One of the early women pioneers in the Canadian film industry was May Watkis, a determined artist who never performed in front of the camera, but who blazed a trail for Canadian women in high-ranking positions behind the scenes. Having always wanted to work in show business, Watkis began exploring other possibilities when she soon learned she was not “a type, and would have little chance as an actress” according to article by Edith M. Cuppage in Maclean’s Magazine in 1921 (64). Undaunted, she began to look for film work in areas where few women had ever been employed

Terry, Mark

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Columbia University Academic Commons

by Mark TerryOne of the early women pioneers in the Canadian film industry was May Watkis, a determinedartist who never performed in front of the camera, but who blazed a trail for Canadian women inhigh-ranking positions behind the scenes. Having always wanted to work in show business,Watkis began exploring other possibilities when she soon learned she was not “a type, and wouldhave little chance as an actress” according to article by Edith M. Cuppage in Maclean’s Magazinein 1921 (64). Undaunted, she began to look for film work in areas where few women had ever beenemployed.When the province of British Columbia established a film censorship office in 1913, Watkisapplied for the position of film censor. The attorney-general gave the job to a man. Undeterredand determined, she went to the new censor and offered her services as his assistant. He hired herconditionally. The catch was she had to work as his projectionist (Morris 149). While this soundslike a modest learning assignment by today’s standards, it was virtually impossible to do in 1913when the projectionists’ union in BC and the state of Washington was all-male and refused toteach her. At a time when women did not have the right to vote in BC, learning a skill generallyconsidered to be exclusively “men’s work” was going to be a tall order. Watkis told Maclean’sMagazine in 1921, “having tried to learn by fair means, I was now determined to learn by anymeans at all” (64). The Maclean’s article reported that Watkis made friends with a localprojectionist and asked him to show her the ropes without explaining her motives. Watkisrecalled, “he really became quite interested in me, and under his tutelage I projected successfullyfor several shows…” (64).The new censor was suitably impressed and gave her the job of his assistant. The male unionmembers were quite upset at the prospect of losing one of “their” jobs to a woman and protestedagainst her appointment for more than a month, all to no avail (Morris 150). According to a letterLived:Unknown - UnknownWorked as:government film agency director, producer, projectionistWorked In:Canada, United StatesMay Watkisfrom censor C.L. Gordon, held in the Attorney-General Files at the BC Archives in Victoria, as aprojectionist in 1914, Watkis was paid one hundred dollars a year. This is the same salary as thethird assistant censor, and ten dollars more than the clerk. Two other assistant censors were paidannual salaries of one hundred and twenty-five dollars and the chief censor made one hundredand seventy-five dollars.Following this gender-breaking job assignment, Watkis worked as an inspector in the BC TheatresBranch, then in script departments in Hollywood, before returning to British Columbia andapplying for the job to run the newly-formed British Columbia Educational andPatriotic Film Service [referred to in some sources as the British Columbia Patriotic andEducational Picture Service. Eds.]. She got the job and became the organization’s first“directress,” a gendered term used throughout the 1921 Maclean’s article, whicheffectively foregrounds both her position of leadership as a government film agencydirector and her status as a woman. In 1919, the provincial film office in British Columbia adopted a mandate to foster economicdevelopment for Canadian industry and trade in addition to education. The British ColumbiaEducational and Patriotic Film Service was quite clear about the kinds of films it was to provide:“films…of a patriotic, instructive, educative, or entertaining nature; and, in particular…films…depicting the natural, industrial, agricultural or commercial resources, wealth, activities,development, and possibilities of the Dominion…” (Gasher 32-33). Particularly unique to theprovince’s desire to produce films about its industries and potential economic possibilities toforeign and domestic interests was its mandated quotas to BC’s movie theaters to show thesefilms. Under the department of the Attorney-General, a quota provision required BC movietheaters “to introduce each film program with fifteen minutes of films either produced by, orapproved by, the Picture Service” (Gasher 32). The quota represented “the first government filmunit in North America with statutory authority to compel the screening of its productions”(Gasher 33). This pioneering directive eliminated the need to engage British filmmakers who hadpreviously been able to guarantee exhibitions from England.This represents the first time the British Columbia government imposed content restrictions; apractice that was severely criticized (Gasher 32). Corporate opposition was incessant and it evenbecame a political issue in the 1920 provincial election. As a result, the fifteen-minute quota wasno longer enforced by 1924 (Gasher 33). But perhaps the most ground-breaking contribution toCanada’s emerging film industry made by the British Columbia Educational and Patriotic FilmService was its revolutionary hiring practices. As we have seen, the state-run film organizationwas the first one to hire a woman, Watkis, as its head.Always working on the outside of film production, Watkis finally realized her dream of beingdirectly involved in film production when she was credited as a producer on the 1920 filmBeautiful Ocean Falls, directed by R.J. Errington and produced by her British ColumbiaEducational and Patriotic Film Service. According to the entry on the film on the CanadianEducational, Sponsored and Industrial Film Archive website, Library and Archives Canadadescribes the silent black-and-white 35mm film as follows:A promotional film which stresses the industrial possibilities, the beauties, and theopportunities for enjoyment and recreation of this area. The principle scenes: powerdam with gate and wheelhouse at Ocean Falls; Link River Falls; new power house ofPacific Mills; board walk at Link Falls; Bridal Veil Falls; rocky canyon near TwinLakes; mountains near Ocean Falls; beach at Bella Bella; Temple Mountain; steamersailing up coast; lumber camp and new bungalow logging office; dinner at the lumbercamp; Twin Sister Mountains on Burk’s Channel; Dean Channel; wild flowers; CanyonFalls; new power house at Ocean Falls; Cave of the Winds; fishing at Halfway Falls;swinging footbridge over the falls; pleasure craft at “the island”; people swimming;and tour ship Tillicums with Mt. Baldy seen from the tour ship.Watkis’ time in the position as directress of the British Columbia Educational and Patriotic FilmService was short-lived, however. Her Vancouver office was closed just one year later when allfilm activities were brought under the Provincial Censor’s Department in Victoria in 1921,according to an article in The Victoria Times (1921, 13).It might be argued that the determination of Watkis and her subsequent appointments to male-dominated professions within the emerging Canadian film industry and within the government,opened the doors of the film industry to women across Canada, even if it was just a crack. PeterMorris points out that when Watkis was hired to serve as the censor’s assistant, women still didnot have the right to vote (149), but there exists little scholarly discourse directly relating theimpact of her gender-breaking appointment of running one of BC’s major government offices tothe emerging suffragette movement. It does, however, position the Canadian film industry and itsgovernment collaborator in the province of British Columbia as being one of the first male-dominated industries and government bodies willing to initiate social progress for women.There is very little documentation on May Watkis in the media and government archives at thistime. For example, further research needs to be done on her time in Hollywood, which is onlybriefly mentioned in the 1921 Maclean’s Magazine article. Her appointments to high-rankinggovernment positions were ground-breaking for women and would have merited journalisticinterest as being a newsworthy first, yet there appears to be very little information on her inboth The Victoria Times (a local BC newspaper) and Maclean’s Magazine (a national Canadiannews magazine), outside of a short profile on Watkis in the latter.Bibliography“Beautiful Ocean Falls.” The Canadian Educational, Sponsored and Industrial FilmArchive. http://www.screenculture.org/cesif/film/10255Cuppage, Edith M.” She Wasn't a 'Type,' so She Became a Directress." Maclean’s Magazine (1May 1921): 64.“Cut Down Film Service.” Victoria Times (19 December 1921): 13Gasher, Mike. Hollywood North: The Feature Film Industry in British Columbia. Vancouver:UBC Press, 2002.Morris, Peter. Embattled Shadows: A History of Canadian Cinema, 1895–1939. Montrealand Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1978.Archival Paper Collections:Letter from C.L. Gordon, Censor of Moving Pictures, to W.B. Colvin, Esq., Chief Clark,Department of Attorney General, May 11, 1914. Attorney-General Files, 4102-15-14. BritishColumbia Archives, Royal BC Museum.FilmographyA. Archival Filmography: Extant Film Titles:1. May Watkis as ProducerBeautiful Ocean Falls. Dir.: R.J. Errington. Prods.: May Watkis, British Columbia Educationaland Patriotic Film Service (Specialty Film Import, Canada 1920), si, b&w, 35mm, 791 ft. Archive:Library and Archives Canada [CAO].Credit ReportIt is not known who shot Beautiful Ocean Falls, but it is believed to have been A.D. Kean.According to Gasher,  the British Columbia Educational and Patriotic Film Service had more than100 titles in circulation, but Beautiful Ocean Falls is the only government-initiated film to havesurvived (33). As directress of the Film Service, Watkis may have been credited as a producer onother titles produced by her organization, but since none of them exist, Beautiful Ocean Fallsremains her only film credit.CitationTerry, Mark. "May Watkis." In Jane Gaines, Radha Vatsal, and Monica Dall’Asta, eds.Women Film Pioneers Project. New York, NY: Columbia University Libraries, 2016.<https://wfpp-test.cul.columbia.edu/pioneer/may-watkis/>

May Watkis

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