14 Romantic Movies Directed By Women To Watch On Valentine's Day

In 2015 I am only watching films written or directed by women. Part of what I want to do with A Year With Women is to highlight films by women so people can expand what they are watching along with me. Thus, I give you 14 romantic films by women that you should seek out this Valentine's Day.

1. A Little Bit of Heaven, 2012 (dir. Nicole Kassell)

Kate Hudson stars as a woman who finds out she has cancer, Gael García Bernal is her doctor. Sparks fly.

2. Beyond The Lights, 2014 (dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood)

Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays a hip-hop starlet whose life is spiraling out of control, Nate Parker is a cop who comes into her life just in time to help her find balance.

3. Bridget Jones’s Diary, 2001 (dir. Sharon Maguire)

Renée Zellweger is the eponymous every-woman Bridget Jones, Colin Firth is the 20th century Mr. Darcy we all deserve.

4. Bright Star, 2009 (dir. Jane Campion)

Abbie Cornish is Fanny Brawne, the love of poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw)'s life and the inspiration for some of his greatest work.

5. Clueless, 1995 (dir. Amy Heckerling)

A 90s take on Jane Austen's Emma, Alicia Silverstone is a teenage matchmaker who finds her own match in Paul Rudd.

6. Desert Hearts, 1985 (dir. Donna Deitch)

Helen Shaver is an English professor who comes to Reno to get a divorce in 1959, only to find love with a free spirited sculptor played by Patricia Charbonneau.

7. Desperately Seeking Susan, 1985 (dir. Susan Seidelman)

Rosanna Arquette is a bored Jersey housewife who longs for a love like the man who's always signs his personal ad "desperately seeking Susan." When she tries to find the couple, she finds love for herself with Aidan Quinn.

8. Little Women, 1994 (dir. Gillian Armstrong)

Winona Ryder plays Jo, a free-spirited woman in 1860s Massachusetts who won't "just be a wife," until she meets her match in German philosophy Prof. Bhaer played by Gabriel Byrne.

9. Mississippi Masala, 1991 (dir. Mira Nair)

Ugandan-Indian immigrant Mina played by Sarita Choudhury falls hard for carpet-cleaner Demetrius, Denzel Washington in Greenwood, Mississippi.

10. Obvious Child, 2014 (dir. Gillian Robespierre)

Jenny Slate is Donna, a Brooklyn comedian who has a one night stand with a stranger after losing her job and her boyfriend, finds herself pregnant (and about to get an abortion), all the while falling for the one night stand played by Jake Lacy.

11. Phat Girlz, 2006 (dir. Nnegest Likké)

Mo'Nique shines as a salesclerk (and wanna be fashion designer) who wins a trip to Palm Springs only to meet the love of her life played by Jimmy Jean-Louis.

12. Something New, 2006 (dir. Sanaa Hamri)

Sanaa Lathan is Kenya, an uptight financial advisor, who falls hard for her landscape architect (and white boy) Simon Baker.

13. Valley Girl, 1983 (dir. Martha Coolidge)

Romeo and Juliet, only with Valley girl Deborah Foreman and Hollywood punk Nicolas Cage.

14. You've Got Mail, 1998 (dir. Nora Ephron)

A play on The Shop Around the Corner, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks find love with one another for the third (and so far last) time.