Who is She? 12 – Hermanas Ehlers

Who is She? 12 – Hermanas Ehlers

Adriana and Dolores Ehlers were sisters who were pioneering women in filmmaking. They lived from 1894-1977 and were from Veracruz Mexico. They were working class girls who started their own portrait studio of photography after one of the sisters learned the process of shooting and developing film. They were then given a grant by President Carranza to study photography in the United States in 1916. After they learned more about photography, they were given a chance to learn filmmaking through a program with eh US army which was making instructional videos for soldiers. Upon their return to Mexico they set up shop to shoot again and were brought onto the Mexican government as part of the Cinematography and censorship department. The sisters made several films about Mexico and were involved in directing, camera operation, film development, production, and sales and instruction of film equipment. The sisters would make short news reel films about current events happening in Mexico and they also sold a lot of film and camera equipment. They were pioneering women in Mexico and film.

sources: The Women in Film Pioneers Project (site), CineMexicano (site)