Film Directors, Female: Europe

The contributions of European female film directors have been central to the development of the film industry, both in Europe and in Hollywood. La Fée aux Choux (The Cabbage Fairy, 1896)-what is considered the first narrative film of all time-was directed by Parisian-born Alice Guy Blaché (1873-1968). Blaché became a pioneering filmmaker in the United States, developing the East Coast film industry, heading a production company, and working as a director, writer, and/or producer of over 700 films. Blaché's protégée, the American Lois Weber (1881-1939), was the first [Page 560]woman to direct a feature-length film, The Merchant of Venice (1914). Although she stopped making films in 1922, the French government awarded Blaché the Legion of Honor in 1953. The first comprehensive retrospective ...