A record seven films directed by women make this year’s list of America’s most influential movies enshrined for posterity by the Library of Congress.
Madeline Anderson’s I Am Somebody (1970), considered the first documentary on civil rights directed by a woman of colour, is among the annual selection of 25 titles added to the national film registry.
In a press release issued by the library in Washington, the pioneering Anderson was quoted as saying: “The film documents the story of 400 black hospital workers in Charleston, South Carolina, who went on strike in the spring of 1969; 388 of the strikers were women.
“They won the hundred-day strike, and the induction of I Am Somebody into the registry is a tribute to their courage and perseverance.”
Another of those selected because of its “cultural, historic and aesthetic importance to the nation’s film heritage” is Boys Don’t Cry, a 1999 docudrama that tells the story of Brandon Teena, a murdered trans man, and earned Hilary Swank an Oscar.
Its director, Kimberly Peirce, said: “Twenty years later, it still feels like a miracle that Boys Don’t Cry got made. I fell in love with Brandon Teena and his desire to live and love as himself in a time and place where that was impossible.
“I felt a powerful conviction to bring Brandon to life on screen, so audiences would love him as I did and share my horror at his rape and murder. To our amazement, the world embraced Brandon. It is meaningful to me as a film-maker, a genderqueer and as a person that the Library of Congress has recognised Boys Don’t Cry. This moment is a culmination, unimaginable and wonderful.”
Only one woman has won an Oscar for best director: Kathryn Bigelow for 2009’s The Hurt Locker. The national film registry, which now has 775 titles, is dominated by men.
But the 2019 list adds the 1984 documentary Before Stonewall, directed by Greta Schiller; Claudia Weill’s 1978 Girlfriends; Gunvor Nelson’s 1969 avant-garde film My Name is Oona; A New Leaf, which in 1971 made Elaine May the first woman to write, direct and star in a major American studio feature; and the 2002 indie Real Women Have Curves, directed by Patricia Cardoso and starring America Ferrera.
This year’s selections span a century of film-making, from 1903 to 2003. They include Amadeus, a 1984 film about the composer Antonio Salieri’s dark envy of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, starring F Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce, and Coal Miner’s Daughter, a 1980 biopic about the country singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn.
The film’s director, Michael Apted, said: “It means the world to me that the world will know that Coal Miner’s Daughter has been acknowledged as an important and lasting film. For a young British director to be given the reins to capture what was truly a deep American subject was beyond rewarding.”
Also included is Prince’s 1984 autobiographical hit Purple Rain. Co-star Apollonia Kotero was quoted by the library as saying: “As a young Latina actress, being cast in Purple Rain was the opportunity of a lifetime.
“Roles for women that looked like me were scarce in the ‘80s. Prince was never afraid of taking risks. He created a melting pot of cultures and racial interactions within his purple worlds… Prince would be thrilled.”
There are nods too for the 1944 movie Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman; Disney’s 1959 fairytale Sleeping Beauty; Spike Lee’s 1986 breakout film, She’s Gotta Have It, and Oliver Stone’s Oscar-winning Platoon from the same year; Kevin Smith’s Clerks, from 1994, and The Last Waltz, Martin Scorsese’s 1978 documentary that pays homage to the epic farewell concert by the Band.
The most recent film on the list is the documentary Fog of War, in which the former defence secretary Robert McNamara contemplates his role in shaping American military and foreign policy.
Carla Hayden, the first woman and first African American to lead the Library of Congress, said: “Unlike many other honours, the registry is not restricted to a time, place or genre. It encompasses 130 years of the full American cinematic experience – a virtual Olympiad of motion pictures.
“With the support of Congress, the studios and other archives, we are ensuring that the nation’s cinematic history will be around for generations to come.”
The list was praised for its inclusiveness. Jacqueline Stewart, chair of the National Film Preservation Board’s taskforce on diversity, equity and inclusion, said: “With this year’s national film registry selections, Dr Hayden recognises the importance of amplifying cinematic voices and stories that have been marginalised for far too long.”
