The Deauville American Film Festival may be stirring up controversy with its screenings of films by Woody Allen and Nate Parker, but its lineup offers a sign of changing times.

Six of the 14 films in competition were directed by women: Annie Silverstein’s “Bull,” Mirrah Foulkes’s “Judy and Punch,” Jennifer Reeder’s “ Knives and Skin, ” Danielle Lessovitz’s “Port Authority,” Pippa Bianco’s “Share” and Annabelle Attanasio’s “Mickey and the Bear.”

It is Ms. Attanasio’s directorial debut. “Mickey and the Bear” is a story of a motherless Montana teenager, Mickey (Camila Morrone ) , struggling to care for her father, Hank (James Badge Dale) , an Iraq veteran unraveling from PTSD and substance abuse.

“It is Mickey’s story, but Hank is the wick on the dynamite,” she said.

Ms. Attanasio, 26 , is the daughter of the producer and screenwriter Paul Attanasio (“ Quiz Show,” “Donnie Brasco” ) and the producer Katie Jacobs , who both were executive producers of the TV show “House.” (They are now divorced.)