As I previously posted, women have a tough time of it in the film industry. I know more directors than is good for me, as it's my future profession, and I can name very few women. Of my 10 favourite directors, and countless other cinematic heroes who inspire me, none are women. This not because I'm sexist, it's because there are very few of note out there. Not because women can't direct, but because goddamnit, they don't get the chance! And if they do, they rarely reach a mainstream audience. If you think any of this sounds bigoted, go out onto the street and ask any random person if they can name 5 female directors. Then you see my point. And this is ridiculous! Imagine if there were, for example, no black directors, no korean directors, no gay directors, no disabled directors... you're missing an entire viewpoint! An insight into how someone of a certain culture of background perceives material in a different way to someone else. A perfect example is Patty Jenkins being fired from Thor 2, and Natalie Portman getting furious because she hoped to develop a frankly two-dimensional character. The Enchantress, a major villain in the Thor series, directed by the woman who gave us a terrifying Aileen Wournos, would have been brilliant. Basically, women get short shrift when it comes to directing, and there are very few- those who are working in the industry are generally fantastic, some better than a lot of their male counterparts (hell, a shaved chimp would be better than men like Uwe Boll and Michael Bay!). So here are, among many others, the ten women I believe to be the most exciting directors, writers and producers (some cover more than one category) currently working in the film industry today. Some are the future, others are seasoned veterans who are producing exciting work that is perhaps better than a lot of male-produced output. Please keep in mind I'm not differentiating men from women, that they have to be singled out or given special treatment- as a film fan, I love tonnes of the work I mention here, and I couldn't care less if the person who made it is male or female. The term 'treading on eggshells' seems appropriate here... So, without sounding too politically correct, here come the girls in no particular order...