Seattle Theatre Group Honors Women Pioneers Of Filmmaking

At Seattle Theatre Group stories come alive through music and performance-and through the magic of film, too. In 1928, The Paramount opened its doors with the feature film Feel My Pulse. Now, 94 years later, the cinematic tradition is still going strong in this historic venue through Silent Movie Mondays.

Up next in the series: STG presents two evenings of pioneering women filmmakers on March 21 and 28. Both nights include live music by Donna Parker on the Mighty Wurlitzer-an organ original to the theater.

"This Women's History Month, we're honoring these dynamic and powerful filmmakers," said Vicky Lee, STG's curator of Silent Movie Mondays for a decade. "My hope is that audiences will want to delve deeper into the fascinating history of women's landmark leadership in cinema."

The series kicks off on March 21 with the short Suspense and the feature Shoes-both directed, written and produced by Lois Weber, the first woman to become a major director in the United States. Weber mentored young actresses and advocated for greater female representation on-screen and behind-the-scenes. The pre-film introduction and post-film CineClub discussion will be led by Shelley Stamp, professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, author of "Lois Weber in Early Hollywood,"a??and curator of the disc set "Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers."

On March 28, audiences will be treated to a night of short films, spanning comedy, drama and adventure. Featured filmmakers includea??Alice Guy-Blaché, the first woman film director in the world; Grace Cunard, popular for her work with Universal Studios' adventure serials; Mabel Normand, one of the first silent actors to also function as her own director; and Marion E. Wong, founder of the Mandarin Film Company.

Wong's 35-minute "The Curse of Quon Gwon When the Far East Mingles With the West" (1917) featured an all Chinese-American cast and company. The piece offered a significant counterpoint to racist depictions of Asian characters in other films ofa??the period and explores the western influence on traditional Chinese society.

On March 28, the pre-film introduction and post-film CineClub discussion will be led by Jennifer M. Bean, a professor of Cinema and Media Studies at UW, and Ellison Shieh, Co-Director and Head of Programming for Seattle Asian American Film Festival.

Next month, on April 4, Silent Movie Mondays will continue with "The Ancient Law / Das Alte Gesetz" (1923) in partnership with Seattle Jewish Film Festival. (Tickets for the previously scheduled March 14, 2021 screening will be honored for entry). The film will include an original score performed live by world-renowned klezmer musician Alicia Svigals (violinist/composer), Donald Sosin (pianist/composer) and Laura DeLuca (clarinetist). Guest speakers will include SJFF Festival Director Pamela Lavitt and Cynthia Walk of the Sunrise Foundation.

ASL interpretation is provided for speaker introductions and discussions for all film events.

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