Alice Guy

Alice Guy-Blaché was the first narrative filmmaker in the world, headed production at Gaumont in France, made over 700 films and owned the largest studio in the US at a time when Hollywood was, as yet, just a hick town. How then could this filmmaker have been obliterated from all but a few references in cinema history books. This programme pays tribute to the extraordinary life and work of one of the most influential yet hardly seen filmmakers in the history of cinema. Starting with the documentary that celebrates her achievements - THE LOST GARDEN: THE LIFE AND CINEMA OF ALICE GUY-BLACHÉ (Marquise LePage, Canada, 1995, 53 mins) which includes clips from sixteen of her films as well as TV interviews with the witty and articulate Alice Guy-Blaché herself. Followed by A HOUSE DIVIDED (Alice Guy-Blaché USA, 1913, 13 mins) Guy's seminal comedy which reflected the optimism and early feminist trust in equality shared by many women at the time.