Beyond Bechdel

This is a real treat of an episode for anyone wanting tips on how to find work in cinema, and for anyone who loves Paris (that's everyone, surely?)

Contrarah is joined by director, actress, writer and film festival producer Jenna Suru to talk about the Paris International Film Festival and her film career, including her feature L'Age D'or (The Golden Age), and film reviewer, content creator and PR guru Latoya Austin AKA Franglais27 about her fantastic career and how these two women came to know one another.

The episode is divided into parts on the film festival, film journalism, directing a feature, career advice and of course, Bechdel passing and failing movies! Find out more about our guests here:

Jenna Suru on Facebook, @jennasuru on Twitter @belleepoquefilms on Instagram and Facebook & Twitter,  @lagedorfilm (The Golden Age) on Instagram, Twitter , Facebook and the Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk_PVbgTUIrklZaT1DnC9wQ 

More on The Paris International Film Festival can be found at: https://www.parisintlfest.com/ 

Find Latoya at: @franglais27 on Twitter and Instagram and at the website www.Franglais27tales.com and find out more about the Birds Eye View agency's Reclaim the Frame campaign or search using #ReclaimtheFrame

Hope to see you all in St Tropez real soon!

To celebrate and commemorate LGBTQ History Month (in the UK) we take a look at lesbian cinema, focusing on movies that put gay relationships front and centre. Join Contrarah and Nick as they discuss what's good and bad about films made in the 1960s, the 2010s and right now in 2021, and the complexities of putting queer stories about women on screen. 

We turn our attention to Wandavision, the mystery box show that everyone is talking about and nobody fully understands.

If you have a passing interest in the new Disney+ show but don't have the energy to find out what's happening, let Contrarah do the hard work for you. She sets out why it's such a female-friendly show, then gives an episode by episode recap for the first five episodes (both parts are spoiler-free), before moving to a full on geek-out investigating all the spoilers, all the theories and all the wild speculation as to what this show means for the MCU and beyond.

Timecodes:

Part 1 - Celebrating Wandavision:         02:46 - 15:10

Part 2 - Episode 1-5 Quick-fire Recaps: 15:25 - 40:00

Part 3 - Full SPOILER and Speculation section: 40:30 - 1:17:00

This is for you...and For The Children

Welcome to a new era...of (hopefully) better, kinder government. 

The film industry has seen its fair share of political scandal and Contrarah wonders if we can learn lessons from movies, especially those made many years ago. We discuss 5 movies spanning a period of worldwide political upheaval from the 1940s all the way to end of the last century, and find an uncanny resonance with what's happening in 2021.

Join us for a trip down memory lane just before a new US inauguration. 

2021! A new year and a renewed opportunity to get excited about the Academy Awards! Kinda...

Soon the Academy will be implementing a new set of diversity and inclusion rules, which can't come soon enough. 

Kristin Janssen - podcast host of So...I'm Watching this Show joins Contrarah to break down the rules and talk about the films she loves and loathes, many of which wouldn't be eligible for nomination under the new rules. Join us for in-depth chat and fits of giggles.

Read the new rules here.

Follow Kristin and co-host Will's pod exploits on the SIWTS website.

Let us have your thoughts here and at [email protected] 

Be Kind and Redefine.

Yeah, yeah 2020 is a living hellscape...but...is it though?  

The prestige TV world is booming and this year we were able to enjoy some of the best shows around. Also, we could finally concentrate on listening to the music behind these big shows. 

Music can be very subjective, as Contrarah found out, when a tweet called one of her favourite 2020 TV songs THE MOST ANNOYING! (she hasn't yet recovered)  Judge for yourself whether you agree with our taste, as we take you on a musical journey through the TV themes of 2020. 

Further reading: 

Synchtank's piece on female composers 

PRS for music stats 

shesaid.so

Listen up!

In Part 2 of this series, we're still to determine whether David Fincher is the greatest closet feminist of all time? 

In this period Fincher starts to utilise a range of female characters, takes a view on disability and even hires some (read: a few) people of colour.  But we cannot deny that the brilliantly dark auteur treats people as people, and that's to be commended. 

Come listen to our amusing analysis, where Fincher's dark soul tries to reach for the light!

David Fincher - friend or foe of film feminism? The jury's still out...

Is David Fincher the greatest hidden feminist of all time?

Unlikely, but his movies appeal to all of our darker desires.

Join us on a poorly lit but beautifully sounding journey through the director's back catalogue, and then decide for yourself:

Fincher - friend or foe of film feminism?