Silent Women

History is defined by the dominant While other voices have been kept sealed too longThis is why we should have a united front Nineteenth century France is where I belongThough I worked and lived also in the U.S.My passion for moving pictures was so strong That my first narrative film was a successThe Cabbage Patch Fairy even had sequelsBut I must start from my birth to then progress Emile and Marie Guy were no rebelsI was their fifth child and first wanted to actFather said it was not meant for demoiselles My reputation had to be kept intactIt was more bourgeois to learn stenographyMy skills working at Gaumont had an impact I began as a simple secretaryA private screening of the Lumière BrothersMade me see potential in this artistry I came up with close-ups, double exposures,Hand-tinted colours, special effects, split-screensAnd synchronised sound amongst many others French literature inspired some of my scenesThe Passion of Christ and social issues tooI tried to go beyond portraying routines An African-American cast came throughI discussed planned parenthood and child abuseKids are the best performers for how they’re true I was a working mum while I would produceSimone and Reginald were on set with meThey watched how I changed the traditions in use I had men and women swap clothes to be freeGender role reversals meant males in corsetsThe habitual garment for Alice Guy Blaché I became with marriage and more projectsI fell in love with Herbert, an English manFor him I relinquished Paris and baguettes We ventured into the New World with a planExpanding the magic of motion picturesSolax my production company began Fort Lee gave wave to cinematic mixturesI was thirty three and he was twenty fourAll was going according to the scriptures With the Great War no instant was as beforeThe licensing fees of Edison to workEnded East Coast filmmaking forevermore My husband was spellbound by Hollywood’s perkHis Californian girls led us to divorceI couldn’t find a job not even as a clerk Back to France with my children and no remorseYet the scene had changed for female directorsThe Great Depression deprived me of my force I depended on my daughter’s job sectorsAt the American Embassy posts changedThe two of us became country collectors In books about cinema I was estrangedMy works were credited to male filmmakersHistorians took no care in this exchange Many hundreds of screenplays I would createShooting and editing were all my domainEven the business plan I could conjugate Script theft was something I knew how to refrainI used powder to detect the fingerprintsWe were writing the new rules to entertain The Picture Show provided several glintsOne of the mistresses of my former consortHad her historical title in misprints Lois Weber was first in the U.S. courtI was the first female filmmaker worldwideThere’s no desire of merit in this report.

I came to the world during a spring drizzleMy family was middle-class and ChristianToiling young in missions became my chisel For social justice in my work of fictionThey called it an unladylike professionThe craft of moving picture composition Before that music was my one obsessionI was a pianist, organist and singerWhen I reached New York I made the progression The musical comedies made me lingerIn the company of dear Philips SmalleyHe became my husband, the perfect dinger Our work-love companionship was so jollyBeing hired at Gaumont was so life-changingOne short film every week was quite a folly With Madame and Monsieur Blaché mentoringI was remodeled to auteur filmmakerIt was a grand cinematic beginning Motherhood did not turn out to be my sectorThe loss of Phoebe made me focus on filmMy world became the screen and the projector Making pictures in the West Coast was less dimUniversal City chose me as its mayorMy stories were fruit of conscience not of whim Of progressive goals I became the conveyorBirth control, addiction, eugenics and moreI captured on film and was called soothsayer Structural complexity I would exploreThe first U.S. feature by a woman was mineLois Weber Productions had so much in store People would say I was ahead of my timeI enjoyed empowering female workmatesAfter the Twenties nothing was as before Ladies’ brains were ignored, their bodies were baitsThe wings they had creatively flapped were now clippedThe only sway was in their dresses and gaits My film about gender politics was rippedI had to abandon the Land of the FreeTo the Old Continent and Orient we tripped With Philips it was no longer meant to beI returned to the New World and was divorcedYet love had not at all given up on me My need for a new life was therefore reinforcedWith Captain Harry Gantz we set up a RanchAll that was left of my fortune he outsourced I tried to claim my cinematic revancheBut censorship smothered artistic freedomDefeat tumbled upon me like an avalanche I made one talkie, no spectator had comeI ultimately found delight in teachingMovies act as a kinetic museum I supplanted the black board with a screeningDespite this industry left me pennilessIt must not discourage female pioneering.

Have you ever wondered how it can feel likeTo handle filmmaking through a non-white lens?For women like myself there was no Klondike I later achieved endurance through my friendsI was born in the South East, in KentuckyRobert and Leuvenia were loving parents When we moved to Kansas we all felt luckyBut rainbows were different for those like usA darker shade of pale was seen as mucky Black migrants as my kin were ExodustersQuite soon though the two took their separate waysI now stood on my own as Tressie Souders African American life was a mazeOur aspirations could not be ambitiousAfter high school I started off my work phase Being a maid turned out to be propitiousMr. Nelson and his family were kindI became an observer, never vicious To the sharing of stories I was inclinedSince I performed in a morality playDepicting lives on stage developed my mindFilm allowed me to advance in a new wayBy shattering the stereotypes on Blacks A Woman’s Error truly marked my heydayGrand it could be in the era of ImaxI then chose to seek fortune in HollywoodYet domestic jobs remained my endorsed acts I met Oscar and ended my maidenhoodMy husband was in charge of a billiard hallBut my status as his Mrs. was no good In San Francisco I no longer felt smallMadame C. J. Walker took me in her homeAs a woman of colour she had it all She was self-made thanks to hair products and foamAnd proved that dreams can be a realityNo limitations should come from a genome.

Cinematography was boundless for meI defied conventions of motion picturesI went from Britain to the Adriatic Sea The Ottoman and Balkan troops were hotspursI captured the war on a plate cameraMr. Newman made it for my bold transfers My Papa was General in RumeliaUncle and aunt were newspaper editorsI was a war reporter of my era I was armed to shield myself from predatorsIt was not all fun and games, yet feats were swellBy chance I was brought to meet some prisoners I also had my tripod smashed by a shellIn a Vlach town I improvised a dark roomCreating out of wool rugs a tiny cell In Adrianople some locals would assumeI could cure cholera with my cameraBut it was back home in England I would fumeWhen a projectionist made a disasterHe was incompetent during a lectureI lost the case in Court to this wreck masterBut joy came from the Fitzrovia PrefectureThe Scala Theatre showed my celluloidThe Arctic was next with my new conjecture A healing colony I would have deployedBut in Spitsbergen I only hunted sealsAnd farmed reindeer before my dream was destroyed The Great War arrived and firmly changed the dealsI got wounded as an ambulance workerThe Belgian Corps rewarded my ideals I shaped my life like my toil as a sculptorI could be Jessica Borthwick or Nell FoyPlus I had a factory of dolls galore Whitechapel Art Gallery showed my toyIn South Kensington pipe smoking was an artWhile experimenting I was never coy For the images on home screens I took partThrough the British Broadcasting CorporationShowing Russian performers singing with heart.

I come from the country of film NeorealismI used that style before those male filmmakersSome say my work was a sort of activism First Italian female cineaste of shakersActress, writer, producer, distributorI most preferred non-professional actors My scenes portrayed the humble, mundane factorVillage festivals, iris shots, cross-fadesI also recreated deviant behaviour Form and reverie came from the female gazeWhy should a lady settle for one suitor?Ardent ‘sceneggiata’ drama was my craze Neapolitan songs too, I liked to securePiedigrotta helped our record industryWith the film press connections I held allureI handled posters in synchronicityA spectator once tried to kill a villainThose were effects of my authenticity My modest background had a studious fill-inAs a milliner I first started workingA passion that thrived in my films deep within As Elvira Coda I was hardworkingWhen I was wed to Nicola NotariI found him ever so dearly supporting Our film production company was glaryIt was named after our sweet daughter DoraIt was really evolutionary We built a stage set, or ‘teatro di posa’We braved the crisis of the Giolitti AgeMy spouse was the camera, I the aura Eduardo or Gennariello on stageOur son played the ‘scugnizzo,’ the street urchinHe even went through the ‘guaglione ‘e core’ stage He was a good-hearted kid without a sinI was the ‘Marescialla,’ the GeneralMy harsh attitude allowed no underpin True emotions made acting so empyrealI banned glycerin for artificial tearsI had marvellous performers on my reel Tina Pica and Capannelle for yearsDora Film also arrived in ManhattanGennaro Capuano was in high gears Little Italy folks our films would demandI felt the urge to create an Acting SchoolTo enter the characters’ minds and expand I was told by someone with a time capsuleThat later on, child-actor Enzo StaiolaUsed my cognitive method as acting tool It was in a film about a bicycle…Times change, and the arts succumb to politicsThe return of dictators is cyclical My strong heroines went against their opticsThe Fascist Regime was for the patriarchyI was censored and could no longer pull tricks To them my work was absolute anarchyWomen could only be angels of the hearthAmerica showed my films clandestinely Cinema was centralised to Romehenceforth I tried to adapt to Hollywood styleOur film company perished with no rebirth Eduardo tried Great Britain for a whileBut soon returned to the Parthenopean landWith Nicola we then kept a low profile Cava de’ Tirreni became our dreamlandFar from the horrors of the war I wonderedWill this Cinema Mamma in future stand?

I came into this world as Aloisia VeltéeMy home was enveloped by the mountainous zoneDo not envision me within a relais I lived in the city were Klimt’s kiss was blownThe Hofburg, the Philarmonic and DemelAre parts of my dear hometown that are well-known But the Stadtpanoptikum was just as wellMy father was the founder of this KohlmarktWhere people could see living pictures and dwell I helped as I could, at the cashier I workedI felt the Austro-Hungarian MonarchyPatriotism in my films was clear, not lurkedThree men in my life, for my craft, were the key:My brother Claudius, Anton Kolm and Jakob FleckWe were a fine motion pictures crew, us three All of the steps of filmmaking I would checkWith Kolm and Fleck we founded Wiener KunstfilmI enjoyed working also at the splicing deck We began shooting some DokumentarfilmIn the Prater with its hustle and bustleThe foreign competition was strong in film But our Habsburg storytelling had muscleOur goal was shaping highbrow entertainmentWe wanted our work to make noise, not rustle Adapting literary texts was frequentSocial drama, criminal genre, comedyAre all the styles I used to represent Rape, abortion, impotence, with honestyI went from Hosenrollenfilme with trousersTo motherland propaganda policy I was the mightiest of Österreich espousersThe aftermath of World War I was a messThe financial crisis was breeding grousers We dissolved the company to avoid stressMy husband Anton fell ill and passed awayMy bond with Jakob led to a wedding dress I was one through my two spouses from that dayLuise Kolm-Fleck moved to Berlin to work againForty films were made, but success did not stay Something happened, it was Hitler and his menMy consort was Jewish, so trouble beganHis films were signed under my son Walter’s pen But circumstances got much worse for my man:Dachau and Buchenwald concentration campsFriends prevented him from being a deadman They made us flee to Shanghai with many thanksIn China our craft truly grew with Fei MuYet World War II obliged us to break these ranks Intentions of expats were a misconstrueWe left the South East with hope in our pocketsAustria’s post-war film studio had come through We dreamt to work wonders again on film setsThe world and cinema around us had changedHowever I felt blest and hold no regrets.

I created magic with scissors, some saySilhouette animation was my bailiwickBlack-cut characters emerged in shadow play I mastered how to scherenschnitte real quickIn youth I was Charlotte from CharlottenburgAt my open-air school I never got sick Tuberculosis had recently occurredThus, the best therapy was sun-kissed fresh airHence, my inspiration took flight like a bird Chinese shadow puppetry made me awareOf the potential of these cut-out figuresI first longed to be an actress anywhere My family shows were early transmittersOf the technique I would then use for filmGeorges Méliès and Paul Wegener were my mentors My silhouette storytelling was fluidly primStop-motion animation was its kindredWorking for Max Reinhardt’s stagings was no whim Even the title-cards I made elatedThe Institut für Kulturforschung then followedBy avantgardists I was fascinated There, my relationship with Carl Koch took holdWe tied the knot and my love grew each day moreMeanwhile with my animated art I showed Fable-like wonder and ancient myths galoreFirst, The Ornament Of The Enamoured HeartThat short film, other work requests would procure I got a knack for the advertising artI made a falcon dream sequence for Fritz LangThen came financier Louis Haggin’s support He banked on my work and my praises he sangThe Adventures of Prince Achmed were much desiredThis feature debut came out with a huge bang One Thousand And One Night tales had it inspiredEnchantment was brought by Wolfgang Zeller’s scoreThe queer experience I fully inquired To destigmatise homosexual amourBut distribution censored this objectiveMy dark shaped craft was lauded by Jean Renoir I possessed fairy hands in his perspectiveI contrived the first multi-plane cameraPlanes of glass to the eyes were deceptive My tricktisch surprises were a plethoraWalt Disney and Ub Iwerks later used themMy characters emerged through an aurora I even ventured in the live-action realmOur left-wing ideas made us flee BerlinIn Germany the Nazi were at the helm We were not given visas to our chagrinMuch of the Thirties through Europe we wanderedIn Greece with Karagiozis I would begin In London GPO Film Unit I conqueredOpera influenced our work immenselyWith kind Luchino Visconti we bonded My Mama’s health made us return home swiftlyAfter a few years Great Britain claimed us backCitizenship came and work with BBC Projects came pouring in, almost without trackTelecasting America hired me tooThen my Carl left me after a heart attack Now I felt my life had nothing left to doWhen I then re-emerged from my seclusionThree final short films I managed to pursue Order of Merits for my contributionI, Lotte Reiniger received with gratitudeAnd pondered if it was just an illusion I peeked in the Eighties and its attitudeAt this point the quiver was full of arrowsAnimated films had reached their magnitudeSo will my legacy stay in the shadows?Will my paper-cut silhouettes be forgotten?Or will they ensorcell unforeseen hallows?

I was a critic before I made my picturesMy family was of classe moyenne supérieurWe were quite close to Jules Verne’s infrastructuresOur genealogy was Saisset-SchneiderI left Amiens for Paris with my grannyJournalism I confronted with great ardeur Writing about feminism was uncannyFor others, but it was my bread and butterI loved covering cinematography I was an assertive dàme, not a nutterLa Française and La Fronde were my outletsI described women’s skills shoved in the gutter Some things were seen unfit for the weaker sexPracticing law or physics were just a fewStill and moving pictures were not seen as threats It was early, the medium was still newStacia Napierkowska led me to this realmI joined her in Italy with her film crew Her act for the camera could overwhelmI was so conquered by this creative formOf my own studio I was at the helm Irène Hillel-Erlanger wrote scripts in normOur D.H. Films company had the supportOf my apt husband who worked in land reform Louis-Albert Dulac my art did escortAnd held no contempt when our marriage endedMy style wanted to be a means of transport For the mind to fluctuate when suspendedLa Souriante Madame Beudet allowed meTo explore beyond what was comprehended It was seen as the first sisterhood movieA woman sought escape from a grim wedlockI applied Impressionism, it was groovy My Surrealist touch was defined poppycockLa Coquille et le Clergyman was the filmThat was inspired by Antonin Artaud’s workBut the use of this expression in cine-filmCredited the men of Un chien andalouIt was a sensory trip on micro-film My work was received with a boisterous booI was no Luis Buñuel or Salvador DalíI was called ‘vache’ for my anti-sexist point of view It did not block me, after all c’est la vieCinema affected me in many waysGermaine Dulac was still my identity After divorce I moved away from clichésMarie-Anne Colson-Malleville I lovedOur romance was meant for the rest of our days Two spouses were destined to my belovedOur liaison was way more profound than these tiesMy professional progress she never shoved Artsy or mainstream I made no compromiseCinéma pur was my first and foremost missionAbove literature and stage it would rise Emotion and abstraction was my visionUsing dolly shots and lens distortions tooAnd dynamic cutting to cause elision The sequential Kuleshov effect I knewThe flow of apperception was my focusFrom Charles Baudelaire inspiration I drewInvitation au voyage was no bogusI was freeing my Dada vitalityHelping young talents was my magnum opus The Fédération des ciné-clubs I would overseeI taught courses at the École TechniqueI received the Légion d’Honneur with utmost glee Sound film did not agree at all with my streakSo I plunged in Pathé and Gaumont newsreelsHowbeit I feel my craft will thrive as unique.

I was born in a revue company stageMy family worked in the theatre alwaysI sang and performed from a very young age I was quite determined, never in a dazeThe Netherlands was my place of expressionMy life was articulate in many ways Three husbands, some kids, and show-biz accessionI even lived in Pretoria for a timeI enjoyed an effective working session Eureka, the movie company, was mineMy son André was at the head of managementLien, my daughter, any task she could align My films were all about Bet, the corpulentShe was bossy with her henpecked husband HeinTheir physical imbalance caused amusement It could be compared to the Nursery RhymeWhere Jack ate no fat and his wife ate no leanThe comedic buildup was utterly prime Since betwixt them both they licked the platter cleanMy screen character debuted in variétéeShe made people laugh in every vaudeville scene Thus, I brought my Jordaan-genre to the cinéIt mocked some locals from the Dutch CapitalIt was about the Jordaan neighborhood cliché My acting style was somehow biographicalIt was a tribute to Lion, my brotherHe took his own life and it was tragical Art can transform pain into something otherThe Adriënne Solser hallmark was social farceConstructive satire I would never smother My live-act in synch with the screen was a forceI adored the multidisciplinaryMy fiction had a pragmatical discourse My method was close to documentarySince I was often shooting on locationIn the midst, life’s joys were transitionary On one end I got my standing ovationOn the other I lost my son suddenlyPneumonia hit him and left no salvation My grief made me plunge into work entirelyIn my film, Bet trained for the Olympic GameIt was in 1928 precisely That my city, Amsterdam, hosted the flameWomen were allowed to join for the first timeI was at the height of my success and fame Later on, my jubilee was so sublimeFor my sixty years in the performing artsI felt swept away by my own pantomime It was 1943 in fits and startsBut later that year I was pushed off a trainIt was like being tossed from some high rampartsI went to hospital for a femur sprainDoetinchem is where I was stationed to mendAlas, how I longed for a glass of champagne.

I shaped my craft in the coldest of nationsAnd became its first female directorMy art was declined by various creations The passion for acting at first was greaterI tread on several stages as a thespianI studied at the Moscow Art Theatre My repertoire covered all that was RussianThe Keys To Happiness was my screen debutMy directorial shift triggered discussion In 1916 I had a big breakthroughMy film was praised, unlike my identityMy name: masculinised in every review Yet I continued my path incessantlyI directed fourteen films and went beyondAcademia was another specialty My support towards newcomers was headstrongAlso through the Gerasimov InstituteI, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, always stood strong I was tackling a medium that was muteMy plight was shared by a brilliant sisterhoodThat could write, perform, edit and of course, shoot It was a mission, not just a livelihoodEsfir Shub I admired considerablyHer montage of archival reel was so goodIn The Fall Of The Romanov DynastyFacts were everything, fiction she would withholdHer work was a visual book of history Aleksandra Khokhlova was also boldThe intelligentsia came from familyBut her artistic path she alone controlled She did not succumb to wicked calumnyShe was told she did not have the looks to actSo she took control of filming skillfully Margarita Barskaya made a huge impactOf both silent films and talkies she took holdWhilst the Brumberg Sisters had properly tracked The new animation technique to beholdWe were Russian female filmmakersTrying to leave a solid mark in the world We were dreamy artists, not mischief-makersThus, I was granted the title of HonourI was approved by the policy-makers I was a step away from the embalmerWill recognition come for all at ninety?Good Luck Soviet Female cinema d’auteur!

My surname has always been a mysteryI chose to diminutise AntoninaI was Nina Niovilla for history In my country I was a film tsarinaThe press named me the ‘Polish Germaine Dulac’Translating plays was my starting arena The Weimar Republic was still on full trackWhen I had my directorial film debutMy early works patriotism would unpack In one I showed the Battle of Lemberg coupI further used a ballad by MickiewiczEven the cabaret-act I would pursueThe Qui Pro Quo was the main cultural bridgeFor Warsaw in the Interwar periodAt that time film critics were hard to bewitch Stefania Zahorska disliked a myriadOf pictures, if not the entire mediumShe saw it as histrionic material She equated film to the music idiomSupporting the new photogénie theoryPress aside, I found my equilibrium With Youth Triumphs I explored romantic furyIt eventually became my last workI was developing another glory On In the Claws of Jackals I did embarkBut the project never saw the light of dayTo write, direct, act and produce was my mark I created film schools but it caused dismayJan Czesław Sikorowicz, my employeeWas prosecuted for asking extra pay It was a fraud addressed to students and meI testified in court, I was just as scammedAfter the case was closed, I had to break freeFrom the chatter that followed, that I hadn’t plannedI wanted to abandon the public eyeMy filmmaking schools closed on the other hand I returned to translating plays, I was shyI now escaped the limelight and moved awayTo Poland I ultimately said good-bye My daughter was in France, with her I would stayI was fond of Paris’ Épinettes neighbourhoodWhere the Groupe des Batignolles would spend the dayIn this place I finally felt understoodAt Café Guerbois I had my reveriesSeeing myself as the Impressionists would.

When you mention female Swedish directorsFrom the silent era of motion picturesNot my name comes to mind at first, but others The work of Anna Hofman-Uddgren flickersAnd the one of Karin Swanström emerges tooI was the pioneer amongst these figures In 1910 a classic I would renewVärmlänningarna is a rooted storyBorn from Fredrik August Dahlgren’s point of view That screen-adaptation was my sole gloryI acted and directed The WarmlandersMy career was brief, I was transitory I had a partner to share all my wondersI did not lean on my spouse for my creationsWith Viktor we were theatre constructors We managed plays in multiple occasionsMy husband suffered from an impaired visionI chose the observable presentations Good work and family were our missionWe had three kids and several productionsMy producer, Frans Lundberg, had ambition Through him, my work had a few reconstructionsThe stage recordings of songs were insertedIn my feature that had other projections It was so rewarding to be supportedIt was meaningful for a tinsmith’s daughterWho had seen union meetings be exerted Of the four siblings I was the explorerOur surname was big for Swedish filmmakingIt was Bergman, which would resonate later I was blessed with instructors of high-ratingBertha Tammelin shaped speech pedagogyThat I taught to children while entertaining I also joined Emil Hillberg for trainingHis Sydsvenska Skådebanan was neotericBut learning theatre on tour was straining I and other eight failed the AcademicWho left us in Malmö, yet there was a perkI discovered the Skåne region aesthetic Where I decided to settle down and workA fortuneteller told me of my link hereAn award named after me, it was no quirk Within a film festival it would appearAttesting Ebba Lindkvist’s accomplishmentsThat were long-forgotten, as all my careerWe moved with the approach of the regimentsWe joined our dear son in Växjö during World War IIBut I’m forever part of these settlements And of the star-crossed lovers’ tale people knewRetold by Swedish theatre and my filmThat lead many storytellers to break through.

I started dancing in variety showsMy family background was all artisticTherefore performing on stage is what I choseWith my two dear sisters I was altruisticThe Hermanas Cortesina were a forceWe were a team, never antagonistic Isadora Duncan influenced my courseShowing my semi-nude body wrapped by veilsThe crowds my sculpted silhouette would endorse The Venus Valenciana made ticket salesI modeled for an illustrious painterJoaquín Sorolla recreated my details As the Danzarinas Griegas sustainerI also posed for Gerardo de AlvearI was seen as a modern entertainer My shift to onscreen acting made me a starThe press found my expressiveness lovelyFilmmaking was an artistic reservoir I founded my movie company promptlyFlor de España I wrote and directedThe narrative was acclaimed nationally Panderetesca culture it projectedMatador Juncales loved a sweet floristWho became a dancer and was respected There was a mis-credit with the scenaristJosé María Granada did not write the scriptI penned it all and was the panegyrist Helena Cortesina was well-equippedBut that was the only film I directedMy true love was the theatre, to which I grippedThe Great Cortesina Company would spreadAll around Europe with our performancesI met Manuel Fontanals, who I didn’t wed Yet for fifteen years, with two kids, I was hisI admired Generation ‘27And became friends with its members in a whiz Mingling with poets was manna from heavenFederico García Lorca I adoredActing for him took me up to eleven Bereavement in the family left me flooredMy daughter’s demise, then my separationPolitics is where my energy was poured With my son we were forced to leave the nationThe Antifascist Intellectual groupI joined for the sake of culture salvation Argentina was the place for our recoupWe arrived in Buenos Aires on a shipI immediately joined a new stage troupe I consolidated my relationshipWith the stage, far from the Spanish Civil WarMaking progress with my thespian fellowship.

Herminia Pérez de León was by birthYet the name that made me known was anotherBeing Mimí Derba was the cause of my mirth It was inspired by a vigorous otherSomeone compared me to this energy drinkIt was fitting for all, even my mother I always felt different and at the brinkI found the frivolous theatre profoundSharing social criticism without a blink Thus, acting in these plays took me off the groundI started as a Zarzuela performerEl congreso feminista would dumfoundOur thespian company was a reformerFrom Mexico we went to Cuba and backI felt so accomplished as a transformer Alfonso Camín’s poem was about my knackWhen I wore a skin-coloured jumpsuit on stageGiving wave to a very shocking feedback I then embraced the silent cinema ageAbove all I loved to be an activistI founded the actor’s union for fair wage It caused me some job loss but I did resistAzteca Films was the movie companyThat Enrique Rosas and I would assist Our cinematic quest began wondrouslyIn 1917 we produced five filmsBut the Spanish pandemic changed things quicklyI was a resolute woman with no frillsI went to New York looking for a buyerFor our studio we lacked the selling skills With Enrique we decided to retireAzteca Films was over, but I was notMy creative impetus was still on fire When in trouble I was accustomed to trotI had written about Huerta’s suppressionAs well as Maderismo’s rebellious lot False gossip tried to sully my professionClaiming a romance with Pablo GonzálezDuring Carranza’s presidential session I saw many political miragesCosmopolitan nationalism was oneWith Porfiriato mixing with sagas Some literary movements had just begunLike Indigenismo that sparked a debateInvestment in our film industry was none I tried to present a project to the StateTo give it national funds like other artsBut my idea was not welcomed as great I married Raúl de Anda, my ace of heartsA soldier who courted me relentlesslyOur union did not last long in the love charts My onscreen acting career grew quite quicklyWorking in talkies with legends of my timeI had the chance to try radio swiftly Television too, which felt like pantomimeI did traverse the age of sound broadcastingBut I was a silent lady in my prime Through La Tigresa I was everlastingThe first female director in my nationI showed how to be both gentle and blasting.

I was just seventeen when I made my filmI was the first Chilean female directorThrough time this role turned into a phantom limb In fact, I became a prolific writerThe picture show is where I moved my first stepsI then was journalist, playwright and author The one movie I directed was complexI also wrote the script, whilst my husband helpedWith photography and editing effects Salvador Giambastiani in Chile dweltMy dear spouse was an Italian immigrantHis love for South America was heartfelt With him, the Chile Film Co I would implantAlso Guillermo Bidwell joined our projectAs well as Luis Larraín, who would enchant These men on my directorial work leaptThe Agony of Arauco had their aidThe film on the Mapuche people would reflect Colonists and indigenous I displayedEl Diario Ilustrado praised meMy interest behind the camera swayed Thus, I worked with my consort anonymouslyHis sudden death made me part from filmmakingI embarked upon a lovely writing spree I hope my name one day will be inspiringGabriela von Bussenius VegaThe woman who encouraged to be daring.

Primeira mulher cineasta do BrasilThat is who I was, am and will always beI was overtly driven by my strong will I debuted behind the camera with gleeMy film O Mistério do Dominó PretoWas a silent picture and not a talkieA sound-movie had been done here, I do knowAcabaram-se os Otários was itA couple of years prior to my film-show First I was a small-town girl, not a misfitBorn Jacyra Martins da SilveiraI left Amparo for São Paulo, with grit My aspirations were not at all bourgeoisI was charmed by the progressive CapitalBookshops, theatres, ateliers, the cinemaThe elite encouraged the industrialLike Greta Garbo I wanted to performErich von Stroheim’s style was so natural Fred Niblo too, inspired my creative stormI found a man who fully shared my visionCesar Melani was truly multiform My love was the son of a fazendeiroHe studied medicine, but film was his pathI shared this calling with my cavaleiro Our wedding gift was a tool to videographOur son, Cesar Augusto overjoyed usHis exuberance would always make us laugh Épica Films was our cinematic compassMy husband and I chose stage names for our craftCleo de Verberena was my alias Laes Mac Reni was his anagram at lastAn inheritance morphed in our companyFor some time our style of living was a blast With ViaLáctea I worked on stage merrilyOur family moved to Rio for businessI met Carmen Santos, who was so lovely But my cinema projects made no progressMelodia da Saudade was never madeI was planning to film with audio to impress I truly thought investors I could persuadeBut I was confined to my silent pictureUnited States movies were preferred for trade Something worse happened in my own life ScriptureOur boy’s tenth birthday turned into a tragedyMy consort died, the pain I could not endure Filmmaking ended for me eternallyIt took some years for me to marry againI changed all of my objectives purposely I left the past behind me, by being zenFrancisco Landestoy Saint Jean was consulIn Liverpool, I often made roast chicken In Santiago, my chorrillana would ruleWidowhood would strike again mercilesslyBut my son and daughter-in-law were my fuel Three more men involved me sentimentallyThey were Rodolfo, Ricardo, RobertoMy grandchildren engaged me vivaciouslyThey ignored I once was a film espertoFirst female Portuguese-speaking directorThe future should grant my kind a concerto.

I was a film director from Down UnderThe Emerald City is where I was bornI was considered as a child of wonder My artistic aptitude was not timewornIn the suburb of Drummoyne I grew with blissThird of seven kids, I was never forlorn With my family, plays I would never missDad was surgeon for the theatre circleAttending weekly soirées I reminisce Aussie motion pictures became my portalI formed a trio with two of my sistersPhyllis as publisher promoted sparkleIsabel was the actress with no glittersMarie Lorraine is the stage name she would useIn my life and work these two were my pillars I, the youngest, would write, direct and produceOur home served as a natural set to startThe antique furniture looked fancy and spruce When father passed away it all fell apartMama turned the house into a nursing homeSoon after she left us alone with our art Cinema stirred in me the Stendhal SyndromeDirecting Those Who Love was unexpectedI adored the realm of flickering bichrome My teacher Percy John Ramster deflectedI had to step in and the press gave plauditAlso the box office was well affected It was the first Australian film market hitThe Far Paradise was the work that followedHollywood drama inspired me, I admit Also German Expressionism I borrowedIt was a sell-out, but it was zilch for usDistribution all our revenues swallowed The financial strain threw us under the busWe had to mortgage the family mansionYet our third picture we managed to discuss The Cheaters could have brought to an expansionWe did not accept the exhibition dealI would forevermore regret this action Making movies became a business ordealDuring the Depression we made sporting shortsThe swimming Olympic team held great appeal Neville Macken was our investor of sortsWe firmly went on with Two Minutes SilenceThe plot was based on Armistice Day reports It was revered as a work of allianceCommended by Prime Minister Billy HughesPoet Kenneth Slessor found it of guidance Its social realism was raved in the newsBut ticket sales did not match this sentimentThis was the best of my films without excuse In 1933 I was relevantAs one of the five world female directorsPaulette McDonagh was perceived as excellent Our film-tryptic split in different sectorsIsabel moved to London with her consortPhyllis also renounced her cine-receptors Her editor profession no one could thwartI wanted to make a film about John FlynnThe Medical Reverend of the Airport Without raising the budget it was no-winI made some documentaries later onI briefly resided with my younger kin Then moved to Kings Cross, dreaming of lives foregoneThe McDonagh Sisters propelled cultural changeMay the female film power of Oz push on.

I was the Land of Pharaohs’ film shakerFirst I was Mofeda Mohamed GhoneimMy humble origins were no dream breakerMy status and life would have changed in due timeDamietta, Alexandria, CairoAre the places were I spent most of my prime Being a female artist could bring sorrowMy nation would shun women of performanceWith the revolution, minds were less narrow I changed name for theatrical conformanceIt preserved the family reputationYoussef Wahbi was a man of importance The founder of Ramses marked my formationI started acting in his stage companyTo perform felt like such a liberation I became Aziza Amir suddenlyStockbroker Elie Derie was my patronThe Mayor of Samalout found me lovely Ahmed El Sheirei chose me as his matronOur nuptials created unpleasant headlinesI did not switch to a life in an apron I quit the stage for passions of other kindsWith my Isis Film I began a new featVedat Örfi Bengü didn’t meet my guidelines Call Of Allah was exceedingly offbeatThus, I hired Stephan Rosti as director Laila became the film everyone would greetKing Fuuad admired it through a projectorMy dance was emulated by filmmakersCinema was developing a sector Nationalism was crucial for lawmakersI enjoyed performing in foreign picturesI cherished working with all moviemakers I directed my cinematic scripturesLike The Girl From The Nile and Repent Your SinsI chose a silent film with no sound mixtures For a multicultural plot with love wingsAnd meanwhile I got divorced and remarriedWith Ahmed’s brother, Mustafa, I exchanged rings But my work in film caused him to be worriedBecause I founded a business with a manMahmoud Zulficar’s presence made him flurried Amir Film had all of my attention spanHence, another separation and wedlockThe architect-turned-filmmaker was my man The Talent Finder could make spectators flockThis Event Maker was the love of my lifeOur partnership was as solid as a rock We didn’t have kids but I was a happy wifeThe daughter I adopted was AmiraWe worked on a film where kith and kin were rife I peeked into cinema’s talking eraThe Godmother of Egyptian CinemaWas my title and calling, no chimera.

The first female director in BollywoodIs how I’ll be known when I’m with the restersOur industry began before Hollywood In 1899 we had The WrestlersIn Old California arrived much laterI was with the Indian cinema settlers I pursued a career path as a dream makerI was from an Urdu-Muslim familyI was very hardworking, not a faker They tried to tie my name to some calumnyClaiming I married the Sachin State rulerNo records of this exist actually What is certain is I was a proud motherMy Zubeida, Sultana, and ShehzadiWere the top actresses one could discover My great-grandchildren were in this industryI suppose motion pictures ran in our veinsFrom the stage I shifted to screen imagery Veer Abhimanyu captured me in film framesUsually men played the role of womenI liberated the system from these chains With me the female actor was unhiddenFor my fair complexion I used dark make-upThat suited the sepia reel exhibition My pretty onscreen face wanted to shake upSo I launched my own production house promptlyIn 1926 Fatma Films came up Bulbul-e-Paristan, my first fantasyMarked my directorial debut with grandeurMany lakhs of rupees were used tactfully For this high budget picture show of allureI was the Georges Méliès of my populaceIn 1928 I was in galore My company changed name and grew in successVictoria-Fatima Films thrived, as IMy trick photography was quite a progress For special effects I developed a keen eyeWriting, directing, producing were my craftFor acting jobs, with bliss, I would still apply Working at Kohinoor Studios was a blastNamaste to the Imperial Studios too Goddess of Luck was the film I shot for lastI acted in Duniya Kya Hai? and was throughAfter sixteen years in film I was contentFatma Begum shaped cinematics anew.

Nǐhǎo from this first time female directorWho actually made movies in ChinaMarion E. Wong shared my descent and sector Her pictures were made in CaliforniaTo Americans our culture she unveiledWhile I shaped the cinema form in Zhongguo The Shanghai Shadow Play Company I nailedIt was founded by Dan Duyu, my mentorWorking as one of his actresses prevailed The Shen Bao press praised my expressive ardourWorking for Li Jiran truly changed my fateThe Nanxing Film Company was my harbour From their I set sail to my directing stateAn Orphan’s Cry made in 1925Was my feature that the public defined great Dysfunctional families it would reviveGlimpsing women from the working-class endureThe extras I hired were at least forty-five The biggest set was the banquet scene for sureThe complex storyline surprised everyoneThe female-directed drama had allure My movie in theatres had a longer runEight days as opposed to the usual threeThe box office sales it had smashingly won My brother Yonglan, film co-star and carefreeMoved onto a prolific acting careerHe appeared in fifty films of high degree Meanwhile my film craft was stuck in second gearI was asked to join a new project to actBut it did not evolve into a premiere However, Xie Caizhen did have an impactI was far from being a paper tigerI roared through moving images, that’s a fact.