Cecile Starr

Cecile Starr (July 14, 1921 – December 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, educator and author who taught and wrote about moving pictures.

She was born in Nashville, Tennessee. They had two children.

She was a founder and co-director of the Women's Independent Film Exchange.

In 2015, the New York Public Library hosted a tribute event in honor of her work.

Early life and education Starr was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated from Louisiana State University in 1941 with a B.A. in Romance Languages. In 1952, Starr graduated from the Columbia University's Teacher College with a Masters in Adult Education. She worked in Columbia's graduate film department teaching film history and criticism from 1955 to 1961.

Career During World War II, Starr worked at the Australian News and Information Bureau, which was associated during that time with the Office of War Information.

Starting in 1949, Starr began working for the Saturday Review of Literature where she wrote film reviews.

From 1955 to 1961, Starr worked in Columbia's graduate film department teaching film history.

Starr was a contributing writer for Sight and Sound, a British film magazine, Film Quarterly and Filmmakers Newsletters. Her writing has contributed to bringing attention to women pioneers in filmmaking, such as Erica Anderson, Lee Burgess, Frances Flaherty, Helen Grayson, Osa Johnson, and Helen Levitt.

Writings Experimental Animation: Origins of a New Art (1968), co-authored with Robert Russett Ideas on Film: A Handbook for the 16mm Film User (1971) Discovering the Movies: An Illustrated Introduction to the Moving Image (1972) "American Women: Early Filmmakers", Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film (2006)

Filmography Rembrandt and the Bible (1967) Islamic Carpets (1970) Fellow Citizen: A. Lincoln (1972) Richter on Film (1972)