I recently compiled a list of films with female directors released in 2018, which was a bit of a wake-up call that I hadn't made a very good effort of seeking them out during the year. Heading into 2019 I'm making an effort to educate myself on what is coming out that I should be aware of. Here is an incomplete list of upcoming titles.

Where possible, Australian releases dates are used - I expect these will most likely move around a bit as the year progresses, but as of writing they are correct!

Mary Queen of Scots, dir. Josie Rourke - January 17
Skate Kitchen, dir. Crystal Moselle - January 17
Free Solo, dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin - January 24

Capharnaüm, dir. Nadine Labaki - February 7
On The Basis Of Sex, dir. Mimi Leder - February 7
The Rhythm Section, dir. Reed Morano - February 21

Captain Marvel, dir. Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck - March 7
Where Hands Touch, dir. Amma Asante - March 7
Destroyer, dir. Karyn Kusama - March 21
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, dir. Trisha Gum, Mike Mitchell - March 21

Little, dir. Tina Gordon Chism - April 11
High Life, dir. Claire Denis - April
Rafiki, dir. Wanuri Kahiu - April

The Third Wife, dir. Ash Mayfair - May
The Sun is Also a Star, dir. Ry Russo-Young - May
Booksmart, dir. Olivia Wilde - May

The Kitchen, dir Andrea Berloff - September

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, dir Marielle Heller - October

Charlie’s Angels, dir. Elizabeth Banks - November
Frozen 2, dir. Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck - November
Queen & Slim, dir. Melina Matsoukas - November

Little Women, dir. Greta Gerwig - December

The senior year of a girls’ high school step team in inner-city Baltimore is documented, as they try to become the first in their families to attend college. The girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in their troubled city. 

I caught this stunning documentary at the end of its limited run in Melbourne and am so glad I didn’t miss it. Watching these incredible girls go through their final year of school was a total privilege, and seeing them overcome adversity in so many areas of their lives was one of the most moving things I’ve seen in quite a while.

This is the kind of attitude I'm taking into 2019.

Get the print here.

Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palpably real, even rational—as accessible an experience as going to the movies. A deep penetration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche, The Bell Jar is an extraordinary accomplishment and a haunting American classic.

I somewhat subconsciously avoided this book due to a misconception that The Bell Jar was essentially the "girl version" of The Catcher in the Rye (thanks, internalised misogyny!). A few years ago I corrected this mistake, and if you have also somehow missed reading this book I really urge you to correct that too. 

It also produced one of the most incredibly relatable quotes that has stuck with me ever since I first read it:

"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet."

"It's funny though, isn't it? All that poetry and all those songs, about something that lasts no time at all."

To celebrate the incredible women of Australia making music, I have begun a playlist project on Spotify as a place for people to discover voices they may not have heard before. Some of these voices are household names worldwide, while some are only new to the music scene. 

Unfortunately, similarly to many other countries, male artists and voices overwhelmingly dominate Australian radio playlists, festival line-ups, industry awards, and major industry boards.

Female music artists also receive significantly fewer industry awards than their male peers, with only 20 female artists out of 367 musicians featured in Triple J’s Hottest 100 and only 11 of the 75 inductees into the ARIA Hall of Fame*.

As I was gathering inspiration for this playlist, it was pretty shocking how many variations on "Best Australian Bands" lists were nearly exclusively male artists. I don't know if it's a mixture of ignorance, awareness, or attitude, but I suspect it's a combination of all three.

I hope this playlist introduces you to a new favourite song, or reminds you of an old favourite. This playlist will constantly be evolving, so be sure to keep checking back.

* Source

In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, black telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success – which propels him into a macabre universe.

Or: Tessa Thompson has the best collection of earrings ever committed to the screen.

One of my favourite films from 2018 - the less you know about this one the better.