Alice Guy-Blaché was the first female filmmaker yet criminally overlooked by history – something Pamela B. Green sets out to correct in this educational and entertaining film.
Beautifully narrated by Jodie Foster, it tells how the French secretary made her first film in 1896 and rose through the ranks of a Parisian studio. There’s a flavour of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ as Green’s research forms a picture of a formidable, fiercely talented woman who broke new ground and refused to conform, asking her actors to ‘be natural’. Sadly, this is still very pertinent to the current conversation around female directors. The ingrained sexism it highlights could form the basis of several sequels.