We’re almost three weeks into lockdown, and it’s not unlikely that you have essentially completed every streaming service you have a subscription to. I’m longing to go out for tea and a natter with my best pals. But, when this simply isn’t possible, there are films that feel just like those treasured moments. I can’t be responsible for anybody having a post-film-cry, but I can promise you will be whisked away for a couple of hours to non c*rona v*rus territory.

Here is a list of films, mostly directed by women and always featuring stellar, complex and interesting female leads, to keep you occupied during lockdown.

Booksmart

If, like me, you’ve had hopeless high school crushes and friends that encouraged you to unashamedly pursue them: this is for you. What can only be described as joyous, Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut is a hilarious love story about two best friends. Let this film be a reason to call your loved ones to reminisce about the good (and embarrassing) times.

Skate Kitchen

Skate Kitchen boasts a REAL-LIFE-ALL-WOMXN-CREW (!), the endlessly cool New York skate scene, and a celebration of sisterhood, power, and all the baggage that comes with it. Together with frank gossip about genitals and periods, Skate Kitchen shines an important light on experiences of women and people of colour who skateboard. Crystal Moselle has conjured up a group that you long to be a part of. Pretend you can pull off a baseball cap to watch this film and be prepared to wish you can do an ollie.

Lady Bird

Lady Bird is a love letter to goofy and dramatic teenage girls everywhere: whether you were one or are one. Join Christine, or her “self-given name” Lady Bird, as she navigates her final year at school. Though in the current climate, the ‘get me out of here’ and fighting with your family narratives are slightly laughable, imagine your bedroom is California and your boyfriend is Timothee Chalomet (not his character, though, literally just Timothee Chalomet)…

Animals

Animals is a film about two best friends in their 30s, pretending that the party never ends and the sun never comes up. Tyler and Laura’s friendship is tight-knit and co-dependent; they are totally unlikable, but you can’t stop watching them. They are those ‘friends’ who convince you to go out drinking (even though you said you didn’t want to) and suddenly it is dawn: you just went along because they said something wacky would happen. It’s unlikely that Animals will make you long for boozy nights out, but it will make you grateful for the good friends you do have.

Lady Macbeth

Okay, so bear with me on this one... Lady Macbeth might not make you yearn for female friendship, but the stunning performances and plot will make you feel whole in other ways. The film is based on the Russian novel that inspired Shakepeare’s Lady Macbeth. Watch Katherine, played by Florence Pugh, wreak havoc as she succumbs to boredom, and sexual frustration. This film serves as a stark reminder that things could be a LOT worse.

Someone Great

I would highly recommend scheduling a watch party and a post-film debrief (digitally of course)for this one, because Someone Great will make you yearn for heart-to-heart and a party with your pals. We can all relate to the feeling of not being in control of our lives and struggling to know what we want. Someone Great reminds us that in these times, you can only depend on you, and NOT a man to make you feel whole. *Disclaimer* any film immediately gets an extra star from me if a drunken dance to Lizzo is featured.

Happy Go Lucky

Watch this and beam. Happy Go Lucky is, to be honest, an old one, but truly gold. Sally Hawkins plays Poppy, primary school teacher whose teaching does not stop when she leaves the classroom; everybody she encounters learns a little bit about how to be a better person because of Poppy. There is, also, nothing more satisfying about watching a film that refuses to depict a single woman as broken or sad. However, if the pub is your thing, this will definitely make you miss your local.

Anchor & Hope

Anchor & Hope sees effortlessly cool couple Kat and Eva, who live on a house-boat, try and navigate their way through family planning, in a muddled attempt to create a modern family. It’s a touching, honest film about what it means to try and make big decisions when you are wonderfully carefree. (It also made me want to live on a house-boat, but that’s probably lockdown talking).

Anchor and Hope, directed by Carlos Marques-Marcet — *Anchor and Hope*, directed by Carlos Marques-Marcet

Mustang

This powerful Turkish film tells the tale of five orphaned sisters, kept under a strict, patriarchal lock and key when their family’s reputation seems to be at risk. Not just a film, Mustang is just one of many stories about what it can mean to be a woman in Turkey, and it’ll make you feel as though you’re watching real life unfold before you. Mustang is heart-breaking but empowering feminist story about freedom, both personal and political.

Title image by Lydia Tissier

Polly Cuthbert is a producer, creator and theatre maker from the North of England. You can find her on Twitter as @pollycuthbert_ and Instagram as @pollycuthbert__