Greta Schiller

Escape to Life depicts a remarkable sibling relationship. Erika and Klaus Mann, the brilliant eldest children of German author Thomas Mann, claimed to be identical twins, despite being born more than a year apart and of different genders

Escape to Life depicts a remarkable sibling relationship. Erika and Klaus Mann, the brilliant eldest children of German author Thomas Mann, claimed to be identical twins, despite being born more than a year apart and of different genders

With home movies and intimate storytelling, this documentary re-creates the mood of Paris's unique female artistic community between the World Wars.

Female (many of them lesbian) artists, writers, photographers, designers, and adventurers settled in Paris between the wars. They embraced France, some developed an ex-pat culture, and most cherished a way of life quite different than the one left behind. Archival footage, music, paintings, literature, and interviews with folks who were there. Berenice Abbott, Gisele Freund, Djuna Barnes, Natalie Barney, Sylvia Beach, Adrienne Monnier, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Colette, Janet Flanner and others. In addition, Matisse, Picasso, Hemingway, and James Joyce.