ABSTRACT
During the first two decades of the twentieth century, a remarkable number of women were working in film. At a time when many women had neither signature authority nor voting rights, they succeeded in entering the film industry in larger numbers than today. Two important factors contributed to this phenomenon: first, film was an emerging industry, and second, the advent of World War I drew men to the front, giving women permission or requiring them to do “a man’s job.” The better a woman’s skill set, the better were her chances to fill a leadership position. It is against this backdrop that this chapter addresses three European female film directors who began their careers in fields other than film: Germaine Dulac, film theorist and pioneering impressionist film-maker; Lotte Reiniger, inventor of the silhouette film and the multi-plane camera; and Esfir Shub, creator of the compilation film. These three artists saw film as an agent of political, social, and cultural change. They became strong advocates for the medium in general, promoting interest in film among all social classes, firmly believing that it was a tool of social transformation, one that could be instrumental in redefining the status of women in society.
