Film Review: Celebrating women filmmakers at Showroom Cinema

Featuring everything from music documentaries, family comedies, and dystopian sci-fi dramas, the diverse spectrum of films on show demonstrates there is no single type of story a woman can’t tell.

Showroom Cinema uses the F-Rating system to highlight films in the programme that are made by and feature women in prominent roles. The system launched in 2014 and has been adopted by more than 100 cultural organisations to promote the work of women both in front of and behind the camera. The F-Rated stamp allows audiences to be informed about who worked on the film they are going to watch, encourages conversation around the topic of gender equality in cinema, and shines a spotlight on the fantastic work that is being produced by those that are often side-lined.

The F-Rating plays an important role because gender diversity in the film industry continues to make slow progress. Statistics show that only 13.6% of films made in the UK have a female screenwriter attached, and only 11% employ female directors, despite the UK population being made up of 51% women. The F-Rating acts like a Fairtrade stamp – it allows you, the audience, to “vote with your seat” and support women’s work when you visit your local independent cinema at Showroom – and in May there’s something for everyone!

If you’re looking for laughs, seek out the multi-hyphenate Polite Society, a martial arts rom com about sisterhood by Nida Manzoor (Channel 4’s We Are Lady Parts). You can bring the whole family to Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret., an adaptation of Judy Blume’s beloved novel by Edge of Seventeen director Kelly Fremon Craig. Or why not catch Adrienne Shelly’s cult hit Waitress on the big screen as part of the Film Studies: Food on Film season?

Documentary offerings invite you to challenge sexism in cinema with Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power (including an in-person Q&A with director Nina Menkes), reassess the Black, queer history of rock-and-roll with Little Richard: I Am Everything, or contemplate the beauty of nature with black-and-white hiking odyssey Berg.

Drama from around the world include the down-to-earth Japanese sci-fi Plan 75, which tackles issues around ageism, Rodeo, from France, is a free-wheeling motocross thrill-ride, and the poetic love triangle of The Blue Caftan comes to us from Morocco.

Showroom Cinema’s F-Rated programme for May is now on sale at https://www.showroomworkstation.org.uk/f-rated