Germaine Dulac facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Germaine Dulac
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| Born |
Charlotte Elisabeth Germaine Saisset-Schneider
17 November 1882 |
| Died | 20 July 1942 (aged 59) Paris, France
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| Occupation | Film director, Screenwriter, Producer |
| Years active | 1915–c.1934 |
| Spouse(s) | Louis-Albert Dulac (1906–1920) |
| Relatives | Charles Schneider |
Germaine Dulac (born Charlotte Elisabeth Germaine Saisset-Schneider; 17 November 1882 – 20 July 1942) was a French filmmaker. She was also a film theorist, journalist, and critic.
Born in Amiens, France, she moved to Paris when she was very young. After getting married, she started working as a journalist for a feminist magazine. Later, she became very interested in making movies. With help from her husband and a friend, she started a film company. She directed many films, moving from regular movies to more artistic styles like Impressionist and Surrealist films.
Today, she is best known for her Impressionist film, La Souriante Madame Beudet (The Smiling Madam Beudet, 1922/23). She is also famous for her Surrealist film, La Coquille et le Clergyman (The Seashell and the Clergyman, 1928). Her career as a filmmaker changed when sound movies became popular. She spent her last years working on newsreels for companies like Pathé and Gaumont.
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About Germaine Dulac's Early Life
Germaine Dulac was born in Amiens, France. Her family was well-off, and her father was a military officer. Because her father's job meant the family moved often, Germaine went to live with her grandmother in Paris.
She quickly became interested in art. She studied music, painting, and theater. After her parents passed away, Dulac moved to Paris. There, she combined her growing interest in socialism and feminism with a career in journalism.
In 1905, she married Louis-Albert Dulac, who was an agricultural engineer. Four years later, she began writing for La Française. This was a feminist magazine where she became the drama critic. Dulac also worked for La Fronde, another important feminist journal. She also started taking still photographs, which led to her interest in filmmaking.
Dulac and her husband divorced in 1920. After that, she shared her life with Marie-Anne Colson-Malleville. This partnership lasted until the end of Dulac's life.
After her long and important film career, Dulac became the president of the Fédération des ciné-clubs. This group helped new, young filmmakers show their work. She also taught film classes at a special school in Paris. Germaine Dulac passed away in Paris on July 20, 1942.
Germaine Dulac's Film Career
Before she started making films, Dulac wrote articles for the feminist magazine La Fronde. This was from 1900 to 1913. She interviewed many important women in France. Her goal was to show the important roles women played in French society and politics.
Starting in Film Production
Dulac became interested in film in 1914. This happened through her friend, the actress Stacia Napierkowska. The two women traveled to Italy together just before World War I. Napierkowska was going to act in a film, and Dulac learned the basics of filmmaking during that trip.
In the early 1900s, Dulac often showed the difference between modern Paris and the older, rural parts of France in her films. This was a common idea in her movies. Soon after returning to France, she decided to start her own film company.
Dulac and writer Irène Hillel-Erlanger then started D.H. Films. Dulac's husband provided money to help them. The company made several films between 1915 and 1920. Dulac directed all of them, and Hillel-Erlanger wrote the stories. These films included Les Sœurs ennemies (1915/16), which was Dulac's first film. Other films were Vénus victrix (1917) and Géo, le mystérieux (1916).
Key Films and Artistic Ideas
Dulac's first big success was Âmes de fous (1918). This was a drama series written by Dulac herself. The film featured an early appearance by actress Ève Francis. Francis introduced Dulac to her friend, Louis Delluc, who was a filmmaker and critic.
Soon after, Dulac and Delluc worked together on La Fête espagnole (Spanish Fiesta, 1920). This film also featured Ève Francis. It was considered one of the most important films of that time and a major French Impressionist Cinema work. However, only small parts of the film still exist today. Dulac and Delluc continued to work together on several other movies.
In 1921, Dulac wrote an article called "Chez D.W. Griffith." In this article, she talked about meeting the famous filmmaker D.W. Griffith. Dulac shared two important ideas that appeared in many of her films:
- Movies should be their own art form. They should not be too influenced by painting or books.
- The filmmaker is an important artist. They should have their own creative ideas.
She continued her filmmaking career. She made both regular commercial films and more complex, early Surrealist movies. Two of her most famous works are La Souriante Madame Beudet (The Smiling Madame Beudet, 1922/23) and La Coquille et le Clergyman (The Seashell and the Clergyman, 1928).
These two films were released before the very famous Un Chien Andalou (1929) by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí. La Coquille et le Clergyman is sometimes called the first Surrealist film. However, some experts, like Ephraim Katz, see Dulac mostly as an Impressionist filmmaker.
Dulac wanted to create "pure cinema". This idea and some of her films inspired the French Cinema pur film movement. Her other important experimental films included short movies based on music. These were Disque(s) 957 (1928/29), based on Chopin's music, and Thème et variations (1928/29), based on classical music.
In 1929, she received the Legion of Honor. This was a special award for her important work in the French film industry. When sound films became popular, Dulac's career changed. From 1930, she went back to making commercial films. She produced newsreels, which were short films about current events, for Pathé and later for Gaumont. She died in Paris on July 20, 1942.
See also
In Spanish: Germaine Dulac para niños
