DIRECTOR: James William Theres

PRODUCERS: James William Theres, Elizabeth Cobbs
EDITOR: Adam Kilburn
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Malcholm Reese

In 1918 the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France as telephone operators to help win the Great War. They wore Army uniforms and swore Army oaths. By war’s end, these women, known affectionately as the Hello Girls, had connected over 26 million calls. The last of the Hello Girls returned home in 1920, only to be told they were never soldiers after all. For 60 years, these women fought the U.S. government for recognition. Told through 100-year-old letters, photos, rare archival footage, the only known audio of a real Hello Girl, and interviews with family and historians, the Hello Girls brings to life a story that was stuck in the nooks and crannies of American history.
James William Theres is an award-winning Public Affairs Officer and Speechwriter at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington D.C. His first film, The 30th of May was based on his graduate research project of the same name. The documentary received 25 awards and appeared on Mississippi Public Television in May 2017. Hello Girls is his second documentary.