If you haven’t heard of the 52 Films by Women Challenge, it’s exactly what it sounds like: an opportunity to watch more female-directed films during the year. One every week if you’re really serious! Here at The Playlist, we try to put out a list of 52 upcoming films by women each year in the spirit of this challenge so that these films — many of which are debut features — can get a little extra love. If you want the hot tip on everything from festival darlings to big-budget awards season contenders, we’re here to start your year right! Please enjoy, in alphabetical order, our roundup of 52 (hopeful) 2025 releases directed by women. —Lena Wilson
“Alpha”After taking us for a wild ride with “Titane,” it looks like French auteur Julia Ducournau is returning to her roots for her third feature, “Alpha.” Plot details are still officially TBA, but according to reports, the film is about a girl who her classmates ostracize after she is rumored to have a disease. FilmNation and Charades called this “Julia’s most personal, profound work yet” in a joint statement, so, in short, we’re hype. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the lineup for Cannes, where Ducournau won the 2021 Palme d’Or for “Titane” and the Critics’ Week FIPRESCI Prize for her iconic debut, “Raw.” —Lena Wilson.Release Date: TBA, but distributors have definite plans to bring this one to market at Cannes.
“Ann Lee”Having officially solidified themselves as a filmmaking power couple after co-writing “The Brutalist,” Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbet have another script in the works for 2025. “Ann Lee” will see Fastvold in the directors’ chair, and this Amanda Seyfried-led project looks bonkers in the best way. The film chronicles the life of Ann Lee, the founding leader of the Shakers, and it’s a musical. That’s right, folks, expect shades of “Vox Lux” and “The Brutalist,” but with Fastvold’s signature spin. Given the skill she showed with the rural historical drama “The World to Come,” we simply can’t wait. —LWRelease Date: TBA, but filming wrapped in December.
“April”Georgian writer/director Dea Kulumbegashvili’s drama is timely and of the moment in the second age of Trump. In it,  Nina, an OB-GYN, faces accusations after the newborn’s death. Her life undergoes scrutiny during the investigation. She persists in her medical duties, determined to provide care others hesitate to offer despite the risks.Release Date: January 23 at Sundance
“Ari”This new drama marks French filmmaker Léonor Serraillee’s follow-up to “Mother and Son” (“Un petit frere”), which competed at Cannes in 2022. Her feature debut, “Jeune Femme,” won the Golden Camera at Cannes in 2017, and it is highly anticipated to be a competition title in Berlin. The film centers on a young teacher who quits his job and is thrown out of the house by his father. Lost and alone, he reconnects with old friends, triggering a journey of self-discovery.Release Date: Slated to debut at Berlinale.
“Atropia”One of many debut features to make this list, Hailey Gates’ “Atropia” has perhaps the most interesting premise on this list: The film follows performers living onsite in a military role-playing facility outside of Los Angeles that is stylized to look like war-torn Iraq. Per the film’s Sundance page, “When an aspiring actress in a military role-playing facility falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent, their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance.” Alia Shawkat leads alongside Callum Turner, and Chloë Sevigny, Tim Heidecker, and Jane Levy also star. Sounds like indie gold to us! —LWRelease Date: January 25 at Sundance
“The Bride!”Maggie Gyllenhaal knocked it way out of the park with her first feature, “The Lost Daughter,” so even though her sophomore feature sounds like a major shift in tone, we’re all in. “The Bride!” is expected to cost somewhere around $100 million and, according to star Peter Saarsgard (also Gyllenhaal’s husband), features “big dance numbers.” That’s a far cry from the low-key vibes of “The Lost Daughter,” which cost about $5 million, but hey — we trust Maggie to go the distance. It helps that she’s assembled an incredible cast, including “Lost Daughter” alum Jessie Buckley as the titular bride, Christian Bale as Frankenstein’s monster, Penélope Cruz, and Annette Bening. Even Jake Gyllenhaal is on board, making this one a real family affair. —LWRelease Date: September 26 via Warner Bros.
“Brides”It’s hard to imagine Sundance without at least one female coming-of-age entrant into the world cinema category, and Nadia Fall’s “Brides” fills that vital niche at the 2025 fest. This movie is about Doe (Ebada Hassan) and Mona (Safiyya Ingar), British teenagers fleeing Syria. The film, which Suhayla El-Bushra wrote, is a response to real-life stories of young Westerners joining ISIS. It’s hard to imagine a more timely subject or a higher-stakes feature debut for Fall and El-Bushra. We’re really interested in this one and eager to see what it will say about such pertinent current affairs. —LW Release Date: January 24 at Sundance
“Bunnylovr”Katarina Zhu writes, directs, and stars in her first feature, “Bunnylovr,” which includes NYU Tisch classmate Rachel Sennott as a star and producer. “Bunnylovr” centers on Rebecca (Zhu), a cam girl caught between an unsettling relationship with one of her clients (Austin Amelio, “The Walking Dead,” “Fear the Walking Dead”) and a reunion with her dying father (Perry Yung, “Warrior”). Sennott plays Rebecca’s “more grounded BFF,” per the film’s Sundance page, and it will no doubt be interesting to see her take on a more subdued role in this debut drama. —LW Release Date: January 25 at Sundance
“By Design”“By Design” wins the award for best Sundance synopsis, hands down: “A woman swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair.” The latest from “Ladyworld” and “Please Baby Please” director and co-writer Amanda Kramer puts Juliette Lewis centerstage as Camille, the woman in question. Supporting players include Mamoudou Athie (“Kinds of Kindness”), Melanie Griffith, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, and Udo Kier. Kramer’s eyes can be a bit too big for her stomach sometimes, but you can’t deny she’s got vision. And if that cast doesn’t solidify this as an absolute must-see, I don’t know what to tell ya. —LW Release Date: January 23 at Sundance
“The Cry of the Guards”We got two new Claire Denis films in 2022, “Both Sides of the Blade” and “Stars at Noon,” but the 78-year-old auteur shows no signs of slowing down. This year, she’s working on “The Cry of the Guards,” which is purported to be about “a man who goes to a sub-Saharan country in Africa to insist that his brother’s body be released after an industrial accident kills him.” (Sounds like Denis, all right!) Most recently, it was announced that “How to Have Sex” star and up-and-comer Mia McKenna-Bruce will replace Riley Keough in the cast, which also includes Matt Dillon and Isaach De Bankolé (“Chocolat,” “White Material”). Between Denis’ reputation and a promising cast, we’ve got our head on a swivel for this one. —LW Release Date: Production will begin shortly, so maybe we’ll see it this winter.