Serious Business: Freude and Feminist Film Distribution.

A filmmaker and trailblazing film distribution entrepreneur, Freude (1942–2009) became a central figure in the San Francisco Bay Area film community in the late 1960s and 1970s. Her Serious Business Company (1972–83) distributed many of the era's most acclaimed independent and experimental films, but its lasting impact created a platform for discovering lesser-known works. Freude's contributions to the experimental film and independent filmmaking communities remain largely unsung. This article will excite further investigation and recognition into Freude's important efforts to support California and national artist-made filmmaking movements as it examines her professional relationships and draws from interviews, correspondence, and ephemera from the Serious Business Company archives at the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. It also builds on recent efforts at BAMPFA and San Francisco State University's the Archive Project where authors Antonella Bonfanti and Tanya Zimbardo have recently been involved with public programs about Freude's legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]