Top 10 Female Directors to Watch Out for in 2021

A lot of actors try their hand at directing and it doesn’t always go as well. Olivia Wilde was a notable exception with her 2019 directorial debut, “Booksmart.” The film garnered plenty of critical acclaim as well as earning Wilde an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. Next up for Director Wilde is “Don’t Worry Darling,” a film starring Florence Pugh and Olivia’s current beau Harry Styles. We don’t have much info about the plot of the film yet, and no release date has been announced. Fans were hoping to see it in 2021, however, current reports now have it coming out in early 2022.

Lisa will see her feature film directorial debut, “Reminiscence” hit the big screen on August 20th, 2021 starring Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, and Thandiwe Newton. The science-fiction film has Jackman playing a man who offers people the chance to relive any memory from their past. While this might be her first time directing a movie, Joy is no stranger to top-notch science-fiction. She was a co-creator, writer and executive producer of the multiple Emmy Award winning “Westworld” on HBO. Joy also directed an episode of the show in season two.

She may not be a household name in North America, but filmmaker Naomi Kawazse is Japan’s most awarded female director. She was also selected to make the official documentary of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, moved to 2021 due to the pandemic of course. Though she has primarily worked in the documentary genre, her last film was the 2020 drama, “True Mothers.” The movie showed at both Cannes and The Toronto film festival and was Japan’s entry for Best International Feature at the Oscars. This woman is one to watch with the upcoming Olympic documentary, and beyond.

Haifaa Al-Mansour isn’t just a female Saudi Arabian director, she is the first female Saudi Arabian filmmaker. Her debut feature-film, “Wadjda,” which she wrote and directed, came out in 2012 earning lots of praise and attention for Al-Mansour, and for Saudi filmmaking. The movie would become the first ever Saudi Arabain movie submitted for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. She followed that up with 2017’s “Mary Shelley,'' and in 2018 directed “Nappily Ever After” for Netflix. Speaking of Netflix, Al-Mansour is currently working on the Netflix movie, “The Selection” based on the popular Young Adult book series by Kiera Cass.

In 2015 Heder directed her first film, “Tallulah” starring Elliot Page and Allison Janney. The film, released in 2016, was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance film festival and had it’s streaming rights bought up by Netflix. Cut to 2021 and her next film CODA, which she wrote and directed also plays at Sundance and this time she wins the Grand Jury Prize. Also, her film was again bought by a popular streaming service but this time it was Apple who picked it up for $25 million, which is a record price for the festival. CODA will premiere in theaters and on Apple TV+ August 13. Definitely no sophomore slump for Sian!

Liesl was born in Cape Town, South Africa during the time of apartheid and her status as a non-white person saw her forced to deal with rascism and segregation. Her family moved to the States when she was 15 and it was soon thereafter that she discovered the theatre. In 2016 she became the first woman of colour to be nominated for a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. She has directed some television over the years, including episodes of “The Walking Dead” and “Jessica Jones.” 2021 looks to be big for Tommy, though. Her first film, the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect,” hits theatres in August. She has also been hired to direct the movie adaptation of Trever Noah’s autobiography “Born a Crime.”

Fennell is a very talented Jill of all trades. She’s an actress who many will recognize as Camilla Parker Bowles in the Netflix drama “The Crown.” She was also an award-nominated writer and showrunner on the great crime, spy-thriller, “Killing Eve.” Then in 2020 Fennell made a big splash with her directorial debut, “Promising Young Women.” The black comedy thriller, which Emerald wrote and produced as well as directed, earned her Best Picture and Best Director Oscar nominations, and scored her a win for Best Original Screenplay. As for what’s next for this promising young director, she’s currently signed on to write “Zatanna” as part of the DC Extended Universe. They haven’t set a director yet, but our vote is for Fennell.

“If Beale Street Could Talk” it would tell you that Regina King has won an Academy Award and four Emmys. While we all know her primarily from her work in front of the camera in TV and movies, she’s been honing her skills behind the camera for years now. She got her first chance to sit in the director’s chair in 2013 on an episode of her own show, “Southland.” Since then she’s directed numerous episodes of television, but it was her feature directorial debut with 2020’s “One Night in Miami…” that made everyone stand up and take notice. She has since signed on to direct the adaptation of the comic book,“Bitter Root,” a monster story set in 1924 Harlem.

In 2017 there were few people in Hollywood who knew who DaCosta was, as her credits were bare aside from a couple short films. Then came 2018 and her feature film directorial debut, “Little Woods.” The western crime thriller earned her the Nora Ephron prize at the Tribeca Film Festival, and is rocking a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If DaCosta isn’t a household name yet, she will be soon. Her next film is the 2021 horror film “Candyman,” a sequel to the 1992 movie. She’s also been hired to helm the MCU film “The Marvels,” making her the youngest director of a Marvel movie. And speaking of Marvel movies and female directors, let’s not forget Cate Shortland who directed 2021’s “Black Widow.”

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Robin Wright
An Award-Winning Actress Whose Directorial Debut, “Land” Comes Out in 2021

Mélanie Laurent
The French Actress & Director’s 2nd English Production, “Nightingale” Is in Post-Production

Rebecca Hall
“The Prestige” Actress’ Debut Film, “Passing” Will Be on Netflix in 2021

Jane Campion
She’s the only female Palme D’Or winner & her film “The Power of the Dog” Comes Out in 2021

Maggie Gyllenhaal
Her Parents Are Filmmakers & She’ll Make Her Directorial Debut With “The Lost Daughter”

When a director wins Academy Awards for both Best Director and Best Picture that person is obviously someone to pay attention to. Even more so when that director is only the second woman to be so honoured, and the first woman of colour. While Chloe’s previous two films had received lots of attention on the independent film circuit, 2020’s “Nomadland” raised her profile in Hollywood and internationally. Unfortunately, news of her success was censored in China - the country of her birth - most likely due to critical comments she’s made in the past. However, in 2021 we will all be looking out for Zhao’s production of another film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “The Eternals,” which she directed and co-wrote.