Germaine Dulac (; born
Charlotte Elisabeth Germaine Saisset-Schneider; 17 November 1882 – 20 July 1942) was a French filmmaker,
film theorist, journalist and critic. She was born in Amiens and moved to Paris in early childhood. A few years after her marriage she embarked on a journalistic career in a
feminist magazine, and later became interested in film. With the help of her husband and friend she founded a film company and directed a few commercial works before slowly moving into
Impressionist and
Surrealist territory. She is best known today for her Impressionist film,
La Souriante Madame Beudet ("The Smiling Madam Beudet", 1922/23), and her Surrealist experiment,
La Coquille et le Clergyman ("The Seashell and the Clergyman", 1928). Her career as filmmaker suffered after the introduction of sound film and she spent the last decade of her life working on newsreels for
Pathé and
Gaumont.