Respect director Liesl Tommy and Gunpowder Milkshake star Karen Gillan hit the Girls On Film airwaves this week — two more fabulous women making female-focused films.

Liesl Tommy, director of new Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, joins us to talk about the making of the finger-snapping musical flick. She shares the process of putting the queen of soul on screen, and reveals how the movie’s singing star Jennifer Hudson really does belt out those vocals live. Plus, we hear how she paid her personal respects to Aretha with a heart-warming cameo — keep your eyes peeled…

Next up, Anna chats to Karen Gillan about her starring role in glossy new action-thriller Gunpowder Milkshake. The star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — beloved to many as former companion Amy Pond in Doctor Who — shares the fun of playing an action heroine sans skimpy outfit. She tells Anna how it felt to work with an all-female central cast in a movie that serves sisterhood with its shootouts, and how they became a badass crew onscreen and off.

In a live episode recorded at the London Podcast Festival, we chat to some of the women behind two big titles on the small screen: Back To Life and Sex Education.

First up, creator and star of Back To Life Daisy Haggard chats to Anna about her darkly comic BBC drama, as the show’s second series hits our screens. From teenage fashion and tamagotchis to social attitudes to female criminals, they discuss the stories behind the series. Plus, she shares her directorial daydreams of helming a feminist Jaws…

Next, Chinenye Ezeudu joins us to talk about her role in the Netflix smash Sex Education. She hints at what’s to come for her character Viv in the forthcoming series 3, and gives a glimpse into her own future acting and writing projects.

Finally, Chinenye’s collaborator and director of Sex Education series 2 Alice Seabright takes to the stage to talk about her work on the show. We hear about her fab feminist short films and upcoming TV series Chloe — plus she tells us about her experience of working with top intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien, and what slug sex has got to do with shooting an intimate scene…

All three of our guests give us some stellar watchlist recommendations, and shoutout the women in the industry who have inspired them. Plus, our guests tackle some fascinating questions in a Q&A with our live audience.

From a 70s feminist classic to a musical drama about the Deaf community, this episode is a summer medley of female-focused film chats that were too good to miss.

First up, Girlfriends director Claudia Weill chats to Anna about making the 1978 hidden gem, how feminism has changed since the salad days of the second-wave, and busting Jewish screen stereotypes of the era.

Next, we hear from two stars of arthouse smash hit and Girls On Film favourite Portrait Of A Lady On Fire — both of whom have just screened directorial debuts at Cannes. Noémie Merlant tells us about her new film ‘Mi Iubita Mon Amour’, a drama of unexpected romance on a Romanian hen-do gone wrong. Her Portrait co-star Luàna Bajrami shares her empowering snapshot of rebellious girlhood in Kosovo, ‘The Hill Where Lionesses Roar’ — and of course we talk Céline Sciamma too!

And finally the director and star of new musical hit CODA join us to discuss the movie, which takes its name from the acronym for Child Of Deaf Adults. Director Sian Heder talks taking on the extraordinary tale and working with the Deaf community, while star Emilia Jones shares the skills she learned while playing the role — from American Sign Language to trawler fishing.

From intimacy scenes to industry tips, our fun feminist film chat went down a treat at Latitude Festival’s The Listening Post in July 2021. We were ecstatic to be back on stage for the first time since March 2020!

First, Kerry chats to Anna about her directorial debut Topping Out and the short film’s unique depiction of male vulnerability. She further discusses the challenges of filming on scaffolding, explains the importance of the focus puller, and recalls working with director Jane Campion. They have an interesting discussion about the negatively gendered use of the word “difficult”. From Intimacy (2001) to Rare Beasts (2021), keep listening to hear more about Kerry’s acting experiences.

Next, our Assistant Producer and occasional Audio Producer Elliana joins Kerry and Anna on stage. She discusses being a young woman trying to break into the film and tv industries, and offers an insight into the inner workings of the Girls On Film podcast over the past year. Stay tuned for tips from both Elliana and Kerry on entering the industry.

Horror experts and Censor filmmakers talk gender, guts and gore – and the things we might not want to remember…

First up, critics Clarisse Loughrey and Leila Latif get to the guts of the exciting new British horror film Censor, celebrating its role in the female horror renaissance. They debate the movie’s meta-messages and share their own experiences of the video nasties era – or, in Clarisse’s case, the stateside ‘Satanic Panic’.

Next, Censor director Prano Bailey-Bond and star Niamh Algar join Anna to discuss the retro chiller, set amidst the moral panic of the 1980s video nasties craze. Niamh reveals her experience of playing the movie’s highly-strung film censor Enid, whose repressed trauma rises to the surface thanks to one of the gory slashers she’s handed for the snip. From cult horror to the culture wars, Prano shares her inspirations and fascinating research for the film – plus what it was like to shoot its more stomach-churning scenes!

From the feminist highlights of Censor to overdue reappraisals of genre-classics, there’s plenty to chew on for fans of a psychological scare.

In this bonus episode, we’re bringing you a podcast edition of our ‘Film Industry Post-Pandemic’ panel, created in partnership with the BFI for their Woman With A Movie Camera summit, powered by Jaguar. We assembled a panel of expert women from five corners of the film industry to talk about the future of their fields following the impact of Covid-19.

Anna is first joined by Allison Gardner, CEO of Glasgow Film, Claire Vaughan, lead programmer at Cardiff’s multi-artform venue Chapter, and filmmaker, writer and disability advocate Kyla Harris. They share what the pandemic has revealed about the workings of their respective facets of the industry, what changes they made to survive, and how we can hold on to some of those creative innovations to help us thrive in future.

Allison shares how she made a success of Glasgow Film Festival despite ongoing lockdowns, and Claire tells Anna how she got creative with programming when cinemas closed their doors. Kyla talks about the impact of the pandemic for people with disabilities — plus her new project documenting her endeavour to teach a friend her care regime in just one week. The panel also discuss the crucial role of caring and carers in society, and how the film industry can acknowledge and facilitate this better.

In a second conversation, filmmaker and Luxor director Zeina Durra joins Anna alongside Eve Gabereau, CEO of Luxor’s female-led distributor Modern Films. They discuss the challenges of releasing an independent movie during lockdown, and how filmmakers and distributors have worked together to achieve successes like Luxor’s in this challenging time. All this and many more strong words from inspiring women.

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Anna is first joined by Mia Bays and Be Manzini for a celebration of Sundance Film Festival: London. Mia gives a rundown of the female-directed films playing at the festival, from documentary The Most Beautiful Boy In The World to musical drama CODA. Be talks about responding to films through poetry and delivers a reading of her Sundance-inspired poem.

Next up, Anna talks to director and producer Rintu Thomas about Writing with Fire. This feminist documentary follows the movements of India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. Rintu recalls the thrills and fears of shadowing these daring female journalists. She applauds their passionate and refreshing voices, and reveals how they have empowered her. What do Indian female journalists bring to light, that their male counterparts may not?

Finally, director Phyllida Lloyd returns with an update on her emotional drama Herself, a film whose story of domestic violence and housing has evolved in meaning during lockdown. She explains what attracts her to telling women’s stories and remembers that directing Mamma Mia was “a feminist mission”!

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From Clio Barnard’s hopeful love story Ali & Ava to Eva Husson’s star-studded WWI drama Mothering Sunday, Anna and Wendy look ahead to the most promising female-directed films premiering at Cannes 2021. Their curiosity shifts to Paul Verhoeven’s upcoming lesbian nun movie Benedetta. And finally, it wouldn’t be Cannes without the Palm Dog Award!

Next Anna is joined by the director of Black Widow, Cate Shortland. The second female-focused Marvel movie sees Scarlett Johansson reprise her role as the titular superhero who is reunited with her Russian family and espionage past. Anna and Cate discuss sisterhood, Florence Pugh’s pivotal role in the film, and rebuking sexist jokes.

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Reeling from a screening of First Cow at Picturehouse Central, Mia and Anna join Orla Smith on Zoom for a chat about all things Kelly Reichardt. Her latest film follows the story of a Jewish chef and a Chinese businessman who set out to make their fortune in 1820s Oregon. The critics discuss the film’s tender representation of masculinity, its exploration of American mythologies, and its unique attention to menial tasks. Orla, the executive editor of Seventh Row, gives a background to Kelly’s work, and Mia, the director of Birds Eye View, advises on where to start with her challenging movies.

Anna is then joined by academic Chrystel Oloukoï, who further delves into the slowness and whiteness of Kelly’s work. Discussing the video essay she made on Kelly Reichardt’s films, she holds a lens to their indigenous characters and interesting portrayal of settler colonialism.

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