Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (Pamela B. Green, 2018)

I knew who Alice Guy-Blaché (the first woman film director, for most intents and purposes) was when I was a little kid. So it surprises me that many scholars interviewed in the fine documentary Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (Pamela B. Green, 2018) claim to have never heard of her. For sure, the film concerns the historical (i.e., sexist) processes that have rendered her far more obscure than Méliès or the Lumières. But am I jerk to assume scholars should know full well who she was? Anyhoo, the film is part investigative journalism, part just-plain-useful history, and captivating all throughout. A must-see portrait of one of the key innovators of cinema.