In this episode, I talk about Dianne Jackson's beloved 1982 animated film, "The Snowman." Adapted from Raymond Briggs’s wordless book, the film follows a young boy who builds a snowman that comes to life, and together they share a brief night of wonder and connection.  

I reflect on how the film holds both joy and tenderness, and how its playful scenes have brought me comfort during my first Christmas without my mother. She was my last remaining parent, and watching this film has helped me think about memory, grief, and the impermanence of life. I hope this episode offers solace to anyone who is grieving during the holidays.

If you’d like to support my work and get access to bonus episodes and exclusive posts, you can join me on Patreon: patreon.com/herheadinfilmspodcast.

You can follow me on Letterboxd. My email is [email protected].

My Sources:

• https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/raymond-briggs-the-snowman-christmas
• https://animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-specialness-of-the-snowman
• https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/snowman-who-has-spent-40-years-warming-our-hearts
• https://www.thesnowman.com/about/
• https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/dec/22/how-the-snowman-melted-david-bowies-heart-raymond-briggs
• The making of The Snowman: https://youtu.be/hIrbQ_9LSLU
• Original story boards: https://youtu.be/FWOM-hIimjI
• The Snowman in HD: https://youtu.be/5A3THighARU?si=L4faPi0UIkOdawZb
• Raymond Briggs: Snowmen, Bogeymen, and Milkmen: https://youtu.be/fR3GO6uI2TQ?si=W_qaDXoyXXu9-UTa

In this episode, I talk about Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 film, "The Conversation." The film follows Harry Caul, a wiretapper in San Francisco who becomes obsessed with a recording he’s made of a young couple in a crowded park. As Harry pieces together fragments of their conversation, he’s drawn into a spiral of paranoia, guilt, and loneliness.

I explore what makes "The Conversation" a masterpiece—not just as a film about surveillance and paranoia, but as an intimate character study. I talk about Harry’s profound loneliness, his complicity in his own alienation, and the psychic toll of a life spent surveilling others from a distance. 

If you’d like to support my work and get access to bonus episodes and exclusive posts, you can join me on Patreon: patreon.com/herheadinfilmspodcast.

You can follow me on Letterboxd. My email is [email protected].

My Sources:

• Interview between Brian De Palma and Francis Ford Coppola
• 'The Conversation:' Francis Ford Coppola's Paranoia-Ridden Tale of Surveillance, Guilt, and Isolation 

In this special episode, I talk about why I’ve launched a new Patreon for Her Head in Films. This isn’t just about supporting a podcast—it’s about helping me stay afloat in a very difficult and uncertain time in my life. After losing my mom and becoming the sole provider for my household, I’m trying to rebuild from nothing. I work multiple jobs, and I’m doing everything I can to survive while continuing to create something meaningful.

This podcast is my soul work. It’s how I stay alive. It’s the archive of my emotional life, my grief, and my love for cinema. If you’ve ever felt connected to what I do here—if my voice has meant something to you—I invite you to join me on Patreon. Your support helps me keep going.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/herheadinfilmspodcast

You can follow me on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Tumblr. My email is [email protected].

In this episode, I talk about Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1972 film, "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant." The film tells the story of Petra, a successful fashion designer in a complicated and obsessive relationship with a younger woman named Karin. Set almost entirely in Petra’s apartment, the film unravels the entanglements of power, desire, and emotional dependency.

This episode is one of my most personal. I reflect on the ways the film mirrors an experience I had with unrequited love—an experience that consumed me for over two years. I talk about the madness and chaos of desire, the pain of not being chosen, and the way obsession can distort how we see ourselves and others.

Note: This episode was recorded before my mother's death. That is why I talk about her in the present tense.

You can follow me on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Tumblr. My email is [email protected].

My Sources:

• Mise en Scène as Power Struggle by Jonathan Rosenbaum
• Melodrama and the Remake: The Cinematic Influence of Douglas Sirk on Fassbinder
• Hanna Schygulla on working with Fassbinder
• What is New German Cinema?
• New German Cinema

In this episode, I talk about Hayao Miyazaki’s 1989 film, 'Kiki’s Delivery Service.' It’s about a 13-year-old witch who must spend a year away from home, learning to live independently and share her gifts. As Kiki opens a delivery service and begins to grow weary and uncertain, she meets women who offer her refuge, wisdom, and friendship. I talk about how this film explores what it means to lose your magic and to slowly find it again. I recorded this at a time when I’m learning to believe in myself again after great loss.

All My Sources:

• Deborah Levy's The Cost of Living
• DiscoverGhibli on Youtube
• Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
• More about the fictional town of Koriko

You can follow me on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Tumblr. My email is [email protected].

In this episode, I talk about Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 film, "My Neighbor Totoro." It’s about two young girls who discover magical forest spirits after moving to a rural home with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. I recorded this episode in the wake of my own mother’s death, and I speak about how grief has shaped my experience of the film. I talk about watching the entire Studio Ghibli catalog and reflect on childhood, absence, and how nature and cinema offer solace when nothing else can.

All My Sources:

• Hayao Miyazaki, The Auteur of Anime
• 9 Facts About My Neighbor Totoro
• Defining the World of My Neighbor Totoro
• Everything You Need to Know About Japan's Iconic Studio Ghibli
• Studio Ghibli: The Japanese Animation Powerhouse That Conquered The World
• Hayao Miyazaki: The Life and Lasting Influence of the Studio Ghibli Auteur-Animator
• What is Hildegard's Viriditas?

You can follow me on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Tumblr. My email is [email protected].

In this episode, I talk about Ingmar Bergman’s 1972 film, "Cries and Whispers," a haunting and intimate portrait of a woman dying and the people around her. I begin by sharing about my own mother’s death, how I was with her to the very end, and how this film has taken on a deeper resonance for me now.

Though the episode was recorded before her cancer diagnosis and passing, I was already in the role of caregiver. I reflect on how "Cries and Whispers" captures the loneliness of illness, the coldness we sometimes encounter in the world, and the deep human need for tenderness, love, and presence, especially in the face of pain, death, and the deterioration of the body.

Sources:

• Images by Ingmar Bergman
• Ingmar Bergman website

You can follow me on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Tumblr. My email is [email protected].

Note: My mother passed away on June 14th, 2025. Thank you to those who sent her a card or reached out to me. I have removed the Google document that is mentioned in this episode.

This isn’t a film episode. It’s a personal update. My mom has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and I’m using this space to speak honestly about what that means for me, and what I’m carrying right now. We've been told that she has six to nine months left. This is a devastating and heartbreaking time for me. Thank you for listening.

Future updates will be provided either through upcoming episodes or on my website blog where I am writing an ongoing diary about being by my mother’s side during this time.

• https://herheadinfilms.com/blog

You can follow me on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Tumblr. My email is [email protected].

In this episode, I talk about Frédéric Back's 1987 Academy Award-winning animated short film, "The Man Who Planted Trees." Adapted from a book by Jean Giono, it tells the story of a French shepherd who plants trees for decades and revitalizes an entire region. It's a film about how to live, how to care for the earth, and how to make the world a better place through small but meaningful acts. 

This has become one of my favorite films of all time because of the way it inspires me to think about what I want to contribute and the kind of person I want to be. I can honestly say that this film changed something inside me. This episode is an attempt to describe how this one little film has made such a profound impact on my life.

You can follow me on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Tumblr. My email is [email protected].

In this episode, I talk about Delbert Mann's precious 1955 film, "Marty." It tells the story of Marty, a 34-year-old butcher who has struggled all his life to find love. One night, he meets Clara, a woman who can relate to his loneliness. This is a film about the pain of invisibility and the power of connection. It's about what it means to finally feel seen after a lifetime of rejection.

This is a deeply personal episode for me, but it's one that I hope reaches anyone who might need to hear it and to be reminded that they are not alone.

The audio quality is the best I could provide right now. Apologies if it is not up-to-par for some. I did my best.

You can follow me on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Tumblr. My email is [email protected].