Paris was a woman

Documentary about the artistic lives of women living in Paris in the 1910s and 20s, when Modernism was raging and the early days of feminism were being experienced. This work centres in part on the personal relationship between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas - two women, who with their circle of literary friends, revelled in the artistic life of the city and the expanding opportunities for women. Several bookshops owned by women became a part of the rich cultural life of Paris, in particular Shakespeare and Co., run by Sylvia Beach. Beach pioneered modernist writing and championed a literary career for struggling artists such as Hemmingway and James Joyce. Contemporaries of the period discuss the milieu of the times in fascinating interviews, intercut with archival footage, home movies and stills. Includes discussion on authors Colette and Djuna Barnes; dancer Josephine Baker; painters Romaine Brooks and Marie Laurencin; photographers Bernice Abbott and Gisele Freund; publisher and bookseller Adrienne Monnier; and journalist Janet Flanner, among others. With occasional English subtitles.