Shockingly - I seem to have done better overall this year (20 features/36 shorts), even though it feels like I saw far fewer films this year (I am slightly down in features). In order to clear our my options list for 2022, here's everything I saw directed by women last year - broken into features and shorts. Ranking current, stars my initial ratings.
2020 here (23/4 - jeez. You can see the difference not going to film fests makes), 2019 here (15/25), 2018 here (22/20)
Features (20)
The Power of the Dog - Jane Campion - 4.5 stars. I just saw this and was blown away. I'm so glad Jane Campion is back making films (Bright Star was my 3rd favorite film of 2009.) The Power of the Dog is tonally VERY different from Bright Star's romanticism. It's chilly, precision clockwork, anchored by a tremendous cast (Thomasin McKenzie gets... 10 lines?).
Proxima - Alice Winocour - 4.5 stars. My 6th favorite film of 2020. Eva Green is masterful in this and it's an incredible film about the dedication and sacrifice of an astronaut
Never Rarely Sometimes Always - Eliza Hittman - 4.5 stars. And my 7th favorite film of 2020. I tried and didn't really love Beach Rats, but man, this was easily one of the best films of the year. The quiet realism of it is special. And the title scene is so quietly devastating, I'm still thinking about it a year later.
Dick Johnson is Dead - Kirsten Johnson - 4.5 stars. My 14th fave! Equally joyful/celebratory and sad; had the second best ending scene of the year.
