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Lights! Camera! Alice!

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Cover image for Lights! Camera! Alice! : the thrilling true adventures of the first woman filmmaker

Lights! Camera! Alice!
by Mara Rockliff
San Francisco : Chronicle Books, [2018]

This fun book tells the story of Alice Guy-Blache, the first woman filmmaker (and possibly first ever creative filmmaker). The story begins with a young Alice, who grew up reading books and hearing stories from her parents and maids. As she got older, she began to make short films with the brand new filming cameras at the camera store she worked at. She eventually moved to America to work, but found that American filmmakers didn't appreciate her style, so she picked up her life and moved back to France, where she continued to make movies without receiving recognition for her work.

The book is divided up into mini chapters, each one beginning with a silent film title card inscribed with the title of one of Alice's films.  The "credits" at the end give the reader a list of books, articles, and movies to learn even more about Alice and the amazing work that she did.

The illustrations are sweet, but the adventure of Alice's life and the progress she make for women filmmakers around the world are what make this book such a delightful read.


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