56: The List that should keep on growing / by Lisa Keogh

In 2013 I moved into a new house. It was the first time I was living on my own without housemates and had responsibility for the all the bills. 

I also didn’t own a TV. Not because I was one of those people who declares, “I don’t own a TV” as if it’s a badge of their intellectual and cultural superiority but because my previous housemate of six years had a really nice one when we moved into together so I never bought my own.

But I had a nice laptop and was able to exploit a now-closed loophole that meant I didn’t need a TV Licence for watching on-demand services.

What I liked about that time was not that I watched less TV (I didn’t) but that I was more conscious about what I was watching. I had to actively choose what I wanted to watch instead of just turning on the TV and settling for whatever looked interesting.

If I just wanted some ‘noise’ I turned on Radio 4 … and got weirdly sucked into The Archers – which is particularly funny considering I don’t like soap operas.

I didn’t get a TV until my daughter was about a year old and I needed a babysitter for the first time – and I was like, shit – what is she going to do after the wee one goes to bed?

So I bought a TV and a TV Licence.

And kinda reverted to type. But not completely.

I think this project is going to help me become a more conscious consumer.

And because I am often tired and brainless after I put my daughter to bed and finish all the unpaid-domestic and career-building work of an evening, I have made a list to remind me of how many wonderful options fit within this project.

I’m also delighted at how many of the TV shows I already watch were able to stay on the list (I’ve marked these with an asterisk below, if you’re interested).

As for the films – there are 56 on the list. Most of them from the last few years, some that are due out in 2019. I want to prioritise films with female writer/directors or where both writer and director are female but if I am honest the main factor that will contribute to what gets watched in what order is my ability to stream them from my terrace house in Belfast.

I’m think between Amazon, Netflix, and NOW TV and occasionally trips to the cinema, I’ll have a good coverage. 

The reason I’ve stopped at 56 is because only 56 films with a female-credited have been nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

I felt it was a nice symmetry. I’m going to try as watch as many of those 56 nominated films (hopefully the number will increase come January 2019) that I can track down – I’ve put a + beside those I’ve seen before and might skip.

And oh, yes, that’s right – out of 385 Films nominated for this award since it was instigated in 1940, only 56 of those had women credited - 2 of those were for story only. And only 8 women have ever won the award.

 

TV Shows

  • Insecure*

  • Broad City*

  • The Bisexual*

  • Jessica Jones

  • Orange is the New Black*

  • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend*

  • Transparent*

  • Queen Sugar

  • The Affair*

  • SMILF^

  • Normal People

  • Jan 22nd (w/t)

  • Chewing Gum^

  • The Nest

  • Derry Girls*

  • Happy Valley*

  • Fleabag*

  • Killing Eve*

  • Catastrophe*

  • Divorce

  • This Way Up (aka Happy AF)^

  • The Bold Type^

  • GLOW*

  • Heathers

  • Gentleman Jack^

  • Kaos

  • The Marvellous Ms Maisel^

  • Doing Money

  • Mrs Wilson*

  • Pure^

  • The Long Song

  • Utopia (Gillian Flynn HBO Version)

  • Beecham House

  • The End

  • Gold Digger^

  • The Expatriates

  • This Country

  • Women on the Verge

  • Russian Doll^

  • Sex Education^

     

Films

  1. Jinn, Writer/Director: Nijla Mumin (Debut)

  2. Super November, Writer: Josie Long, Dir: Douglas King*

  3. The Nightingale, Writer/Director: Jennifer Kent (The Babadook)

  4. Mudbound, Dir: Dee Rees, Writers: Dees Rees, Virgil Williams, Hilary Jordan*

  5. Vita and Virgina, Dir: Chanya Button (Burn, Burn Burn), Writer: Eileen Atkins*

  6. Maudie, Dir: Aisling Walsh (Song for a Raggy Boy), Writer: Sherry White

  7. Where Hands Touch, Writer/Director: Amma Asante

  8. Novitiate, Writer/Director: Margaret Betts (Debut)

  9. The Devil’s Doorway, Writer/Director: Aislinn Clarke (Debut)*

  10. The Rider, Writer/Director: Chloé Zhao

  11. Fast Colour, Dir: Julia Hart Writers: Julia Hart, Jordan Horowitz

  12. The Tale, Writer/Director: Jennifer Fox

  13. In Between, Writer/Director: Maysaloun Hamoud

  14. And Breathe Normally, Writer/Director: Isold Uggadottir*

  15. The Breadwinner, Director: Nora Twomey, Writers: Anita Doron, Deborah Ellis*

  16. You were never really here, Writer/Director: Lynne Ramsay*

  17. I am not a Witch, Writer/Director: Rungano Nyoni

  18. The Kindergarten Teacher, Director: Sara Colangelo, Writers: Sara Colangelo, Nadav Lapid

  19. Little Women, Writer/Dir: Greta Gerwig*

  20. Luciérnagas (The Firefly), Bani Khoshnoudi

  21. Deidra & Lainey rob a train, Dir: Sydney Freeland Writer: Shelby Farrell (Netflix Original)*

  22. LoveSong, Dir: So Yong Kim Writers: So Yong Kim, Bradley Rust Gray

  23. Family, Writer/Director: Laura Steinel

  24. Mustang, Writer/Director; Deniz Gamze Ergüven*

  25. What They Had, Writer/Director: Elizabeth Chomko

  26. The Land of Steady Habits, Writer/Director: Nicole Holofcener*

  27. Sadie, Writer/Director Megan Griffiths

  28. The New Romantic, Writer/Director: Carly Stone

  29. Private Lives, Writer/Director: Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)*

  30. Things to Come, Writer/Director: Mia Hansen-Løve

  31. Wild Nights With Emily, Writer/Director: Madeleine Olnek

  32. Unlovable, Dir: Suzi Yoonessi, Writers: Charlene deGuzman, Sarah Adina Smith, Mark Duplass

  33. Boundaries, Writer/Director Shana Feste

  34. Leave No Trace, Dir: Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone), Writers: Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini*

  35. Can You Ever Forgive Me? Dir: Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Age Girl), Writers: Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty*

  36. The Kitchen, Writer/Director: Andrea Berloff (Debut)

  37. The Turning, Director: Floria Sigismondi, Writers: Carey Hayes & Chad Hayes     

  38. Mary Queen of Scots, Josie Rourke (Film debut, experienced Theatre director), Writer: Beau Willimon*

  39. The Spy Who Dumped Me, Dir: Susanna Fogel (Life Partners), Writers: Susanna Fogel, David Iserson*

  40. The Darkest Minds, Dir: Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Writer: Chad Hodge

  41. The Rhythm Section, Director: Reed Morano, Writer: Mark Burnell

  42. Captain Marvel, Dir: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck*

  43. You Can Choose Your Family, Dir: Miranda Bailey, Writer: Glen Larkin

  44. Fuga (The Fugue), Dir: Agnieszka Smoczyńska Writer: Gabriela Muskala*

  45. Galveston, Dir: Mélanie Laurent, Writer: Nic Pizzolatto

  46. Furlough, Dir: Laurie Collyer Writer: Barry Strugatz

  47. First They Killed My Father, Dir: Angelia Jolie

  48. Battle of the Sexes, Dir: Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton*

  49. I Do, Until I don’t, Writer/Director: Lake Bell

  50. Raw, Writer/Director: Julia Ducournau

  51. Farah goes Bang, Dir: Meena Menon, Writers: Meena Menon, Laura Goode

  52. Beyond the Lights, Writer/Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

  53. Sun Don’t Shine, Writer/Director: Amy Seimetz

  54. Wildfire, Writer/Director Cathy Brady (Filming)

  55. Bor Mi Vanh Chark, Dir: Mattie Do Writer: Christopher Larson (Pre-Production)

  56. Highway 65, Writer/Director Maya Dreifuss (Only Announced)

Academy Award Nominees for Best Original Screenplay with a female writer credited: 

  1. 1940    Foreign Correspondent, Charles Bennett & Joan Harrison

  2. 1943    The North Star, Lillian Hellman

  3. 1944    Two Girls and a Sailor, Richard Connell & Gladys Lehman

  4. 1946    The Seventh Veil, Muriel Box & Sydney Box *

  5. 1947    A Double Life, Ruth Gordon & Garson Kanin

  6. 1949    The Quiet One, Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb & Sidney Meyers

  7. 1950    Adam's Rib, Ruth Gordon & Garson Kanin

  8. 1950    Caged, Virginia Kellogg & Bernard C. Schoenfeld

  9. 1952    Pat and Mike, Ruth Gordon & Garson Kanin

  10. 1953    The Band Wagon, Betty Comden & Adolph Green

  11. 1955    Interrupted Melody, William Ludwig & Sonya Levien

  12. 1955    It's Always Fair Weather, Betty Comden & Adolph Green

  13. 1958    Teacher's Pet, Fay Kanin & Michael Kanin

  14. 1960    Hiroshima, Mon Amour, Marguerite Duras

  15. 1964    That Man from Rio, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Ariane Mnouchkine, Daniel Boulanger & Philippe de Broca

  16. 1970    Five Easy Pieces, Carole Eastman  (screenplay and story); Bob Rafelson (story)

  17. 1971    Sunday Bloody Sunday, Penelope Gilliatt

  18. 1972    Lady Sings the Blues, Terrence McCloy, Chris Clark & Suzanne de Passe

  19. 1973    American Graffiti, George Lucas, Gloria Katz & Willard Huyck+

  20. 1974    Day for Night, François Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard & Suzanne Schiffman

  21. 1976    Cousin, Cousine, Jean-Charles Tacchella (screenplay and story); Daniele Thompson(adaptation)

  22. 1976    Seven Beauties, Lina Wertmüller+

  23. 1978    Coming Home, Robert C. Jones  & Waldo Salt (screenplay); Nancy Dowd (story)* 

  24. 1979    ...And Justice for All, Valerie Curtin & Barry Levinson

  25. 1980    Private Benjamin, Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer & Harvey Miller

  26. 1982    E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Melissa Mathison+

  27. 1983    The Big Chill, Lawrence Kasdan & Barbara Benedek+

  28. 1983    Silkwood, Nora Ephron & Alice Arlen

  29. 1984    El Norte, Gregory Nava & Anna Thomas

  30. 1985    Witness, Earl W. Wallace & William Kelley (screenplay and story); Pamela Wallace (story)+ 

  31. 1985    The Official Story, Luis Puenzo & Aída Bortnik

  32. 1988    Big, Gary Ross & Anne Spielberg+

  33. 1988    Running on Empty, Naomi Foner

  34. 1989    When Harry Met Sally..., Nora Ephron+

  35. 1991    Thelma & Louise, Callie Khouri +

  36. 1991    Grand Canyon, Lawrence Kasdan & Meg Kasdan

  37. 1993    The Piano, Jane Campion+

  38. 1993    Sleepless in Seattle, Jeff Arch (screenplay and story); Nora Ephron & David S. Ward(screenplay)+

  39. 1994    Heavenly Creatures, Frances Walsh & Peter Jackson+

  40. 2000    Erin Brockovich, Susannah Grant+

  41. 2002    My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Nia Vardalos+

  42. 2003    Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola+

  43. 2003    In America, Jim Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan & Naomi Sheridan+

  44. 2006    Letters from Iwo Jima, Iris Yamashita (screenplay and story); Paul Haggis (story)+

  45. 2007    Juno, Diablo Cody+

  46. 2007    Lars and the Real Girl, Nancy Oliver +

  47. 2007    The Savages, Tamara Jenkins +

  48. 2008    Frozen River, Courtney Hunt

  49. 2010    The Kids Are All Right, Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg +

  50. 2011    Bridesmaids, Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig +

  51. 2013    Dallas Buyers Club, Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack +

  52. 2015    Inside Out, Pete Docter (screenplay and story); Meg LeFauve & Josh Cooley(screenplay); Ronnie del Carmen (story) +

  53. 2015    Straight Outta Compton, Andrea Berloff (screenplay and story); Jonathan Herman (screenplay); S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus (story)

  54. 2017    The Big Sick, Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani *

  55. 2017    Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig +

  56. 2017    The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro (screenplay and story) & Vanessa Taylor