Femme On

This episode was first published on the Comics in Motion network on 13 April 2022

This episode, Ria and prattle master himself, Spider-Dan, discuss Kathryn Bigelow's first solo directorial film, Near Dark.

Released in 1987, Near Dark is a vampire western that explores family, love and loyalty. Ria and Dan chat about how they discovered the film and how it is the perfect pairing of director and cast. All kneel down to Queen Bigelow!

Welcome to Femme on Film where host Ria Carrogan and a guest chat about films made for women, about women, by women… just awesome lady folk (and those who identify as awesome lady folk) content that has often been unfairly maligned, misunderstood by critics, and are often way ahead of their time and need a revisit. This is a place to discuss all of this, to celebrate female filmmakers and much more!

Here's the link to the Slate article by Tammy Oler mentioned by Ria in the podcast: https://slate.com/culture/2017/10/looking-at-kathryn-bigelows-vampire-western-near-dark-30-years-later.html

Here's how you can find Spider-Dan:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dan_bores

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiderdansecretbores/

Website: https://www.spiderdanandthesecretbores.com/

Follow Ria @riacarrogan and get in touch if there’s a film you would like to talk about!

A huge thank you to the Comics in Motion network who has given space to create this podcast. If you would like to come and chat about a film for Femme on Film, drop Ria a message on instagram or via our website.

Intro and outro music: Say You Will by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Alyson and Jessica Waite (author of the forthcoming memoir, The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards from Simon and Schuster) talk about the reunion scene in the 2015 film, Room (starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay). You can watch the scene HERE. Jessica and Alyson discuss crying and how they are both “criers.” This scene covers all different types of emotions and tears and they get teared up just talking about it. It’s a masterful scene that is ultimately about the complicated landscape of trauma and love. And to be honest, it’s a fun conversation with lots of laughter. Join us!

Jesscia’s Website

Jessica’s Instagram @endless_stories_jess

Jessica’s Book Website

Alyson’s Instagram: @byalysonshelton 

Alyson’s Website

In this episode, our host Jess and author and friend of the podcast, Tony Farina continue their conversation about books they love, this time talking about Tony’s recommendation The Book Thief by Markus Zusack. It is hard to spoil this book, because the author tells you from the start what is going to happen, but we talk about some of the details along the way.

You can follow Tony on Instagram: @arfarina
You can also find more from Tony on his website: https://www.arfarina.com/
Jess is also available on Instagram: @jess_bdavies

In this episode of Femme On Creatives, Ria and Alyson speak with author best-selling biographer, historian, and biographer Sarah Gristwood, a former film journalist committed to publicising women’s experiences.

They discuss her newest book, Secret Voices: A Year of Women’s Diaries, a captivating collection of entries for every day of the year, looking back over four centuries to discover how women’s experience—of men and children, sex and shopping, work and the natural world—has changed down the years. And, of course, how it hasn’t.

Find out more about Sarah:

Website: http://sarahgristwood.com/
Instagram: @sarah.gristwood
X, formerly known as Twitter: @sarahgristwood

It's been a while but Ria's questions is back! This episode Ria asks:

If you could go to any time/period in history and just observe, see all the best and worst bits but not interact/change the course of history what time would you go to?

Ria speaks with Emily Price of Be Our Guest Princesses on the importance of creating magic in children's (and adults!) lives, how femininity is powerful and the challenges of running your own business. Emily shares some of the stories and challenges of making children's princess dreams come true and how princesses are for EVERYONE.

Find out more about Be Our Guest Princesses: https://www.beourguestprincesses.co.uk/
And follow Be Our Guest Princesses on Instagram (and cry at their wonderful videos/posts/parties: @beourguestprincesses

In this very special episode of Femme On Creatives, Ria speaks with Fine Cut host Alyson and  healer, thinker, mother, and friend of the pod Kim Rowe. Ria wanted to speak with Alyson and Kim specifically about a framework they developed called 'Me, Shining' which focuses on female friendships and how they mirror parts of ourselves that we want to have reflected back.

Listen to the episode and find out more about 'Me, Shining'. The Me, Shining framework is available here:

Follow us on Instagram: @femmeonshow

Kim’s Instagram: @kimrowehealing

Kim’s Website: www.kimrowe.com

Alyson’s Twitter and Instagram: @byalysonshelton 

Alyson’s Website: www.alysonshelton.com

Alyson sits down with costume designer Nola Chaters (Titans, Culprits, To Hold The Night and so many more) to talk about how she became a successful costume designer and to dive into storytelling and collaboration on the short film, To Hold The Night, which Alyson wrote. They talk quite a bit about the joy and the magic when a successful collaboration happens and how that’s the big reason why they do what they do. It’s fun to be a fly on the wall for this one. Join us!

Nola’s Website
Nola’s Instagram @nola_costumes
Alyson’s Twitter and Instagram: @byalysonshelton Alyson’s Website

Sneaky little Valentine's Disney Discussions episode for you all! Femme On producer and the Disney Discussions Crew: Megan, Mike and Spier-Dan are all back for another Disney filled episode. It's episode 11 and it is Ria's choice. She based her picks on submissions to the tenth episode of Disney Discussions and a big dollop of nostalgia - Basil the Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers!

They discuss the music and animation, the clever ideas, the more strange choices, the underrated villains of both movies, the common themes (including lost children), plus they compare the movies & choose their favourites, note criticisms and much more!

Next episode is Dan’s pick and it’ll be another double-bill; The Rocketeer and Condorman – so get watching!

You can find Spider-Dan’s show, Patreon & further information on his website https://spiderdanandthesecretbores.com or follow him on social media: Twitter: @Dan_Bores – Instagram: @Spiderdansecretbores

Find Megan on Instagram: @GrittsGetsFit or at https://Patreon.com/GenuineChitChat

To support Mike and hear more from Megan, consider supporting Mike’s podcasting endeavours at https://patreon.com/GenuineChitChat - for only £1 per month, you will get instant access to over 200 episodes of their exclusive Patreon show Afterthoughts and a new episode is released every week!

Sign up to the Pop Culture Collective newsletter here to keep up to date with Mike and other incredible creator’s many releases: https://pccnewsletter.com
 

Tonya speaks with author, speaker, and Church Girl CEO Deborah Franklin about the success of her African missionary efforts, her book "adjectives," and her transformation from "fat cousin" to self-love advocate.

Deborah’s links:

Website: https://www.conversationsdeborahfranklin.com/
Email: info@churchgirlceomedia.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsdeborahfranklin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deborah.franklin.1232

You can follow Tonya on social media @mstonyatodd or her website www.mstonyatodd.com.

This episode was first published on the Comics in Motion Network on 19 December 2021. Thank you Comics in Motion, you rock!

Welcome to Femme on Film where host Ria Carrogan and a guest chat about films made for women, about women, by women… just awesome lady folk (and those who identify as awesome lady folk) content that has often been unfairly maligned, misunderstood by critics, and are often way ahead of their time and need a revisit. This is a place to discuss all of this, and more!

This episode, Ria and Jess discuss the 1999 film Drop Dead Gorgeous. They discuss representations of young women in beauty pageants, the difficulties of finding the right tone with satire and the absence of bras in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Please be warned, Ria and Jess talk about disordered eating and eating disorders in this episode.

You can find out more about Jess at 600 words on life https://www.sixhundredwordsonlife.com/ and @600wordonlife on Instagram. She also @jess_bdavies on Instagram.

Get in touch if there is a film you want to talk about!

Intro and outro music: Say You Will by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Alyson and Megan Hutchings (actress and animal rescue advocate) sit down to talk about a scene from the 2006 Australian movie, Candy, about two people (played by Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish) deeply in love with each other and heroin. You can watch the scene HERE. They talk about the people who’ve struggled with addiction in their own lives and the superlative acting that’s happening in this scene and film. They also talk about collaboration, being on set and how actors can elevate material and make it sing, like Cornish does here. It’s a great chat about movies and how much we love them. Join us!

Our host Jess and friend of the podcast, Tony Farina, sat down to talk about two books they recommended to each other. In part one, Jess and Tony talk about Jess’ recommendation, Still Life by Sarah Winman. There are one or two spoilers, but mostly we talk about found family, sexuality and love.

You can follow Tony on Instagram: @arfarina
You can also find more from Tony on his website: https://www.arfarina.com/
Jess is also available on Instagram: @jess_bdavies

Yes! It is another Disney Discussions crossover episode where Femme On co-host Ria gets together with her Disney buddies and discuss all the films within the magic Mouse's domain!

For episode ten, we asked out listeners to decide what we would watch, and wow, did they stitch us up with John Carter. Luckily, the second choice of Zootropolis was much more fun.

Mike introduces the episode and we start off discussing the other films that were submitted and plans for the future of Disney Discussions and then talk about the first movie; Zootropolis (also known as Zootopia & Zoomania) including the animation, characters, social commentary and the group’s enjoyment of the film itself. And of course, we keep you all waiting for what you are really here for, our discussion of John Carter. We chat about why we believe the film flopped at the box office, what it was trying to achieve, what it failed & succeeded at and so much more!

Thanks again to everyone who has listened to Disney Discussions and extra thanks to everyone who got involved in submitting the numerous films and for those who share on social media – we appreciate you all!

Ada speaks with Tracey Smith about their poetry origin story.

Our host Jess speaks with cartoonist Hayley Gullen about her graphic memoir and the art she is creating to share her experiences of having breast cancer. We speak about the relationship between patients and their doctors, how Hayley uses comedy in her stories of having cancer and why she wants to share her experiences with others. 

Follow Hayley on Instagram: @hayleygullen

Follow our host Jess: @jess_bdavies

And follow Femme On to find out about our other wonderful episodes: @femmeoncollective

Christmas is nearly here, so of course, it is a Femme on Film Christmas special! Whoop whoop! Ria ropes willing participant, Femme on co-host, Jess, into discussing Last Holiday, an absolute Christmas gem.

Last Holiday is a 2006 comedy film starring Queen Latifah as a department's tore assistant who is told she has weeks to live. She decides to live it to the full and IT IS AWESOME.

Ria only discovered the film last year (thanks to Jess) and Jess has been watching it every Christmas since she was a teenager. Come join us for a fantastically festive fun chat about Last Holiday. Yay!

In this episode, host Jess speaks with paediatric physiotherapist Michelle about Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Michelle talks about reading the book at a time when she was questioning her belief system, and the events that unfolded in her life after reading it. We also talk about finding personal truth, struggling with identity and Michelle’s experience of depression.

You can follow Jess on Instagram: @jess_bdavies
You can also check out Jess’ blog 600 Words on Life: sixhundredwordsonlife.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know by rating and reviewing. You can also subscribe to the Femme On channel wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode.

It’s a very special episode of Fine Cut, Alyson is joined by four contributors to the anthology Awakenings: Stories of Bodies & Consciousness; Ann Kelly, Nina Lichtenstein, Sandell Morse and Kim Ruehl. They talk about the scene in Good Luck to you, Leo Grande in which the main character, Nancy (Emma Thompson) regards her naked body in the mirror with new understanding and respect. It’s a powerful scene and a wonderful conversation about sexual satisfaction, embodiment and knowing yourself, at any age. Please join us!

Ann K. Kelly’s Website + Instagram

Nina B. Lichtenstein’s Website + Instagram

Sandell Morse’s Website + Instagram

Kim Ruehl’s Website + Instagram

Alyson’s Twitter and Instagram: @byalysonshelton 

Alyson’s Website

It's time for another Femme On/Indie Comic Spotlight crossover episode! Ria and Tony Farina meet and speak with the INCREDIBLE Misako Rocks! Misako shares her creative story, and they discuss her new comic, No Such Thing as Perfect.

As expected, Ria gets a little giddy speaking with Misako, who brings absolutely joy to this episode.

No Such Thing as Perfect is Misako Rocks! second graphic novel in her Bounce Back series which School Library Journal says "hits all the middle school sweet spots—friendship struggles, bullying, popularity, and awkward crushes."

NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT is kid-friendly manga (ages 9-13) about a girl working to stop comparing herself to her sister and others. The main character is based on both Misako's manga students, who struggle with perfectionism, and Misako herself, who grew up in the shadow of a brother who was better at everything. In the book, Emma can’t help comparing herself but eventually realizes that there’s no such thing as "perfect"—and it feels better to be true to herself, instead of trying to please others.

Follow Misako on Instagram: @misakorocks and find out more on her website: https://www.misakorocks.com/

As always, follow the legend that is Tony Farina on Instagram: @a.r.farina and find out more about Tony on his website: https://www.arfarina.com/

And you know what? Christmas is coming up, so why not buy Misako's amazing books for the kids in your life, and buy Tony's first book in a series of Jane Austen reimaginings Welcome to Mansfield.

Once again, thank you so much for listening. The greatest joy of Femme On is speaking with smart, creative and interesting women and we hope that you enjoy it too!