Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy−Blaché
Directed byPamela B. Green
Written by
  • Pamela B. Green
  • Joan Simon
Produced byPamela B. Green
Narrated byJodie Foster
CinematographyBoubkar Benzabat
Edited byPamela B. Green
Music byPeter G. Adams
Production
company
Be Natural Productions
Distributed byZeitgeist Films
Release dates
  • May 11, 2018 (2018-05-11) (Cannes)
  • April 19, 2019 (2019-04-19) (Theatrical release)
Running time
120 minutes, (original cut)
103 minutes (final cut)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$206,903

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché is a 2018 documentary about the first female filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché, directed by Pamela B. Green. It was screened out of competition at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival in the Cannes Classics category. It was nominated for the festival's L'Œil d'or documentary prize. Be Natural went on to screen at Telluride, Deauville American Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and London BFI Film Festival.

Synopsis

Narrated by Jodie Foster, Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché is a two-hour feature documentary investigating the full scope of the life and work of cinema's first female director, screenwriter, producer, and studio owner Alice Guy-Blaché.

Production

The project was launched with a successful Kickstarter campaign, which prompted other crowdfunding opportunities.

Critical response

Reviews for the version of the film screened at Cannes were generally positive, with Deadline's Pete Hammond claiming it to be perhaps "The Best (And Least-Seen) Film in Cannes." Overall, critics positively reviewed the film. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 96% approval rating based on 92 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché aims an overdue spotlight on a cinematic innovator's career, with the added benefit of absorbing historical context." Reviewing for The Hollywood Reporter, Leslie Felperin considered that Be Natural "represents a timely contribution to the international conversation about the challenges facing women filmmakers while also boosting the reputation of someone who really should be better known by now as a role model. As a teaching and consciousness-raising tool, it will be an indispensable resource." A. O. Scott for The New York Times wrote, "Be Natural is inspiring because it is also appalling."

In a less positive review, Jay Weissberg wrote in Variety: "there's that title, The Untold Story, which ignores a number of earlier documentaries not to mention the significant amount of scholarship on pioneering filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché. ... These are what can be called inconvenient truths, for Pamela B. Green, director of Be Natural, is on a mission to discover why—supposedly—no one has ever heard of Alice Guy-Blaché."

Be Natural premiered in the UK on January 17, 2020. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film a 4 out of 5 star rating, calling it a "fascinating documentary." He also picked Be Natural as one of his 10 best documentaries of 2020. Gaby Wood of The Telegraph gave a positive review, calling it "gripping and poetic." Danny Leigh of The Financial Times also gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "With timing both flawless and bleak, few films arrive feeling so vital as Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché." In December, the film was named one of the 50 Best Films of 2020 in the UK by The Guardian. The Guardian chief film critic Peter Bradshaw picked the film as one of his 10 favorite documentaries of 2020.

Be Natural premiered in France on June 22, 2020. Véronique Cauhapé of Le Monde gave the film 4 out of 5 stars.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2018 Cannes Film Festival L'Oeil D'Or Documentary Nominated
ADC Merit Award Motion / Film Craft Won
2019 Clio Entertainment Award Silver Prize Best Audio-Visual Technique in Motion Graphics Won
Clio Entertainment Award Grand Prize Best Audio/Visual Technique in Motion Graphics Nominated
Critics' Choice Award Best First Documentary Feature for Be Natural Nominated
2020 Bangkok International Documentary Awards Best Feature Documentary Won
AEAF Awards Best Title / Opener Nominated
Monadnock International Film Festival Best Documentary Feature Won
FOCAL International Film Festival Best Use of Footage in a Cinematic Feature for Be Natural

Jane Mercer Researcher of the Year Award for Be Natural

Won
Best Use of Footage in an Arts Production for Be Natural

Best Use of Footage in a History Feature for Be Natural

Student Jury Award for Be Natural

Nominated
International Filmmor Women's Film Festival Audience Award Best Documentary Nominated
Vancouver International Women in Film Festival Best Documentary Won
Split International Festival of New Film Best Documentary Nominated
2021 News and Documentary Emmy Awards Outstanding Research: Documentary Nominated
Peabody Awards Arts Nominated

References

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  11. ^ Weissberg, Jay (31 May 2018). "Film Review: 'Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché'". variety.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  12. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (2020-01-15). "Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché review – paean to a movie pioneer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
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  14. ^ Wood, Gaby (2020-01-17). "How we forgot Alice Guy-Blaché, cinema's first female director". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  15. ^ Leigh, Danny (January 15, 2020). "Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché - a woman who reshaped cinema". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2020-01-16.
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  18. ^ "" Be Natural, l'histoire cachée d'Alice Guy-Blaché " : hommage à une pionnière oubliée du cinéma". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
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