First Women Filmmakers (USA, 1911-1929)
About
In the early decades of cinema, some of the most innovative and celebrated filmmakers in America were women. Alice Guy-Blaché helped establish the basics of cinematic language, while others boldly continued its development: slapstick queen Mabel Normand (who taught Charlie Chaplin the craft of directing), action star Grace Cunard, and LGBTQ icon Alla Nazimova. Unafraid of controversy, filmmakers such as Lois Weber and Dorothy Davenport Reid tackled explosive issues such as birth control, abortion, and prostitution. This crucial chapter of film history comes alive through the presentation of a wide assortment of films, carefully curated, meticulously restored in 2K and 4K from archival sources, and presented with new musical scores.
News:
Film and Digital Media Professor Shelley Stamp was recognized for her efforts in film preservation and rediscovery.
PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS (USA, 1911-1929) was awarded “Best Rediscovery of a Forgotten Film” at Il Cinema Ritrovato film festival in Bolognia, Italy. PIONEERS is a blu-ray collection of rediscovered and restored films from the silent era from women directors including Alice Guy-Blanché, Lois Weber and Mabel Normand. Professor Stamp served as curator for this collection, which celebrates the ground-breaking early female directors of American cinema who helped shape the language of film.
Il Cinema Ritrovato is a movie festival dedicated to the rediscovery of rare and not well-known movies, with particular interest to the first cinematographic productions. The festival is hosted by film archive Cineteca di Bologna.