The Extraordinary Lois Weber -- actor, director, writer, studio owner

She was a singer, an actor, a screenwriter, a producer and film studio owner. She made ground-breaking films dealing with social issues -- poverty, sexism, birth control. She was part of that trailblazing group of women who flourished when filmmaking was in its infancy.

But have you ever heard of Lois Weber?

Join us at the Revue Cinema on Sunday, Jan. 25, 12:30 pm to learn about this remarkable woman who died broke and forgotten in 1939 at the age of 60. We will screen a short documentary summarizing her life and watch two of her surviving films.

Joining us to discuss her life and work is silent cinema expert and University of Toronto prof Charlie Keil. He has written extensively on the early history of movie-making and most recently co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Silent Cinema.

This screening is another in Back Lane Studios' Extraordinary Women series.

Among Weber's achievements:

• According to IMBD, she is credited with directing 135 films, writing 114 and acting in 100.
• She was an innovator, exploring the use of a split screen, notably in her 1913 short film "Suspense," which we will view at the cinema.
• She directed the only feature film starring the ballet star Anna Pavlova.
• She was the first person to direct a feature-length film of a Shakespearean play -- The Merchant of Venice -- in which she starred as Portia.
• Weber saw films as an opportunity to teach, and as a result, many of her productions take on controversial social issues such as poverty, what we would now call toxic masculinity, interracial marriage and birth control -- issues that are still at the forefront today.

Unlike other influential silent-era pioneers such as Alice Guy Blaché or Mary Pickford, who we have discussed in earlier Extraordinary Women events, there's no comprehensive documentary about Lois Weber -- yet. But we are putting together a program with a short 10-minute film summarizing her life; we will show two of her surviving movies; and we are thrilled to have silent cinema expert Charlie Keil join us for a discussion. One issue we will certainly explore is the many roles women played in the early years of filmmaking -- actor, director, writer, editors, set design, and studio owner.

Tickets are by a suggested donation of $16 on this site or at the Revue box office on our event day. Please note, when buying by donation on Eventbrite, you can only buy one ticket at a time.

Charlie Keil is Principal of Innis College and a professor in U of T's history department. His interest in cinema is wide ranging, reflected in his many publications. He has explored what is termed the "transitional" period in the cinema industry from 1910 to 1920, when Weber thrived; written about humour and animation; explored the meaning of Hollywood is a production site and a cultural concept.

One issue he will cerainly help us explore is how and why women were such a dominant force in early Hollywood, and were subsequently relegated to the sidelines.

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