This past June, I had the opportunity to speak with Radha Blank, the playwright and comedian turned filmmaker, who won the U.S. Dramatic Competition Directing Award (the second Black woman to do so) for her debut feature, The Forty-Year-Old Version, in 2020. The film would debut on Netflix in October of that same year, where it was named one of the best films of 2020 by the National Board of Review. Never having had the chance to see the film on the big screen, I was delighted to learn that the LA indie video rental store/movie theater, Vidiots, would be screening the film, only to then be invited to interview Blank about her movie.

The following interview, conducted between me and Blank, has been edited for clarity and published through the Out Now with Aaron & Abe podcast, which I co-host. Also – be sure to check out Radha Blank's terrific feature film debut, The Forty-Year-Old Version, now streaming on Netflix.