Bechdel Test Fest: Best Films of 2018 as Voted by Women In Film
The Bechdel Test Fest team and I are proud to have conducted our first end of year poll as voted for JUST by female film critics and commentators. The female voice is frequently drowned out in the male-dominated industry of film and the lack of female film critics still jars - this was our opportunity to tune the female voice in and turn them up. There are many presumptions to what a ‘women’s film’ is, yet our results show women resonate with all genres and narratives whilst appreciating the brilliant work of female filmmakers and narratives. Our very own Steph Watts discussed the results on Anna Smith's podcast Girls On Film which you can check out here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/girls-on-film/id1439182513?mt=4 Our results were picked up on Screen Daily and consequently was shared widely and opened up a lot of conversations and commentary: https://www.screendaily.com/news/female-critics-poll-names-you-were-never-really-here-as-best-film-of-2018/5135453.article The Top 20 List Is As Follows 1: YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE (Dir: Lynne Ramsay) 2: WIDOWS (Steve McQueen) 3: PHANTOM THREAD (Paul Thomas Anderson) 4: ROMA (Alfonso Cuarón) 5: BLACK PANTHER (Ryan Coogler) 6: A STAR IS BORN (Bradley Cooper) 7: LADY BIRD (Greta Gerwig) 8: THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST (Desiree Akhavan) 9: BLACKKKLANSMAN (Spike Lee) 10: SHOPLIFTERS (Hirokazu Kore-eda) 11: LEAVE NO TRACE (Debra Granik) 12: THE RIDER (Chloé Zhao) 13: ANNIHILATION (Alex Garland) 14: FIRST REFORMED (Paul Schrader) 15: AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (Anthony Russo, Joe Russo) 16: TULLY (Jason Reitman) 17: CRAZY RICH ASIANS (Jon M. Chu) 18: COLD WAR (Paweł Pawlikowski) 19: SHIRKERS (Sandi Tan) 20: HEREDITARY (Ari Aster) Other notable appearances in the full list comprising of 124 films released in the UK on any day within 2018 include: Agnès Varda’s latest intimate road-trip documentary FACES PLACES (no.23), Carla Simón’s tender childhood drama SUMMER 1993 (no. 24) and Susan Johnson’s Netflix rom-com hit led by Vietnamese-American actress Lana Condor TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE (no. 28). Despite the very limited release, coming of age comedy BLOCKERS (Kay Cannon) made the list at no 41. Considering December release SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (Peter Ramsey, Robert Persichetti Jr., Rodney Rothman) had only been available to watch for less than two weeks before the poll closed, the animated superhero movie managed a sturdy 84th place suggesting those few who did get a chance to see it all gave it very high scores.
