Some thoughts on this:

1. I'm not a fan of Blue is the Warmest Color, despite strong, committed performances from the leads (I'm a big fan of Lea Seydoux).

2. The Handmaiden is a masterpiece (especially in the extended version). I think it also has something of an inherently anti-pornography message in there too, which is interesting.

3. I did like Portrait of a Lady on Fire a great deal. Why do we never see women smoking pipes more in film?

4. Regarding the male gaze versus female gaze thing, I don't necessarily value one over the other, but what is undoubtedly true is that male gaze has dominated cinema for far too long - to it's great detriment. When done properly both have valid perspectives to contribute, but it is good that the focus has shifted, as the balance urgently needs redressing.

At it’s worst, male gaze can be deeply crass. Michael Bay leering at Megan Fox in Transformers, for instance. At it’s best, it can produce masterpieces, such as Hitchcock’s enigmatic, self-questioning Vertigo. The same can also be true of "female gaze", whether it’s ludicrous scenes of shirtless six-packers in Twilight, or something as nuanced and interesting as Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Obviously I’m aware I’m straying slightly outside the remit of this article as it is specifically about lesbian films directed by men.

I also should be clear and say I'm not remotely offended by exploitative cinema, but there is definitely a sliding scale of artistic value in both male and female gaze centred films.