8 Upcoming Films Directed By Women You Need To Know About

Because there's so much more to cinema this year than Transformers 5.

Universal Pictures / Via imdb.com

2015 may have felt disappointing so far for female directors, given that the nominees for Best Director at the most recent Academy Awards once again failed to realise that people who aren't men make films too.

However there is hope. A third of the films at this year's Sundance were female directed (and look awesome), and there are a huge number of big-budget comedies that are directed by women set to build on the foundations of female-fronted comedy put down by films like The Heat and Bridesmaids.

Here's a round-up of some of the most exciting and most anticipated, hopefully making 2015 a cinematic year to remember.

8. Advantageous - Jennifer Phang

Visual Communications / Via youtube.com

The success of The Hunger Games and the stream of YA science-fiction film adaptations that followed it have shown that dystopian adventures are big business. Advantageous brings back a distinctly adult spin, with an intimate portrait of a woman navigating a dangerous future for both her daughter and herself.

The film is set in the not too distant future of 2041, where protagonist Gwen Koh works for a company that sells advanced artificial youth at a high price. However, at 40 she is deemed too old to continue this line of work, leaving both herself and daughter at risk of falling into catastrophic poverty. In the same vein of feminist dystopias like Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Advantageous looks at a future where human bodies have become increasingly commodified, with the awful consequences that come with this.

7. Madame Bovary - Sophie Barthes

Aden Film / Via imdb.com

A fabulous adaptation of a fabulous book, Madame Bovary was initially released on the festival circuit in 2014, but will finally be hitting the big screens this year.

Based on Gustave Flaubert’s novel of the same name, Madame Bovary focuses on Emma who has recently married doctor Charles Bovary. Emma soon becomes disillusioned with her life, and sinks into a deep depression. She has several extramarital affairs in an attempt to reinvigorate herself, but this only furthers the hopelessness that she feels.

Director Sophie Barthes has already dealt with the subject of discontent with her 2009 comedy/drama Cold Souls. Paired with Mia Wasikowska’s delicate acting talent, this adaptation should be a stunning film to watch.

6. Stockholm, Pennsylvania - Nikole Beckwith

Fido Features / Via imdb.com

Stockholm, Pennsylvania promises a haunting and severely affecting portrait of a young woman literally rebuilding her life from scratch.

Kidnapped at the age of four, protagonist Leann is reunited with her biological parents seventeen years after being taken. Raised in a basement by her kidnapper, she was told that the entire outside world had come to an end. After being returned to her parents with her kidnapper imprisoned, Leann must completely relearn everything about both herself and the world, from her real birthday to discovering the Star Wars franchise.

Reminiscent of 2011’s incredible Martha Marcy May Marlene, Stockholm, Pennsylvania is set to be a chilling and sensitive portrait of what is usually deemed the happy ending in action-packed kidnapping stories. Expect eerie and memorable performances from Saorsie Ronan (Leann) and Cynthia Nixon (her mother), and make sure you pack a box of tissues to boot.

5. The Intern - Nancy Meyers

Warner Bros. / Via dailymail.co.uk

The Intern is an upcoming comedy starring Anne Hathaway, who is in charge of a fashion-based e-commerce company that takes on an eldery intern (Robery DeNiro) as part of a community outreach programme.

The film is written and directed by Nancy Meyers, who is known for Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday, and (most importantly) The Parent Trap.

Bringing together these two as this "odd couple" in a work environment will provide some quirky and interesting situations, and once resolved we’re sure to have a sweet and heartwarming comedy.

4. Hot Pursuit - Anne Fletcher

MGM / Via youtube.com

After a very successful stint on the serious side of Hollywood, Reese Witherspoon is back in comedy as a fairly useless police officer who has to protect the widow of a drug dealer (the ever hilarious Sofia Vergara) from both criminals and dirty cops who send them on the run.

This is no ordinary odd couple movie. The ladies must survive by hook or by crook, and judging from the trailer, there are numerous bizarre situations that they find themselves in. Witherspoon’s anxious cop versus Vergara’s outgoing and outrageous widow are set to be hilarious, and their chemistry is obvious in the trailer as they bounce off each other with ease.

3. The Diary of a Teenage Girl - Marielle Heller

Sony Pictures / Via imdb.com

The Diary of a Teenage Girl has been kicking up a storm at this year’s Sundance Festival. Featuring prominent names Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgård, it is a coming-of-age story with a difference.

The film is set in 1970's San Francisco and follows Minnie, a 15-year-old who is sleeping with her mother’s boyfriend. It’s based on a graphic novel of the same name and, as well as being part of Sundance, has already won an award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

2. Pitch Perfect 2 - Elizabeth Banks

Universal Pictures / Via Twitter: @RebelWilson

Pitch Perfect 2 looks like it’s going to be just as raucous and ridiculous fun as the first installment, and with the supremely talented Elizabeth Banks taking it on as her directorial debut we’re bound to be in for a great time.

Following the Barden Bellas acapella group to the World Championship, we watch these girls go up against the best, and bitchiest if the teaser is anything to go by, in the world.

Judging from the teasers, Pitch Perfect 2 seems to be everything we’ve hoped for and more (apart from maybe the joy that would be the Beca/Chloe pairing). If you haven’t seen the first, what are you waiting for? Catch up now, and then get ready to experience the excellence that is bound to be Pitch Perfect 2.

1. Appropriate Behaviour - Desiree Akhavan

Parkville Pictures / Via whatson.bfi.org.uk

Appropriate Behaviour first appeared in 2014’s Sundance film festival, but has been given general release for the coming year.

Akhavan plays Shirin, who is finding herself being pulled in several directions as she attempts to be a politically correct bisexual woman, a Brooklyn hipster, and good Persian daughter all at the same time. After breaking up with her girlfriend, Shirin attempts to both bring together and push away these expectations.

This is writer, director, and star Desiree Akhavan’s first feature-length film, and has been compared with the powerhouse that is Lena Dunham's Girls. With this high critical praise, we can be sure this is only the beginning of Akhavan's career.