Terezie Císařová, known as Thea Červenková (or Tea Červenková) was the second Czechoslovak woman film director (the first one is considered to be Olga Rautenkranzová), screenwriter, writer, documentary maker, film actress, film journalist and critic, producer, film company owner and founding partner. During her short film career in Czechoslovakia (1918–1923), Červenková occupied several professions — she translated continuity intertitles, wrote eight scripts, directed eight movies, four of which were produced by her own company Filmový ústav, and wrote articles for the pioneering trade film magazine Československý film. She was known as the "lady crazy about film". Early life Thea Červenková was born to butcher's family living on Klicperova (Záhřebská) Street in Vinohrady in Prague. It is assumed that she studied abroad, possible at director Max Reinhardt's. There is no other extant evidence of her youth, connected to her private or professional life. Career At first, Červenková was interested in literary work. She worked for a theatre, she dramatized literary artworks, for example her dramatization of novel Hřích paní Hýrové by Václav Štech was performed by Prague theatre Uranie in 1915. She wrote also a memory book, Toulky moravským Slovenskem, in 1917. The sources differ about the fact, when and how Červenková entered the film business. One version says that she shot together with her later frequent co-worker cinematographer Josef Brabec (1890–1977) a movie Láska a dřeváky (Love and Wooden Shoes) as early as in 1914. But the movie is not preserved and as a director is credited only Josef Brabec. Other version is that Červenková and Josef Brabec founded together the film company Slavia in June 1918. After the coup for Czechoslovakian independence in October 1918, Červenková sold Slavia to the Austrian firm Sascha-Film but remained being director in the company. The most probable version (according to Brabec's words) is that Červenková got her first job in film business in Pragafilm company as a scriptwriter and editor of subtitles. There she met Brabec, who also worked for the company. After the 1918 coup, the branch renamed to Slaviafilm. At that time, Slaviafilm operated at film market as a film distributor, but soon it became also a film production company. Červenková helped initiate this change and became responsible for directing and scriptwriting. Slaviafilm period Shortly before outbreak of the coup, Červenková wrote for Slaviafilm her first script according to story by Jaroslav Kruis to a short movie Lásko třikrát svatá (Love