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Paris Was a Woman
*Premiere*
"A valuable and entertaining document." -- Ken Eisner, Georgia Straight
This compelling and illuminating documentary by Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss unearths a fascinating history of a vibrant community of women who lived in Paris between the wars, and who nurtured or "discovered" famous artists such as Picasso, Hemingway and Joyce. Paris Was a Woman uncovers the major contributions to the Modernist movement of women such as Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas and Colette, as well as publishers Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier, writer Djuna Barnes and journalist Janet Flanner (who moved to Paris in 1923 and wrote the New Yorker column "Letter from Paris" under the pseudonym "Genet" for 40 years). These women established literary salons, bookshops, small presses and magazines, all of which helped establish Paris as the cultural capital of the world. But this is no by-the-numbers documentary. Schiller and Weiss -- who made the award-winning Before Stonewall -- have consumately researched their subject, assembling an astonishing array of materials to provide insight into this circle of extraordinary women. Weaving together rare archival footage, interviews, recordings and readings, Paris Was a Woman is a fascinating and dramatic look at a legendary community.
(USA, 1996, 80 min.)
Classification: TBA.
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