In this episode, Rachel Pronger of the Invisible Women film collective brings us the story of iconoclastic Czech film multi-talent Ester Krumbachová. Ester was a screen writer, costume and stage designer, author, and film director. Her work was quirky, colorful, and political, lashing out at patriarchy and authoritarianism. She had a defining influence on Czech New Wave cinema, collaborating on more than twenty movies from the early 1960s on, including the delightful Daisies and the perplexing Murdering the Devil. Her involvement in the satire A Report on the Party and Guests meant she was blacklisted from working in film by the Czechoslovakian communist party during much of the 1980s. She worked under pseudonyms, painted and made jewelry, returning to the film industry in the 1990s.

DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire joins producer/host Susan Stone to set the scene.

See some clips of Ester's work and get more info on our episode notes page

Find out more about the Invisible Women film collective here

Find out more about Rachel Pronger here

For more about Ester, click here

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Don’t forget we have a Patreon! This month, Katy and Susan are chatting about a woman who might have been one of the first wellness influencers, medieval German nun Hildegard von Bingen. You can join up for as little as $2 or 2 euros a month and enjoy our full archive of special features, and our eternal gratitude.

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Our theme music is “Little Lily Swing” by Tri-Tachyon. Thanks for listening! We’ll be back with a new episode next month.

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The Dead Ladies Show is a series of entertaining and inspiring talks about women who achieved amazing things against all odds, presented live in Berlin and beyond. This podcast is based on that series. Because women's history is everyone's history.

The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire.

The podcast is created, produced, edited, and presented by Susan Stone.