Paris Was a Woman

Director: Greta Schiller
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Film Info

  • Year: 1996
  • Origin: UK
  • Runtime: 75
  • Color and B&W
Educational Orders Open Showings

NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM INDIE COLLECT COMING TO THEATERS OCTOBER 2026

A film portrait of the creative community of women writers, artists, photographers and editors (including Colette, Djuna Barnes, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas) who flocked to the Left Bank of Paris in the early decades of the 20th century. Utilizing groundbreaking research and newly discovered home movies, Paris Was a Woman re-creates the mood and flavor of this female artistic community in Paris during its most magical era.

PARIS WAS A WOMAN is a Zeitgeist Films release and will open at the Metrograph in New York on October 16. To book this film please contact Nancy Gerstman or Emily Russo.

A press kit, trailer, stills, jpegs of the poster and social media assets will be available to download from our Exhibition DropBox. (Please note: when you click on any item to download you can ignore the login request and click on "Continue to download only.")

Greta Schiller

Greta Schiller is an internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker and co-founder of Jezebel Productions. Since 1984 she has produced roughly two dozen films, unearthing lost histories of marginalized groups and writing them into the cultural narrative. Her work includes international favorites such as: Before Stonewall (1984 Emmy Award, 2019 National Film Registry), International Sweethearts of Rhythm (PBS, 1986 Best Doc, Philadelphia Film Festival), Paris Was a Woman (1995 Audience Award Winner, Berlinale), The Man Who Drove with Mandela (PBS, 1998 Best Documentary at Berlinale), and most recently, The Five Demands (PBS, 2023). Her films have screened at the most prestigious international film festivals over the last 35 years, making her one of the most respected, longest-producing independent filmmakers of her generation.

An awardee of two Fulbright Fellowships: the first ever US/UK Fulbright Arts Fellowship in Film in 1989-90, and a Global Fulbright Award in 2016. Greta’s films have been funded by PBS, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Eurimage, VPRO, ARTE, Channel Four UK, South African Arts Council, London Production Fund, European Media Fund and The Arts Council of England.

“It's enough to make you leave your spouse and move to Paris!” – , Time Out New York
“Time travel to golden ages doesn't exist, but documentaries like Paris Was a Woman—with their interviews, home movies, archival film and photographs—are the next best thing.” – Lawrence Van Gelder, The New York Times
“The documentary director Greta Schiller’s examination of Paris modernism gives this world of literary salons and unconventional bookshops a surprising amount of verve. Giants like Picasso, Joyce, Janet Flanner, Djuna Barnes, and Gertrude Stein come across as positively fun-loving, and Paris blooms like a rose.” – , The New Yorker

Photos

Paris Was a Woman. A film by Greta Schiller. A Zeitgeist Films release. Paris Was a Woman. A film by Greta Schiller. A Zeitgeist Films release.
Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier photographed by Gisele Freund. As seen in Paris Was a Woman. A film by Greta Schiller. A Zeitgeist Films release. Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier photographed by Gisele Freund. As seen in Paris Was a Woman. A film by Greta Schiller. A Zeitgeist Films release.
Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas. As seen in Paris Was a Woman. A film by Greta Schiller. A Zeitgeist Films release. Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas. As seen in Paris Was a Woman. A film by Greta Schiller. A Zeitgeist Films release.
Adrienne Monnier photographed by Gisele Freund. As seen in Paris Was a Woman. A film by Greta Schiller. A Zeitgeist Films release. Adrienne Monnier photographed by Gisele Freund. As seen in Paris Was a Woman. A film by Greta Schiller. A Zeitgeist Films release.
Janet Flanner. As seen in Paris Was a Woman. A film by Greta Schiller. A Zeitgeist Films release. Janet Flanner. As seen in Paris Was a Woman. A film by Greta Schiller. A Zeitgeist Films release.

Trailer

Playdates

Venue City State Date
The Metrograph New York NY STARTS OCTOBER 16!
Hollywood Theater Portland OR DEC 10 ONLY!