As told through clips from 183 female directors, this epic history of the cinema focuses on women’s integral role in the development of film art. Using almost a thousand film extracts from thirteen decades and five continents, Mark Cousins asks how films are made, shot and edited; how stories are shaped and how movies depict life, love, politics, humour and death, all through the compelling lens of some of the world’s greatest filmmakers – all of them women.

Tilda Swinton, Adjoa Andoh, Jane Fonda, Sharmila Tagore, Kerry Fox, Thandiwe Newton, Debra Winger