In this Scream special, we get to the guts of the iconic horror franchise’s latest instalment – from its feminist chops to its send-up of toxic fan culture. With plenty of the wry riffs on horror tropes we’ve come to expect from the series, Scream sees much-loved mainstay characters join forces with new blood to take down the Ghostface killer. This meta-slasher may be playful, but it takes representation refreshingly seriously.

Our host Anna Smith chats to Jasmin Savoy Brown, who plays Scream newcomer Mindy Meeks-Martin. The Californian star gives us her take on the film’s understated but powerful push for diversity onscreen – and reveals the representational moment that made queer fans cheer.

Plus, we hear details of Scream’s South-Carolina shoot during the political turmoil of the 2020 US Election, and how collaboration and female friendship helped the rising star to deliver her best onscreen and off.

Next, one of our own ‘heritage characters’, podcast regular and horror expert Clarisse Loughrey, teams up with first time guest Ada Enechi – Scream fan and senior producer at Buzzfeed. Our two guest critics join Anna to dive deep into the film’s genre-savvy thrills and bloody spills – and tell us why it could be the perfect gateway movie for the horror-hesitant.

In this episode of Girls On Film, we focus on the fantastic feminist period drama, The Colour Room. The film tells the story of working class Clarice Cliff, the first female ceramist in the pottery factories of Stoke-On-Trent, England, who revolutionised her workplace in the early 20th century. Her mantra? ‘It doesn’t make me any less of an artist to have a little fun at work.’ The Colour Room has a feminist narrative, but it’s also an universal story about following your dreams and believing in your talent.

Our host Anna Smith is joined by the female force behind The Colour Room: four women who epitomise the spirit of Girls On Film. They are the director, Claire McCarthy, the writer Claire Peate and Caspian Films producers Thembisa Cochrane and Georgie Paget. 
Clarice Cliff wanted to enjoy her work and have fun while doing it – and our Girls On Film guests clearly did the same making The Colour Room.

The four discuss their 2022 BAFTA longlisted film, starting from their discovery of Clarice Cliff and her work, to how they came to work together to tell her story.

The conversation delves into Phoebe Dynevor’s and Matthew Goode’s brilliant performances as Clarice Cliff and Colley Shorter.

The Colour Room is now available to watch on Sky Cinema.

Anna Smith is joined by two fantastic actresses and now directors, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Hall, to discuss their daring directorial debuts: The Lost Daughter and Passing. Anna is also joined by the star of Passing, Ruth Negga.

First up, Maggie discusses the central themes of motherhood and growth in The Lost Daughter, starring Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson and Dagmara Dominczyk. Maggie reveals that her main goal was to portray honesty and authenticity; to create a space on screen where the audience would be able to see themselves reflected back at them, with every aspect feeling genuine, rather than a glamorised fantasy. Anna and Maggie then delve into the incredible cast of The Lost Daughter. Maggie talks about her mentality as an actress and choosing the women brave enough to learn something new about themselves.

Next up, Anna is joined by the director and writer of Passing, Rebecca Hall, along with Ruth Negga, who co stars with Tessa Thompson. The film explores racial “passing” and has a fascinating and complicated female friendship at its core. 
As an actress herself, Rebecca discusses what made her turn to directing and why she wanted to tell this incredible story about the moral consequences of racial passing. It’s based on the 1929 novel by Nella Larsen, a book that has a personal resonance for Rebecca, who reveals a family connection to the story. While the film is centred on Ruth Negga’s character, Clare, hiding her true racial identity, Rebecca reveals that her directorial intention was to go deeper than that, by examining the psychological cost of living in any kind of hiding. Ruth Negga goes on to talk about some of the touching audience reactions and discusses how the story holds relevance in today’s society, whether it’s to do with race, gender, queerness or any other form of identity.

Both The Lost Daughter and Passing are available to stream on Netflix now.

In this episode of Girls On Film, we dive into the film Ascension, which has been shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature for the 2022 Academy Awards. The film explores the contemporary Chinese Dream and the paradox of progress in China, as seen through the eyes of filmmaker and editor Jessica Kingdon. 
Jessica joins us and talks about her unique and successful style of filming and editing, and the challenges of gaining access to places usually hidden from the cameras. Her doc is visually driven rather than by character or story and the narrative and teases out its themes, allowing the viewers to draw their own conclusions. Jessica discusses what themes she found interesting to explore from a gender perspective and the challenges she faced in both filming and editing the documentary herself. 
Next, Anna reviews Ascension with critics Ashanti Omkar and Katie Smith-Wong, who discuss the film’s focus on influencers and social media as well as jaw-dropping scenes filmed in a sex doll factory. They talk about the documentary’s amazing access and its depiction of class and hierarchies, as well as the importance of raising awareness of the realities of the industry supply chain.

Ascension is out in the UK on January 14th 2022.

This industry special goes out to anyone who has ever felt mistreated in a workplace. Liesl Tommy, director of the Aretha Franklin biopic ‘Respect’ starring Jennifer Husdon, returns to Girls On Film to dive deeper into the musical and give her thoughts on respect in the film industry. Liesl reveals details about the new DVD release of ‘Respect’, defines what respect means to her in her working life, and gives her thoughts on diversity in film criticism. Anna and Liesl also discuss how respecting other people’s rights and opinions is at the heart of a lot of other movements such as Time’s Up UK. Liesl touches on personal experiences of disrespect and feelings of powerlessness. She goes on to say how these experiences have pushed her, as a director, to create a warm and inclusive environment on set.
Next, Anna is joined by Aretha Franklin fan and CEO of The Film and TV Charity, Alex Pumfrey. Dealing with everything from anxiety to racism, the charity offers free and confidential support services to anybody working behind the scenes in film, TV or cinema. Alex describes respect as a value she holds very close to her heart and talks about joining the charity at a moment when there was a huge global appetite for change. Alex discusses their current 12 month campaign, ‘Let’s Reset’, designed to destigmatise mental health. In light of other movements such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, Alex also gives her thoughts on progress for women in the industry. 
If you are working in the film, TV or cinema industry and anything discussed in the episode affects you, please visit filmtvcharity.org.uk/ for more support. 
‘Respect’, starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin, is available to own on DVD now for the first time, and includes all new never-before-seen extras. 

Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It is the new and inspirational doc telling the story of the Puerto Rican-born American actress, dancer and singer, whose career has spanned over 70 years. Filmmaker and director Mariem Pérez Riera delves into the remarkable life of Rita Moreno and shines a light on some of Rita’s darker experiences as a woman and an immigrant in the industry. 
In this episode, Anna speaks to Mariem Pérez Riera, who reveals the parallels between Rita’s life and her own. Mariem also shares a childhood experience that made her want to become a director and shaped her approach to the role. 
Anna then reviews the film with two Latina film critics, Catherine Gonzales and Kristen Maldonado. The pair discuss how Rita has always been an icon and inspiration for the Latina community, and comment on how well Mariem explores and portrays Rita’s life, by combining archival footage with voiceovers of Rita now. They give a valuable insight into Latinx representation on film.

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided To Go For It is available for digital download now

The powerful doc Dying to Divorce reports on the fight against domestic violence in Turkey. Filmed over five years, it tells the story of women who have both faced and are campaigning against domestic violence in Turkey. We review the film with Observer critic Simran Hans, who delves into the reputation and function of documentaries, and also the process of filmmaking as a means of activism. 
Anna then speaks to director Chloe Fairweather and lawyer Ipek Bozkurt, who appears in the film. Ipek emphasises that while the documentary is about Turkish women, it is the beginning of a global discussion and fight for ending violence against women everywhere. Chloe highlights how the story of these women remains compelling because there is such profound hope within the darkness of their reality. 
This is a rally cry for everyone who wants to put an end to gender-based violence – and who realises the power of film in spreading the message.
Dying to Divorce is the UK’s official Oscars entry for ‘Best International Feature Film’ and ‘Best Documentary’ Academy Awards and it’s submitted in the BAFTA ‘Best Documentary’ and ‘Film Not in the English Language’ categories dyingtodivorce.com/
If any of the issues discussed in this episode affect you, contact www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ 

Will James Bond ever be a woman? Non binary? A person of colour? The producer of the Bond series reveals all in the 100th episode of Girls On Film, an industry special in partnership with No Time to Die. Powerhouse Barbara Broccoli joins Anna to discuss her work on the franchise, talking about the importance of cinema and community, the exciting roles for women in No Time to Die and Barbara’s love of Daniel Craig as a Bond who shows emotional vulnerability. Barbara also explains why she thinks women make particularly excellent producers, the structures that Eon Productions have in place to support women, and the advances in the industry that have come about as a result of Time’s Up. 
Following Barbara’s amazing insights, Anna sits in the guest chair for the first time and is interviewed by the super Sally Phillips and Ronni Ancona. Anna talks about the shifts she has seen in the film criticism world both over her career and Girls On Film’s lifetime and reveals a very special announcement! Sally and Ronni also give an overview of what they have been working on and how the last couple of years have influenced their bravery with screenwriting. Stay tuned for episode 101. 
You can own the No Time to Die 2-disc collectors edition on DVD, blu-ray and 4k ultra-HD from the 20th of December 2021. There is bonus content about the action, stunts, location, sets and costumes. 

In this very special episode recorded live from Bvlgari Hotel London on the 17th of November, Girls On Film pull back the curtain and celebrate the women in film PR and distribution, who bring the buzz to all your favourite flicks! Anna interviews three panels of women in the industry. First, Anna Whelan, Publicity Manager at Sony and Anne Gartside, Vice President of Publicity at STX Entertainment. Both give an overview of their career trajectories, highlights and recent projects including Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Spencer. Next up, Vicky Tupper of DDA and Caragh Cook from Organic discuss the differences between agency and in-house publicity work, diversity issues in the business, and how campaigns have changed with the advent of social media. Caragh details one of her favourite campaigns to work on, Disney’s, Raya and the Last Dragon. Co-founders of WDW Entertainment, Amy Dowd and Jo Whitehead then join Anna on stage and give a fascinating insight into the conversations and ideas that built their all-female agency. They also talk about some of the fab initiatives they have established with clients, such as Bumble’s Female Film Force and Netflix’s Documentary Talent Fund. The episode finishes with a brilliant Q&A where even more expert opinions are shared.

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This week on Girls On Film, we are celebrating the Russian Film Festival 2021, a month-long online festival in collaboration with ROSKINO. First, critic Hanna Flint joins Anna to discuss two of the female-directed films in the festival, Doctor Liza and Masha. Anna and Hanna ponder the clever use of levity and humour alongside harrowing subjects, and the stark realism in both of the films. They also talk about how exciting it is to see depictions of post-Soviet Russia on screen, in contrast to the period pieces we are accustomed to. Next, Anna talks to Evgenia Markova, the CEO of Roskino. Evgenia and Anna discuss the specific selection for RFF in London, how online platforms are opening up opportunities for female filmmakers in Russia, and the particular experiences that women creators bring into filmmaking. Evgenia gives a brilliant overview of how modern Russian film has been shaped by wider societal changes, and Roskino’s excitement for sharing Russian film internationally. The Russian Film Festival is showing online until the 10th of December 2021. Ten notable contemporary Russian films across various genres are available to watch on BFI Player Subscription with English subtitles.