Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

Today marks the beginning of March, which means that it is officially Women’s History Month, a month dedicated to remembering and celebrating remarkable women in history. With midterms ending and Spring Break right around the corner, I think we all need a bit of a break from thick books and trying to cram your brain with knowledge. So, here are some recs from women directors, filmmakers, and writers to help you take a break and celebrate Women’s History Month.

If you have 10 minutes…and want the highlights reel of some of the most successful female filmmakers at the present, read this article.

If you have 14 minutes and 18 seconds…and want to watch something (a little) educational, watch this TED Talk about female directors from film writer, critic, and reporter Alicia Malone.

If you have 43 minutes and 4 seconds…and are an avid podcast listener, listen to “Hollywood’s First Female Directors” episode of the Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

If you have 1 hour and 50 minutes…and like biopics, watch Sofia Coppola’s latest film Priscilla, available to stream on Max. This film will definitely give you a much different perspective on Priscilla’s relationship with Elvis Presley than Elvis (2022).

If you have 1 hour and 53 minutes…and like dark movies, watch Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, available to stream online through Falvey. I know it only came out in 2020 (and maybe the buzz from Saltburn is skewing my perspective), but I think it’s earned its place as a “classic.”

Bonus: although the satire sometimes gets lost in translation, if you like dark films, American Psycho, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection, was also directed by a woman.

If you have 2 hours and 11 minutes…and like queer cinema (or just like period pieces), watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire, available to stream online through Falvey. Per most lesbian period pieces, it’s a slow burn romance (in French), and it’s absolutely gorgeous.

Bonus: I’ve recommended it before, but I believe it’s a must watch. If you like 90s queer cinema, watch The Watermelon Woman, directed by Cheryl Dunye, available to stream online through Falvey. It’s the perfect transition from Black History Month to Women’s History Month, as it deals with the unique history of Black queer women through a mockumentary style.

If you have 3 hours and 58 minutes…and want to watch a double feature from a Black female director, watch Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love and Basketball (available to stream on Paramount+) and The Secret Life of Bees (available to stream on Hulu and Paramount+). Gina Prince-Bythewood, who you may recognize most recently for The Woman King, is consistently a strong director for female-driven stories that center women of color.

Annie Stockmal is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant in Falvey Library.