Vlasta Lah

Vlasta Giulia Lah Rocchi (January 13, 1913 – July 12, 1978), known professionally as Vlasta Lah, was the first woman director of sound films in Argentine cinema, as well as the only woman filmmaker in Latin America in the 1960s. Before her, the only women filmmakers in the country worked during the silent era in the 1910s and early 1920s, before the industrial development of Argentine cinema. Lah was born in Pula, then part of Austria-Hungary, and emigrated to Buenos Aires around 1930 with her husband and fellow filmmaker Catrano Catrani. She worked extensively as an assistant director for the film studio Estudios San Miguel, in films by renowned directors of the time. In 1960, she made her directorial debut with Las furias, which was followed by her final film Las modelos in 1963. Little is known of Lah's life and her figure had already been largely forgotten at the time of her death, although in recent years her figure has been rescued by critics and historians. Life and career Vlasta Giulia Lah Rocchi was born on January 13, 1913, in Pula, then part of Austria-Hungary. Around 1930, she moved to Rome and enrolled at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia to study acting but later switching to film directing. In 1938, Lah married her colleague Catrano Catrani and they emigrated to Buenos Aires, where they pursued a career in the Argentine film industry, which at that time was going through its "Golden Age".