Feminist Auteurs: Reading Women's Films

Feminist Auteurs examines a rich and diverse body of work that has received insufficient attention both in film studies and in feminist theory on cinema. Looking at individual works within the context of feminist film as genre, this volume examines films from diverse cultural traditions, while paying close attention to what might be regarded as 'feminist' in different cultural contexts. The films chosen expand ideas of feminism, covering cinema from Africa, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the US. The volume includes in-depth analysis of filmmakers as diverse as Lizzie Borden, Aparna Sen, Nelly Kaplan, Gurinder Chadha, Marguerite Duras, Claire Denis, Agnes Varda, Assia Djebar and Mouhfida Tlatli, and is complemented by detailed readings of 24 films, both older and contemporary, including Vagabond, India Song, Bhaji on the Beach, Chocolat, Daughters of the Dust, Sati, Danzon, Malou, Antonio's Line, the Smiling Madame Beudet, Flame and Hour of the Star. This volume thus lays out a complete and powerful framework for reading women's film.

About the Author:
Geetha Ramanathan is Professor of Comparative Literature and Women's Studies at West Chester University. She is the author of Sexual Politics and the Male Playwright: The Portrayal of Women in Ten Contemporary Plays (1995) and Issues of Representation in Feminist Film (2006)