Members Screening

One of the most fascinating cultural figures of early 20th century France, Musidora started her creative career early—writing her first novel at fifteen and performing on stage with author Colette (Chéri, Gigi). She made her film debut in 1914 at the age of 24 and began a collaboration with film director Louis Feuillade the next year, starring in the wildly popular serial Les Vampires. Musidora’s character Irma Vep (an anagram of ‘vampire’) is the center of a criminal gang who carry out their nefarious deeds stylishly dressed in black hoods and leotards. Directors from Luis Buñuel to Olivier Assayas cite Les Vampires as an inspiration. The serial would also inspire Musidora, who went on to achieve success as a producer and director of her own films.

Unfortunately, most of her titles have been lost, so it was exciting to uncover elements for Pour Don Carlos and her later work Soleil et Ombre. In 2019, SFSFF, along with the Cinémathéque Française and the Cinémathéque Toulouse, completed a 4K restoration of the film. We’re delighted to now make it available to our members. Pour Don Carlos‘s story takes place in the Basque region of Spain during the late 19th-century when the civil war between the Carlists (supporters of Carlos VIII, pretender to the throne) and the republican government was at its height. Musidora plays the firebrand Allegria Detchart, the soul of the Carlist army. SFSFF members will be able to screen Pour Don Carlos today through September 5.

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