The Best Female Director Movies and TV Shows on Starz

What it's about: Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Brave is set in the mystical Scottish Highlands, where Mérida is the princess of a kingdom ruled by King Fergus and Queen Elinor. An unruly daughter and an accomplished archer, Mérida one day defies a sacred custom of the land and inadvertently brings turmoil to the kingdom. In an attempt to set things right, Mérida seeks out an eccentric old Wise Woman and is granted an ill-fated wish. Also figuring into Mérida’s quest — and serving as comic relief — are the kingdom’s three lords: the enormous Lord MacGuffin, the surly Lord Macintosh, and the disagreeable Lord Dingwall.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz & Disney+), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Follows a group of high school students growing up in southern California, based on the real-life adventures chronicled by Cameron Crowe. Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner are looking for a love interest, and are helped along by their older classmates, Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, respectively. The center of the film is held by Jeff Spicoli, a perpetually stoned surfer dude who faces off with the resolute Mr. Hand, who is convinced that everyone is on dope.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, and a gifted horse trainer, young cowboy Brady is warned that his riding days are over, after a horse crushed his skull at a rodeo. Back home on the Pine Ridge Reservation, with little desire or alternatives for a different way of life, Brady’s sense of inadequacy mounts as he is unable to ride or rodeo – the essentials of being a cowboy. In an attempt to regain control of his own fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A track coach in a small California town transforms a team of athletes into championship contenders.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz & Freeform) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: As the romantic monsoon rains loom, the extended Verma family reunites from around the globe for a last-minute arranged marriage in New Delhi. This film traces five intersecting stories, each navigating different aspects of love as they cross boundaries of class, continent and morality.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on a Greek island is about to marry off the spirited young daughter she's raised alone. But, the daughter has secretly invited three of her mother's ex-lovers in the hopes of finding her biological father.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Ray Eddy, an upstate New York trailer mom, is lured into the world of illegal immigrant smuggling. Broke after her husband takes off with the down payment for their new doublewide, Ray reluctantly teams up with Lila, a smuggler, and the two begin making runs across the frozen St. Lawrence River carrying illegal Chinese and Pakistani immigrants in the trunk of Ray's Dodge Spirit.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Billy Madison is the 27 year-old son of Bryan Madison, a very rich man who has made his living in the hotel industry. Billy stands to inherit his father's empire but only if he can make it through all 12 grades, 2 weeks per grade, to prove that he has what it takes to run the family business.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A mentally unhinged factory worker must decide whether to listen to his talking cat and become a killer, or follow his dog's advice to keep striving for normalcy.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz & Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Dr. Louis Creed's family moves into the country house of their dreams and discover a pet cemetery at the back of their property. The cursed burial ground deep in the woods brings the dead back to life -- with "minor" problems. At first, only the family's cat makes the return trip, but an accident forces a heartbroken father to contemplate the unthinkable.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Starz & CBS All Access), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Three lovable party buds try to bail their friend out of jail. But just when the guys have mastered a plan, everything comes dangerously close to going up in smoke.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: In the early 1960s, during the Vatican II era, a young woman training to become a nun struggles with issues of faith, sexuality and the changing church.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Diana Guzman begins to train as a boxer and achieves impressive success, blazing new trails for female boxers, all while keeping it a secret from her father.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: In 1948, a group of World War II pilots volunteered to fight for Israel in the War of Independence.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Kenya McQueen, a corporate lawyer finds love in the most unexpected place when she agrees to go on a blind date with Brian Kelly, a sexy and free-spirited landscaper.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Margarita Mamun, an elite Russian rhythmic gymnast, is struggling to become an Olympic champion. It is the most important year of her career and her last chance to achieve the ultimate goal, the gold Olympic medal. The film creates a captivating portrait of a young woman who is desperately trying to handle her own ambitions and meet the expectations of the official Russian training system.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: A drama centered on a rebellious girl who is sent to a Southern beach town for the summer to stay with her father. Through their mutual love of music, the estranged duo learn to reconnect.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: After putting together another Broadway flop, down-on-his-luck producer Max Bialystock teams up with timid accountant Leo Bloom in a get-rich-quick scheme to put on the world's worst show.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: With the wedding of her younger sister fast approaching, Kat Ellis faces the undesirable prospect of traveling alone to London for the ceremony. While this is bad enough, Jeffrey, the man who left her as they moved closer to marriage, happens to be the groom's best man. Determined to show everyone -- most of all Jeffrey -- that her romantic life is as full and thrilling as ever, Kat hires a charming male escort as her date.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Beautiful, funny, passionate, and calculating, Becky is the orphaned daughter of a starving English artist and a French chorus girl. She yearns for a more glamorous life than her birthright promises and resolves to conquer English society by any means possible. A mere ascension into the heights of society is simply not enough. So Becky finds a patron in the powerful Marquess of Steyne whose whims enable Becky to realise her dreams. But is the ultimate cost too high for her?

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: The original '70s TV family is now placed in the 1990s, where they're even more square and out of place than ever.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz & CBS All Access), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper, was gang raped by six white boys in 1944 Alabama. Common in Jim Crow South, few women spoke up in fear for their lives. Not Recy Taylor, who bravely identified her rapists. The NAACP sent its chief rape investigator Rosa Parks, who rallied support and triggered an unprecedented outcry for justice. The film exposes a legacy of physical abuse of black women and reveals Rosa Parks’ intimate role in Recy Taylor’s story.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: An aspiring singer, Denise Waverly/Edna Buxton, sacrifices her own singing career to write hit songs that launch the careers of other singers. The film follows her life from her first break, through the pain of rejection from the recording industry and a bad marriage, to her final triumph in realizing her dream to record her own hit album.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Story of the relationship between the poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz) & stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz).

What it's about: At a pivotal moment for gender equality in Hollywood, successful women directors tell the stories of their art, lives and careers. Having endured a long history of systemic discrimination, women filmmakers may be getting the first glimpse of a future that values their voices equally.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Bored with Bollywood movies but fascinated with their Hollywood counterparts from his youth, Ram dreams to become a singer and actor in America, the country where dreams are made. He is encouraged when his American-based close friend, Vijay Rao, comes for visit, and brags about driving a Mercedes and living in a penthouse.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz) & stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz).

What it's about: A Hungarian family forced to flee the Communist country for the United States, must leave a young daughter behind. Six years later the family arranges to bring the absent daughter to the United States where she has trouble adjusting. The daughter then decides to travel to Budapest to discover her identity.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: When the secret notebook of a young girl who fancies herself a spy is found by her friends, her speculations make her very unpopular! Can she win her friends back?

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Ted Morgan has been treading water for most of his life. After his wife leaves him, Ted realizes he has nothing left to live for. Summoning the courage for one last act, Ted decides to go home and face the people he feels are responsible for creating the shell of a person he has become. But life is tricky. The more determined Ted is to confront his demons, to get closure, and to withdraw from his family, the more Ted is yanked into the chaos of their lives. So, when Ted Morgan decides to kill himself, he finds a reason to live.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi TV, Vudu & IMDb TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 4 others).

What it's about: In this spine-tingling and visually stunning thriller, Academy Award®-nominee Samuel L. Jackson (Unbreakable, Shaft, Pulp Fiction delivers a "full-throttle performance" (People) as Romulus Ledbetter, a misunderstood musician turned recluse, hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave. When Romulus finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree, the authorities - including his police officer daughter (Aunjanne Ellis) - claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by prominent art photographer David Leppenraub (Colm Feore). But how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz) & stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz).

What it's about: Soon after the rising young singer-songwriter Beau Williams gets involved with a fallen, emotionally unstable country star Kelly Canter, the pair embark on a career resurrection tour helmed by her husband/manager James and featuring a beauty queen-turned-singer Chiles Stanton. Between concerts, romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A man claiming to be Carol Brady's long-lost first husband, Roy Martin, shows up at the suburban Brady residence one evening. An impostor, the man is actually determined to steal the Bradys' familiar horse statue, a $20-million ancient Asian artifact.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz & CBS All Access), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: In 1936, 18 African American athletes dubbed the "black auxiliary" by Hitler defied Nazi Aryan Supremacy and Jim Crow Racism to win hearts and medals at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin. The world remembers Jesse Owens. But, Olympic Pride American Prejudice shows how all 18 are a seminal precursor to the modern Civil Rights Movement.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Documentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz) & stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz).

What it's about: This 3-D film chronicles the love, community, and life of festival-goers during Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, the largest music festival in the U.S. Behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive interviews with Insomniac's Pasquale Rotella reveal the magic that makes this three-night, 345,000-person event a global phenomenon.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: One clear summer day in a Baltimore suburb, a baby goes missing from her front porch. Two young girls serve seven years for the crime and are released into a town that hasn't fully forgiven or forgotten. Soon, another child is missing, and two detectives are called in to investigate the mystery in a community where everyone seems to have a secret.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 4 others).

What it's about: When the Switchblade, the most sophisticated prototype stealth fighter created yet, is stolen from the U.S. government, one of the United States' top spies, Alex Scott, is called to action. What he doesn't expect is to get teamed up with a cocky civilian, World Class Boxing Champion Kelly Robinson, on a dangerous top secret espionage mission. Their assignment: using equal parts skill and humor, catch Arnold Gundars, one of the world's most successful arms dealers.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Mandy Moore stars as Halley, a young hip high school student who's convinced true love doesn't exist based on the crazy relationships around her. Her mother is divorcing her father who is dating a younger woman Halley can't stand. Her crazed sister is planning a wedding but has second thoughts and her best friend has fallen madly in love for the first time leaving Halley to feel even more alone.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: The "sematary" is up to its old zombie-raising tricks again. This time, the protagonists are Jeff Matthews, whose mother died in a Hollywood stage accident, and Drew Gilbert, a boy coping with an abusive stepfather.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: An exciting inside look at the stars of Lucha Libre, Mexico's distinctly colorful brand of professional wrestling, where flesh and blood Superheroes have performed for generations of fans. With unprecedented access to some of the top Luchadores in the world, LUCHA MEXICO goes behind the mysterious mask to explore one of the most cherished traditions of Mexican culture.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).