Short Review of Foster'sWomen Film Directors, 1995
Foster, Gwendolyn Audrey.
Women Film Directors:
An International Bio-Critical Dictionary.
Greenwood. 1995. c.394p. permanent paper. bibliog. index. LC 95-7395.
ISBN 0-313-28972-7. $76. REF
This important work compiles a significant amount of otherwise
difficult-to-find information on women filmmakers working in all
countries and all contexts, whether mainstream, independent, or
experimental/avante-garde. The introduction, which gives generous
consideration to a wide range of scholarly contributions, is an
excellent synthesis of writing in English on women directors.
Following are alphabetical entries of over 200 bibliographic
references to interviews and filmographies that would have been
more useful with the inclusion of running time, place, and
production company. The considerable amount of critical
commentary that Foster (English, Univ. of Nebraska) includes is
an amalgam of secondary-source opinion and Foster's own viewing
of a wide sampling of the films. The only other reference work
in this area is The Women's Companion to International Film (LJ
10/1/94), which contains shorter entries on a wider range of
subjects. Public and academic libraries with any interest in film
will want to acquire both titles, as they will appeal to all
types of readers. -- Jane Sloan, Rutgers Univ. Libs., New
Brunswick N.J
From Library Journal/Oct. 15, 1995, p. 54.