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Filmmakers on

Film

The Award winning Reel Women 10 Disc Series has gone Archival!
Used in classrooms all over the globe since 1990. Ally Acker takes
us on a sweeping journey through the lives and achievements of the 
pioneering female filmmakers who have transformed the way we see
movies today. This is a herstory left out of the history books.
Women Filmmakers
Herstory

                         10 - The Herstory

 

There were more women working in influential positions behind the scenes in film before 1920 than at any other time in history. Filmmaker, author, nationwide lecturer Ally Acker, takes us on an archival journey of the pioneering female filmmakers who have transformed the way we look at movies from 1896 to the present. 

 

This compelling event has toured the country.

 

Features: Katharine Hepburn, Lillian Gish, Sherry Lansing, Rita Moreno, Euzhan Palcy, Margarethe von Trotta, Marcia Nasatir, Jay Presson Allen, Harriet Frank Jr. Lee Grant and Dede Allen.

Women Filmmakers

Screenwriters on Screenwriting

Screenwriters

01 - Screenwriters on Screenwriting

 

This documentary premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Explore the challenging world of the screenwriter with renowned industry writers

 

Features: Jay Presson Allen, Harriet Frank Jr., Fay Kanin, Margarethe von Trotta and Euzhan Palcy

Women Filmmakers
Editors

02 - Editors on Editing

 

Film editing initially began as a woman's art in France. As veteran film editor, Dede Allen, tell it,"They thought that women were good at little details, like sewing." Before editing became a craft, women were the earliest technicians. Today, the long tradition of women editors carries on. 

 

Features: Dede Allen, Margaret Booth and Carol Littleton, Briane Murphy and Kevin Brownlow.

Women Filmmakers

Actresses Turned

Producer/Director

ActProDir

03 - Actresses Turned Producer / Directors

 

From Mary Pickford to Barbra Streisand the successful actress turned producer/director is one of Hollywood's longest standing traditions.  

 

Features: Lee Grant and Rita Moreno. Includes interview materials with Barbra Streisand

Women Filmmakers

The Producer/Director

Relationship

ProDirRelation

04 - The Producer / Director Relationship

 

 

The Producer and the Director must function like two hands of the same heart. These two rare interviews take us fro the beginning to the end of one movie, "A Dry White Season." 
 
Features: Award-Winning Martinique director, Euzhan Palcy, and Award Winning 
Hollywood producer, Paula Weinstein.

Women Filmmakers
Dir 1

05 - Directors on Directing (Part 1)

 

 

This documentary features the most gifted young directors of the 80's and 90's, revealing the secrets of their success in their craft.  

 
Features: Susan Seidelman and Amy Heckerling. Includes interview material with 
Barbra Streisand.

 

Women Filmmakers
Dir 2

06 - Directors on Directing (Part 2)

 

 

This documentary features the most gifted young directors of the 80's and 90's, revealing the secrets of their success in their craft.  
 
Features: Martha Coolidge, Donna Deitch. Includes interview material with Barbra Streisand.

 

Foreign Directors

on Directing

Forieign Dir

07 - Foreign Directors on Directing

 

 

 

Because of the difficulty of financing, very few American film directors establish a body of work. For American women directors, the problem is two-fold.  But in Europe, Canada, and some countries of South America, filmmaking is often government subsidized, making it possible for filmmakers to become prolific in their craft.

 

Germany's Margarethe von Trotta, Canada's Rina Fraticelli, and Venezuelan's Fina Torres speak about the idiosyncrasies of filmmaking in their respective countries. 

Early Directors

on Directing

Early Dir

08 - Early Directors on Directing

 

 

 

 

There were more women directors before 1920 than at any other time in history. The first director to put a narrative story on celluloid was, Alice Guy Blaché in 1896.  Few know that Lillian Gish became a director in her own right in 1920.  Ida Lupino directed over a hundred episodes of Have Gun, Will Travel, Thriller, Gunsmoke, and many independent features. 

 

 Features: A very rare interview with Lillian Gish in her role as director.Also, Mala Powers (a Lupino "discovery") speaks about Ida Lupino the director.

 

 

 

Producers on

Producing

Producers

09 - Producers on Producing

 

 

 

Who should direct the film?  Who should write it?  Who should edit the final product?  With major Hollywood studios, these questions lie within the producer's domain. 
 
Marcia Nasatir was the first female VP of a major studio. Sherry Lansing was the first woman to become president of a major studio.  
 
Features: Sherry Lansing, Marcia Nasatir, Lauren Schuler-Donner, Lynda Obst, Debra Hill.
Also includes interview materials with Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Kevin Brownlow and Molly Haskell.

 

 

There were more women working in influential positions behind the scenes in film before 1920 than at any other time in history. Filmmaker, author, nationwide lecturer Ally Acker, takes us on an archival journey of the pioneering female filmmakers who have transformed the way we look at movies from 1896 to the present. This compelling event has toured the country.

 

 

Ally Acker is the author of

 

REEL WOMEN: PIONEERS OF THE CINEMA THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS

in

 

TWO Book Volume Set 

 

                    VOLUME 1 HERE                     VOLUME 2 HERE  


 
Ally Acker is the director of the ten part archival DVD series, Filmmakers on Film 

 

© 1996-2021 by Reel Women Media

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