This month, we’ve already had a post of fun girl power movies from the 90s and 00s that you should watch to get into that female empowerment and friendship feeling. Now we’re onto the biopics. The reality. The real women who lived in this world and created change, and the films inspired by their lives.

These films are all based on true stories about true women, inspired by last month’s true stories about LGBTQ+ figures.

This Women’s History Month, why not learn about some of the female changemakers of our past?

Any films with a 💕 next to the title mark ones that I have watched and loved.

Erin Brockovich, dir. Steven Soderbergh (2000) 💕

A moving experience, Julia Roberts plays the single mother struggling with her relationship, her access to childcare, and the case of Pacific Gas & Electric knowingly poisoning local residents. The true story of a whistleblower trying to do what’s right while also paying rent.

Belle, dir. Amma Asante (2013) 💕

Based on the life of Dido Elizebeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed race daughter of a navy admiral, who is raised in her aristocratic, white, uncle and aunt’s house. She grows up to play a pivotal role in the abolishment of slavery in Britain.

On the Basis of Sex, dir. Mimi Leder (2018)

A biographical legal drama depicting the early story of a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who would one day become Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the USA, both through her time at law school and later, as a new lawyer.

Iron Jawed Angels, dir. Katja von Garnier (2004)

Hilary Swank features in this film about the women who risked their lives for the suffrage movement.

Suffragette, dir. Sarah Gavron (2015) 💕

A staple women’s history movie starring Carey Mulligan, following one average woman through the British suffragette movement, and featuring women’s rights heroes, Emmaline Pankhurst and Emily Wilding Davidson.

Persepolis, dir. Marjane Satrapi and Winshluss (2007)

Based on the graphic novel memoir of the same name, Persepolis is one woman’s story of her childhood defying Islamic fundamentalists. Animated in the same style as the graphic novel and all in French.

Frida, dir. Julie Taymor (2002)

The biopic of Frida Khalo, who channelled her pain and tempestuous marriage into her artwork. Starring The Eternals’ Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina, of Spider-Man 2’s Doctor Octopus fame.

A League of Their Own, dir. Penny Marshall (1992)

Based on the very first female professional baseball team and inspiration for the later television show, a fictionalised account of the true story.

Hidden Figures, dir. Theodore Melfi (2016) 💕

The story of three real-life brilliant Black women who worked as mathematicians and human computers for NASA while America was trying to put a man in space.

What’s your favourite film about a real-life woman? Are there any incredible films that we missed?

Why not watch a movie and learn a thing or two about the women who made history?

By Bethany Climpson, Sustainability Engagement Assistant