Girls Talk Film

We've been away for a minute but we wanted to spend a little bit longer preparing this episode. This week we talk about Black Lives Matter in the wake of George Floyd's murder and discuss films made by Black directors, writers and producers. We discuss the doc '13th' directed by Ava DuVernay and 'See You Yesterday' directed by Stefon Bristol - each film examines Black peoples experience in different ways and '13th' in particular is a good place to start if you are wanting to educate yourself about the systemic oppression of Black lives in the US. We've compiled a longer list of films below that tackle issues of racism and champion Black voices and stories specifically in the UK and America, in the hope that we all watch, listen and educate ourselves. ** In the episode we make a few errors with our language that we just wanted to pick up on ** When discussing both films we use the description African American, we should have said Black to include all Black experience and heritage rather than specifically those who come from African descent . We also talked of systematic racism, when the correct term was systemic racism. Recommendations: + Based on '13th' - 'I Am Not Your N*gro' - a documentary based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript 'Remember This House', reflecting on the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and racism in America. Directed by Raoul Peck. - 'When They See Us' - Netflix series based on the case of the Central Park Five in 1989, another powerful piece of work from director Ava DuVernay. + Based on 'See You Yesterday' - 'Da Five Bloods' - four Vietnam veterans reunite and search for their fallen comrade, directed by Spike Lee. - 'The Incredible Jessica James' - Jessica Williams stars as a struggling twenty-something playwright with an equally tumultuous love life after a sudden break-up. FILM LIST * Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 - Amazon Prime with MUBI free 7 day trial | * Hidden Figures - Available to rent online | * Blackkklansman - Available to rent online | * The Last Tree - Available to rent online | * Moonlight - Available to rent online | * If Beale Street Could Talk - Available to rent online | * The Watermelon Woman - The Criterion Channel | * Do the Right Thing - Available to rent online | * Blindspotting -  Netflix | * Belle - Available to rent online | * Queen and Slim - Available to rent online | * The Hate U Give - Available to rent online | SERIES LIST * I May Destroy You - BBC iPlayer | * Atlanta - Available to rent online | * She's Gotta Have It - Netflix | * Dear White People - Netflix | * Noughts and Crosses - BBC iPlayer | Maya Angelou’s Autobiography on Radio 4: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b7mg80/episodes/player [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b7mg80/episodes/player] Still I Rise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqo50LSZ0 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqo50LSZ0]The Mask: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN9DN_PImy8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN9DN_PImy8]'Blood Rider' | We Are One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjWTCB1KGFg [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjWTCB1KGFg]

Hats off to you if you've journeyed thus far.... This week we're talking about 'The Souvenir' directed by Joanna Hogg and 'Suspicion' directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The first is available to rent on Amazon and the second is located in the brand spanking new Classics Section on BBC iPlayer. Recommendations: +Based on  'The Souvenir' - 'I am Love', mother and daughter Tilda Swinton and Honour Swinton Byrne's first film appearance together. Directed by Luca Guadagnino. - 'The Phantom Thread' - 'controlling men and expensive dresses' according to Annabel, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. + Based on 'Suspicion' - 'Rear Window' directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Needs no explanation really. - 'Bringing Up Baby' directed by Howard Hawks - another more jolly Cary Grant fix. NB: Annabel doesn't remember how to pronounce Joan Fontaine and keeps calling her Jean in the episode - sorry about that.

This week we're talking about 'Annihilation' directed by Alex Garland and 'Knives Out' directed by Rian Johnson. The former can be found on Netflix and the latter for rent on Amazon. Recommendations: + Based on 'Annihilation' - 'Sunshine' - follows a team of astronauts sent on a dangerous mission to save the sun. Written by Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle - '28 Days Later' - set 28 days after the outbreak of an unknown virus, it follows the journey of a few survivors . Also written by Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle + Based on 'Knives Out' - 'Brick' - a film starring a very young Joseph Gordon-Levitt trying to get to the bottom of his ex-girlfriend's murder. Written and directed by Rian Johnson - 'And Then There Were None' - a BBC Mini Series based on Agatha Christie's infamous novel of the same name

This week we're talking about 'Okja' directed by Bong Joon-ho and 'Withnail and I' directed by Bruce Robinson. The former can be found on Netflix and the latter for rent on Amazon. Recommendations: + Based on 'Okja' - 'The Host' - a horror set in the streets of Seoul directed by none other than Bong Joon-ho. - 'The Platform - set in a dystopian prison, this film directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, is not for the faint-hearted. + Based on 'Withnail and I' - 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' - Melissa McCarthy plays Lee Israel, a struggling biographer who turns to the path of forgery to get by. Directed by Marielle Heller. - 'Animals' - coined by some as the female 'Withnail and I', is a film about a wild at heart friendship directed by Sophie Hyde. Other interesting stuff.... Cast your eyes back to January when 'Parasite' was the film on everyone's lips, and reminisce through the Twitter thread #bonghive - an appreciation of all things Bong Joon-ho.

This week we're talking about the animation film 'I Lost My Body' directed by Jérémy Clapin and the documentary 'Circus of Books' directed by Rachel Mason. Both can be found on Netflix! Recommendations: Animation - 'Les Hirondelles de Kaboul' dir. by Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec (returning soon to streaming platforms) - 'James and the Giant Peach' dir. by Henry Selick (available on Amazon Prime) LGBTQI Docs - 'Paris is Burning' dir. by Jenny Livingston (returning soon to streaming platforms) - 'Pose' (series available on Netflix) Other interesting stuff... Sexy beats: How Normal People's 'intimacy coordinator' works - The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/25/normal-people-intimacy-coordinator-works-sally-rooney-sex-scenes [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/25/normal-people-intimacy-coordinator-works-sally-rooney-sex-scenes] NT Live Fleabag on Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.co.uk/FLEABAG-NT-Live-Phoebe-Waller-Bridge/dp/B086T767KS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BB8G0CVB5NTB&dchild=1&keywords=fleabag+live&qid=1588851593&sprefix=fleabag+%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1 [https://www.amazon.co.uk/FLEABAG-NT-Live-Phoebe-Waller-Bridge/dp/B086T767KS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BB8G0CVB5NTB&dchild=1&keywords=fleabag+live&qid=1588851593&sprefix=fleabag+%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1]