| Special Medal For Pioneering Efforts in Production, Direction and Equality. |
| There will be many chances to honor women in these games (like the three we just finished handing medals to in the Supporting Actress category, as well as other performers and many fine women in the fields of editing and screenwriting) however, in the upper-echelon of Cinema, such as Studio-heads, Producers and Directors, the opportunities for women have been distressingly slim. This medal is an attempt to try to address that situation, and at the same time honor a woman who made significant contributions in shaping one of Cinema's dominant studios. So let's kick off day 6 of the Cinema Olympics with this young mediums first great woman. |
| And the Special Medal For Pioneering Efforts in Production, Direction and Equality goes to: Alice Guy-Blache (France). There is great appreciation from the crowd for this hometown girl (born in the suburbs of Paris) who rose from the secretarial pool to the upper echelons of one of the world's premiere studios, Gaumont film company. As the youngest daughter of a book publisher, at the age of 16,she settled into a somewhat predictable career as a stenographer & typist following her father's death. In a stroke of luck, she landed a job as secretary for Gaumont in 1896, and in that same year, company head Leon Gaumont decided to add film production as a sideline to his company's lucrative practice of manufacturing cameras. Mr. Gaumont apparently though little of the importance of the art of film directing as, in a move that would send shivers of artistic indignation down the egoistic spines of the Griffiths, Gances and von Stroheims of today, offered the production and direction duties to Guy on the reputed condition that it not interfere with her secretarial duties. Apparently, this provision didn't last long, as between 1896 and 1907, she made as many as 400 one and two reel short films for the company and helped position Gaumont as the major competitor of Pathe as France's leading studio, with World-Wide distribution and influence. By 1905, the company had grown to the point that she was also supervising a number of other young directors as the company's producer/artistic director. As one of the world's leading early directors, Alice Guy can point to many significant achievements. With her very first film La Fee aux Choux,(a re-enactment of a fairy-tale about children born in cabbages) it has been asserted by many historians that she actually pre-dated Georges Melies by several months, thus being the first to actually introduce "story-films" as opposed to the actualities (or simple filming of actual events) dominate in the period. Regardless of who was first, she was certainly a pioneer in this area. She was also one of the few to experiment with sound technology, a field that has yet to be mastered or introduced, but may prove important in the future. In 1907, she married Herbert Blache, Gaumont's former head Cameraman. They ran Gaumont's branches in London and Berlin, and later in the year moved to Cleveland where they set up a United States branch for the company. She has lived in the United States ever since. In 1910, they moved to New York and she formed her own Independent production company, Solax, where she produced and directed her own films. While she ceased independent production in 1917, she continues to direct films for studios to this day, with a film called Tarnished Reputations scheduled for release this very year. Unfortunately, your Properly Self-Chastised Chairman hasn't been able to see many of her films (mainly snippets of early films from Gaumont) so this award is made primarily on historical value. However, one Alice Guy film he has seen parts of and can recommend is Child of the Barricade (1907). This stirring re-enactment of bloody violence surrounding the Paris Commune was fast-paced and, even in the all-to-brief time of the snippet seen, showed a strong directorial sense for pacing, location shooting and camera placement as she took to the streets of Paris for this bloody clash of class warfare. In an obvious sign that she knew what she was doing, the film takes no sides in content, but the camera placement subtlely shifts the point-of-view, as it places the audience behind the barricades with the resistance, watching the soldiers rush them (and us!) One only wishes more such work were readily available. Mrs. Guy-Blache is thrilled by the homecoming she receives as she flies in from New York to accept her reward. Unfortunately, she remains the exception that proves the rule, for now that Lois Weber has begun directing in the United States, there are still only two major female directors in the world. Obviously, Alice Guy-Blache's important contributions must be remembered, and hopefully women hoping to break into this male dominated industry in the years to come can look to her for inspiration. The United States is still well ahead in the medal count, but aside from its political value, this award has the added bonus of keeping the host nation from guillotining your Delicate Chairman by moving them into second place, giving them a bit of cake. (Ouch! Maybe he should face the guillotine after that remark!) The current count reads: United States 10, France 3, Great Britain 2, Italy 1, Russia 1. |