Women Film Directors: An International Bio-Critical Dictionary

(Hardback)

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Description

This reference work covers the history of women in film, highlighting nearly every woman film-maker from the dawn of cinema, including Alice Guy (France, 1896), Chantal Akerman (Belgium), Penny Marshall (US), and Sally Potter (UK). Every effort has been made to include every kind of woman film-maker: commercial and mainstream, avant-garde, and minority, and to give a complete cross-section of the work of these remarkable women. Scholars and students of film, popular culture, women's studies, and international studies, as well as film buffs should learn much from this work. The dictionary covers the careers of nearly 200 women film-makers, giving vital statistics where available, listings of films directed by these women, and selected bibliographies for further reading. This is a one-volume, "one-stop" resource, a comprehensive, up-to-date guide that should be valuable for any course offering an overiew or survey of women's cinema. It offers not only all available statistics but critical evaluations of the film-makers' work as well. In order to keep the length manageable, this volume focuses on women who direct fictional narrative films, with occasional forays into the area of the documentary. It is also limited to film production rather than video production.

Reviews

"This important work compiles a significant amount of otherwise difficult-to-find information on women filmmakers working in all countries and all contexts, whether mainstream, independent, or experimental/avant-garde. The introduction, which gives generous consideration to a wide range of scholarly contributions, is an excellent synthesis of writing in English on women directors. Public and academic libraries with any interest in film will want to acquire....[W]ill appeal to all types of readers."-Library Journal
For scholars, students, and film enthusiasts, this work documents the important but often-overlooked contributions of women filmakers from around the world and throughout film history. Reclaiming the legacy of many early female filmmakers, the book offers a worthy contribution to women's and cinema's history. ...This well written resource is essential for scholars and students of film, popular culture, women's studies, and international studies. It will also appeal to film buffs.-ARBA
Foster describes this excellent reference book as 'the first of its kind, not a study of one aspect of women as filmmakers, but as a dictionary of women filmmakers, working in film to create new feminist visions of beauty and transcendent power'...The alphabetically arranged entries include women from 37 countries, from 1896 to 1910 (Gene Gaunteir and Alice Guy) to the present. For each director Foster provides a brief biography, discussion of important films, brief critical comments, and a selected filmography and bibliography. The clearly written, intelligent comments lean toward feminist interpretations of many of the films...This should be an indispensable volume for film and feminist studies collections.-Choice
This important work compiles a significant amount of otherwise difficult-to-find information on women filmmakers working in all countries and all contexts, whether mainstream, independent, or experimental/avant-garde. The introduction, which gives generous consideration to a wide range of scholarly contributions, is an excellent synthesis of writing in English on women directors. Public and academic libraries with any interest in film will want to acquire....[W]ill appeal to all types of readers.-Library Journal
This is one of the most complete volumes on the topic, covering the careers of almost 200 women filmmakers, commercial and avant-garde, who created fictional narrative work (rather than documentaries). The author includes directors from around the world but admits that Western filmmakers are more often documented. She makes a serious effort to include many minority directors...A wide-ranging, up-to-date survey that should be considered by public and academic libraries.-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"For scholars, students, and film enthusiasts, this work documents the important but often-overlooked contributions of women filmakers from around the world and throughout film history. Reclaiming the legacy of many early female filmmakers, the book offers a worthy contribution to women's and cinema's history. ...This well written resource is essential for scholars and students of film, popular culture, women's studies, and international studies. It will also appeal to film buffs."-ARBA
"This is one of the most complete volumes on the topic, covering the careers of almost 200 women filmmakers, commercial and avant-garde, who created fictional narrative work (rather than documentaries). The author includes directors from around the world but admits that Western filmmakers are more often documented. She makes a serious effort to include many minority directors...A wide-ranging, up-to-date survey that should be considered by public and academic libraries."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
"Foster describes this excellent reference book as 'the first of its kind, not a study of one aspect of women as filmmakers, but as a dictionary of women filmmakers, working in film to create new feminist visions of beauty and transcendent power'...The alphabetically arranged entries include women from 37 countries, from 1896 to 1910 (Gene Gaunteir and Alice Guy) to the present. For each director Foster provides a brief biography, discussion of important films, brief critical comments, and a selected filmography and bibliography. The clearly written, intelligent comments lean toward feminist interpretations of many of the films...This should be an indispensable volume for film and feminist studies collections."-Choice

Author Bio

GWENDOLYN AUDREY FOSTER is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She has written articles for journals and chapters for books on film and produced the documentary feature film, Women Who Made the Movies (1992).