Johanna Alemann

Johanna Alemann is believed to be the first solo woman filmmaker specializing in making academic films in North America. Born near Berlin in Woltersdorf, Germany on July 11, 1923, Alemann had U.S. citizenship from birth due to the fact that her father was from the United States. She had no training in filmmaking when she bought a 16mm camera for a trip to Berlin, but returned with footage, which she made into her first film, Berlin, Outpost of Freedom (1959). She showed her film to Ann (?) Landers of Landers Film Reviews, and received a glowing review, which resulted in her film being acquired by school film libraries. She soon became friends with Southern California academic filmmakers Michael Hagopian and Thomas Stanton, and recalls their conversations around how many contemporary educational films were nothing more than "nuts and bolts" material, and that they wanted to make a more interesting, insightful film for students and teachers. She began her company Alemann Films in Los Angeles, and produced roughly one film per year. Foe a period of ten years, she supported her filmmaking efforts by working a 40 hour shift as an X-ray technician during weekends.

Alemann's filmmaking philosophy was to approach an idea "clearly, logically, and with good understanding " of the subject matter. She remembers taking her idea of making a film on Rococo art to one school district, who told her that the film would have limited appeal. After making the film, the same district ultimately bought ten copies of it, and it became a successful film for her, from a financial perspective. Her best selling films were in Alemann's History Through Art series, and Art Portrays a Changing World: Gothic to Early Renaissance (1963) is her personal favorite. In 1980, she wrote a book espousing her philosophy on the art of making choices, The Pendulum of Choice (1980). She now lives in a small town in Oregon.

Filmography

We are attempting to complete a full filmography of Johanna Alemann's work. The filmography below is considered incomplete. If you are aware of other Alemann films, please contact us.

Berlin: Outpost of Freedom (1959)

History Through Art series

Age of the Rococo, The (1964)
Art Portrays a Changing World: Gothic to Early Renaissance (1963)
Democracy of Ancient Greece:- The Age of Excellence (1966)
Europe in Transition: The Late Middle Ages (1963)
Recognition of Man: The Renaissance (1968)
Twentieth Century Art: A Break with Tradition (1965)
Vanishing Heritage (1971) Describes on-American influences on U.S. Architecture.

Changing Environment USA series

From the Desert to the Sea (1971) Describes how pollution endangers the natural environment.
Modern Identity, A (1971) Describes how American architecture is defining a new identity.
Place of Belonging, A (1972) Describes different forms of beauty to be found in cities, and discusses their social value.

Miscellaneous other films

Color in Art: Rules of Harmony (1965) Filmmaker Guy D. Haselton made a film called "Color in Nature" that Johanna Alemann edited. She then decided to make this film edited from unused Haselton footage. Alemann Films distributed both of them as a pair.
Learning to Spell and Learning It Well (1975) For young learners.

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