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Women Who Made History In The Film Industry: Lois Weber & Euzhan Palcy
During the month of March, we recognized leading women in our industry who were trailblazers in cinema and have made film history. Women have been an integral part of our industry since it’s early origins, but history is still being made in the present day. To wrap up Women’s History Month, we’d like to highlight the accomplishments of two incredible women in the film industry: Lois Weber and Euzhan Palcy.
Florence Lois Weber was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, producer and director who was born on June 13th, 1879. She is often referred to as “the most important female director the American film industry has known”. Weber is credited as an early innovator of the split-screen technique in film.
In 1917 she formed her own film company and for a while was the highest-paid director in Hollywood. She was also one of the first Directors (male or female) to experiment with sound following the silent film era. But her focus on social issues fell out of favor with the general public. Creative opportunities for women at the time declined as the studio system began to take shape. She passed away in Hollywood, CA in 1939.
Euzhan Palcy is a director and writer who was born in Martinique in the French West Indies on January 13th, 1958. As a teenager, she taught herself how to use cameras and created short films. Her first film that she directed, Sugar Cane Alley, brought her into the spotlight of the film industry.
She is notably the first black female director to be produced by a major Hollywood studio (MGM) in 1983. Palcy was also the first black person to direct an actor to an Oscar nomination. She is additionally known for her films: Siméon (1992) and A Dry White Season (1989).
You can check out our other posts for the groundbreaking women who have made history in the film industry on Blog Central. And if you’d like to learn more about the new services we are offering here at Crews Control or discuss your next great video shoot, contact your production manager or click here to fill out our free quote form.
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