Film
Genre Film Pioneers
- 7PM
This program highlights the important contributions of women filmmakers to popular entertainment in the silent era, including action-thriller serials and westerns.
New 2K DCP courtesy Kino Lorber
Dir. Grace Cunard
1921, 21min, DCP
Known as “the Serial Queen” for her vivacious turns in western, action, and thriller shorts, Grace Cunard was also a prolific writer and director whose unabashedly entertaining films include this two-reel adventure in which she plays a Secret Service agent.
Recorded music by Amy Denio
Dir. Ruth Ann Baldwin
With Joseph W. Girard, Leo Pierson, William Dyer
1917, 70min, DCP
The earliest known western directed by a woman, Ruth Ann Baldwin”s ’49—’17 is the curious story of a former miner (Girard) who, nostalgic for the adventurous days of the 1849 Gold Rush, sets out to recreate a Wild West town, a premise that “stands out for its clever reworking of traditional Western mythology at a time when the cinematic genre was still in its infancy” (Cullen Gallagher, Not Coming).
Recorded music by Eunice Martins
Dir. Grace Cunard & Francis Ford
1917, 11min
A chapter from Cunard’s wildly popular serial with Cunard herself as the proto-superhero, constantly outwitting the authorities on her trail.
Recorded music by Rob Gal
Go to the movies just once a month and a BAM membership pays for itself.
Hard-hitting, socially-conscious dramas that confront the exploitation of women.
A striking backwoods melodrama and an early treatment of racial prejudice.
Alla Nazimova’s delirious, decadent, Art Nouveau-meets-camp spectacle.