Wanda

American actress/director Barbara Loden made only one feature film in her all too short life: Wanda. Loden, who had no interest in slick Hollywood films, paints a cinéma vérité-style portrait of a woman who has little control over her own life and repeatedly surrenders herself to the wrong men. The film was well received but quickly forgotten. Today, Wanda is considered a cult classic, a flagship of feminist cinema. Loden wrote the screenplay, directed the film, and played the lead role herself.

Wanda Goronski is temporarily staying with her sister after leaving her husband. After the official divorce, she leaves custody of her children to her ex-husband and embarks on a journey through the mining region of Pennsylvania. Time and again, she gets involved with the wrong men, who repeatedly dump her. Eventually, she gets involved with Norman Dennis, a criminal on the run from the police. Wanda decides to join him.