Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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The Azerbaijan Filmmakers' Union and the French Embassy in Azerbaijan have organized a film evening at the SKA Cinema Hall to mark International Women's Day, AzerNEWS reports.

Guests included representatives of diplomatic missions, creative intellectuals, and youth.

The event, dedicated to International Women's Day, featured a screening of films by Alice Guy-Blaché, the first female director, producer, and founder and president of her own film company.

Guy-Blaché was the first to express the idea that cinema could not only document life but also tell stories, like theater. One of the first feature films in the history of cinema, if not the very first, is considered to be "The Cabbage Fairy," which she shot in 1896.

Guy-Blaché's work often addressed socially significant issues, such as immigration, strikes, minority rights, and women's rights. The film "The A Fool and His Money" also became a groundbreaking achievement in cinema history – it was the first film in which all the roles were played by black actors.

A team of specialists undertook extensive restoration work on Guy-Blaché's old films, and a significant portion of her legacy is now once again available to audiences.

A pioneer of cinema, Alice Guy-Blaché made a huge contribution to the development of feature film and proved that cinema can be not only a means of capturing reality but also a fully-fledged art of storytelling. "I was the first woman director, and I want that to be known. Not for myself, but for history," said Alice Guy-Blaché, eager to restore women's place in the history of world cinema.