Rosa Porten


Rosa Porten was a prolific German screenwriter, actor, and director during the silent film era.

Early life

Porten was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, the daughter of Franz Porten and Wincenzia Porten. She had a younger sister, Henny Porten, and a younger brother, Fritz Porten. Her father was an opera singer and her sister was a popular film star in Germany.

Career

As a child, Porten and her sister would often appear in school plays and moving picture image collections featuring opera and arias that their father shot.
As a director, Porten's films were notable for featuring storylines centered on women.

Personal life

Porten was married to director Franz Eckstein. She died in 1972 in Munich, Germany.

Filmography

The following is a selected list of works by Porten. Film archivists suspect that Porten worked on over 50 films, but most have not survived due to the flammable nature of the films of that period. Her films have been featured in film festivals like The Fifth International Women and the Silent Screen Conference, Stockholm University, Sweden in June 2008, Il Cinema Ritrovato and UNESCO’s World Day for Audiovisual Heritage in 2010 and 2014.

Screenwriter

As a director, Porten often co-directed with her husband, Franz Eckstein; in these instances she used the pseudonym, Dr. R. Portegg.