In March 2022, Women’s History Month, Stark Media Services highlighted some of the female directors who have contributed to the cinematic medium throughout its history. From the revolutionary presence of directors like Lois Weber and Dorothy Arzner in film’s infancy, to the boundary-pushing avant-garde of filmmakers like Maya Deren and Chantal Akerman, to the genre-defining and redefining impact of directors as disparate as Nancy Meyers, Jane Campion, Kathryn Bigelow, Kasi Lemmons, and Claire Denis, this was just a selection of some of the most important and fascinating filmmakers we’re proud to have in our film collection. Accompanying the films were a selection of key texts recommended by Robin Kear, the University of Pittsburgh's Liaison Librarian for Film and Media Studies, English, and Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies.
You can explore the films and filmmakers spotlighted below, where you will find lists of the films and books that were featured on the display along with links to their PittCat pages where you can request them, learn more about their credits, and more!
Chantal Akerman
Andrea Arnold
Dorothy Arzner
Kathryn Bigelow
Jane Campion
Vyra Chytilova
Shirley Clarke
Sofia Coppola
Julie Dash
Claire Denis
Maya Deren
Ava Duvernay
Greta Gerwig
Alice Guy-Blaché
Daniele Huillet
Barbara Kopple
Kirsten Johnson
Kasi Lemmons
Barbara Loden
Ida Lupino
Elaine May
Nancy Meyers
Verena Paravel
Lynn Ramsay
Dee Rees
Kelly Reichardt
Celine Sciamma
Larisa Shepitko
Joan Micklin Silver
Penelope Spheeris
Agnes Varda
Lana Wachowski
Lily Wachowski
Lulu Wang
Lois Weber
Chloe Zhao
The Ascent / Wings by
The Ascent tracks two Byelorussian peasant soldiers - one on the path to redemption, the other to hell - as they try to evade Nazi forces during World War II.
Wings: Suffocated by modern-day living, a buttoned-down headmistress reminisces about her glory days as a World War II pilot.
Cameraperson by
A boxing match in Brooklyn; life in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina; the daily routine of a Nigerian midwife; an intimate family moment at home with the director: Kirsten Johnson weaves these scenes and others into her film, a tapestry of footage captured over her twenty-five-year career as a documentary cinematographer.
Certain Women by
A stirring look at three women striving to forge their own paths amidst the wide-open plains of the American Northwest: a lawyer who finds herself contending with both office sexism and a hostage situation; a wife and mother whose determination to build her dream home puts her at odds with the men in her life; and a young law student who forms an ambiguous bond with a lonely ranch hand. A portrait emerges of flawed, but strong-willed individuals in the process of defining themselves.
The Chronicles of Anna Magdelena Bach by
The life and work of renowned 18th-century German composer Johann Sebastian Bach are traced in this stirring biodrama. Narrated by Bach's wife Anna, the film is mostly comprised of set pieces in which Bach performs many of his works.
Dance Girl Dance by
Dorothy Arzner, the sole woman to work as a director in the Hollywood studio system of the '30s and early '40s, brings a subversive feminist sensibility to this juicily entertaining backstage melodrama. A behind-the-footlights look at friendship, jealousy, and ambition in the ruthless world of show business, Dance, Girl, Dance follows the intertwining fates of two chorus girls.
Fish Tank by
Mia... lives with her mother and sister in the housing projects of Essex. Mia's adolescent conflicts and emerging sexuality reach a boiling point when her mother's new boyfriend... enters the picture
Hester Street by
A young Jewish woman comes to America in the 1890s and discovers that her husband has given up the ways of the old country, gotten a new girlfriend, and started a new life.
Leviathan by
A thrilling, immersive documentary that takes viewers deep inside the dangerous world of commercial fishing. Set aboard a hulking fishing vessel as it navigates the treacherous waves off the New England coast-the very waters that once inspired Moby Dick, the film captures the harsh, unforgiving world of the fishermen in starkly haunting, yet beautiful detail
The Matrix by
In an anti-utopian future, the "real" world as we know it is nothing more than a computer construct, created by an all-powerful artificial intelligence. A small group of humans has found a way out of the construct, and are now fighting for the future of the human race.
Morvern Callar by
Morvern Callar is greeted with a startling surprise, her boyfriend has committed suicide. He has left her a cryptic message on his computer and a manuscript for a novel. She changes the author's name to her own and begins a re-birth of self discovery.
The New York Films by
La chambre: The furniture and clutter of one small apartment room becomes the subject of a moving still life in this experimental short film, the first film the director made in New York.
Hotel Monterey: A cheap Manhattan hotel glows with mystery and unexpected beauty, its corridors, elevators, rooms, windows and occasional occupants framed like Edward Hopper tableaux.
News from home: Letters from Akerman's mother are read over a series of elegantly composed shots of 1976 New York, where our filmmaker and protagonist has relocated. This unforgettable time capsule of the city is also a gorgeous meditation on urban alienation and personal and familial disconnection.
The Piano by
A young mute woman and her child travel to New Zealand in the 1800s for an arranged marriage to a farmer. After the marriage she meets another man, and the competition for her love begins. Just one of the men realizes that her affections can only be won through her beloved piano.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire by
France, 1760. Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Because she is a reluctant bride-to-be, Marianne arrives under the guise of companionship, observing Héloïse by day and secretly painting her by firelight at night. As the two women orbit one another, intimacy and attraction grow as they share Héloïse first moments of freedom. Héloïse's portrait soon becomes a collaborative act of and a testament to their love.
Sleepless in Seattle by
After hearing a man confess his love for his dearly departed wife on a call-in radio show, a woman falls deeply, inexplicably in love with him. Deciding he is her destiny, she treks across country on a wildly romantic impulse to meet him.
The Virgin Suicides by
A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid 1970s.
Wanda by
With her first and only feature film--a hard-luck drama she wrote, directed, and starred in--Barbara Loden turned in a groundbreaking work of American independent cinema, bringing to life a kind of character seldom seen on-screen. Set amid a soot-choked Pennsylvania landscape, and shot in an intensely intimate vérité style, the film takes up with distant and soft-spoken Wanda (Loder), who has left her husband, lost custody of her children, and now finds herself alone, drifting between dingy bars and motels, where she falls prey to a series of callous men--including a bank robber who ropes her into his next criminal scheme. An until now difficult-to-see masterpiece that has nonetheless exerted an outsize influence on generations of artists and filmmakers, Wanda is a compassionate and wrenching portrait of a woman stranded on society's margin
Feminist Film Theory by
Maps the major developments and debates in feminist film theory For the past twenty-five years, cinema has been a vital terrain on which feminist debates about culture, representation, and identity have been fought. This anthology charts the history of those debates, bringing together the key, classic essays in feminist film theory. Feminist Film Theory maps the impact of major theoretical developments on this growing field-from structuralism and psychoanalysis in the 1970s, to post-colonial theory, queer theory, and postmodernism in the 1990s. Covering a wide range of topics, including oppressive images, "woman" as fetishized object of desire, female spectatorship, and the cinematic pleasures of black women and lesbian women, Feminist Film Theory is an indispensable reference for scholars and students in the field. Contributors include Judith Butler, Carol J. Clover, Barbara Creed, Michelle Citron, Mary Ann Doane, Teresa De Lauretis, Jane Gaines, Christine Gledhill, Molly Haskell, bell hooks, Claire Johnston, Annette Kuhn, Julia Lesage, Judith Mayne, Tania Modleski, Laura Mulvey, B. Ruby Rich, Kaja Silverman, Sharon Smith, Jackie Stacey, Janet Staiger, Anna Marie Taylor, Valerie Walkerdine, and Linda Williams.
Gender, Race, and Class in Media by
Incisive analyses of mass media - including such forms as talk shows, MTV, the Internet, soap operas, television sitcoms, dramatic series, pornography, and advertising--enable this provocative third edition of Gender, Race and Class in Media to engage students in critical mass media scholarship. Issues of power related to gender, race, and class are integrated into a wide range of articles examining the economic and cultural implications of mass media as institutions, including the political economy of media production, textual analysis, and media consumption. Throughout, Gender, Race and Class in Media examines the mass media as economic and cultural institutions that shape our social identities, especially in regard to gender, race, and class. A comprehensive introductory section outlines the book′s integrated approach to media studies, which incorporates three distinct but related areas of investigation: the political economy of production, textual analysis, and audience response. More than 50% of the readings are new to this Third Edition, and all have been edited for maximum accessibility. Together with new section introductions by Dines and Humez, the readings provide a comprehensive critical introduction to mass media studies.
Gender and the Media by
Media images shape and are shaped by society. They reflect the ways in which the social order changes and stays the same. The contributors to Gender and the Media: Women's Placesconsider a variety of media to explore the impact of what is there, as well as what is missing. Their focus is on women. Networks of the cyberbullying of women of color are rendered graphically and the agency claimed by women in Western Sahara refugee camps is shown in photos. How college women and men respond to the masculinity reflected in hip-hop lyrics and videos, and what it feels like to be a woman in a comic book store are conveyed in excerpts from interviews. Contributors detail how publications discuss rape in India and trafficking in Moldova and ponder the absence of the topic of anorexia in U.S. cinema. Social change is reflected in how trade publications discuss the increasing number of women in the funeral industry. The relation of the local to the global and female invisibility is considered in an analysis of Portuguese punk fanzines. An examination of advice books for American tween girls documents not only the subject matter, but also the racial, ethnic and religious homogeneity and heteronormativity assumed in the text and illustrations. Finally, a comparison of the critical response to identical music recorded by female and male artists provides the opportunity to see the role gender plays in criticism of aesthetic materials.
Holding My Own in No Man's Land by
Molly Haskell, one of America's leading film critics, has been delighting readers for decades with her intelligence and insight. Her landmark book, From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies, praised for its "wit and style" and called "a valuable contribution to filmscholarship," is still considered among the most stimulating and important books on the subject of women and film. In Holding My Own in No Man's Land, a series of pieces written in the twenty years since the publication of From Reverence to Rape, Haskell once again explores the relationship betweenwomen and men, and between the movies and those who watch them.Haskell remains a controversial figure in both feminist and film circles, accused of "uncritically celebrating heterosexual romance"--a charge to which Haskell cheerfully pleads guilty. Holding My Own In No Man's Land challenges the conventional feminist wisdom that the classic films of theThirties, Forties, and Fifties were made by a male-dominated industry which reduced women to objects of the "male gaze." Instead, she says that women were better served by the notoriously tyrannical studio system than they are in the "newer, freer, hipper Hollywood of the present." A fascinatinginterview with Doris Day points out that, despite her current image as a symbol of all that was repressive about the suburban Fifties, she played a series of roles as--and was herself--a successful career woman who worked because she enjoyed it. In another perceptive portrait, Haskell describes themesmerizing power the sultry, self-parodying sex symbol Mae West had on screen, and the financial clout she had off screen. And she writes about Howard Hawks's screwball comedies, such as His Girl Friday and Man's Favorite Sport from the Thirties, where assertive women were equal to men, and morethan held their own in the battle of the sexes.Holding My Own in No Man's Land ranges from interviews with Hollywood legends such as Gloria Swanson and John Wayne, to celebrations of the comic verve of Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett, to ruminations on literary figures such as Truman Capote and his Holly Golightly, and Jane Austen's Emma. Welearn that the cleaning woman of The Carol Burnett Show logo was a reminder of the days when Burnett and her grandmother, "out of spoons and relief money," worked nights as cleaning women in the Warner executive offices. We see Meryl Streep "hiding in the spotlight" in a refreshingly skepticalanalysis of Streep's determination to be an actress rather than a star. Finally, Haskell closes with a wickedly funny section on recent fashion and style, including pieces on "Lipstick Envy" and "Nude With Attitude."Haskell describes Holding My Own in No Man's Land as "a kind of continuing set of ruminations, encounters, insights, and images of people and characters who have had an influence on our lives." With wit and style she illuminates the hopes and fears we project onto these larger-than-life figures--the grand dames, the stoic heroes, the dueling couples--and the lessons we learned from them about how to fall in love, how to act as adults, and how to live in this complex world.
Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? by
"Women and power-perhaps no other confluence of subjects has launched as many myths, or stirred as much gossip." Eight years ago, a remarkably talented reporter named Rachel Abramowitz began interviewing the women of Hollywood to, in her words, "puncture the mythology and to circumvent the silence" of this rarefied world. At the time, women directors, agents, producers and studio executives made up only a tiny minority of the industry. Abramowitz wanted to find out what had allowed this handful of women to infiltrate the male-dominated world of moviemaking-and what was keeping other women out.Is That a Gun in Your Pocket'is a vibrant social history that brings to light the previously untold saga of the rise of women in Hollywood over the past forty years. In these pages, some of the most famous, most powerful, and most outrageous members of the film industry go on record with their war stories. From superstar actors to independent directors, women in all arenas of the moviemaking business opened up to Abramowitz. Their firsthand tales of jealousy, struggle, sexism, and success make for a fascinating behind-the-cameras look at what it is really like to be a woman in Hollywood. Abramowitz's insight and novelistic style make for a fantastic romp through every major studio, every agency, and hundreds of sets, back lots, and dressing rooms. Here, in their own candid and pro-vocative words, are Jodie Foster, Penny Marshall, Dawn Steel, Sue Mengers, Sherry Lansing, Polly Platt, Barbra Streisand, Paula Weinstein, Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, Meryl Streep, Jane Campion, Amy Heckerling, Callie Khouri, Joan Tewkesbury, and many others. Together they form a community of friends, colleagues, and competitors that constitutes one of the most riveting casts you're likely to find in fiction or nonfiction. Woven throughout the individual dramas is a strikingly original analysis of the films of the last four decades that fairly and accurately shows the difficulty women have faced in getting their stories on screen. With telling details from the insiders them-selves, Abramowitz reveals the almost reflexive sexism that exists in Hollywood and traces how the male-dominated atmosphere influences what is seen by moviegoers around the world. Inspiring, scandalous, poignant, and hilarious, this is both a landmark look at the evolution of women's place in filmmaking and a glimpse inside one of the most powerful industries in American culture.
Reclaiming the Archive by
This title illustrates the rich relationship between film history and feminist theory. ""Reclaiming the Archive: Feminism and Film History"" brings together a diverse group of international feminist scholars to examine the intersections of feminism, history, and feminist theory in film. Editor Vicki Callahan has assembled essays that reflect a range of methodological approaches - including archival work, visual culture, reception studies, biography, ethno-historical studies, historiography, and textual analysis - by a diverse group of film and media studies scholars to prove that feminist theory, film history, and social practice are inevitably and productively intertwined. Essays in ""Reclaiming the Archive"" investigate the different models available in feminist film history and how those feminist strategies might serve as paradigmatic for other sites of feminist intervention. Chapters have an international focus and range chronologically from early cinema to post-feminist texts, organized around the key areas of reception, stars, and authorship. There is a final section that examines the very definitions of feminism (post-feminism), cinema (transmedia), and archives (virtual and online) in place today. The essays in ""Reclaiming the Archives"" prove that a significant heritage of film studies lies in the study of feminism in film and feminist film theory. Scholars of film history and feminist studies will appreciate the breadth of work in this volume.
What If I Had Been the Hero? by
Sue Thornham's study explores issues in feminist filmmaking through an examination of a wide range of films by women filmmakers, ranging from the avant-garde to mainstream Hollywood, and from the 1970s to the present day, discussing directors including Sally Potter, Jane Campion, Julie Dash, Patricia Rozema and Lynne Ramsay.
A selection of animated films with female directors, along with a history of women in other animation production roles recommended by Liaison Librarian Robin Kear, spotlights an often unsung impact of women on film history.
The Queens of Animation by
From the bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls, the untold, "richly detailed" story of the women of Walt Disney Studios, who shaped the iconic films that have enthralled generations (Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures). From Snow White to Moana, from Pinocchio to Frozen, the animated films of Walt Disney Studios have moved and entertained millions. But few fans know that behind these groundbreaking features was an incredibly influential group of women who fought for respect in an often ruthless male-dominated industry and who have slipped under the radar for decades. In The Queens of Animation, bestselling author Nathalia Holt tells their dramatic stories for the first time, showing how these women infiltrated the boys' club of Disney's story and animation departments and used early technologies to create the rich artwork and unforgettable narratives that have become part of the American canon. As the influence of Walt Disney Studios grew -- and while battling sexism, domestic abuse, and workplace intimidation -- these women also fought to transform the way female characters are depicted to young audiences. With gripping storytelling, and based on extensive interviews and exclusive access to archival and personal documents, The Queens of Animation reveals the vital contributions these women made to Disney's Golden Age and their continued impact on animated filmmaking, culminating in the record-shattering Frozen, Disney's first female-directed full-length feature film. A Best Book of 2019: Library Journal, Christian Science Monitor, and Financial Times
The Secret of Kells by
Young Brendan lives in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids. But a new life of adventure beckons when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan's determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil?
Persepolis by
In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family. Their long dream is realized when the hated Shah is defeated in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, Marji grows up to witness first hand how the new Iran has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study. This change proves an equally difficult trial for Marji and finds herself in a different culture loaded with abrasive characters and profound disappointments that deeply trouble her. Even when she returns home, Marji finds that both she and her homeland have changed too much and the young woman and her loving family must decide where she truly belongs.
Stark highlighted the key presence of female filmmakers in the world of Horror Cinema, with select recommendations from the University's own Professor Adam Lowenstein.
Women Make Horror by
Winner of the the 2021 Best Edited Collection Award from BAFTSS Winner of the 2021 British Fantasy Award in Best Non-Fiction​ ​Finalist for the 2020 Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction Runner-Up for Book of the Year in the 19th Annual Rondo Halton Classic Horror Awards​ "But women were never out there making horror films, that's why they are not written about - you can't include what doesn't exist." "Women are just not that interested in making horror films." This is what you get when you are a woman working in horror, whether as a writer, academic, festival programmer, or filmmaker. These assumptions are based on decades of flawed scholarly, critical, and industrial thinking about the genre. Women Make Horror sets right these misconceptions. Women have always made horror. They have always been an audience for the genre, and today, as this book reveals, women academics, critics, and filmmakers alike remain committed to a film genre that offers almost unlimited opportunities for exploring and deconstructing social and cultural constructions of gender, femininity, sexuality, and the body. Women Make Horror explores narrative and experimental cinema; short, anthology, and feature filmmaking; and offers case studies of North American, Latin American, European, East Asian, and Australian filmmakers, films, and festivals. With this book we can transform how we think about women filmmakers and genre.
In My Skin by
Esther suffers deep gashes on her legs from an accidental fall. She begins to become preoccupied with her body and sKin, especially her wounds. At first she merely traces the cuts on her legs, but it isn't long before she is carving wounds directly and aggressively into her own body. Her boyfriend becomes concerned and angry, but his inability to understand forces Esther into reclusion to explore her new found passion.
