Exploring pioneer women filmmakers

Directors and producers from early days to the 1940s Cuddebackville, N.Y. — On Friday, Aug. 21, at 7:30 p.m., the Neversink Valley Area Museum’s Institute for Early Film Studies celebrates women in the US film industry. Often starting as actresses or script writers, as they gained more power, women became directors and producers before being mostly shut out be the end of the 1920’s. Institute for Early Film Studies director, Seth Goldman will explore some of the reasons for both the rise and decline of women in the early film industry. A screening of a feature film made by a now mostly forgotten female director will be screened. “A number of these women worked in Orange County and the Hudson Valley, generally, so there is a direct connection to our community,” explained Goldman. Some of the women he will discuss include Mary Pickford, Florence Turner, Ida Lupino and Dorothy Arzer and Anita Loos. This event will be held at the D & H Canal Park Visitor’s Center, 58 Hoag Road, just off US Route 209 in Cuddebackville. Admission is $5. The Neversink Valley Area Museum is open Thursday through Sunday from noon until 4 p.m. through Oct. 28 and by appointment. For more information about the museum, call 845-754-8870 or check the website at: www.neversinkmuseum.org. The museum is at 26 Hoag Road, in Cuddebackville.