Breaking Through the Clouds: The First Women's National Air Derby (2010)
The First Women's National Air Derby
110 min
Amelia Earhart and 19 other women defied convention by racing across the sky in 1929 to compete in the first women's national air derby. With just a compass and road map to guide them, they navigated through rough weather, mechanical failures, public scrutiny and rumors of sabotage. Wearing breeches and goggles during the day and ball gowns in the evening, these aviators challenged stereotypes by proving women could be independent, competitive, self-sufficient, intelligent, graceful and above all, really good pilots. Breaking Through The Clouds shows actual footage from the 1929 air race, aerial recreations using planes like the women flew in the derby, interviews with legendary pilots Elinor Smith and Patty Wagstaff as well as family members of the pilots and aviation experts.
- Release date
- February 4, 2010
- Country of origin
- Not yet available
- Music
- Nanette Malher
Cast
- Cheryl Baker as Self - Aviation Historian
- Cheryl Baker as Close Friend of Bobbi Trout
- Margaret Whitman Blair as Self - Author: 'The Roaring Twenty'
- Terry Carbonell as Self - Air Racer with Team Wild Mama
- Julie Clark as Self - Airshow Pilot
- Dorothy Cochrane as Self - Curator, National Air & Space Museum
- Louis D'Elia as Self - Custodian, Pancho Barnes Trust Estate
- Susan Dusenbury as Self - Piloted Louise Thaden's 'Travel Air' in 1989 Recreation of the 1929 Women's National Air Derby Race
Crew
- Florence 'Pancho' Barnes · Archive footage
- Marvel Crosson · Archive footage
- Amelia Earhart · Archive footage
- Heather Taylor · Director
- Heather Taylor · Writer
- Heather Taylor · Producer
- Nanette Malher · Composer
- Jonathan Donnelly · Cinematographer
- Paul Borostovik · Editor