"Women directors have made lasting impacts on film since its inception, despite well-documented and persistent barriers in the form of funding, industry perceptions, distribution, and publicity.
To honor the contributions of women filmmakers across all genres and style, Stacker compiled data on the movies that topped BBC's industry survey for best movies directed by women. BBC Culture polled 368 film experts from 84 countries in order to determine the list. They are ranked according to the BBC results, not IMDb or Metacritic data.
The full BBC Culture list we consulted includes two Leni Riefenstahl films, "Triumph of the Will" (ranked #45) and "Will & Olympia Part One: Festival of Nations" (ranked #37). We have declined to include them here for their highly controversial nature and Riefenstahl's pro-Nazi sympathies."