Film: When the Woman Directs – An Introduction to Female Filmmakers, from Alice Guy Blache to Chloe Zhao with Professor Melanie Williams from University of East Anglia
October 12 @ 13:30 - 14:15
This session will explore the world of women directors, looking at their foundational presence at the birth of cinema, as with Alice Guy Blache, director of the first fictional narrative film in 1896, right through to their present-day triumphs across a range of international film, like the Chinese-born filmmaker Chloe Zhao’s Best Director Oscar win.
Some of the questions we will address in this session will include: why have women traditionally been outnumbered by men in being directors, and why, despite some improvements, is this still the case? How has the work of women directors been understood by critics and historians, and how have female filmmakers been visually represented, in different time periods and national contexts? Do you think women’s films are different to men’s? How do women directors reflect upon their situation and try to build careers for themselves, in spite of the problems they must often overcome?
Lecturer Profile: Professor Melanie Williams, from the School of Media, Language and Communication Studies at University of East Anglia, is an expert in Film History, British cinema and Feminist media studies.
Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. There is no charge to take part.
As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.
Suitable for: Aged 16+ pre-university students studying, or thinking about studying, Film, Media and related subjects. Student groups as well as students and teachers joining individually are very welcome.
Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance and questions they have. Students can also think about questions about studying at university level.
The IT Setup: The event will be run on Zoom and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the speaker via typed comments and questions and/or via a microphone. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.
Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below: