Hosted by film critic and broadcaster Anna Smith, Girls On Film is a film review podcast that looks at film from a female perspective. It was co-founded by HLA Agency and Anna Smith in response to a call for more female voices in film criticism. 

Voted No. 1 Feminist Film Podcast by Stylist Magazine, the shows combines film reviews, panel discussions with female film critics, and interviews with actors, directors, activists and industry professionals. 

Girls On Film is an HLA Agency production, executive produced by Hedda Archbold and audio produced by Jane Long

Listen on Spotify, SoundCloud and more – or subscribe here:apple.co/2D4ByK0

In Episode 17, Anna is joined by Clarisse Loughrey, Chief Film Critic for The Independent – and Sophie Monks Kaufman, Contributing Editor to Little White Lies.

Together they review the new horror Midsommar, starring Florence Pugh. The romance, Tell it to the Bees, starring Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger. Last was a French film, a bizarre gay porn thriller named Knife + Heart (Un Couteau dans le Coeur) featuring Vanessa Paradis.

Next, Anna is joined by director Chanya Button to discuss her upcoming film Vita and Virginia. Chanya makes a revelation about the sex scenes between Gemma Arterton and Elizabeth Debicki.

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Girls On Film goes live at Edinburgh International Film Festival with guest critics Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Chief Film Critic at Metro – and Amber Wilkinson, co-founder and co-director of film website Eye for Film.

Together they review current releases Support The Girls (2019) and Penny Slinger: Out Of The Shadows (2019), as well as EIFF screenings The Souvenir (2019) and Marianne & Leonard: Words Of Love (2019).

Next, Anna is joined by Miranda de Pencier, the director of the Canadian hit The Grizzlies (2018), along with her star Anna Lambe. They talk about how the film provides a positive representation of indigenous communities in Canada, as well as involving the communities into the making of the film.

Films put to the Bechdel Test include Beautiful Boy (2018); Girlhood (Bande de Filles, 2014); Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019); Yesterday (2019); Casino Royale (2006) and Nénette and Boni (Nénette et Boni, 1996).

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During this live episode at HOME in Manchester Anna is joined by critics Emma Jones, a reporter for BBC Talking Movies and founder of Electra Media – and Kate Muir, author, former Chief Film Critic for The Times and campaigner. Together they review Late Night (2019) and Men in Black: International (2019) and discuss other gender-flipped movies.

Award-winning actress Maxine Peake joins Girls On Film to talk about her working life and her commitment to female-led films, such as her upcoming film Gwen (2019).

Films put to the Bechdel Test range from Alladin (2019) to Desperately Seeking Susan (1985).

Anna reveals the winners of the Bumble Female Film Force

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In this episode, Anna is joined by Booksmart (2019) stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever for a special episode celebrating Olivia Wilde’s terrific new comedy about two friends looking for a party before they graduate. Film critic Karen Krizanovich joins Girls On Film to review the movie and share hilarious highlights.

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In this Sundance London festival special, three fantastic female filmmakers discuss their work.

Lulu Wang, director of The Farewell (2019), and Sophie Hyde, director of Animals (2019), talk about portraying female relationships on screen. Lulu also speaks about her hopes for the new wave of mainstream Asian-American cinema, while Sophie discusses the joys of working on a film that Caitlin Moran dubbed ‘Withnail for girls’.  Filmmaker Alison Klayman reveals how she gained the trust of notorious far-right strategist Steve Bannon for her documentary, The Brink (2019).

This episode was recorded at the Mayfair studios of Cameo, a female-run audio production house & broadcast PR consultancy. www.cameopro.com

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Girls On Film hits the Cannes Film Festival with an episode recorded at the UK Film Centre in front of an industry audience.

Our guest film critics Leslie Felperin and Ella Kemp review Cannes releases by female directors, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu, 2019), Atlantique (2019) and Little Joe (2019). They also discuss the opening film, The Dead Don’t Die (2019) as well as Cannes classic We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011).

 Melissa Silverstein and Delphyne Besse join Anna to discuss activism at Cannes and beyond.

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BAFTA-winning writer/director Amma Asante joins Anna Smith and Wendy Lloyd, film critic and reviewer for the British Psychological Society magazine – and Angie Errigo, film critic, broadcaster and contributing editor of Empire magazine, for a special episode in front of an audience at The AllBright Club Mayfair.

Asante talks about her new film, Where Hands Touch (2019), as well as her career, inspirations and being a film director in the age of Time’s Up.

Films reviewed include Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Woman At War (2019); while the panel discuss research conducted by Wendy Lloyd around critical responses to the sexual violence in Red Sparrow (2018).

Films put to the Bechdel Test range from Claire Denis’ High Life (2019) to Dragged Across Concrete (2018), while audience questions bring out fascinating issues around gender, film and bias.

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Episode 10 combines studio interviews with Eighth Grade (2018) director Bo Burnham (our first male interviewee) and Madeline’s Madeline director Josephine Decker, with reviews of these titles by the panel, who this month are Total Film’s Jane Crowther and BBC’s Rhianna Dhillon.

The panel also reviews Us (2019), and puts The Pajama Game (1957), Dirty Dancing (1987), Bend it Like Beckham (2002), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Whiplash (2014) and Greta (2018) to the Bechdel Test.

Recorded live at HOME in Manchester, this episode also features lively audience contributions.  

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Anna welcomes Mia Bays (Birds Eye View), Eve Gabereau (Modern Films), Akua Gyamfi (The British Blacklist) and actor Muna Otaru (The Keeping Room) to a special live recording at the famous Annabel’s nightclub in association with FiXX.

Together they talk about how activism in film distribution can significantly change the media landscape. Films reviewed include Jellyfish (2018) and The Breaker Upperers (2018), while those put to the Bechdel Test range from Back To The Future (1985) to The Phantom Thread (2017). Given the venue, the panel discuss their favourite nightclub movies too.

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