Forgotten Tales: Women Filmmakers in American Cinema

The film industry in Hollywood has been slow in diminishing the gender gap, particularly among many behind-the-camera professions. To gain a better understanding of how this status quo came to be, this paper explores the topic of women in film production and the gender gap from a historical perspective. While this paper aims to shine a light on the impact women have had during the very early years of cinema in North America and Western Europe, little is still known about the years between the then and now. Because there is a limited amount of peer-reviewed literature available regarding women in film production of the past, it is difficult to find varied perspectives on the subject. Given the findings, women's contribution to Hollywood's cinematic history is indeed significant, but still mostly invisible to the contemporary viewer. Ultimately, further research is needed to position women back in their rightful place within American cinema history.