Assuming that it was the feminist movement that influenced the artwork of Pedro Almodovar and Krešo Golik, this thesis discusses the portrayal of femininity in their films, with a special emphasis on their interest in female characters and their struggle for gender equality. The theoretical part of the paper presents a brief historical overview and the characteristics of the feminist movement, notably discussing its second and third waves, i.e. the very period in which the filmmaking of Krešo Golik and Pedro Almodovar began. In addition, I included an explanation of the concept of feminist criticism itself, with a special reference to the more relevant theses of feminist film criticism made by L. Mulvey and K. Silverman and, considering Golik’s undeniable contribution in this period, I offer a brief overview of Yugoslav cinema in the 1960s and 1970s. The theoretical part concludes with an overview and definition of film genres relevant to the analysis of the selected films, most importantly the melodrama being the most profund genre in the opuses of both authors. Furthermore, the analytical part of the paper briefly presents the body of work of both authors and highlights the main elements of their poetics, especially those related to the films analyzed in this paper. According to criteria, that being, primarily the complexity of portraying female characters, but also given their position in society and their relationship to a patriarchal society, the following films were selected for analysis: From 3 to 22, I Have 2 Mothers and 2 Fathers, One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away, To Live on Love and Ljubica by Krešo Golik and Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Average Girls, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, Volver and Julieta by Pedro Almodovar. The analytical portion of the paper is layed out chronologically, i.e. the films are analyzed in the exact sequence in which they were made. Additionally, the analysis also includes a short synopsis for each film problematizing the representation of women's identities, as well as their position in society. In conclusion, the paper presents the results of this research, they include the following: the importance of both authors in terms of their thematic deviation from the dominant Hollywood tendencies, their common interest in the melodrama as a basic genre pattern and their similarities in depicting femininity and the female preoccupations.