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'Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché' Celebrates the Mother of Cinema at the Spring KCET Cinema Series on March 19

By Allison Gray
March 19, 2019
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Q&A immediately following with director/producer/writer/editor Pamela B. Green.

Pete Hammond called it "The Best Film In Cannes." This full-length documentary from executive producer Robert Redford is the long-overdue story of a true pioneer in early cinema and the world’s first female filmmaker, Alice Guy-Blaché. Born in Paris, she directed, wrote and produced over 1,000 films. Her work experimented with synchronized sound, color tinting, interracial casting, special effects and founded one of the first film studios in America. Alice Guy-Blaché's accomplishments have been neglected for decades and even film historians have mistakenly attributed her films to others. The film is narrated by Academy Award-winning® actress, director and producer Jodie Foster.

Filmmaker Pamela Green said, “Perhaps the most famous woman you’ve never heard of, Alice is a person that should never be forgotten. The core of this film is the previously untold story of Alice, a creative force, entrepreneur, leader and mentor in a new field that she helped pioneer. This film is the celebration of a woman who was there at the beginning of moving pictures, at the intersection of innovation, technology and storytelling that later became the entertainment industry as we know it today.”

Green has dedicated more than eight years of research in order to discover the real story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873-1968) – not only highlighting her pioneering contributions to the birth of cinema but also her acclaim as a creative force and entrepreneur in the earliest years of moviemaking. Green interviewed Patty Jenkins, Diablo Cody, Ben Kingsley, Geena Davis, Ava DuVernay and Julie Delpy - to name a few - who comment on Guy-Blaché’s innovations. Green discovered rare footage of televised interviews and long-archived audio interviews which can be heard for the first time, which affords Alice Guy-Blaché to tell her own story.

The film screens at 7:00 p.m. at the ArcLight Cinemas in Sherman Oaks. Immediately following the screening, Deadline’s chief film critic Pete Hammond, who can also be seen on KCET’s Must See Movies, will moderate a Q&A session with filmmaker Pamela B. Green. “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché” will be released by Zeitgeist Films on April 19, 2019.

Deadline.com is the presenting sponsor for the spring season of the KCET Cinema Series, which runs February 5 through March 26. The Arclight Cinemas Sherman Oaks is located at 15301 Ventura Blvd and nearby parking is available.

To learn more about the series call 201.747.5238.

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