Decoration, Discrimination and “the mysteries of Cinema”: Women and Film Exhibition in Sweden 1896-1930

This essay will look at the role of women in Swedish film exhibition from the early days of ambulating film exhibition and into the age of movie palaces. Although protocols from film exhibitors’ meetings and reports in film journals show that cinema-owners and film exhibitors were male-dominated professions in early 20th century Sweden, provisional archival research suggests that a large number of women were also involved in running cinemas in the silent era. The work of these women pioneers will be placed in a social and economic context, shedding light on how film exhibition culture in Sweden developed in relation to international events as well as specific local factors, such as the early introduction of state censorship in 1911.