success can be claimed for its arrival at a canonical list of history's great women directors. However, I note that those very same directors to have polled the strongest here, along with their many wonderful and greatly distinguished and various films, are all poorly and uncompetitively represented in our ongoing, all filmmaker-encompassing Top Tens poll. Why should this be so?

While this particular poll is now closed, I welcome your thoughts on the greater reception cinephilia still evidently affords the works of male directors, and indeed this section of the journal welcomes your thoughts on any other matters you feel our polls raise. Please email them to me, Cerise Howard, here.

– Cerise Howard, Top Tens compiler.


 

Nov–Dec 2002

 


Ina Bertrand (writer, Australia) (in chronological order)
Possum Paddock (Kate Howarde, 1920), The Cheaters (Paulette McDonagh, 1930), The Singer and the Dancer (Gillian Armstrong, 1977), In This Life's Body (Corinne Cantrill, 1985), Road to Nhill (Sue Brooks, 1997)

David Ehrenstein (film writer, Los Angeles, USA) (in no particular order)
Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962), Mikey and Nicky (Elaine May, 1976), India Song (Marguerite Duras, 1975), Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970), Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966), Madame X: An Absolute Ruler (Ulrike Ottinger, 1978), Ritual in Transfigured Time (Maya Deren, 1946), Golden Eighties (Chantal Akerman, 1986), Lives of Performers (Yvonne Rainer, 1972), Reason Over Passion (Joyce Wieland, 1969)

Ernest Haines (cinephile, San Jose, California, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962), 2. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 3. Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness (Margarethe von Trotta, 1979), 4. Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmüller, 1976), 5. Household Saints (Nancy Savoca, 1993)

Alexander Horwath (curator-critic, director Austrian Film Museum, Austria) (in chronological order)
Fiction
Mädchen in Uniform (Leontine Sagan, 1931), Dance, Girl, Dance (Dorothy Arzner, 1940), Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970), Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985), Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël? (Sandrine Veysset, 1996)
Documentary
The House Is Black (Forugh Farrokhzad, 1962), Portrait of Jason (Shirley Clarke, 1967), Harlan County, U.S.A. (Barbara Kopple, 1976), D'Est (Chantal Akerman, 1993), Danach hätte es schön sein müssen (Karin Jurschick, 2000)
Experimental
Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), ...Remote... Remote... (Valie Export, 1973), The Man Who Envied Women (Yvonne Rainer, 1985), Queen of Diamonds (Nina Menkes, 1991), Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)

Paul Jeffery (videomaker, Australia) (in no particular order)
Rain (Christine Jeffs, 2001), Faithless (Liv Ullmann, 2000), Autumn Moon (Clara Law, 1992), A Question of Silence (Marlene Gorris, 1982), American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)

Bill Krohn (author and Hollywood correspondent for Cahiers du Cinéma, USA) (in no particular order, but with favourite film first)
Lions Love (Agnès Varda, 1969), The Cool World (Shirley Clarke, 1963), Mikey and Nicky (Elaine May, 1976), Numero Deux (Anne-Marie Miéville & Jean-Luc Godard, 1975), Othon (Danièle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub, 1969), Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), The House Is Black (Forugh Farrokhzad, 1962), The Last Campaign (Barbara Frank, 1978), Le Navire Night (Marguerite Duras, 1978), Border Line (Danièle Dubroux, 1992)

Jung-In Kwon (instructor of philosophy, Brockport College, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Ulysse (Agnès Varda, 1982), 2. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 3. Le Bonheur (Agnès Varda, 1965), 4. Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962), 5. Hide and Seek (Su Friedrich, 1996)

Henrique Lopes (music teacher and inveterate cinephile, Portugal) (in preferential order)
1. Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962), 2. Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938), 3. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993), 4. India Song (Marguerite Duras, 1975), 5. A Idade Maior (Teresa Villaverde, 1991)

Jane Mills (academic and film writer, Australia) (in preferential order)
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), 2. A Question of Silence (Marlene Gorris, 1982), 3. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 4. The Gleaners and I (Agnés Varda, 2000), 5. Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash, 1991)

Bérénice Reynaud (author and teacher, California Institute of the Arts, USA) (in chronological order)
Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966), The Arch (Tang Shu Shuen, 1970), Film About a Woman Who... (Yvonne Rainer, 1974), India Song (Marguerite Duras, 1975), Nargess (Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, 1992), La Captive (Chantal Akerman, 2000)

Bill Routt (does more or less whatever, Australia) (in no particular order)
Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985), The Last Days of Chez Nous (Gillian Armstrong, 1991), The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Lotte Reiniger, 1926), La Maternelle (Marie Epstein & Jean Benoît-Lévy, 1933), Hypocrites (Lois Weber, 1915)

Matt Severson (photo archivist, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, USA) (in preferential order)
1. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993), 2. Kung-Fu master (Agnès Varda, 1987), 3. The Ascent (Larissa Shepitko, 1976), 4. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 5. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975)

Girish Shambu (writer, USA) (in no particular order)
Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), La Captive (Chantal Akerman, 2000), Le Bonheur (Agnès Varda, 1965), Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995), Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, 2002)

Lesley Speed (writer, Australia) (in no particular order)
Wayne's World (Penelope Spheeris, 1992), Mississippi Masala (Mira Nair, 1991), Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995), The Gleaners and I (Agnés Varda, 2000), Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)

back to lists, Nov-Dec 2002


TALLY at Nov–Dec 2002,
after 77 lists:

By film:

Vagabond
Vagabond
 1.
 2.
 3.
 4.


 7.
 8.
 9.



 Meshes of the Afternoon        (Maya Deren, 1943)
Beau Travail        (Claire Denis, 1999)
Jeanne Dielman (Chantal Akerman, 1975)
The Piano        (Jane Campion, 1993)
Vagabond        (Agnès Varda, 1985)
Cléo de 5 à 7        (Agnès Varda, 1962)
Mikey And Nicky        (Elaine May, 1976)
India Song        (Marguerite Duras, 1975)
Le Bonheur        (Agnès Varda, 1965)
Clueless        (Amy Heckerling, 1995)
Daisies        (Vera Chytilová, 1966)
Olympia        (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938) 		21
18
13
11
11
11
 9
 8
 7
 7
 7
 7

By director:

to Helen Carter's 'Great Directors' profile of Agnès Varda
Agnès Varda
 1.
 2.
 3.
 4.
 5.
 6.
 7.
 8.
 9.


 Agnés Varda
Chantal Akerman
Maya Deren
Claire Denis
Jane Campion
Elaine May
Marguerite Duras
Leni Riefenstahl
Gillian Armstrong
Lina Wertmüller
Kathryn Bigelow 		36
27
25
21
17
15
11
10
 9
 9
 9

  back to the top of the page


 

Sept–Oct 2002

 


David Absalom (writer, UK) (in chronological order)
Where Are My Children? (Lois Weber & Phillips Smalley, 1916), A Job in a Million (Evelyn Spice, 1937), The Stranger Left No Card (Wendy Toye, 1953), The Brady Bunch Movie (Betty Thomas, 1995), Grace of My Heart (Allison Anders, 1996)

Acquarello (writer Strictly Film School, USA) (in preferential order)
1. News From Home (Chantal Akerman, 1976), 2. Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985), 3. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993), 4. Love and Anarchy (Lina Wertmüller, 1973), 5. A Lonely Woman (Agnieszka Holland, 1981)

Cemal Akyuz (filmmaker, Turkey) (in no particular order)
Diary for My Loves (Márta Mészáros, 1987), Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1936), Daughters of the Sun (Maryam Shahriar, 2000), The Hidden Half (Tahmineh Milani, 2001), The Blue-Veiled (Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, 1995)

Daud M. Ali (film buff, Canada) (in chronological order)
Dance, Girl, Dance (Dorothy Arzner, 1940), The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino, 1953), Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962), Mikey and Nicky (Elaine May, 1976), I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (Patricia Rozema, 1987)

Richard Armstrong (writer/tutor, UK) (in no particular order)
Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), Hard, Fast and Beautiful (Ida Lupino, 1951), The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993), The Last Days of Chez Nous (Gillian Armstrong, 1991), Beirut: The Last Home Movie (Jennifer Fox, 1987)

Saul Austerlitz (writer, Cinemascope, USA) (in chronological order)
Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938), Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), Harlan County, U.S.A. (Barbara Kopple, 1976), Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995), Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2001)

Elizabeth Bradford (film writer for defunct website Kozmo.com, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 2. Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966), 3. The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (Danièle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub, 1968), 4. Johanna d?Arc of Mongolia (Ulrike Ottinger, 1989), 5. Love Me (Laetitia Masson, 1999)

Jay Bryant (screenwriter, USA) (in alphabetical order)
The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf, 1998), The Heartbreak Kid (Elaine May, 1972), Mädchen in Uniform (Leontine Sagan, 1931), Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999), Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmüller, 1976)

Dan Callahan (writer, devoted mainly to film, USA) (in chronological order)
The Love Light (Frances Marion, 1921), Christopher Strong (Dorothy Arzner, 1933), Le Bonheur (Agnès Varda, 1965), Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970), High Tide (Gillian Armstrong, 1988)

Mark Campbell (film lover, Australia) (in no particular order)
Clockwatchers (Jill Sprecher, 1997), The Well (Samantha Lang, 1998), High Tide (Gillian Armstrong, 1988), Entre Nous (Diane Kurys, 1983), Siesta (Mary Lambert, 1987)

Rose Capp (film critic, co-editor Special Women's issue, Senses of Cinema) (in no particular order)
India Song (Marguerite Duras, 1975), Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), D'Est (Chantal Akerman, 1993), Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), A Question of Silence (Marlene Gorris, 1982)

Christian Cargnelli (writer and editor, Austria) (in preferential order)
1. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 2. At Land (Maya Deren, 1944), 3. En avoir (ou pas) (Laetitia Masson, 1995), 4. Nénette et Boni (Claire Denis, 1996), 5. Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël? (Sandrine Veysset, 1996)

Eric Carpenter (student, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), 2. Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy (Tracey Moffat, 1989), 3. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 4. Ritual in Transfigured Time (Maya Deren, 1946), 5. Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962)

Laura Carroll (student, Australia) (in chronological order)
1. A New Leaf (Elaine May, 1971), 2. The Ballad of Little Jo (Maggie Greenwald, 1993), 3. Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995), 4. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), 5. Ravenous (Antonia Bird, 1999)

Richard A. Curnutte, Jr. (editor, The Film Journal, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962), 2. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993), 3. Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 1934), 4. Salaam Bombay! (Mira Nair, 1988), 5. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)

Adrian Danks (president, Melbourne Cinémathèque, Australia) (in preferential order)
1. A Song of Air (Merilee Bennett, 1987), 2. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), 3. Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985), 4. In This Life?s Body (Corinne Cantrill, 1985), 5. D'Est (Chantal Akerman, 1993)

Brian Darr (cinephile, USA) (in order of release)
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Lotte Reiniger, 1926), Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938), Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), Orlando (Sally Potter, 1992), Veloma (Marie de Laubier, 2002)

John Davies (writer for MovieMail, a world cinema video company, Wales) (in preferential order)
1. Mädchen in Uniform (Leontine Sagan, 1931), 2. The Ascent (Larissa Shepitko, 1976), 3. The Silences of the Palace (Moufida Tlatli, 1994), 4. Blackboards (Samira Makhmalbaf, 2000), 5. Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962)

Jorge Didaco (actor, acting teacher and film buff, Brazil) (in chronological order)
1. The Bigamist (Ida Lupino, 1953), 2. India Song (Marguerite Duras, 1975), 3. Freak Orlando (Ulrike Ottinger, 1981), 4. Dance of the Damned (Katt Shea, 1988), 5. Amélia (Ana Carolina, 2000)

Steve Erickson (writer, Chronicle of a Passion, USA) (in no particular order)
Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966), Le Bonheur (Agnès Varda, 1965), Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975)

Chris Fujiwara (writer, USA) (in preferential order)
1. The Bigamist (Ida Lupino, 1953), 2. Mikey And Nicky (Elaine May, 1976), 3. Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970), 4. Bad Girls Go to Hell (Doris Wishman, 1965), 5. The Asthenic Syndrome (Kira Muratova, 1989)

Bill Georgaris (webmaster, They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?, Australia) (in no particular order)
The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino, 1953), Testament (Lynne Littman, 1983), Christopher Strong (Dorothy Arzner, 1933), American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000), The Portrait of a Lady (Jane Campion, 1996)

Sue Gillett (lecturer, Australia) (in preferential order)
1. Antonia's Line (Marlene Gorris, 1995), 2. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993), 3. Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy (Tracey Moffat, 1989), 4. High Tide (Gillian Armstrong, 1988), 5. A Question of Silence (Marlene Gorris, 1982)

Antony I. Ginnane (producer/distributor, Australia / USA) (in no particular order)
Near Dark (Katherine Bigelow, 1987), Le Bonheur (Agnès Varda, 1965), Slumber Party Massacre (Amy Jones, 1982), The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino, 1953), Broken Highway (Laurie McInnes, 1993)

Engin Gulez (student at Ankara University, Turkey) (in no particular order)
Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmüller, 1976), The Tango Lesson (Sally Potter, 1997), Nobody Loves Me (Doris Dörrie, 1994), Une vraie jeune fille (Catherine Breillat, 1976/2000), My Own Country (Mira Nair, 1998)

Lindsay Anne Hallam (film student, Australia) (in preferential order)
1. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993), 2. Olivier, Olivier (Agnieszka Holland, 1992), 3. Titus (Julie Taymor, 1999), 4. American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000), 5. The Tango Lesson (Sally Potter, 1997)

Benjamin Halligan (author of Michael Reeves (Manchester University Press, forthcoming), UK) (in preferential order)
1. The Ascent (Larissa Shepitko, 1976), 2. Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966), 3. The Gleaners and I (Agnés Varda, 2000), 4. Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 1934), 5. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)

Craig Harshaw (performance artist, executive director of Insight Arts, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985), 2. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), 3. Marianne and Juliane (Margarethe von Trotta, 1981), 4. Dance, Girl, Dance (Dorothy Arzner, 1940), 5. At Land (Maya Deren, 1944)

Lee Hill (author, A Grand Guy: The Art and Life of Terry Southern, Canada) (in preferential order)
1. A New Leaf (Elaine May, 1971), 2. Crystal Gazing (Laura Mulvey & Peter Wollen, 1982), 3. An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990), 4. Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985), 5. Jesus' Son (Alison Maclean, 1999)

Bruce Hodsdon (curator-cinephile, Australia) (in no particular order)
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989), Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938), Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash, 1991), Blue Steel (Kathryn Bigelow, 1990)

Tim Holm (film fan, Canada) (in preferential order)
1. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993), 2. Titus (Julie Taymor, 1999), 3. Little Women (Gillian Armstrong, 1994), 4. Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995), 5. Salaam Bombay! (Mira Nair, 1988)

Cerise Howard (web designer and top 10s compiler, Senses of Cinema, Australia) (in no particular order)
Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995), Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), La Coquille et le Clergyman (Germaine Dulac, 1927), Sci-Fi Betty (Gillian Ashurst, 2000), Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995)

Christoph Huber (writer, Die Presse, Austria) (in alphabetical order)
Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), Mikey And Nicky (Elaine May, 1976), Travolta et moi (Patricia Mazuy, 1993), Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970), Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël? (Sandrine Veysset, 1996)

Julien Humphreys (student, UK) (in no particular order)
Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962), Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985), The Blue Light (Leni Riefenstahl, 1932), La Captive (Chantal Akerman, 2000), The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)

Christopher J. Jarmick (author of The Glass Cocoon, poet, documentary producer/director, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985), 2. Swept Away (Lina Wertmüller, 1974), 3. Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995), 4. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), 5. The Heartbreak Kid (Elaine May, 1972)

Jack Jewers (director, UK) (in chronological order)
The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993), Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola, 1999), The Man Who Cried (Sally Potter, 2000), Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2001)

Kent Jones (writer, USA) (in alphabetical order)
Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), La Captive (Chantal Akerman, 2000), Chilly Scenes of Winter (Joan Micklin Silver, 1979), India Song (Marguerite Duras, 1975), Mikey And Nicky (Elaine May, 1976)

Elric Kane (filmmaker, New Zealand) (in preferential order)
1. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 2. À ma soeur! (Catherine Breillat, 2000), 3. Kitchen Sink (Alison Maclean, 1989), 4. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Amy Heckerling, 1982), 5. American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)

Fábio Kawano (film student, Brazil) (in preferential order)
1. Os Mutantes (Teresa Villaverde, 1998), 2. Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962), 3. Mimí metallurgico ferito nell'onore (Lina Wertmüller, 1972), 4. The Portrait of a Lady (Jane Campion, 1996), 5. The Bigamist (Ida Lupino, 1953)

Ian A. Kay (independent filmmaker, USA) (in preferential order)
1. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993), 2. Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1936), 3. Swept Away (Lina Wertmüller, 1974), 4. Jacquot de Nantes (Agnés Varda, 1991), 5. Big (Penny Marshall, 1988)

Jim Knox (grateful to no longer be sorting mail at 5am every morning, Australia) (in order of unreliable memory)
Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966), Two Friends (Jane Campion, 1986), Quasi at the Quackadero (Sally Cruikshank, 1976), The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (Margarethe von Trotta & Volker Schlöndorff, 1975), Evil of Dracula (Martha Colburn, 1997)

Juanita Kwok (co-director, Sydney Asia Pacific Film Festival, Australia) (in preferential order)
1. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), 2. The Day I Became a Woman (Marzieh Meshkini, 2000), 3. Head On (Ana Kokkinos, 1998), 4. Night Cries: A Rural Tragedy (Tracey Moffat, 1989), 5. Wayne's World (Penelope Spheeris, 1992)

Maximilian Le Cain (filmmaker, Ireland) (in preferential order)
1. Son nom de Venise dans Calcutta désert (Marguerite Duras, 1976), 2. The Asthenic Syndrome (Kira Muratova, 1989), 3. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 4. 36 fillette (Catherine Breillat, 1988), 5. The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf, 1998)

James Leahy (film historian and screenwriter, UK) (in preferential order)
1=. Lettre paysanne (Safi Faye, 1975), Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash, 1991), 3=. One Way or Another (Sara Gómez, 1977, completed after her death in 1974 by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Julio García Espinosa), The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty (Esfir Shub, 1927), Suspense (Lois Weber & Phillips Smalley, 1913)

Matthew Lehrer (filmmaker, USA) (in alphabetical order, by filmmaker)
News from Home (Chantal Akerman, 1976), Chocolat (Claire Denis, 1988), The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf, 1998), Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985), Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël? (Sandrine Veysset, 1996)

Greg Leitman (writer for MAD Magazine, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Ishtar (Elaine May, 1987), 2. Mikey And Nicky (Elaine May, 1976), 3. The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf, 1998), 4. Portrait d'une jeune fille de la fin des années 60 à Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1994), 5. One Way or Another (Sara Gómez, 1977, completed after her death in 1974 by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Julio García Espinosa)

Joshua Mabe (film geek, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness (Margarethe von Trotta, 1979), 2. The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino, 1953), 3. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), 4. Jollies (Sadie Benning, 1990), 5. Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991)

Bill Mousoulis (filmmaker, Australia) (in preferential order)
1. Toute une nuit (Chantal Akerman, 1982), 2. Girlfriends (Claudia Weill, 1978), 3. J?ai pas sommeil (Claire Denis, 1994), 4. Mikey And Nicky (Elaine May, 1976), 5. Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985)

James Naremore (teacher, Indiana University, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), 2. Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962), 3. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 4. Dogfight (Nancy Savoca, 1991), 5. The House Is Black (Forugh Farrokhzad, 1962)

Martha P. Nochimson (critic, scholar, professor, USA) (in no particular order)
Titus (Julie Taymor, 1999), Dance, Girl, Dance (Dorothy Arzner, 1940), Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (Jill Sprecher, 2001), Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash, 1991), Dogfight (Nancy Savoca, 1991)

John O'Brien (writer, A Wreck, A Tangle and Bondi Banquet, Australia) (in no particular order)
Go Fish (Rose Troche, 1994), Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989), Not Reconciled (Danièle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub, 1965), The Loveless (Kathryn Bigelow & Monty Montgomery, 1982), Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël? (Sandrine Veysset, 1996)

Hasan Ergen Özay (film lover, Turkey) (in preferential order)
1. Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985), 2. Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999), 3. Les Indiens sont encore loin (Patricia Moraz, 1976), 4. Le Bonheur (Agnès Varda, 1965), 5. Queen of Diamonds (Nina Menkes, 1991)

Jit Phokaew (cinephile, Thailand) (in preferential order)
1. Agatha et les lectures illimitées (Marguerite Duras, 1981), 2. Baise-moi (Virginie Despentes & Coralie Trinh Thi, 2000), 3. Swann (Anna Benson Gyles, 1996), 4. The Sticky Fingers of Time (Hilary Brougher, 1997), 5. The All-Around Reduced Personality: Outtakes (Helke Sander, 1977)

Andrew Rector (filmmaker, organizer of cinema group, Los Angeles, USA) (in order in which they were encountered)
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), Illusions (Julie Dash, 1983), You Are Not I (Sara Driver, 1981), The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf, 1998), Too Early, Too Late (Danièle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub, 1981)

George Robinson (writer, The Jewish Week, INSIDE Magazine, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), 2. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 3. India Song (Marguerite Duras, 1975), 4. The Last Days of Chez Nous (Gillian Armstrong, 1991), 5. Provincial Actors (Agnieszka Holland, 1980)

Le Sam(urai) (film buff(oon), Melbourne) (in preferential order)
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), 2. Damnation of Faust Trilogy (Dara Birnbaum, 1983-87), 3. La Vie rêvée (Mireille Dansereau, 1972), 4. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 5. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)

Constantine Santas (writer, Responding to Film, USA) (in preferential order)
1. Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1936), 2. Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmüller, 1976), 3. Romance (Catherine Breillat, 1999), 4. Boys Don't Cry (Kimberly Pierce, 1999), 5. Charlotte Gray (Gillian Armstrong, 2001)

Brad Stevens (writer, Sight and Sound, etc., UK) (in preferential order)
1. Mikey and Nicky (Elaine May, 1976), 2. Água e Sal (Teresa Villaverde, 2001), 3. The Asthenic Syndrome (Kira Muratova, 1989), 4. The Street (Caroline Leaf, 1976), 5. Vertiges (Christine Laurent, 1985)

Hwan Sunwoo (teaches philosophy in University of Seoul, South Korea) (in preferential order)
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), 2. Le Bonheur (Agnès Varda, 1965), 3. Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmüller, 1976), 4. India Song (Marguerite Duras, 1975), 5. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943)

Keith Uhlich (freelance writer, USA) (in preferential order)
1. The Day I Became a Woman (Marzieh Meshkini, 2000), 2. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943), 3. Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991), 4. Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995), 5. Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2001)

Fiona A. Villella (editor, Senses of Cinema, Australia) (in no particular order)
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975), The House Is Black (Forugh Farrokhzad, 1962), A New Leaf (Elaine May, 1971), Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999), Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966)

George Wu (writer for Culturevulture.net and Prodigy Internet, USA) (in preferential order)
1. My 20th Century (Ildikó Enyedi, 1989), 2. Antonia's Line (Marlene Gorris, 1995), 3. Titus (Julie Taymor, 1999), 4. La Captive (Chantal Akerman, 2000), 5. Salaam Bombay! (Mira Nair, 1988)

back to lists, Sept-Oct 2002

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