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 film. Looking at individual films within the context of feminist film as a genre, Ramanathan examines film from diverse cultural traditions, while paying close attention to what might be regarded as feminist in different cultural contexts. The films chosen expand our ideas of feminism covering as they do film from Africa, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the US. Full-length interpretations of twenty-four films, both older and contemporary, including Vagabond, India Song, Bhaji on the Beach, Chocolat, and Daughters of the Dust lay out a complete and powerful framework for reading women's film.

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 (forthcoming).