March 10 / Proposed
The Women (1939)
An ensemble adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce’s play, with a screenplay by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin.
Fort Lee Film Commission / Cultural programming + preservation advocacy
Saving Yesterday’s Films
for Today’s Filmgoer
and Tomorrow’s Filmmaker
Connecting New Jersey’s filmmaking past with audiences, communities, and the filmmakers who carry its story forward.
PracticeCultural programming
Film history + preservation advocacy
Film history + preservation advocacy
Christina’s contributionsProgram development · Symposium moderation
Preservation liaison · Writing · Podcast production
Preservation liaison · Writing · Podcast production
ConnectionsFort Lee Film Commission
NYWIFT · Women in Film & Television International
NYWIFT · Women in Film & Television International
The preservation community / From Christina’s 2005 writing
Film passion
with a public purpose
At the Commission’s final meeting of 2005, plans for outdoor summer screenings became a lively exchange of film knowledge, suggestions, and inside jokes—followed by more conversation at the local diner.
Christina’s account captures a volunteer community committed to identifying early films, recognizing Fort Lee locations, and finding the resources to restore its filmmaking heritage.
“All volunteer their time and expertise in the preservation of Fort Lee’s historic filmmaking past”
From Christina Kotlar’s supplied writing on the Fort Lee Film Commission
Preservation liaison
As managing editor of Film Festival Reporter, Christina assisted the Commission with restoration projects and served as liaison with New York Women in Film & Television, connecting preservation work with women’s filmmaking history.
Women’s film history / Programming + public dialogue
Reel Jersey Girls
Programming brought women’s filmmaking into public view through screenings, symposia, and conversations that connected early cinema with contemporary work.
The Reel Jersey Girls symposium placed Alice Guy Blaché within a century of women in film. Related work included Women’s Film History Month, the Asian American Film Series, and the Fort Lee Foreign Film Series.
Christina’s contributions connected program development, writing, filmmaker engagement, and audience conversation.
Programming archive / A proposed March screening series
Build a conversation across generations
Christina’s planning notes connect ensemble storytelling, women directors, independent filmmaking, and changing representations of women. These selections document a proposed program; a possible Mary Harron Q&A was an invitation idea.
March 17 / Proposed
The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)
Directed by Mary Harron and written by Harron and Guinevere Turner. Planning included the possibility of a filmmaker Q&A.
March 24 / Proposed
Crazy in Love (1992)
Martha Coolidge’s film, featuring Holly Hunter, Gena Rowlands, and Frances McDormand, placed a woman director’s work within the series.
March 31 / Proposed
Real Women Have Curves (2002)
Patricia Cardoso’s film brought generational and cultural boundaries into the programming conversation.
Alice Guy Blaché / Research + recognition + advocacy
Keep a cinema pioneer
in the conversation
Christina’s Alice Guy Blaché work connects historical research with public programs, preservation advocacy, and recognition of women’s contributions to filmmaking.
Her October 2011 account documents a Fort Lee symposium she moderated, bringing together film historian Richard Kozarski, filmmaker Marquise Lepage, and Women in Film & Television International colleagues Kimberly Skyrme and Janet Davidson. A screening of Algie the Miner followed, with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Barker.
The account also follows the next evening’s Directors Guild of America recognition of Alice Guy Blaché and Martin Scorsese’s tribute—connecting the Fort Lee gathering with a wider industry conversation.
Maryrest / Remembrance + historical recognition
A place in film history
A place to remember
Visits to Alice Guy Blaché’s gravesite at Maryrest Cemetery connected research and advocacy with personal remembrance. Christina’s photographs preserve the gatherings, flowers, and marker that make that history visible.
Professional community / Local work + wider connections
Bring people
and film history together
Work with the Commission extended through festival direction, filmmaker conversations, and representation at Cannes and Sundance. Christina’s Women in Film connections brought additional perspectives into Fort Lee’s programs.
History through recorded conversation
Christina and Yuri produced twelve Fort Lee Film Commission podcast episodes in 2017–2018, extending the Commission’s stories into an audio archive.
