In the 1910s and early ’20s, woman directors were not uncommon. Some worked for the major studios. Some established their own companies. They were hugely influential in shaping the language of cinema, as the industry moved from short films to features. From comedies, thrillers, dramas and even Westerns, their films are visually dazzling, emotionally complex and defiantly controversial. Showcasing these ambitious works from the golden age of women directors also underlines what was lost by the marginalization of women to “support roles" within the film industry.
Arguably the original woman director, Alice Guy-Blaché was born in Paris and got her start working for camera manufacturer Gaumont. She was in the audience for the first-ever film screening on March, 22, 1895, but found “Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory” rather dull; a year later, she was making her own movies, and established The Solax Company, which quickly became the biggest studio on the East Coast.
Among pioneering female filmmakers, Lois Weber - former pianist and evangelist - took to acting after the turn of the century and was hired as a singer during Guy-Blaché’s tenure with the company. Weber quickly rose from performer to writer to director, and with her husband-collaborator, Wendell Phillips Smalley, began making films for a variety of studios.