Since the days of silents, women have been participating in the art, craft, and technology of filmmaking. Yet many of those women, especially the early pioneers, have remained obscure, and have never achieved the same critical recognition as their male counterparts--until now. This is the first book to recover women's "lost" contributions to the advancement of film as a medium. Different from any other guide in its unique focus and international scope, this comprehensive resource looks at the entire history of film from a feminist perspective. In over 600 entries, eighty female contributors explore the many roles women have played in the development and continuation of an art form and industry generally regarded as male-dominated. Each biographical entry features the individual's accomplishments in film, including a helpful filmography, and often, a bibliography. There are hundreds of cross-references to aid in further research. You'll find biographical and technical discussions of such directors as Dorothy Arzner, Agnes Varda, Maya Deren, Alice Guy, Leni Riefenstahl, and Claudia Weill; screenwriters Elaine May, Suso Cecchi D'Amico, and Marie Epstein; and actresses Lauren Bacall, Diana Dors, Nargis, Asta Nielsen, and Marilyn Monroe. Films from all over the world are covered, including work originating in New Zealand, Eastern Europe, Great Britain, India, Guatemala, Chile, and other countries. Important cinematic terms and ideas such as mise-en-scène and cinema novo are explained, as well as genres that feature popular images of women--from "dumb blondes" to femmes fatales to stereotypes of all stripes. Profiles of independent film movements, journals, critics, film festivals, and more, round out the listings.--Adapted from back cover.