Films centering women’s unique voices and stories are vastly under-recognized in mainstream media and culture. Take the Oscars: while recent years have shown tremendous progress of women’s representation in the Best Picture category, women are vastly underrepresented across the award show’s nearly 100 years. The 2024 ceremony was, unfortunately, a lot of the same. Still, just 4.2% of Best Picture winners have been directed by women. Women-directed movies have always deserved more recognition in the industry.

Here are several from 2023 that we believe deserve their flowers:

A Thousand and One (directed by A.V. Rockwell)

Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. (directed by Kelly Fremon Craig)

Origin (directed by Ava DuVernay)

Polite Society (directed by Nida Manzoor)

Past Lives (directed by Celine Song)

Rye Lane (directed by Raine Allen Miller)

Take Action! Continue to celebrate women-directed films and films centering women and girls.