Girls On Film

In the first of a series of ‘Isolation Pods’ recorded online in our virtual studio, our host Anna Smith is joined by pioneering Saudi director Haifaa al-Mansour and Managing Director of Modern Films Eve Gabereau for a special discussion of al-Mansour’s new feature The Perfect Candidate – set for digital release this Friday 27 March. We’re also joined by British-Bahraini trumpet player and composer Yazz Ahmed, who dedicated an original piece to al-Mansour, to discuss the power of music in the feature. Our guest critic is Linda Marric, writer and broadcaster, regular contributor to The Jewish Chronicle, and reviews editor for HeyUGuys. Linda, Eve and Anna review new digital releases The Truth and Vivarium, as well as discussing the newly adapted BFI Flare LGBTIQ+ film festival. The panel also discuss the challenges and adaptations facing the film industry, and how you can continue to support it from your sofa through these difficult times. Plus, our guests share their isolation movie recommendations to provide comfort, entertainment, and community through this unsettling period. Girls On Film is an HLA production, exec produced by Hedda Archbold and audio produced by Jane Long. Modern Films are launching a new streaming platform with The Perfect Candidate. Head to modernfilms.com to support indie films and watch Happy as Lazzaro (dir Alice Rohrwacher), Dirty God (dir Sacha Polak) and Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story (dir. Iciar Bollain). Become a patron of Girls On Film on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/girlsonfilmpodcast

An International Women's Day special sees host Anna Smith joined by BAFTA-winning Misbehaviour director Philippa Lowthorpe to discuss Misbehaviour, the new film about the infamous Women's Liberation protests at the 1970 Miss World Competition. Anna also welcomes Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis), the Oscar-nominated director of the Marie Curie biopic Radioactive, and actress Kerry Fox (Shallow Grave), currently in Little Joe. Completing the panel is Contributing Editor of Screen International, Wendy Mitchell, to discuss the films Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Military Wives. All this plus surprise special guests in the audience. Girls On Film is an HLA production, exec produced by Hedda Archbold and audio produced by Jane Long. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the AllBright Mayfair. Become a patron of Girls On Film on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/girlsonfilmpodcast

Director Marielle Heller joins host Anna Smith for a special mini-episode devoted to her new film, A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood, starring Matthew Rhys and Tom Hanks. Heller reveals the story behind casting Hanks as legendary children's TV presenter Fred Rogers, and discusses the need for compassionate filmmaking. She also talks about following The Diary Of A Teenage Girl with the Oscar-winning Can You Ever Forgive Me? - and explains why Oscar voters need to change their views on directing. Girls On Film is an HLA production, produced by Hedda Archbold and Jane Long.

Ep 26: Live from International Film Festival Rotterdam: Bombshell, Parasite, Oscars 2020 + Rocks director Sarah Gavron and guests Director Sarah Gavron (Suffragette) joins Anna Smith on stage in Rotterdam for an inspiring conversation about female film collaborations and her gritty new teen movie, Rocks. Her associate director, Anu Henriques, reveals a new initiative supporting industry newcomers, and top Dutch film critics Dana Linssen and Lauren Murphy review three new releases with Anna. First up is Bombshell, starring Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman. How does it represent the Time's Up cause, and would it have been different directed by a woman? Next up is The Long Walk, an atmospheric genre film from Mattie Do, the first female filmmaker to come from Laos. Finally, the critics dodge spoilers while dissecting the cult hit Parasite from director Bong Joon Ho. All this plus a stimulating discussion about the lack of female directors in contention at Oscars 2020... No wonder the audience had plenty of questions and comments: add yours via https://twitter.com/GirlsOnFilm_Pod. Thanks to our wonderful hosts IFFR, to our house band, MX Tyrants, and to our intern, Heather Dempsey. Girls On Film is an HLA production, Exec produced by Hedda Archbold and audio produced by Jane Long.

Live in the last of our series of six episodes from HOME Manchester, Anna reviews a vintage year of stellar guests and compelling conversation for Girls On Film, and looks ahead at what 2020 has in store. With Sight & Sound's 50 films of the year topped by Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir, and initiatives from the F-Rating to Bumble's Female Film Force going from strength to strength, we're here to help drive the vanguard of female filmmaking into the new year. We sit down with BIFA-winning and BAFTA-nominated director Harry Wootliff to discuss her strikingly intimate debut feature Only You. Joined too by Doctor Who screenwriter and playwright Joy Wilkinson, the panel discusses the challenges writer-directors still face in bringing complex women to the screen. Clarisse Loughrey, chief film critic at The Independent, also joins Anna to review new releases Charlie's Angels, Judy & Punch, and Marriage Story as we approach awards season. In a festive film twist, our three guests bring their picks of classic Christmas cinema to the table for scrutiny through a gendered lens ̶ from high-risers The Apartment and Die Hard, to the spiky Edward Scissorhands, via the yellow brick road of The Wizard Of Oz. A big thank you to HOME Manchester for a wonderful six-episode partnership, to MUBI and Cameo Productions for their support in 2019, and to our house band, MX Tyrants. Girls On Film is an HLA production, Exec produced by Hedda Archbold and audio produced by Jane Long.

Aislinn Clarke and Bronagh Taggart join host Anna Smith in episode 24 of Girls On Film, recorded in front of a live audience at the 30th Cinemagic Festival in Belfast. Actress and writer Bronagh Taggart talks about her short film Guard, her love of sports movies, and about her BBC TV series Millie Inbetween and Flatmates, now on BBC iPlayer. She also talks about her very first ever acting role – with Daniel Day-Lewis. Writer-director Aislinn Clarke has just received the second Academy Gold Fellowship for Women for her horror film The Devil’s Doorway. She joins us fresh from Los Angeles to talk about her film and about her view of horror as a means of addressing social trauma. She gives encouragement to women who want to work in the industry by drawing on her own experience of starting out as a 17-year old single working class Belfast mum. Aislinn talks about two of her upcoming horror projects, Cunning Folk which she directs, and Slow Burn which she pens and is produced by Marianne Maddalena, who also produced all of Wes Craven’s films including Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street. We review current releases Maleficent: Mistress of Evil with Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfeiffer, discussing its design, its gender stereotyping and what it says about motherhood. We also review Home, by Sarah Outen, who undertook the mammoth task of travelling the circumference of the world powered only by herself. We also discuss some favourite classic movies, including In The Name Of The Father, Bridesmaids, The Craft and All About Eve. Girls On Film is an HLA production produced by Hedda Archbold and Jane Long

Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes join host Anna Smith for an exclusive interview about Terminator: Dark Fate, discussing everything from action women on film to race, nudity and time travel. On stage at HOME in Manchester, Anna celebrates Girls On Film’s first birthday with guests Pamela Hutchinson and Anna Bogutskaya. They assess the new film Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix, plus female desire in films including Magic Mike, The Last Seduction and Thelma & Louise. The panel also give their tips for awards season 2020, debating which movies meet the ‘three cry’ test and which film is ’near-perfect’. Finally the audience at HOME have pressing questions about Joker, awards categories and how best to champion female-focused cinema. Full list of films referenced: Joker Taxi Driver To Die For Terminator: Dark Fate The Diary of a Teenaged Girl Elle Magic Mike The Last Seduction Thelma & Louise Judy Marriage Story Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Ad Astra American Woman Hustlers A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood Little Women Queen & Slim Portrait Of A Lady On Fire The Farewell More about this episode’s guests: Pamela Hutchinson is a freelance writer, critic and film historian who contributes regularly to Sight & Sound, The Guardian, Criterion, Indicator and the BBC, specialising in silent cinema and women in film. Follow her @PamHutch Anna Bogutskaya is a film programmer, writer, event producer and podcaster. She is Head of Arts and Culture at DICE, Festival Director of BAFTA-recognised Underwire Festival, co-host of The Bigger Picture podcast and co-founder of horror film collective The Final Girls. Follow her @annabdemented She Found It At The Movies: Women Writers on Sex, Desire and Cinema launches March 2020 https://redpress.co.uk/products/she-found-it-at-the-movies Anna Smith is a film critic, broadcaster and Chair of the London Film Critics' Circle. Follow her @annasmithjourno www.annasmithjourno.com Join Girls On Film live at HOME in Manchester on December 3rd 2019. homemcr.org Girls On Film is an HLA Production produced by Hedda Archbold and Tom Whalley.

The hills are alive in an episode dedicated to big screen musicals, recorded with an audience at Widescreen Weekend to mark the BFI's nationwide musicals season. Emma Read and Mia Bays join host Anna Smith to discuss the joys and gender politics of The Sound Of Music, Grease, Calamity Jane, Funny Girl, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers and more. Anna also reviews the best female-focused films of the BFI London Film Festival 2019, which will be coming to cinemas soon. And the audience join in a heated debate about revisiting classics from a modern feminist perspective. All this and a live improvised rap... The BFI Musicals season runs from October 2019 to January 2020. www.bfimusicals.co.uk This episode was recorded in October 2019 at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford. www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk Emma Read is an actress, comedy performer and part of the all-female musical improv group Notflix. Follow her @xEmmaReadx @WFTCimprov www.waitingforthecallimprov.com Mia Bays is an Oscar-winner producer and Director-at-Large of Birds Eye View, a pathfinder for films by women. Follow her @miafilms @BirdsEyeViewFF www.birds-eye-view.co.uk Anna Smith is a film critic, broadcaster and Chair of the London Film Critics' Circle. Follow her @annasmithjourno www.annasmithjourno.com Other films featured: Portrait of a Lady on Fire An Easy Girl Nocturnal Rocks Judy and Punch Rare Beasts Lynn + Lucy Fanny Lye Deliver'd Yentl A Star Is Born Ill Manors The Greatest Showman Carousel The King And I Carmen Jones West Side Story Join Girls On Film live in Manchester on October 23rd 2019: https://homemcr.org/event/girls-on-film-live-podcast-recording-1st-birthday-special/ Girls On Film is an HLA Production produced by Hedda Archbold and Jane Long with additional audio producing from Tom Whalley.

In episode 21 Tuppence Middleton, Ingrid Oliver and Tricia Tuttle join Anna for a special Girls On Film Live from the London Podcast Festival at Kings Place in London. The team review stripper revenge drama Hustlers, starring Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez, and disagree about the French music movie The Shock Of The Future, featuring Alma Jodorowsky. Ingrid speaks about her experience of filming The Hustle with Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, as well as playing Petronella Osgood on Doctor Who. The director of the BFI’s London Film Festival Tricia picks three female directed films to watch at the 2019 LFF, including the new film from Marielle Heller, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, after her success with last year's brilliant film Can You Ever Forgive Me? Tuppence talks about recent release Downton Abbey, her early work in Trap For Cinderella, nude scenes – and avoiding the ‘girlfriend role.’ She also speaks out about the poster for The Current War, which went viral after being the subject of feminist graffiti. Girls On Film is an HLA production, produced by Hedda Archbold and Jane Long

Syrian director Waad Al-Kateab is a special guest at this episode live from HOME in Manchester. The Channel 4 News journalist talks frankly about her time living and filming inside war-torn Aleppo and making her astonishing first feature film For Sama.  Anna is joined by BBC Asian Network’s Ashanti Omkar and the University of Salford’s Dr Kirsty Fairclough to review current releases Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth and Phoenix, a Norwegian drama. Ashanti guides us through Indian Cinema while celebrating HOME’s Not Just Bollywood season, and we discuss the sexual politics of the black comedy Lipstick Under My Burkha, which was banned on its release. The panel pick their favourite Juliette Binoche movies to mark MUBI’s season of the great French actress, and come up with alternatives to The Bechdel Test. All this plus great audience questions from our Manchester fans. Don’t forget to sign up at mubi.com/girlsonfilm to get a free month of curated films to stream, plus a free movie ticket each week. Girls On Film is live on September 12th 2019 at the London Podcast Festival: www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/comedy/girls-on-film/ Find out more about the Consultation on the Government Duty to prevent Sexual Harassment:  https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace Girls On Film is an HLA production, produced by Hedda Archbold and Jane Long.