"Women Aviators of the Silent Era, 1927-1929" March 30 will mark the debut of the USC Newsfilm Library's newly-preserved Movietone footage, which was the recipient of a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation.

"It's really wonderful footage," said Susan Courtney, English/film studies/women's studies. "In addition to silent footage, there's early sound footage--from the late 1920s--of gals with bobbed hair and high heels, flying their planes, talking about their planes, fixing their planes.

"We'll see about 45 minutes of footage that has been edited from the many hours that the film library owns," she said. "That will be accompanied by a live piano accompaniment by Marty Marks, an expert on early cinema music. The roundtable discussion will feature six scholars, including experts on women in early cinema; specialists on women aviators; a USC faculty expert on women in travel; and scholars who specialize in areas of gender in cinema."

Courtney will moderate the session. The screening time is 3:45-4:30 p.m., Russell House Theatre, with the roundtable discussion to follow from 4:30-5:45 p.m. Both sessions are free and open to USC faculty, staff, and students.