Follow @thefilmagazine on Twitter.

10. Eloyce Patrick King Gist

Eloyce Patrick King Gist has the distinction of being the first black woman filmmaker. Like her contemporary Oscar Michaux, Gist produced films for the largely underserved Black community. However, she made movies for spiritual uplift rather than for entertainment.

Born in 1892 in Hitchcock, Texas, Gist met and married her husband James Gist, an evangelical Christian who produced silent films for local churches. Though a Baha’i by faith, she joined her husband’s endeavors by rewriting and re-editing his films Hell Bound Train (1929-1930) and Verdict Not Guilty (1930-1933). However, Gist may have also reshot some scenes in a second version of Hell Bound.

Unlike many of the race films that were shot during this period, their movies were unpolished (many scenes were shot out of focus), relied on nonprofessional actors, and used unconventional narrative structures. Regardless, Eloyce Patrick King Gist was one of the first black independent filmmakers during the silent era.

Recommended for you: The Subversion of the Motion Picture Code in Cat People

9. Margery Wilson

Sara Barker Strayer, who changed her name to Margery Wilson so she wouldn’t ruin her family’s reputation, began acting in Cincinnati along with her sister, appearing in one-woman shows and touring in acting companies around the country. After auditioning for her sister with D.W. Griffith, she got a part in his 1916 movie Intolerance. She acted in three dozen roles while under contract with Griffith.

After joining the New York Motion Picture Corp., she wrote, directed, and produced films between 1920 and 1923, including The Offenders (1922-1923), That Something (1920), Two of a Kind (1922), and Insinuation (1922). Her movies, however, are lost. Only photo stills exist.

Questions about whether she actually directed these films continue to keep film scholars up at night. Though Wilson credits herself in her autobiography for producing and directing The Offenders, The American Film Institute credits Fenwicke L. Holmes as director. However, both modern and contemporaneous accounts agree that she performed most of the behind the camera production for Insinuation. Regardless, Wilson is still indisputably a woman pioneer in early silent filmmaking.

Reel Women’s Network, a new platform showcasing films, TV shows, web series and documentaries, is bringing a new perspective on how we stream content.

Featuring media content exclusively from female filmmakers around the globe, Reel Women’s Network was created by women, for women.

Founded by Crystal Chappell (Open Book Productions) and Jessica and Linda Hill (Bella Productions), Reel Women’s Network launched in April 2020 and brings together many years of production and management experience.

As of July 2019, 205.9 million users stream content. 14% of women and 9% of men use streaming services daily. Women watch an average of 6.49 hours per week of streaming content. Chappell, Hill and Hill have found a gap in the market for a network made up exclusively of work by female filmmakers and creators.

Speaking of Reel Women’s Network’s beginnings, co-founder Crystal Chappell said, “The idea started when Jessica, Linda and I were sitting at a restaurant while attending a conference last Spring in Las Vegas. We were lamenting that there wasn’t really a platform out there that focused on independent women filmmakers and their content.”

The platform’s goal is to support and promote independent projects by women and help grow their audiences.

“Women filmmakers have been woefully under-represented in all aspects of the industry. We hope to change that. We’re looking forward to bringing a fresh perspective to the world of streaming and to advance the unique voice of women filmmakers to viewers worldwide.”, says Chappell.

In addition to offering a home for women filmmakers to promote and stream their completed content, Reel Women’s Network will also highlight any upcoming projects. With instant exposure to thousands of like-minded viewers from across the globe, the subscription-supported service allows users to watch on demand.

Users of the site also have the option of renting or buying premium content, including the award-winning web series ‘Venice the Series’ and ‘The Hills’ Beacon Hill’, shows that Chappell and Hill have worked on.

Looking ahead to the platform’s future, Reel Women’s Network plans to release iOS and Android apps to allow consumers to stream content on the go.

Annual subscriptions begin at £60.36 [$79.99] while monthly plans start from £6.03 [$7.99] per month.

Visit the Reel Women’s Network website here.

Written by Emma Kershaw

You can support Emma Kershaw in the following places:

Twitter – @emmagkershaw

[DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_SOCIAL_ICONS]