Last year, the world watched as Barbara Streisand announced "the time has come", and for the first time a Best Director Oscar was presented to a woman. Kathryn Bigelow's win caused people worldwide to shout that the glass ceiling had been shattered.
The Script Lab's Noelle Buffam wrote an article late last year, nothing "Although I don't classify myself as an "angry feminist", I start shaking my fist as I jump on board the feminist bandwagon on this one. It's no secret that women are largely ignored as a demographic in Hollywood."
She went on to say that "recently, hits like Mama Mia have shown the power of audiences age 30 and above. Critiques agree that studios are beginning to realize the potential of this starved demographic. Many hope that this realisation will lead to a creation of films geared towards this group in the future.
However, the problem of gender in Hollywood doesn't end there. According to a study done by San Diego State University, despite the fact that women make up roughly half of film school graduates, just 4% of Hollywood directors are female. The cause of the huge disparity between genders in Hollywood is somewhat shrouded in mystery."
Buffam compilied this list of top ten filmmakers who are women, not just to honour women, but to "inspire a new generation of women to become filmmakers no matter the odds." Hear hear.