CineFemme

1999's "The Mummy" with Blake Berlin

Fun fact about our guest Blake Berlin - he’s been kidnapped and tortured by Andrea and Devin! For a film of course. Blake is our brilliant actor and writer friend, who produced his first feature this year! Blake picked the iconic, incomparable action-adventure-romance-horror film - the amazing 1999 “The Mummy.” We talk about our deep love of this film, how it’s a feminist film that does not pass the Bechdel test, the comedic genius of Rachel Weisz and all the ways this film still holds up and impresses us! We were so excited to talk about this movie with Blake, especially considering this May is it’s 25th anniversary! Our women in film history was finally the thing we kept wondering if we would accidentally do - we picked the same person! We talk about Aziza Amir, who is hailed as the founder and godmother of Egyptian cinema, and is considered Egypt’s first female film actress and producer, blazing a trail not only for Arab women but Egyptian filmmakers all around! Follow Blake on IMDb and instagram @itsblakeberlin, especially right now as his film “Instead,” which he wrote and produced and starred in AND directed, is hitting the festival circuit starting this weekend on April 28th! We could not be more excited or proud of him! If you love beautiful indy romance dramedies, you’ll want to check out his lovely film, it’s seriously so wonderful guys. (0:00) Introduction  (04:58) Icebreakers (17:11) Women in Film History (24:13) The Mummy!

High Fidelity with James Dunovan

Our guest James Dunovan is an editor, writer, director, colorist, and expert in the art of the Irish goodbye. He’s a long-time friend of Andrea and her husband, and is our resident dungeon master and friendly neighborhood nerd, being a gamer in every sense of the word. James picked Stephen Frears’ “High Fidelity,” starring John Cusack, Lisa Bonet, and introducing the world to Jack Black. We discuss how this film brought about a change to the rom-com/dramedy genre, the fantasy of the "perfect woman" and how it damages the woman in question as well as the creator of the fantasy. We talk about how the film objectifies women- and how our lead character tries to learn not to. This week’s women in film facts are Frances Marion and Helen Hayes, some of the most influential women in history in screenwriting and acting, respectively. You can find more of James at @james.dunovan on instagram, but honestly, if you want the full experience of the talented man that is James? Then you'll have to play D&D with him.

Chocolat with Patricia Galvez

Grab your favorite sweet treat, your sweetheart or a friend or a frenemy or your fur-baby, and join us for our Valentine’s re-watch! Our guest, the bad-ass actress, model and writer Patricia Galvez picked the 2000 film “Chocolat,” as it was one that made a big impact on her life not just as an artist, but as a person, and it just felt so right to have this be our Valentine’s Day episode! This has a star-studded cast, among them Dame Judy Dench, Juliette Binoche, and Alfred Molina to name a few. We discuss how this film tricked people into thinking they were watching a romance film, but really what they got was so much more - a film about the relationships between women, the roles of motherhood, and all the delightful subtle subversiveness woven throughout the film. Patricia and Devin met on a music video shoot very shortly after Patricia moved to Los Angeles, and then reconnected years ago through their training at the martial arts studio Noho MMA. This was a room full of women warriors, you do NOT want to mess with them. We also talk about some of the rom-coms of our childhood, a lot about musical theatre, and making chocolate. This week’s women in film facts are appropriately French in theme, discussing Alice Guy Blaché, who is considered the first female director and filmmaker, and Bridgette Bardot, being both an icon and later marring on her own legacy. You can find Patricia on Instagram @patriciag_03 and check out her IMDb to catch her on a screen near you!    (0:00) Introduction  (01:23) Icebreakers (16:21) Women in Film History (30:28) Chocolat

Donkeyhead with Anisha Adusumilli

Our guest, the incredibly gracious and talented actress, writer, director Anisha Adusumilli picked the 2021 Canadian dramedy “Donkeyhead,” that is starring, written and directed by female filmmaker Agam Darshi. Anisha and Andrea met as romantic co-leads on the LGBTQ+ series, BIFL, and you can watch all of Season 1 on YouTube right now. For more of Anisha, watch her brilliant performances on the most recent seasons of Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS. Check her out on Instagram @anishaadusumilli to see what this self-described “sweet weirdo” has been working on, because she’s brilliant!

Mad Max: Fury Road with Travis Sentell

Our guest this week was our quick-witted, clever, and brilliant friend Travis Sentell, who’s an amazing writer and human. Travis picked “Mad Max: Fury Road,” as he is an avid and knowledgeable fan, having hosted his own podcast that was all about this film! We discuss the many (or as many as we can) layers of this film in its messaging about gender roles and dynamics, feminism, climate crises, and all the amazing practical stunts, story-telling, 1980’s comedy films that might horrify us now, and fun behind the scene tidbits! Our women in film history highlights were both appropriately stunt women! We learn about Kitty O’Neal, a 5’2” absolute badass who set so many records in the stunt world and beyond, including holding the women’s land speed record up until 2019! Our next high-falling, trailblazing (literally she also did fire stunts) force of nature woman in film was Jadie David, one of the early African-American stunt women who even after an injury stopped her career in stunt doubling, could not be stopped, as she continued on to make film sets safer and more equitable for all people, and founded A Diamond In The Raw Foundation, which helps at-risk girls empower and transform their lives through educational and mentorship programs! You can find Travis’ writing work on your TV in “Electric Dreams” and “The Thing About Pam,” which was nominated for it’s writing no big deal!! And also through Audible! Follow him on instagram @travissentell or check out his IMDb website to see where you can watch, read, or listen to this wonderful man’s work! https://www.travissentell.com/ [https://www.travissentell.com/] (0:00) Introduction  (06:44) Icebreakers (15:06) Women in Film History (28:26) Mad Max: Fury Road