In recent years considerable energy has been expended on the recovery of British cinema’s silent film heritage. But how much do we know about the contribution made by women filmmakers - on the studio floor as directors, producers, editors, scriptwriters, designers or working around exhibition as cinema managers, publicists, journalists, critics, and, not least as audiences? Even more important, how do we find out, more than 100 years after cinema’s beginnings, about such women’s careers, so often obscured by more visible male filmmakers? For example: how well known is it that Alma Reville - aka Mrs Hitchcock - was established as scriptwriter and editor before her husband entered a film studio, and continued to contribute to his work through their married life?

The International Women Film Pioneers project is working to remedy such gaps in our knowledge through research, film preservation and publication programmes. This day event explores the contributions of British women to cinema’s early development in order to generate further investigation and expand knowledge of our film history. The day will include:

v      introduction to the International Women Film Pioneers Project

v      information from archivists and researchers about resources and access

v      illustrated introductions to  a range of British women’s involvements in cinema’s first decades

v      images, film shorts and extracts showcasing women’s work

v      introduction to Red Velvet Seat, a new volume of women’s writing about cinema

v      Q&A opportunities and discussions about the way forward, including further events and possible investigative collaborations

Speakers include: Jane Gaines (Duke University, Durham,USA, and Chair of the International Women Film Pioneers Project), Bryony Dixon (Curator of Silent Film, British Film Institute), Antonia Lant (New York University, Editor Red Velvet Seat: Women’s Writings on the First 50 Years of Cinema), and Matthew Sweet (Journalist and author of Shepperton Babyon: the Lost Worlds of British Cinema).

Cost:  £ 4.00 (no concessions). Tickets may be booked through the NFT booking office, tel. 020 7928 3232 or online at: www.bfi.org.uk/nft  The venue is: National Film Theatre, Belvedere Road, South Bank, Waterloo, London, SE1 8XT

Programme

10.00                            Registration

10.30                            Welcome and Introduction

                                    Christine Gledhill

10.40                            ‘The Women Film Pioneers Project’

Jane Gaines (Duke University, Durham, USA)

11.20                            ‘Researching British Women Film-Makers: Problems and Issues’

Mirte Terpstra (Institute of Film Studies, Nottingham University)

11.45                            Screening 1: ‘Women and Silent Britain: a Film Compilation’

Introduced by Bryony Dixon (Curator of Silent Film, British Film Institute)

12.30                            ‘Interviewing Joan and Nerina’

Matthew Sweet (Journalist and author of Shepperton Babylon: the Lost Worlds of British Cinema)

1.00                              Lunch

2.00                              ‘Women’s Writing on Film’

Antonia Lant (New York University; Editor of Red Velvet Seat: Women’s Writings on the First 50 Years of Cinema)

2.30                              ‘New Light on an Old Master: Alma Reville aka Mrs Hitchcock’

Nathalie Morris (School of American Studies, University of East Anglia)

2.55                              Break

3.20                              Panel discussion with audience: ‘Re-writing British Women’s Film History – Issues, Problems and Futures’

With Jon Burrows, Elaine Burrows, Tony Fletcher, Judith McClaren, Amy Sargeant

4.20                              Screening 2: ‘Women and Silent Britain: a Film Compilation’

Introduced by Bryony Dixon (Curator of Silent Film, British Film Institute)

4.45                              Close of day