Abstract: When Hélène Cixous coined the term écriture féminine (1976) to describe a way of writing outside traditional masculine styles, she engendered a pathway to challenge the hegemonic structural apparatuses within the fine arts that have dominated much of academic discourse and artistic production. In this essay, I propose we recognize a similar androcentric foundation in film studies and film production, and explore the structural possibilities for what I call cinéma féminine – a reimagining of “women’s work” like cooking, sewing, crafting, and quilting through new and innovative film practices. Using my first two film quilts c: won eyed jail (2005) and Athyrium Filix-Femina (For Anna Atkins) (2016) as examples, I suggest structuring and editing film using the patterns and visual language of quiltmaking rather than devices that come from western literary traditions. This shift offers new potentials for the analogue film medium – and the language of cinema – beyond the often chauvinistic framework that anchors the foundation of film history.
