This week the Library of Congress added 25 new films to the National Film Registry including two classics by Jewish women filmmakers: Hester Street (written & directed by Joan Micklin Silver) and Norma Rae (directed by Martin Ritt & co-written by Harriet Frank J. with her husband/long-time writing partner Irving Ravetch).
According to the LA Times, James H. Billington (the Librarian of Congress) made the selections based on 2,228 films nominated by the public and vetted by members of the National Film Preservation Board. This brings the number of films in the film registry up to 575.
In this year when NO WOMEN are likely to be nominated for Oscars in the Best Director category & few women will probably be included in the screenwriting category either, it’s reassuring to know that some work by women filmmakers will be honored & preserved for posterity.
Click HERE to learn more about Frank and Silver in a perceptive article written for the Jewish Women’s Archive by Chicago’s own Patricia Erens.
Thanks, Patricia 🙂
