NYWIFT is proud to co-present a special screening of Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, in honor of Women’s History Month.
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché is a 2018 documentary about the first female filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché, directed by NYWIFT member Pamela B. Green and narrated by Academy Award winner (and NYWIFT Muse honoree) Jodie Foster. It was screened out of competition at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival in the Cannes Classics category. It was nominated for the festival’s L’Œil d’or documentary prize. The film was executive produced by NYWIFT Muse honoree Regina K. Scully and associate produced by NYWIFT Muse honoree Abigail Disney.
The documentary features clips from several Guy-Blaché films preserved by the NYWIFT Women’s Film Preservation Fund, including A Fool and His Money, Matrimonial Speed Limit and Mixed Pets.
Date: Saturday, March 9th, 2019
Time: 3:50 PM
Location: Warner Bros. Theater
The Smithsonian National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560
Followed by a conversation about the future of women in the film industry with Melissa Houghton (Executive Director, Women in Film and Video DC) and Kim Tomadjoglou (historian and curator), moderated by Katie Chambers (Community Engagement Director, New York Women in Film & Television).
“
A detective story wrapped up as a biopic…had me in tears by the time it ended.
A stirring document of an amazing filmmaker!”
– Pete Hammond, DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD
“A timely contribution to the conversation about the challenges facing women
filmmakers…someone who really should be better known by now.”
– Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood reporter
Conversation with:
Melissa J. Houghton joined Women in Film & Video (WIFV) as Executive Director in August 2005. Since that time, membership has grown to more than 1,000 media professionals; program provision now averages 70 professional development offerings per year along with the Image Makers program for high school students and the Kids World Film Festival for 5th graders. WIFV has added fiscal sponsorship of independent media projects, a web pilot mentoring initiative, management of Women in Film & Television International, and the Carolyn’s First Decade Fund to its portfolio of programs that benefit members. Houghton has served on the boards of the DC Architectural Foundation, DC Film Alliance, and Wide Angle Youth Media. She is currently a member of the WETA Community Council, the FAVS Advisory Board at George Mason University and the Advisory Board for The Actors’ Center.
Kim Tomadjoglou is an independent audio-visual curator, programmer and historian with a special interest in the work of women film pioneers, amateur and itinerant filmmakers, and collectors. She served as preservation director for the retrospective Alice Guy Blaché: Cinema Pioneer, Whitney Museum of American Art (NY 2009) and was curatorial consultant and speaker for Alice Guy Blaché, Transatlantic Sites of Cinema Nouveau held at the University of Maryland, the French Embassy and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC in November 2012. She has programmed for The National Gallery of Art, and festivals Il Cinema Ritrovata (bologna, Italy) and Le Giornate del cinema Muto (Pordenone, Italy) among others. Currently, she is a Kluge Fellow at the Library of Congress working on a book length study on itinerant Mexican-American filmmakers Félix and Edmundo Padilla: On the Border: The Transnational Media Practice of Fronterizo Empresarios Félix and Edmundo Padilla, 1916-1937.
Katie Chambers (moderator) is the Community Engagement Director at New York Women in Film & Television. Katie guides and manages NYWIFT’s presence both online and off; institutes membership drives; programs monthly screenings and networking parties; builds partnerships with like-minded organizations; co-produces the Muse Awards and Designing Women; and implements communications initiatives for special projects. Prior to joining the NYWIFT team, Katie was a talent agent in the Youth & Young Adult Theatrical division at Abrams Artists Agency in New York City, representing young actors in theatre, film, and television. She was previously a junior agent and assistant to the head of the Youth & Talent Development division at Buchwald, where she also ran the company’s internship program. She has served on the Next Generation Committee of the NY Television Festival, produced a critically acclaimed play at the NY Fringe Festival, and interned for Manhattan Theatre Club and Hollywood producer Scott Rudin. Her writing has appeared in Huff Post, Honeysuckle Magazine and several printed essay collections, and her graphic design work has been used in advertising in publications including Variety 411 and The Hollywood Reporter. Katie graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Drew University with a double major in English and Theatre Arts.
Special thanks to:
Warner Bros. Theater
The Smithsonian National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560
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NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are supported, in part, by grants from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
