Hollywood has seen the number of camerawomen quadruple in the past 15 years. Women Behind the Camera is the first book to offer an in-depth look at the lives of camerawomen and their struggles to succeed in a male-dominated field. Krasilovsky presents interviews with 23 camerawomen, most of whom are pioneers in Hollywood and whose experiences cover the full range of the Camera Department.

The camerawomen interviewed include all four women Directors of Photography who have achieved membership in the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers, one of the first female camera assistants to work at the BBC, camerawomen who worked on Star Trek VI and Terminator 2, and a full range of documentary, experimental, and video camerawomen. These pioneering women, who have filmed in war zones, on mountain peaks, underwater, and on Hollywood sets, discuss their influences, goals, and experiences with directors and stars, and the art of cinematography.

About the Author

ALEXIS KRASILOVSKY is a Professor at California State University, Northridge, where she teaches screenwriting and film production. Her films, videos, and holograms include End of the Art World, starring Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenber, and Epicenter U., a film about surviving the Northridge Earthquake. Krasilovsky is also the author of several poetry collections, including Some Women Writers Kill Themselves.

Review 

"Krasilovsky's interviews with 23 camerawomen provide a useful, informal history of a very recent phenomenon.... These conversations document women's struggle for acceptance by exploring the work lives of women who have taken on roles ranging from camera assistant to experimental filmmaker and director of photography.... All of the interviews are deeply engaging and well presented.... All academic and professional collections."-Choice