Elfrieda Abbe is a writer who 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 helped start 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.
