Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink) 1997: Trans Cinema Ahead of Its Time ft. Polly Schattel

Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink) 1997: Trans Cinema Ahead of Its Time ft. Polly Schattel

What does it mean to know exactly who you are when the whole world is handing you a beige palette and wondering why you won't use it? This week, Beth and Michelle are joined by award-winning filmmaker and author Polly Schattel, whose new trans-centered novel Crater Girl is out now, to discuss the 1997 French-Belgian film Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink), directed by Alain Berliner. Seven-year-old Ludovic is completely certain she is a girl. Her suburban neighborhood is completely certain she is not. What follows is one of the most quietly devastating portraits of belonging ever put to film — and a movie that was decades ahead of its time in how it treats gender identity, community, and the cost of simply existing as yourself. We talk about what it means to never waver, the mask no one should be forced to wear, the difference between conditional support and real acceptance, and why this 1997 film feels more urgent now than ever. Plus: the Castellini test, the inclusivity index, and the Tremors Index. Grab your coziest quilt and climb into the fort. This one hits different. Learn more about Polly Schattel and her books, including Crater Girl, at pollyschattel.com [https://www.pollyschattel.com/].

The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Love Stories Buried Under All Those Feathers

Three queer people and one gloriously unashamed 1994 film. Beth and Michelle bring returning guest Pat Green back to the blanket fort for a Pride Month deep dive into The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the drag road trip that keeps giving the longer you sit with it. We find there are two love stories buried under all those feathers and sequins. Bernadette and Bob, Tick and his family, all bring emotional weight with Adam lip syncing arias atop a moving bus. And a perfect Stitch Count score of 9 out of 9, only the second film in Cozy Quilt Cinema history to hit that mark, right behind Love, Simon. This one is personal. And this one is ours.  You can find Pat Green’s wonderful books Here [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GPS71KV8?binding=paperback&ref_=saga_sdp_cft_dsk%20] Go here to get the THRIVE Zine [https://www.blurb.com/b/12870786-survive-and-thrive-zine-issue-1-first-aid]

Love, Simon (2018): A Perfect Score, a Ferris Wheel, and the Courage to Be Seen

We finally watched Love, Simon (2018) and gave it our first-ever perfect score, 9 of 9 on the Stitch Count! This week we're curling up with the story of a kid counting down the days to graduation with one big secret, a string of anonymous emails that turn into something like falling in love, and a Ferris wheel ending that had us both tearing up. We talk about what it means to live in a closet that's also a kind of protection, the jokes that teach you to hide before you even know you're hiding, and what it feels like when the people who love you finally just... see you. It's a sweet movie, maybe even a little too sweet at times, but it earns its feelings honestly. And sometimes that's exactly what we need, a story that doesn't have to hurt to mean something. Grab your blanket and join us for Love, Simon, a perfect 9 of 9 Stitch Count score, and a long talk about the courage it takes to walk forward after coming out.

Boy Meets Girl (2014): The Trans Rom-Com That Cracked My Egg

Some movies entertain you. Some movies find you at exactly the right moment and crack something open. Boy Meets Girl (2014) is both. This week Beth and Michelle curl up with Eric Schaeffer's tender, sex-positive trans romantic comedy set in small-town Kentucky, the story of Ricky Jones, a 21-year-old trans woman with big dreams, a best friend named Robby, and a chance encounter with a Southern debutante that changes everything for all of them. It's imperfect, it's organic, and it was absolutely perfectly timed for one trans woman. We talk trans representation in 2014 versus now, the difference between tolerance and acceptance, why this film doesn't need a villain, and what it means to finally be seen by the people you love most. Wrap yourself up and hit play. Happy Pride!

Pieces of April (2003): The First Pancake, a Broken Oven and I Feel Fine

Pieces of April (2003), written and directed by Peter Hedges on a shoestring budget and two digital camcorders, is a small film that quietly breaks you open and leaves you with the pieces. Katie Holmes plays April, the black sheep, the first pancake, preparing Thanksgiving dinner for an estranged family that has never really seen her, using an oven that doesn't work, in a building full of strangers. Meanwhile her mother Joy, played by Patricia Clarkson, is dying of cancer and riding in a station wagon toward a meal she's not sure she wants, cooked by a daughter she's not sure she knows how to love. This one got personal. We talk about first pancakes and found family, about Bobby and his suit, about a squirrel funeral that was never really about a squirrel, and about what it means to mourn something before it's even gone. Stitch Count: 8 out of 9.