Be Natural Alice Guy by Alice Guy Jr. since 1992

“In support of the Directed by Women Worldwide Viewing Party and Scalarama Suffolk Silents Society will be showing a selection of short silent films. This will showcase the work of early film pioneers such as Lotte Reiniger and Alice Guy Blache.”

Alice Guy Blache’ not only the first female film director, but the first film director!

Falling Leaves (Alice Guy-Blaché, 1912)

Matrimony’s Speed Limit | Alice Guy-Blaché | 1913

this is arguably one of the most important films of all time because it is the first film featuring a gay character.  also, unlike films in the more recent past, he’s not a stereotype either.  the story is about algie having to prove his manhood to marry a rich man’s daughter, so he becomes a miner.  he’s a bit of a dandy but definitely not a pansy.  he mines with the best of them and saves his best friend/maybe boyfriend’s life when he gets messed with by bandits.  and best of all, the two roll back into town together so he gets the rich girl and the boy.  the story itself nears on montage as it shows the year progress within ten minutes and he gets more confident throughout.  it’s a fantastic film, well written and beautifully executed. 

La Fée aux Choux by Alice Guy-Blaché 1896 Guy-Blaché is the first female director. La Fée aux Choux (The Cabbage Fairy) is considered one of the earliest fiction films and the first with a runtime of at least a minute. She was one of the pioneers of the film industry and directed over 1,000 films, only 350 survive. She was also the first woman to run her own movie studio, Solax in 1910.

On nomme souvent les frères Lumière ou Georges Méliès pour évoquer la genèse du cinéma, n’oubliez plus Alice Guy, qui à la fin du XIXe siècle a réussi à se faire une place au sein du gotha du cinéma naissant. Femme indépendante, talentueuse et incroyablement avant-gardiste, elle est persuadée que l’on peut faire autre chose que filmer la réalité. Elle propose à Léon Gaumont le premier scénario de la maison Gaumont. Elle fait alors entrer la fiction dans le cinéma et devient la première femme réalisatrice et productrice au monde en mars 1896 avec La fée aux choux. Scénario après scénario, tournage après tournage, elle devient une cinéaste alors que le terme n’existe pas encore (il est attribué à Louis Delluc en 1920). « Votre recommandation est excellente mais c’est un poste important, j’ai peur que vous soyez bien jeune », aurait déclaré Léon Gaumont le jour de sa rencontre avec Alice Guy Blaché. Du haut de ses 21 ans, elle lui répondit : « Oh ! Mais ça me passera ». C’est ainsi qu’en mars 1894, Alice Guy Blaché devient  secrétaire  au Comptoir général de la photographie où Léon Gaumont est employé aux écritures.

Alice Guy-Blaché was the first woman director, and at age 23, (before the turn of the century,) she was one of the first filmmakers to make a narrative film. She pioneered the technology of syncing sound to film, created the first film with an all African-American cast, and was the first woman to build and run a film studio. She wrote, directed, and produced more than 1,000 films, and had a career of 24 years, the longest of any of the cinema trailblazers.

The Pit and the Pendulum (1913, dir. Alice Guy Blache)

Madame a des envies (1907, dir. Alice Guy Blache)

Les fredaines de Pierrette (Alice Guy-Blaché, 1900)