A deliciously mischievous collection of silent shorts that celebrate women creating mayhem, these 11 films from the UK, USA and France feature some of the earliest rebel women to take to the silver screen. Sharply comedic and delightfully entertaining, this is a raucous uprising of women who wreck their homes, bring tyranny upon their spouses and wage revolution in the streets.
Queens of Destruction is the first film in Kino Lorber’s four-feature presentation Cinema’s First Nasty Women. The full collection is a deep dive into feminist protest, slapstick destruction and gender play, including 99 European and American films sourced from 13 international film archives and libraries.
Despite being produced between 1898 to 1926, the films speak to contemporary feminism, spotlighting women who refuse to be boxed in and exploring and dismantling gender norms in a way that’s both rebellious and playful.
Curated by Maggie Hennefeld, Laura Horak, and Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi, and produced for video by Bret Wood, Cinema’s First Nasty Women is a partnership of Kino Lorber, Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, Women Film Pioneers Project, Eye Filmmuseum, FIC-Silente, and Carleton University.
We’re delighted to announce the in-person screening of this programme at BFI Southbank will be accompanied by pianist Lillian Henley.
