Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers

A scene from LINDA, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from WHAT DO MEN WANT, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from SUSPENSE, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from THE PURPLE MASK, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from OCEAN WAIF, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from MOTHERHOOD, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from LINDY, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from HYPOCRITES, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from HER DEFIANCE, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from FOOL AND HIS MONEY, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from FINE FEATHERS, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from FALLING LEAVES, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from DAUGHTER OF THE LAW, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from CURSE OF QUON GWON, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

A scene from BREAD, part of the PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS collection from Kino Lorber Repertory.

In the Wild West days of early filmmaking—before Hollywood hardened into an assembly-line behemoth and boys’ club—talented women worked regularly as writers, producers, and directors, instrumental in shaping the very language of cinema as we know it. Nevertheless, figures like Alice Guy Blaché and Lois Weber are known today primarily by aficionados, and artists like Nell Shipman, Grace Cunard, and Marion E. Wong remain woefully obscure. Bringing together dozens of essential new restorations, this series spotlights the daring, innovative, and trailblazing work of the first female filmmakers and restores their centrality to the creation of cinema itself. – BAMCinematek

Box set out November 2018. Produced in collaboration with the Library of Congress.