The first ever film major at the Rhode Island School of Design, the first female president of the Directors Guild of America, and the first to cast Nicolas Cage as a lead in a feature film, the legendary Martha Coolidge will be joining the American Cinematheque in-person for another iconic first: our first retrospective devoted to her work as a trailblazing filmmaker.

Films include: Not A Pretty Picture, Valley Girl, Real Genius, Angie, Lost In Yonkers, Rambling Rose, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, The Prince And Me And Out To Sea

RAMBLING ROSE, 1991, Dir. Martha Coolidge, 112 Min, Rialto Pictures, USA

Laura Dern and Diane Ladd, daughter and mother in real life, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, making them the first mother-daughter duo to be nominated for Academy Awards for the same film or in the same year. The film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film, and Martha Coolidge won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director.

FORMAT: 35mm

INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE, 1999, Dir. Martha Coolidge, 115 Min, HBO Films, USA

Coolidge branches out into musical territory with INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE, but her subject, the true story of the first black woman to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, only deepens her existing commitment to portraying American women in all of their imperfect glory. Join us for a Q&A with Martha Coolidge in person to discuss these fascinating leading ladies.

FORMAT: 35mm

Cost: $8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)