Plot Synopsis

Narrated by Tilda Swinton, Jane Fonda, Adjoa Andoh, Sharmila Tagore, Kerry Fox, Thandie Newton and Debra Winger, WOMEN MAKE FILM: A NEW ROAD MOVIE THROUGH CINEMA is a 14-part documentary series that asks how films are made, shot and edited; how stories are shaped; and how movies depict life, love, politics, humor and death. All through the compelling lens of some of the world's greatest directors, spanning almost a thousand film extracts from 13 decades and five continents. All of them women. Directed by Mark Cousins, WOMEN MAKE FILM had its linear television premiere on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 8pm on Turner Classic Movies, kicking off the cable channel's three-month celebration of women in film. WOMEN IN FILM previously premiered in 2018 at the Venice Film Festival and was released on the British Film Institute Player in May 2020.

The first five "chapters" of the documentary, as shown on TCM are listed below, along with the TCM premieres, their filmmakers and countries following the episode title.

"Openings and Tone"
Merrily We Go to Hell (1932), Dorothy Arzner (U.S.A.); Olivia (1951), Jacqueline Audry (France); Sleepwalking Land (2007), Teresa Prata (Mozambique); Seven Beauties (1975), Lena Wertmuller (Italy); Je tu il Elle (1974), Chantal Akerman (Belgium)

"Introducing Character and the Meet Cute"
El Camino (1963), Ana Mariscal (Spain); Lovely & Amazing (2001), Nicole Holofcener (U.S.A.); The Watermelon Woman (1996), Cheryl Dunye (U.S.A); In the Empty City (aka Hollow City) (2004), Maria Joao Gonga (Angola); Entre Nous (1983), Diane Kurys (France)

"Framing and Tracking"
The Virgin Suicides (1999), Sophia Coppola (U.S.A.); Loving Couples (1964), Mai Zetterling (Sweden); Zero Motivation (2014), Talya Lavie (Israel); 10 to 11 (2009), Pelin Esmer (Turkey); Strangers in Good Company (1990), Cynthia Scott (Canada)

"Staging, Journey and Discovery"
The Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005), Byambasuren Davaa, (Mongolia); The Juniper Tree (1990), Nietchka Keene (Iceland); Women Who Loved Cinema (1 & 2) (2002), Marianne Khoury (Egypt)

"Adult/Child, Economy, and Editing"
Adoption (1975), Marta Meszaros (Hungary); We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), Lynne Ramsay (UK); Wasp (2003), Andrea Arnold (UK); XXY (2007), Lucia Puenzo (Argentina); My American Cousin (1985), Sandy Wilson (Canada)