Saw an interesting post on Facebook this morning about women in the movie industry from my friend Dolores Hill Sierra. Dolores is retired from teaching communication classes at Blackhawk Community College in the Quad Cities area of Illinois where she often taught media literacy/intro to mass comm. So in honor of International Women’s Day, I’m sharing her post with her permission
While I applaud all women today, I’d like to credit some women who got lost in the mists of time.
Alice Guy Blache was a woman who started as secretary to major French filmmaker Gaumont. She wanted to make films, and he told her she could…on her lunch hour. She went across Paris on her lunch hours and made lovely films with many innovations. She eventually came to American (with her ne’er do well husband) and built her own studio called Solas. It had glass walls, editing facilities, a costume area, many things that would become standard…and credited to a man.
The other is Lois Weber, a brilliant American fillmmaker, who at one point was the highest paid professional in the new film industry. Her films were innovative, including one where she was the first to use a “ghosting” effect. It’s appropriate to name these women, and I would encourage you to look them up because they were both fascinating innovators whose accomplishments were credited to men.
https://youtu.be/ANy568VWt-0
“The Glue” – By Alice Guy Blache
“Suspense” -By Lois Weber
This one is 10 minutes, but is so full of innovation..including a split screen. And it’s actually quite engrossing. Be patient. It’s worth.
-Dolores Hill Sierra