Cinema has been long associated with France, dating back to 1895, when Louis and Auguste Lumi_re screened their works, the first public viewing of films anywhere. Early silent pioneers Georges MZli_s, Alice Guy BlachZ and others followed in the footsteps of the Lumi_re brothers and the tradition of important filmmaking continued throughout the 20th century and beyond. In Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Philippe Rège identifies every French director who has made at least one feature film since 1895. From undisputed masters to obscure one-timers, nearly 3,000 directors are cited here, including at least 200 filmmakers not mentioned in similar books published in France. Each director's entry contains a brief biographical summary, including dates and places of birth and death; information on the individual's education and professional training; and other pertinent details, such as real names (when the filmmaker uses a pseudonym). The entries also provide complete filmographies, including credits for feature films, shorts, documentaries, and television work. Some of the most important names in the history of film can be found in this encyclopedia, from masters of the Golden Age_Jean Renoir and RenZ Clair_to French New Wave artists such as Fran_ois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard.

One of the few women pioneers of cinema and a committed feminist, Germaine Dulac strongly believed that the public had a role to play in shaping the history of cinema and the kinds of films that filmmakers could make. This book draws on a wealth of archival material – both films and writing – to study Dulac’s ‘behind the scenes’ work on filmmaking and her social/political activism in the field of cinema. The biographical and historical introduction contextualises Dulac’s situation at the heart of the avant-garde. Three chapters organise her films and career around the kinds of cinema that she promoted: ‘psychological’, ‘pure’ and ‘documentary’. The conclusion contrasts Dulac’s contributions with those of Alice Guy Blaché, another early woman film pioneer, highlighting their differing paths to recognition.

This landmark collection by an international group of scholars and public intellectuals represents a major reassessment of French colonial culture and how it continues to inform thinking about history, memory, and identity. This reexamination of French colonial culture, provides the basis for a revised understanding of its cultural, political, and social legacy and its lasting impact on postcolonial immigration, the treatment of ethnic minorities, and national identity.

Essay by Iris Barry.

"Commissioned for and sponsored by the National Film Preservation Board."