Elfrieda Abbe and Angles
Elfrieda Abbe is a writer who founded and edited the publication Angles: Women Working in Film and Video. Often publishing under the name Elfrieda Pantoga, Abbe covered local and national film releases and events for the Milwaukee Sentinel.
Born in Waterloo, Iowa, Abbe's family lived in various parts of the Midwest until she earned a degree in English from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. After graduating she worked for a newspaper in the Chicago area before moving to Milwaukee. She wrote about film for the Milwaukee Sentinel and other publications in the 1980s and 1990s. Abbe started Angles: Women Working in Film and Video in 1991 to raise awareness of women filmmakers. Angles started as a newsletter which later became a full magazine. There were regional editors in other cities, including St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis.
Elfrieda Abbe also worked as an events programmer. She helped organize events promoting films made by women and screened films for the Milwaukee Film Festival.