Love for the ladies: My top 10 favorite films by female directors

Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan

One positive thing to come out of the unforgivable snub of Ava DuVernay by the Oscars is that it brought renewed attention to how far behind Hollywood is in terms of recognizing female filmmakers and providing opportunities for them. Despite the film industry's reputation for being progressive, women are woefully underrepresented behind the camera.

When AFI periodically releases its list of the greatest films of all time, womens' names are pretty much nowhere to be seen and although directors like DuVernay and Kathryn Bigelow have made great strides in recent years it's embarrassing that filmmaking is still widely perceived as a man's game.

To pay homage to those women who are still fighting for a foothold in the business that I love, I wanted to make a list of my top 10 favorite movies directed by women. I didn't want there to be any repeats and I also wanted to exclude films that were co-directed with men, here is the list I came up with to date:

10) Paris Is Burning (1990) - This fascinating, funny and ultimately moving documentary about the LGBT "ball scene" is a total blast. Director Jennie Livingston does an excellent job of hanging back and just letting her fantastic gallery of subjects do what they do best -- talk, vogue and "throw shade." A glorious time capsule of a unique era in the greatest city in the world. The film also serves as a prescient look at the challenges that still plague many members of the trans population.

9) American Psycho (2000) - Director Mary Harron took on a Bret Easton Ellis book that was widely condemned as viciously misogynistic and found its hilarious dark comedy heart. Much of the film's acclaim was showered upon her leading man, Christian Bale, and this is one of his greatest roles, but Harron pulled off a very difficult adaptation of a novel many believed was unfilmmable. It turns out that a female perspective was just what this narrative needed.

Robert Loggia and Tom Hanks in Big

8) In a World... (2013) - Comic actress Lake Bell wrote, starred in and directed this indie gem that never got the recognition it deserved when it came out a couple years ago. First off, it has an incredibly fun and original premise -- a kind of romantic comedy set in the world of voiceover artists. Second, it's really a star-making performance for Bell, who has shown she can be both a sexy leading lady and a hilarious comedian without sacrificing her voice.

7) Big (1988) - For a brief period Penny Marshall was the most successful female director of all time, and after recently rewatching this sweet, whimsical, blockbuster comedy, which firmly established Tom Hanks as a major movie star, it's easy to see why. She took what was already a pretty hacky premise (little boy wakes up with a grown man's body) and infused it was with a lot of realism and pathos. I am also a big fan of her drama Awakenings. Although her work could be sentimental, it was also always strong.

6) Zero Dark Thirty (2012) - The politics of this film may be divisive but there's no denying its power. Kathrn Bigelow's exciting and brooding look at the hunt for Osama bin Laden is in my opinion superior to her Oscar winning The Hurt Locker. I think Jessica Chastain was robbed for the Best Actress award for her stellar work here in this thriller. Bigelow paid her dues directing action films that would normally be helmed by men and has developed a signature style all her own. One of the few female directors who has developed into a household name, and justly so.

5) Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) - This movie is now largely remembered as being Madonna's first big screen role, and she is terrific in it, but it's also a great twisted comedy in the vein of Charlie Kaufman's work. It's about mistaken identity and assumed roles, and it's also a wonderful time capsule of New York's mid-'80s art and punk scenes. Madonna has never been more charming, but this is definitely a showcase for her co-star, the great Rosanna Arquette. Kudos to director Susan Seidelman for getting iconic performances out of them both,

4) Wayne's World (1992) - Probably the greatest Saturday Night Live inspired movie of all time (although there's an argument to be made for The Blues Brothers), this loony comedy starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as wannabe TV stars of indeterminate age from Aurora, Illinois is one of the most quotable comedies ever and it works in part because its director Penelope Spheeris was truly steeped in the rock n' roll scene that the film is both a love letter to and a parody of. She reportedly clashed a bit with Myers on set but their collaboration produced the best film he ever made.

Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty

3) Selma (2014) - Having recently seen the underwhelming The Imitation Game, I am even more convinced that the Best Director nomination that film received should have gone to DuVernay. She pulled of an incredible feat, she made both an intimate character study and a rousing historical epic. She helped humanize Martin Luther King, Jr., helped make the voting rights battle of 1965 relevant again and also made a point to pay homage to the crucial role women played in the movement, a reality that has been sadly overlooked for decades. Even though Oscar blew this one, she will be a force for years to come.

2) Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) - I frequently cite this raucous and raunchy comedy as my favorite high school movie of all time (although Heathers is climbing up the ranks for me). Some people prefer Amy Heckerling's other hit teen comedy Clueless, but that movie always felt artificial for me. This movie really nails the awkwardness and optimism of high school kids and with it's dream cast of eclectic characters it never feels like it's giving you an elitist or played out take on the experience of growing up. Another incredible time capsule of a specific time and place -- with one of the most famous sexual fantasy sequences ever caught on film.

1) Lost In Translation (2003) - Sophia Coppola has her share of detractors, as I'm sure does this film, but it's always held a special place in my heart as a Bill Murray fan. I saw this movie at a time in my life where I too felt adrift and isolated and its quiet but compelling central relationship between Murray and a never-better Scarlett Johansson still resonates with me. Murray scored his first, and so far only, richly deserved Oscar nomination for this iconic movie, but he owes much of his performance to Coppola who conceived this specifically for him and helped him show a side of his persona audiences had never seen before.

That all said, the irony is not lost on me that some of these films fail to pass the Bechdel test, objectify women and/or are focused on a male's perspective. And I need to broaden my scope, and see more films made by female filmmakers. Hopefully, as Hollywood continues to come to its senses I will have more to choose from in the coming years.