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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Women in the frame

A newly wedded Ruth Davis wields a 16mm Bell and Howell Filmo in the jungles of French Guiana, 1948.

A photographer with the French Press and Information Service before her marriage to Hassoldt (Bill) Davis, Ruth shot most of the moving footage for her husband’s expedition films.
She, along with Pat Hitchcock, Judith MacDougall, Patsy Asch, Halle Linker and Mabel Preloran – all the “better half” of wife and husband filmmaker teams represented in the Human Studies Film Archives made valuable but often under-acknowledged contributions to their husbands’ productions. Not content with making sandwiches and massaging feet, these women were active both in the field and in post-production. They recorded sound, shot film, edited, wrote, narrated, co-hosted, and co-directed.

Daisy Njoku - Human Studies Film Archives

1 comment:

  1. Just like so many other women in so many other fields....it's wonderful that the Smithsonian has these rich collections so that history can rewrite itself, with the wives this time!

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