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”!
Rintu Thomas Phyllida Lloyd