Freude (Florence) Bartlett (1942 – November 9, 2009) also known as Freude Solomon-Bartlett, was an American

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

director and founder of the Serious Business Company, a San Francisco-based film sales and film distribution company known for its collection of avant-garde, animation and women's films.

Early years

Born in New York, Bartlett attended

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

and earned a degree in Information Sciences at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Career

Bartlett started the company in 1972. She felt strongly about making experimental and women-made films more accessible and would often travel with curated film programs to educate the public about film and earn money for the artists she represented. The Serious Business Company distributed work made by Tom DeWitt,

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, George Griffin,

Shirley Clarke Shirley Clarke (née Brimberg; October 2, 1919 – September 23, 1997) was an American filmmaker. Life Born Shirley Brimberg in New York City, she was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother w ...

, Kathy Rose and Robert Nelson, as well as many other artists. The company closed in 1983. In 1985 she founded Metropolis Media, a communications firm.

Personal life

She married filmmaker Scott Bartlett in 1969. She had a daughter, Stevias Solomon and a son Elon Bartlett. She died in Oakland, California.

Films

Prior to starting the Serious Business Company, Bartlett made lyrical autobiographical films that explored the connection between animals and humans and employed formal devises like superimposition and dissolves. Her films screened at

Film Forum Film Forum is a nonprofit movie theater at 209 West Houston Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. It began in 1970 as an alternative screening space for independent films, with 50 folding chairs, one projector and a $19,000 annual budget. Ka ...

, Toronto International Women & Film Festival,

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

, and several International Women's Film Festivals. *''Folly'' (1972) color; 3 min. *''One & The Same'' (with

) (1972–73) color; 4 min. *''My Life In Art'' (1968–74) color; 36 min. *''Promise Her Anything But Give Her The Kitchen Sink'' (1968) color; 3 min. *''Shooting Star'' (1970) color; 5 min. *''Standup And Be Counted'' (with Scott Bartlett) (1969) color; 3 min. *''Sweet Dreams'' (1970) color; 3 min. *''Women and Children At Large'' (1972) color; 7 min. *''Red Heads on Parade'' (1974)

References

External links

Finding Aid to the Serious Business Company Records, 1965-1983, bulk 1972-1983, Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Freude 1942 births 2009 deaths American women film directors University of California, Berkeley School of Information alumni San Francisco State University alumni 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 21st-century American women