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Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blach
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Wikipedia article
'Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blach' is a 2018 documentary about the first female filmmaker Alice Guy-Blach, directed by Pamela B. Green. It was screened out of competition at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival in the Cannes Classics category. It was nominated for the festival's L'il d'or documentary prize. 'Be Natural' went on to screen at Telluride, Deauville American Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and London BFI Film Festival.
Synopsis
Narrated by Jodie Foster, 'Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blach' is a two-hour feature documentary investigating the full scope of the life and work of cinema's first female director, screenwriter, producer, and studio owner Alice Guy-Blach.
Production
The project was launched with a successful Kickstarter campaign, which prompted other crowdfunding opportunities.
Critical response
Reviews for the version of the film screened at Cannes were generally positive, with 'Deadline's Pete Hammond claiming it to be perhaps "The Best (And Least-Seen) Film in Cannes." Overall, critics positively reviewed the film. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds approval rating based on reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "'Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blach' aims an overdue spotlight on a cinematic innovator's career, with the added benefit of absorbing historical context." Reviewing for 'The Hollywood Reporter', Leslie Felperin considered that 'Be Natural' "represents a timely contribution to the international conversation about the challenges facing women filmmakers while also boosting the reputation of someone who really should be better known by now as a role model. As a teaching and consciousness-raising tool, it will be an indispensable resource." A. O. Scott for 'The New York Times' wrote, "'Be Natural' is inspiring because it is also appalling."
In a less positive review, Jay Weissberg wrote in 'Variety': "there's that title, 'The Untold Story', which ignores a number of earlier documentaries not to mention the significant amount of scholarship on pioneering filmmaker Alice Guy-Blach. ... These are what can be called inconvenient truths, for Pamela B. Green, director of 'Be Natural', is on a mission to discover whysupposedlyno one has ever heard of Alice Guy-Blach."
'Be Natural' premiered in the UK on January 17, 2020. Peter Bradshaw of 'The Guardian' gave the film a 4 out of 5 star rating, calling it a "fascinating documentary." He also picked 'Be Natural' as one of his 10 best documentaries of 2020. Gaby Wood of 'The Telegraph' gave a positive review, calling it "gripping and poetic." Danny Leigh of The 'Financial Times' also gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "With timing both flawless and bleak, few films arrive feeling so vital as 'Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blach.'" In December, the film was named one of the 50 Best Films of 2020 in the UK by 'The Guardian'. 'The Guardian' chief film critic Peter Bradshaw picked the film as one of his 10 favorite documentaries of 2020.
'Be Natural' premiered in France on June 22, 2020. Vronique Cauhap of 'Le Monde' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars.
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Result
!
|-
| rowspan="2" |2018
|Cannes Film Festival L'Oeil D'Or
|Documentary
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|ADC Merit Award
|Motion / Film Craft
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|-
| rowspan="3" |2019
|Clio Entertainment Award Silver Prize
|Best Audio-Visual Technique in Motion Graphics
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|Clio Entertainment Award Grand Prize
|Best Audio/Visual Technique in Motion Graphics
|
|
|-
|Critics' Choice Award
|Best First Documentary Feature for 'Be Natural'
|
|
|-
| rowspan="8" |2020
|Bangkok International Documentary Awards
|Best Feature Documentary
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|AEAF Awards
|Best Title / Opener
|
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|Monadnock International Film Festival
|Best Documentary Feature
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |FOCAL International Film Festival
|Best Use of Footage in a Cinematic Feature for 'Be Natural'
Jane Mercer Researcher of the Year Award for 'Be Natural'
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|Best Use of Footage in an Arts Production for 'Be Natural'
Best Use of Footage in a History Feature for 'Be Natural'
Student Jury Award for 'Be Natural'
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|International Filmmor Women's Film Festival
|Audience Award Best Documentary
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|Vancouver International Women in Film Festival
|Best Documentary
|
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|Split International Festival of New Film
|Best Documentary
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| rowspan="2" |2021
|News and Documentary Emmy Awards
|Outstanding Research: Documentary
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|Peabody Awards
|Arts
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|}
References
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