Women Make Movies: The First Female Directors

From the inception of the moving image in the 1890s, women have been at the forefront of the industry, yet the history of their contributions to film as an art form have largely been forgotten. Famous in their day, these women were purposely written out of the first histories of film. This virtual lecture will uncover the significance of pioneers such as Alice Guy, Lois Weber, and Dorothy Arzner. Co-presented by the Miles Nadal JCC Adult Daytime Culture and Education and the Toronto Jewish Film Society. This virtual lecture will be recorded.

Guest speaker: film critic Alicia Fletcher

A member of the Visual Researcher’s Society of Canada and the Toronto Film Critics Association, Alicia Fletcher is Hollywood Suite’s Producer of Originals and Curatorial Advancement. She writes, produces, and appears as a series regular in Hollywood Suite’s original docuseries A Year in Film and Cinema A to Z and acts as co-producer and frequent guest on the A Year in Film podcast. She has taught at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), the LIFE Institute, and Humber College. Her film curation has been featured at TIFF Cinematheque, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Royal Cinema. Since 2012, Alicia has curated Silent Revue held at the historic Revue Cinema, Canada’s only year-round showcase dedicated to silent cinema and Toronto’s longest-running repertory series.

Toronto Jewish Film Society (TJFS) is a movie series operated by the Miles Nadal JCC that offers an outstanding variety of Jewish film events every year. Films are discussed before and/or after the screenings by noted guests who are critics, teachers, filmmakers, writers, or performers. For more information, visit https://www.mnjcc.org/film