Black Girl Film Club

We're going back under the sea and giving our first impressions of The Little Mermaid (2023), directed by Rob Marshall and starring Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy. In this episode, we wonder........just what the hell Disney is doing? This week's recommendation: Ponyo (2008) Support your girls with a ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclub Check out the rest of our socials and join our new Discord server at linktr.ee/blackgirlfilmclub

We're back with a bonus episode for Pride Month! For this edition of In the Studio With, we're joined by writer Mimi Stringfield to talk about The Doom Generation (1995), directed by Gregg Araki and starring Rose McGowan, James Duval, and Johnathon Schaech. In this episode, we talk about Araki's polarizing output and his Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy, love and self discovery on road trip through Hell, and the importance of classic 90s "freak shit." Our recommendations: the rest of Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy (Totally Fucked Up (1992), Nowhere (1997)), The Last Days of Disco (1998), Party Girl (1995), Lost Highway (1997), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Y tu mamá también (2001) Ashley's Queer Cinema List: https://letterboxd.com/breakyoselffool/list/queer-cinema/ Follow Mimi: https://twitter.com/verymimi https://www.instagram.com/mimistringfield/ Check out the rest of our socials and join our new Discord server at linktr.ee/blackgirlfilmclub

It's a party!!! This week, we're celebrating our 100th episode with The Incredibly Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995) directed by Maria Maggenti and starring Nicole Ari Parker and Laurel Holloman. In this episode we talk about the film's difficult production shoot, first loves, self-discovery in the mid-90s, and the troubles facing queer youth today. Check out Ashley's Queer Cinema list on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/breakyoselffool/list/queer-cinema/ Support us with a Ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclub Check out the rest of our socials and join our new Discord server at linktr.ee/blackgirlfilmclub

Happy Pride! This week, we review groundbreaking piece of modern indie filmmaking, The Watermelon Woman (1996) directed by Cheryl Dunye and starring Cheryl Dunye, Guinevere Turner, Valarie Walker, and Lisa Marie Bronson. The Watermelon Woman follows Cheryl, a video store clerk and filmmaker, on her search for the identity of a 1930s actress known only as The Watermelon Woman. This movie is considered the first feature film directed by a Black lesbian and was added to the Library of Congress by the National Film Registry in 2021 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In this episode, we discuss the importance of film preservation and restoration in the streaming era, what it means to create an identity as a queer person, and wonder what life must be like when you can afford to create your art. Our recommendations: Billie and Emma (2017), Go Fish (1994), and The Living End (1992) Check out Ashley's Queer Cinema list on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/breakyoselffool/list/queer-cinema/ For your reference: James Dean: the Bi Hollywood Icon We Lost Too Soon by Kaz Rowe https://youtu.be/I96mhnUBVks The Wild, Wild History of Gay Cowboy Movies (and more) by Kaz Rowe https://youtu.be/6MSNujZ_7GY Support your girls with a ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclub Check out the rest of our socials and join our new Discord server at linktr.ee/blackgirlfilmclub

On this special episode, we're joined by poet Maya Williams to discuss depression, Black girlhood, and creating our own eden in The Secret Life of Bees (2008) directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and starring Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Sophie Okenedo, and Alicia Keys. Our recommendations: In the Pockets of Small Gods by Anis Mojgani, The Woman King (2022) Judas & Suicide, Maya's debut collection of poetry, is out now on Game Over Books: https://www.gameoverbooks.com/product-page/judas-suicide Visit Maya's website: https://www.mayawilliamspoet.com/ Follow Maya on Twitter: @emmdubb16

It's the second half of Mermay and we're back with a different spin on the human and fish as lovers trope with The Shape of Water (2017) directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer. In this episode, we discuss del Toro's love of Universal Monsters and his religious inspiration, and finding love and community as an outsider. Our recommendation: Amélie (2001), Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) Watch del Toro's interview on Popcorn with Peter Travers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otts5vS_f8o Support your girls with a ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclub Check out the rest of our socials at linktr.ee/blackgirlfilmclub

Happy Mermay, friends! For absolutely NO reason at all we've decided to find love under the sea with Splash (1984) directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, and John Candy. In this episode, we look at Disney's dark ages (aka the 1980s) and the Born Sexy Yesterday trope, marvel at Splash's practical effects, and Britney reveals her love and knowledge of mermaid culture. Our recommendations: Aquamarine (2006), H20 (2006-2010) Born Sexy Yesterday by Pop Culture Detective: https://bit.ly/3BmSirX Support your girls with a ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclub Check out the rest of our socials (including our BRAND NEW WEBSITE!!!) at linktr.ee/blackgirlfilmclub

Secure the perimeter! We're back with part 2 of our Starring Divas theme with 1992's iconic film, The Bodyguard, directed by Mick Jackson and starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston as Rachel, a pop star who falls in love with the bodyguard that's been hired to protect her from a seemingly deranged fan. In this episode, we talk about the chemistry between Whitney and Kevin, the perils of pop stardom, and the joys of samurai swords. No recommendation this week but watch Yojimbo (19161) and Waiting to Exhale (1995)! Support your girls with a ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclub Check out the rest of our socials (including our BRAND NEW WEBSITE!!!) at linktr.ee/blackgirlfilmclub

In this episode, we welcome film critic Marya E. Gates to the studio to talk about Mississippi Masala (1991), directed by MIra Nair and starring Sarita Choudhury, Denzel Washington, Roshan Seth, and Sharmila Tagore. Mississippi Masala tells the story of Mina, and Ugandan-Indian woman whose family has settled in Greenwood, Mississippi after being displaced by General Idi Amin, and her budding romance with Demetrius, a local Black self-employed carpet cleaner. Along with chatting about the movie, we interview Marya on her past jobs in marketing for Film Struck and Netflix, the importance of yearning and Eros in romance, and how she's working to dispel the myth of a lack of women-directed films. This week's recommendations: Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Mo' Better Blues (1990) + bonus recs!: Devil In a Blue Dress (1995), Salaam Bombay! (1988), and The Thin Red Line (1998) Where you can find Marya: Substack — https://oldfilmsflicker.substack.com/ Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/oldfilmsflicker/ Tumblr — https://oldfilmsflicker.com/ Twitter — https://twitter.com/oldfilmsflicker Support your girls with a ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclub Check out the rest of our socials (including our BRAND NEW WEBSITE!!!) at linktr.ee/blackgirlfilmclub

We're back with part 1 of our r&b/pop diva double feature with Mahogany (1975), directed by Berry Gordy and starring THE BOSS, Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, and Anthony Perkins. In this episode, we dive into this groundbreaking movie and Diana's career as a Supreme, 1970s racism and masculinity, and, of course, fashion. This week's recommendations: The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Lady Sings the Blues (1972), and Dreamgirls (2006). Support your girls with a ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclub Check out the rest of our socials (including our BRAND NEW WEBSITE!!!) at linktr.ee/blackgirlfilmclub