1,001 Nights on Feminism and Queerness: 100 Nights of Hero

Not every feature-length debut is the one where directors immediately establish their personal handwriting and artistic identity. The Canadian-born filmmaker Julia Jackman, who lives and works in Britain, offers a prime example of this. After a string of short films, her debut was the cute, yet somewhat generic, gay teen love story “Bonus Track” (to be viewed on Wow). But it is the follow-up, “100 Nights of Hero” (for which she also wrote the screenplay based on Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel), that now reveals how she truly ticks as a filmmaker.

Cherry must become pregnant within 100 days

More fairy tale and feminist fable than a true historical epic, “100 Nights of Hero” unfolds in a world once created by the idealistic goddess Kiddo (Safia Oakley-Green) before her brutal despot father Birdman (Richard E. Grant) seized control. Since then, the rights of women have not fared well. The noble Cherry (Maika Monroe), for instance, has still not borne an heir for her husband Jerome (Amir El-Masry) and now faces only 100 days to become pregnant, or face a death sentence.
Where adultery is also not an option, which makes the situation all the more precarious as Jerome entrusts his wife to the care of his infamous playboy friend Manfred (Nicholas Galitzine) for weeks. Yet Cherry’s maid Hero (Emma Corrin) has long since seen through the misogynistic game being played and, with a seemingly endless story, can not only secure her mistress’s freedom but also regularly wear Manfred down with exhaustion.

Wonderfully colorful in costumes and sets

As a timeless homage to “1,001 Nights” and classical mythology on the one hand, and to a modern, quirky, high-energy story about our real world on the other, she described the material during its Venice Film Festival premiere in 2025. Indeed, from this contrast (and the accompanying blend of dark fury and absurd, playful humor) she forges a striking creative force that British critics have compared to Yorgos Lanthimos, Peter Greenaway, and Derek Jarman alike.

“100 Nights of Hero” is wonderfully colorful in its costumes and sets and pleasingly queer (for instance in Hero’s feelings for Cherry, but also in Jerome’s gaze toward his best friend or in the generally creative approach). The synth score is hypnotic, and the ensemble is as playfully as it is unexpectedly prominent. Felicity Jones appears as the moonlit off-screen narrator, and Charli XCX makes her very first screen appearance in one of several stories that unfold like layers of an onion.
That Jackman ultimately centers on the power of storytelling—or more specifically, female storytelling—is not terribly surprising, nor is it subtly conveyed. Yet this message remains highly relevant today, especially in light of the stagnation in the share of women directing films. And for anyone who works with such ingenuity, originality, and stylistic confidence, she essentially earns a stronger call for more work.