10 of the best Asian films that challenge gender stereotypes, from My Sassy Girl to Dangal

Asia has not always been at the forefront of the fight for gender equality.

Even in Asian cinema, too often it’s the men who wrestle with world-changing events, while the women are left to tend to matters at home, or look on longingly as their man saves the world.

But occasionally the balance shifts, yielding some memorable stories of men and women reaching beyond their assigned station.

Here are 10 of our favourites.

1. Lady Snowblood (1973)

Meiko Kaji emerged from the girl-gang exploitation films of the 1960s to cement her position as the face of ice cold revenge in seventies Japanese cinema.