Despite the rampant sexism in Hollywood, 2014 has been quite the year for women in film. Films such as Belle, Obvious Child, and Anita showcase women directors and women’s stories that expand the narrow landscape of mainstream movies and hint towards what is possible when more women are at the table.

To be clear, the current landscape for women in American film is a pretty dismal one. The New York Times reports, “Women accounted for less than a third of all speaking roles in the year’s 100 top-grossing domestic films.

And just 15 percent of those films had women in leading roles. These figures, tabulated by Martha M. Lauzen, executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, have also remained all but unchanged from 2002, when she first looked at the numbers…Indeed, Ms. Lauzen said, the percentage of female speaking roles has not increased much since the 1940s, when, she said, they hovered around 25 percent to 28 percent.”

Nevertheless, despite this less than welcoming atmosphere, women directors such as Amma Assante (Belle), Frieda Lee Mock (Anita), and Gillian Robespierre (Obvious Child) released films that pushed the envelope in new, exciting ways.

Take, for instance, Amma Asante’s Belle.  Based on the historical account of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the film is a standout in a era where smart and compelling historical dramas about slavery, such as Twelve Years A Slave, are not only Oscar nominated but Oscar winners. Belle focuses on women, both enslaved and free, and their circumscribed and proscribed gender and class roles in a way that illuminates the stark similarities and vast differences between black and white women in nineteenth century Britain.

Similarly, Gillian Robespierre’s Obvious Child is a standout film in its own genre—films that deal head on with abortion. Obvious Child stars Jenny Slate and has been heralded as a breakthrough film that takes a candid look at abortion, without the usual angst or guilt and, surprisingly with humor. Slate’s Amanda Hess writes, “While other films that touch on abortion conspire to neutralize a woman's choice, or else punish her for it, Obvious Child never dwells on Donna’s decision. (This is no ‘Donna’s Dilemma.’) Instead, it plays with all the other choices inherent in the abortion decision—like how much to involve the man in the choice, how to tell your mom, and how to talk about it all publicly—and it does it all with humor and poignancy without getting glib.” Obvious Child is a groundbreaking film that is sorely needed in an era where anti-choice legislation is steadily eroding women’s reproductive choices.

Other compelling films by and/or about women include the latest entry in the Hunger Games franchise, Mockingjay Part I, the documentary She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, about the Women’s Liberation movement of the 60s and 70s, and Wild, the film adaptation of Cheryl Strayed acclaimed memoir of the same name.

We also have some things to looks forward to in 2015. Ava Duvernay’s Selma (which opened on Christmas day in New York, LA, DC, and Atlanta) will have a wider release in January. Duvernay previously became the first Black woman to win “Best Director” at Sundance for her stunning film, Middle of Nowhere and Selma, an epic history of the civil rights movement, is gaining well-deserved Oscar buzz.

Fans of sci-fi also have something to look forward to. Indie Wire also reports that, “Michelle MacLaren, the Emmy-winning director of episodes on Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, has been tapped to direct a superheroine movie – the big-screen adaptation of DC's Wonder Woman. Even the fact that we'll see a Wonder Woman film is a big deal, because almost every single superhero movie in the past twenty years has had a male lead. Even better news is that Wonder Woman won’t be the only superheroine to hit theaters in the next few years. Marvel has announced that their upcoming Captain Marvel movie will also have a female lead.”

Here’s to hoping that 2015 will be an even better year for women in film!