Katja Raganelli portraits two forgotten women film pioneers: Alice Guy, the first female filmmaker and only female director of an American film studio, and Margery Wilson, leading actress in films by David Wark Griffith and William S. Hart, whose directorial efforts today are lost. This 2-disc DVD set presents rare documetary material and interviews, reenactment scenes and seven newly restored films by Alice Guy Blaché. It allows a new view on film history which usually marginalizes the work of women.
The films
Alice Guy-Blaché (1875-1968) - Hommage an die erste Filmemacherin der Welt - Germany 1997 - Directed and written by: Katja Raganelli - Cinematography by: Konad Wickler - Edited by: Rose Winter - With: Eva Mattes, Angela Huber, Legler, Simone Blaché, Bessie Love, Katja Raganelli, Alive Guy-Blaché - Produced by: Diorama-Film, Munich - Premiere: February 20, 1997 (Arte)
Margery Wilson (1896-1986) - Vom Stummfilmstar Hollywoods zur Filmregisseurin - Germany 1998 - Directed and written by: Katja Raganelli - Cinematogaphy by: Konad Wickler - Edited by: Renate Metzner Wilde - Score: Roland Kovač - With: Margery Wilson - Produced by: Diorama-Film, München - Premiere: November 13, 2019 (Filmmuseum München)
Die Restaurierung von Cupid and the Comet - Germany 2019 - Directed by: Katja Raganelli - Photographed and edited by: Anna Crotti - With: Stefan Drössler, Richard Siedhoff - Produced by: Filomena-Film, Munich - First release
La Crinoline - France 1906 - Directed and written by: Alice Guy - Produced by: Gaumont, Paris - Premiere: September 1906
Cupid and the Comet - USA 1911 - Directed and written by: Alice Guy - Darsteller: Vinnie Burns, Gladden James - Produced by: Solax Film Company - Premiere: June 21, 1911
Playing Trumps - USA 1912 - Directed and written by: Alice Guy - Darsteller: Billy Quirk, Blanche Cornwall, Darwin Karr - Produced by: Solax Film Company - Premiere: August 30, 1912
Canned Harmony - USA 1912 - Directed and written by: Alice Guy - Darsteller: Billy Quirk, Blanche Cornwall, Lee Beggs, Darwin Karr - Produced by: Solax Film Company - Premiere: October 9, 1912
The Hater of Women - USA 1912 - Directed and written by: Alice Guy - Darsteller: Vinnie Burns, Gladden James - Produced by: Solax Film Company - Premiere: December 11, 1912
Burstup Homes' Murder Case - USA 1913 - Directed and written by: Billy Quirk - Darsteller: Fraunie Fraunholz, Blanche Cornwall, Darwin Karr - Produced by: Solax Film Company - Premiere: March 26, 1913
A House Divided - USA 1913 - Directed and written by: Alice Guy - Darsteller: Fraunie Fraunholz, Marion Swayne, Vinnie Burns - Produced by: Solax Film Company - Premiere: May 2, 1913
DVD features (2-disc DVD)
DVD 1
- Alice Guy Blaché Hommage an die erste Filmemacherin der Welt 1997, 60'
- Margery Wilson Vom Stummfilmstar Hollywoods zur Filmregisseurin 1998, 44'
- Die Restaurierung von Cupid and the Comet 2019, 7'
DVD 2
- La Crinoline (Die Maus in der Krinoline) 1906, 2'
- Score by Richard Siedhoff
- Cupid and the Comet (Die Liebe siegt) 1911, 13'
- Score by Richard Siedhoff
- Playing Trumps (Billys Trumpf) 1912, 15'
- Score by von Richard Siedhoff
- Canned Harmony (Konservierte Harmonie) 1912, 16'
- Score by Günter A. Buchwald
- The Hater of Women (Der Frauenfeind) 1912, 15'
- Score by Günter A. Buchwald
- Burstup Homes' Murder Case (Burstup Homes ermittelt) 1911, 14'
- Score by Richard Siedhoff
- A House Divided (Der getrennte Haushalt) 1913, 15'
- Score by Günter A. Buchwald
- 20-page booklet with documents and texts by Katja Raganelli
Edited by: Filmmuseum München
DVD authoring: Tobias Dressel, Gunher Bittmann
DVD supervision: Stefan Drössler
First edition June 2021