7 Unique Filmmakers Spotlight the Strength of Girls Worldwide

Daring Faces Point to a Promising Future for International Women’s Day

Image by: Shudder

Since 1911, we’ve celebrated International Women’s Day to recognize the remarkable achievements of noteworthy women around the globe.

Countries marked March 8^th as its official observance day in 1913. They held an official celebration the following year to commemorate the momentous event, making this year the 109th anniversary. 

While many prolific women embody the spirit of International Women’s Day, Widening the Lens singles out filmmakers who look toward the future by showcasing bright minds whose valiant efforts leave an indelible mark.

These audacious female directors empower girls to fearlessly liberate themselves and those around them.

Thanks to shifting viewing preferences and an explosion of foreign-language streaming content, there’s a growing global audience for stories about ordinary girls performing extraordinary acts of courage. 

Americans streamed almost 15 million years of content in 2021 and over 19.4 million in 2022 because of greater access to programming and platforms. 

Women directors in the independent film industry capitalized on this upward trend, showing heroic girls as three-dimensional protagonists with satisfying emotional arcs.

In contrast, Hollywood continues to reserve this treatment for straight white men, often depicting women and girls in supporting roles, subjecting them to derogatory treatment.

A shocking 2012 study between The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, and Gold House revealed disparities between women and their on-screen representation.

“Among the top-grossing films dissected in the report, the study found that 17% of female API characters are verbally objectified, and 13.0% are visually objectified — a more common occurrence among API women than white women and other non-API women of color.” NY Women in Film & Television

The brazen storytellers on this list, however, reinforce why we must reverse this damaging trend, so women and girls see themselves as fully realized human beings on the silver screen. 

Their exceptional slate of girl-powered features is the perfect binge for fans of all genres.

From a clever slasher flick to a charming adventure comedy, these underrated gems showcase the fighting spirit within every girl.

Here are seven international films that prove our fates rest with an army of brave, confident, intelligent young women ready to take the world by storm.

Image by: Film Movement

1. Playground (2021) 

Director: Laura Wandel [Original title: Un Monde]

Seven-year-old Nora (Maya Vanderbeque) witnesses her older brother Abel (Günter Duret) being bullied at school. 

She rushes to save him by informing her teachers and warning their father. 

However, Abel demands she keep silent, leaving Nora to take matters into her own hands.

Nora defends her brother, endangering herself physically and mentally. She struggles to navigate two distinct worlds, one where she’s loyal to her sibling and another where she’s a pawn among adults trying to mitigate the volatile situation. 

Wandel writes and directs this fascinating award-winning Belgium schoolyard drama which the Academy shortlisted for the 94th Oscars.

She plunges audiences into the psychological warfare kids inflict on their peers by shooting the entire movie from the children’s four-foot eye level. 

Her immersive, visceral film offers an absorbing glimpse into the unsettling terrors and unexpected consequences of relentless intimidation. 

Playground is a riveting observation of the damaging trauma linked to adolescent bullying viewed from a child’s vantage point.

Stream Playground on MUBI.

Image by: Prime Video

2. HAWA (2022) 

Director: Maïmouna Doucouré

Hawa (Sania Halifa), a teenage girl from Paris, lives alone with her dying griot grandmother, Maminata (Oumou Sangaré).

As her eventual demise approaches, Maminata frantically searches for a new guardian for Hawa.

When she learns Michelle Obama is visiting on a book tour, Hawa hatches a daring plan—to be adopted by the former First Lady.

Doucouré writes and directs this endearing French coming-of-age tale. 

Audiences criticized Doucouré’s first feature, Cuties, for objectifying girls.

In Hawa, however, she refines her lofty ambitions by illuminating the difficult transition immigrant girls undergo when transitioning into womanhood. 

Doucouré uses humor to describe the dichotomy between upholding sacred cultural traditions and adhering to mainstream expectations.

Hawa uses her wit and chutzpah to track down Obama relentlessly. For her, this scenario in which she escapes the tragic fate of foster care is wholly plausible.

Halifa’s beautiful energy radiates effortless levity on the screen. Her captivating breakout performance is why Doucouré’s second feature is worth watching.

Hawa’s combo pack of wacky hijinks and insightful epiphanies translates into an inspiring adventure the entire family will enjoy.

Stream HAWA on Prime Video.

Image by: LeParc and JEF

3. Binti (2019) 

Director: Frederike Migom

Binti (Bebel Tshiani Baloji), a 12-year-old Congolese vlogger, lives in Belgium with her father, Jovial (Baloji).

The pair conceals their undocumented status from a local family as they elude authorities. 

Migom writes and directs this crowd-pleasing family picture in which she casts real-life Congolese-Belgian rapper Baloji and his daughter in the primary roles.

While formulaic and predictable, Migom explores a topical subject through a hopeful, youthful lens. 

She captures the complexities, sorrows, and frustrations of the immigrant experience with a loving father-daughter relationship. 

Baloji hustles to secure a better life, and Binti is a carefree child with dreams similar to other kids.

The duo refuses to allow fear and uncertainty to impede their happiness, as Binti remains steadfast in spreading unbridled joy and optimism.

It’s an incredible display of fortitude in the face of grave danger.

Binti is a humanizing saga where an altruistic father and his auspicious daughter reflect immigrants’ perilous quests for a fresh start in a new world.

Rent or purchase Binti across various digital platforms.

Image by: Sony Pictures Classics

4. Wadjda (2012) 

Director: Haifaa al-Mansour

Wadjda (Waad Mohammed), a spunky Saudi teen girl, struggles to conform to her country’s restrictive Muslim rules.

She enters her school's Qur’an recital competition to purchase a green bike even though men disapprove of girls who ride.

Al-Mansour writes and directs this Saudi Arabian family tale. She’s the first female Saudi filmmaker to shoot a feature-length film, and this is the first feature shot entirely in the country.

In her directorial debut, Al-Mansur weaves intricate cultural themes of feminism, abandonment, and oppression, which mirror how the country confines women and girls.

Wadja is a self-reliant teen aware of the limitations imposed on women. However, she envisions liberating herself and her mother despite the rigid framework in which they exist.

Saudi Arabia selected al-Mansour’s trailblazing work as their entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Oscars, making it the country’s first submission to the Academy.

Wadja is an uplifting chronicle of childlike wonder, serving as a valuable instrument for fundamental social change. 

Rent or purchase Wadjda across various digital platforms.

Image by: Netflix

5. Skater Girl, (2021) 

Director: Manjari Makijany

Set in a remote village in Rajasthan, India, spirited Prerna (Rachel Saanchita Gupta) meets Jessica (Amrit Maghera), a London-born tourist, who introduces her to skateboarding. 

Prerna discovers a life-changing passion for the sport and dreams of competing. Her parents instead adhere to duty and tradition, forbidding Prerna to skate.

Makijany writes, directs, and produces this feel-good Indian sports drama inspired by India’s burgeoning skateboarding subculture.  

Gupta’s magnetic performance is the heartbeat of the movie. Her kinetic energy hits the right emotive notes in this gratifying story about challenging the status quo. 

Makijany’s charmer also captures the iconoclastic freedom and unrestrained exhilaration associated with skateboarding. 

It’s a testament to the transformative effect that can occur when kids feel empowered to strive beyond their circumstances.

Skater Girl reminds us that the spirit of rebellion can act as a calling card to break free from limited pre-destined futures.

Stream Skater Girl on Netflix.

Image by: Shudder

6. Slash/Back (2022)

Director: Nyla Innuksuk

Maika (Tasiana Shirley), a young Inuit girl, and her ragtag group of friends discover an alien invasion in their tiny arctic hamlet. 

They use makeshift weapons and horror movie knowledge to save everyone in the remote village.

Innuksuk, an Indigenous storyteller, writes, directs, and produces this Canadian science-fiction horror film. She’s the first director to shoot in the Inuit hamlet of Pangnirtung, Nunavut.

Innuksuk packs a vivid, thrilling punch in her feature debut.

Her stylish slasher flick is a tribute to Joe Cornish’s cult creature feature Attack the Block and a love letter to her native homeland, Igloolik, Canada.

She upends the region’s perceived mundanity through a whimsical adventure nestled against breathtaking snowy backdrops. 

Her ingenious comedy also subverts viewers' expectations of what Inuit women are capable of. The aggressive invaders don’t stand a chance against Maika and her plucky girl gang.

Slash/Back is an entertaining thrill ride and a slimy good time from a powerful voice in Indigenous filmmaking.

Stream Slash/Back on Shudder.

Image by: Videocine

7. Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) [Original title: Vuelven]

Director: Issa López

Estrella’s (Paola Lara) mother (Viviana Amaya) disappears in a Mexican city shattered by the drug cartel war. 

Alone and afraid, Estrella seeks help from a group of young street orphans led by El Shine (Juan Ramón López).

After El Shine steals a cell phone with incriminating footage of a local human trafficking gang’s leader, the children must elude the kingpin and his underlings.

López writes and directs this Mexican crime-fantasy thriller. 

She weaves elements of magical realism underlined by gut-wrenching social commentary into her visionary take on the classic ghost story.

While López’s award-winning film scratches the horror itch, it isn’t a spooky gore fest. Instead, she skillfully fuses dreamlike fantasy and hard-hitting reality to represent the global epidemic of missing women and children, highlighted by the somber portrait of lost innocence. 

Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Mexican horror maestro Guillermo del Toro praise her as an exciting, fresh voice in the genre. 

Tigers Are Not Afraid is a chilling, uncompromising look at a generation of children left behind and a grim warning of how society fails to protect them.

Stream Tigers Are Not Afraid on Shudder.

Final Thoughts

Paramount surveyed over 15,000 people aged 13-49 in fifteen countries worldwide and determined poor on-screen representation can negatively affect a person’s well-being.

“Six in ten people who feel their gender or sexual identity is poorly represented say this has affected their self-esteem and confidence. Among those with a disability that they feel is poorly represented, 44% say this has impacted their mental health – substantially higher than others who feel poorly represented. And more than a third of those who feel their race or ethnicity is poorly represented say their connection to their cultural heritage has suffered as a result.” - Paramount Insights

Positive on-screen representation, in contrast, breaks down barriers, introduces new ideas, and creates inspiring role models.  

Cinema influences how people see themselves and people from different cultures.

When marginalized groups, such as BIPOC girls, see people like them on screen, it validates their worth in the world.

So watch these incredible films from budding global female storytellers. Women directors telling authentic stories featuring capable women and girls should be standard, not the exception.

Are you searching for more women storytellers who defy on-screen expectations? These daring changemakers disrupt Hollywood’s status quo.

Remember to subscribe and spread the word! More must-watch recommendations arrive next week.