As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s the perfect time to recognize the groundbreaking women who have shaped our world– often against all odds. One name that deserves more attention is Lois Weber, America’s first female film director.

Born in 1881 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Weber entered the film industry at a time when women were expected to be in front of the camera, not behind it. But she had bigger plans. She wasn’t content playing a supporting role in someone else’s story– she wanted to tell her own. And she did. By the 1910s, she was one of the most successful directors of the silent film era, even becoming one of the highest-paid filmmakers in Hollywood by 1917.

But Weber wasn’t just about success– she was about impact. At a time when many of her male counterparts stuck to safe, marketable stories, Weber took risks. She made films about issues that mattered– poverty, birth control, abortion, and women’s rights– topics that were considered taboo in early 20th-century America. Her film Where Are My Children? (1916) was one of the earliest films to openly discuss birth control, and The Blot (1921) confronted class inequality head-on. She didn’t just make movies, she made statements. She understood that film wasn’t just about storytelling; it was also about social change. Coming from a working-class background, Weber had a deep understanding of struggle, and she used her films to shed light on issues that others ignored. She was a master at including activism in her storytelling, and she proved that film could be more than just entertainment– it could be a tool for progress.

And she wasn’t just ahead of her time in subject matter. Technically, Weber was an innovator. She experimented with close-ups, slow motion, and symbolic imagery– techniques that made her films more immersive. Today, those same techniques are standard in filmmaking, but back then, they were groundbreaking.

But as with many women who broke barriers in history, Lois Weber’s success didn’t last forever. When sound films, or “talkies,” came into vogue in the late 1920s, the industry shifted, and many of the women who had found success in silent films were pushed to the sidelines. The male-dominated world of filmmaking during the rise of sound cinema favored directors with technical expertise in the new technology, and unfortunately, Lois’s career was one of the casualties of this transition. Though she continued to work in film for a time, her name faded from the public eye as Hollywood became a boys’ club once again.

But here’s the thing: just because the industry ignored her doesn’t mean her impact wasn’t real. Lois Weber’s contributions to cinema were monumental. She proved that women didn’t just belong in filmmaking– they had something essential to say.

That’s what brings us to a crucial discussion: how female filmmakers bring something different to the table. They tell stories with a depth and nuance that male filmmakers often don’t– or literally can’t. For so long, the film industry has been dominated by male voices, shaping the way stories are told and which perspectives get the spotlight. But when women step behind the camera, everything shifts. The stories become more reflective of the full human experience.

One of the biggest differences? How women portray relationships. Too often, mainstream movies reduce female characters to love interests, sidekicks, or plot devices to move a male protagonist’s story forward. But when women are the ones telling the story, female characters become fully realized people, with their own ambitions, flaws, and complexities. Female directors capture the rawness of relationships– between friends, mothers and daughters, sisters, partners– in ways that feel real.

And then there’s the issue of stereotypes. Hollywood has a long history of boxing women into rigid, one-dimensional roles: the damsel in distress, the nagging wife, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, the femme fatale. These characters don’t feel real because they were never meant to be. But when women are behind the camera, they rewrite those narratives. They give us female leads who are messy, strong, vulnerable, ambitious, unsure, and powerful – all at the same time. They create characters that reflect the actual realities of being a woman, rather than relying on tired clichés.

And it’s not just about what’s on screen, it’s about who’s making the decisions behind the scenes. When women direct, they’re more likely to hire female writers, cinematographers, editors, and producers. They create opportunities for other women, opening doors that have been shut for too long. It’s a ripple effect that changes the entire industry.

The truth is, representation in film matters– not just in who we see on screen but in who’s shaping the story. Movies influence how we see ourselves and how we understand the world. When women are sidelined in filmmaking, we lose half of the perspectives that make up the human experience. And that doesn’t just hurt women, it limits storytelling as a whole.

Female perspectives don’t just add variety to cinema; they make it better. They challenge traditional storytelling and push the industry forward. Think about how Greta Gerwig redefined coming-of-age stories with Lady Bird or how Ava DuVernay reshaped historical narratives in Selma. Women filmmakers aren’t just participating in the industry, they’re transforming it!

For too long, Hollywood has treated male-driven stories as “universal” and female-driven stories as “niche.” But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Women’s stories aren’t a special interest– they’re half of the human experience. And when we ignore them, we not only exclude women, but also limit the potential of film itself.

Lois Weber knew this over a century ago. She proved that women didn’t just belong in film– they had something vital to contribute. She was proof that when women tell stories, they don’t just make great movies, but they also shape the culture around them.

Her influence can be seen in every female filmmaker who’s come after her, from Agnès Varda to Chloé Zhao. And as more women continue to step behind the camera, they’re carrying forward the same creative and bold spirit that Weber embodied.

So this Women’s History Month, let’s remember Lois Weber– not just for what she accomplished in her time but for what she represents today. A reminder that women have always been an essential part of filmmaking and that their voices will only continue to shape the future of cinema.

Because when women tell stories, the world listens.