Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

When Alice Guy-Blaché completed her first film in 1896, she was not only the first female filmmaker, but one of the first directors ever to make a narrative film. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018) tells the largely forgotten story of her rise from Gaumont secretary to her appointment as head of the production a year later, and her illustrious 20-year career in France and in the United States, as the founder of her own studio and as writer, director, and/or producer of 1,000 films. Directed by Pamela B. Green from eight years of research, Be Natural is a celebration of a woman who pioneered the art of cinema at its inception and a look into the enduring legacy of her innovations and accomplishments. Narrated by Jodie Foster, the documentary features interviews from filmmakers and actors including Agnès Varda, Ava DuVernay, Diablo Cody, Patty Jenkins, Marjane Satrapi, Julie Delpy, and many others, and features rare archival footage that allows Alice Guy-Blaché to tell her own story.

Director/co-writer Pamela B. Green and co-writer/executive producer Joan Simon will join Cynthia Felando (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion of Be Natural.