Alice Guy-Blaché Shorts w/ Live Music

Film Synopsis

From 1896 to 1906 Alice Guy was [probably] the only woman film director in the world. She had begun as a secretary for Léon Gaumont and made her first film in 1896. She went on to direct and produce/supervise almost 600 silent films ranging in length from one to thirty minutes, the majority of which were of the single-reel length. In addition, she also directed and produced/supervised 150 synchronized sound films for the Gaumont Chronophone. Her Gaumont silent films are notable for their energy and risk-taking; her preference for real locations gives the extant examples of these Gaumont films a contemporary feel. As Alan Williams has described her influence, Alice Guy “created and nurtured the mood of excitement and sheer aesthetic pleasure that one senses in so many pre-war Gaumont films, including the ones made after her departure from the Paris studio.” Selections at this event include: The Drunken Mattress (1906), The Glue (1907), A Four Year Old Hero (1907), and The Piano (1912)