As Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut, Nights and Weekends saw the genius as a lead and writer as well. Following the story of a long distance relationship, it is an emotional, realistic interpretation that will grip your heart and leave you contemplating love and life. Joe Swanberg was Gerwig’s partner on this film — directing, writing, and starring alongside her. Dream team.

A black and white film, Frances Ha is an artistic masterpiece. Though Gerwig didn’t direct this one, she co-wrote the script and starred in it, and it definitely has her stamp on it. Gut-wrenching, thought-provoking monologues, conversations between women that are clearly written by a woman, and impactful subtleties fill the film. Directed and co-written by Noah Baumbach, and starring Mickey Sumner and Adam Driver alongside Gerwig, it tells the story of a woman in New York trying to make it as a dancer.

Call me Lady Bird! It is very difficult to put this as #3 on a list, but that’s just how good Greta Gerwig is. Starring Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet, it is a classic coming-of-age film that somehow hits harder than all the rest. Set in the early 2000s, it follows Ronan’s character as she longs to move away from California to the East Coast for college, where, in her opinion, “culture is”. Though it explores a variety of platonic and romantic relationship structures, it is perhaps the mother-daughter dynamic that truly sets this film apart from all others. Hilarious, heartbreaking, and all too relatable, it truly set the scene for Gerwig’s solo directorial style — and it is absolutely perfect.

No explanation needed for this one. The current talk of the town, Barbie is unlike any film in terms of its world-building excellence and marketing initiatives. A clever, nostalgic, and enchanting film, its power comes from its ability to reach all — across generations, film preferences, identities, etc. Sitting down to watch it in the theatre, the audience is full of just as many preteen girls as 80-year-old men, with everyone in between. A powerful reminder of the connection between us all, it is as impactful in its subject matter as it is in the community it has created surrounding it.

We have arrived at #1. Little Women. Though not the first film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel, Greta Gerwig’s interpretation is entirely different. Somehow effortlessly weaving modern day discussions into the setting of Massachusetts during the American Civil War, it is a reminder that our current conversations, hopes and dreams, and fears and struggles have existed long before our time. Perhaps what is so meaningful is how much of the author’s own identity Gerwig drew from. It somehow feels as if she read the work in Alcott’s own voice, understanding just what she meant and truly bringing the author’s vision to life. With androgynous styling, a contemporary view on Amy’s character, a sister bond that goes beyond all other love stories, and that heart wrenching scene of Jo struggling with loneliness and the difference between loving and being loved, it is the details that make the film stand on its own from its predecessors.