Girls On Film

In today’s on Girls On Film we’re unpacking The Perfect Neighbor - a powerful Netflix documentary that’s up for an Oscar and a BAFTA.

It investigates the shooting of Ajike Owens, a mother of four who was beloved in her tight-knit community in Florida. Owen’s neighbour shot her in 2023, after a years-long campaign of harassment that sewed division in their shared neighbourhood. Using police body-cam footage, the documentary pieces together the events that led to this tragedy and asks important questions about what enabled it to happen.

Anna sits down with its director and producer Geeta Gandbhir to talk about the making of this tough and urgent film, why its story needs to be brought to the screen, and how filmmaking like this can be a tool for social change.

This episode is in partnership with Netflix.

The Perfect Neighbor is on Netflix now.

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Visit https://www.girlsonfilm.org.uk/ for more information about the podcast.

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www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX…L89QKZsN5Tgr3vn7z

Girls On Film is an HLA production.

Executive Producer: Hedda Lornie Archbold
Producer: Heather Dempsey
Intern: Ruby Bradshaw
Audio editor: Alex Jones
Host: Anna Smith
© HLA Agency

On today's Girls on Film we’re getting conspiratorial with COVER-UP - a BAFTA-nominated documentary following the career of investigative journalist Seymour Hirsch. He was an expert at exposing government corruption and scandal in the United States, and this documentary has exclusive access to him. Co-director Laura Poitras will be giving Anna the story behind the story of this thrilling film.

Laura has been three times Oscar nominated for My Country, My Country, All The Beauty and The Bloodshed, and Citizenfour—for which she won. Alongside her co-director Mark Obenhaus, she's putting another gripping story onscreen here. We talk career inspirations, the art of the expose, and how being underestimated can be a woman's secret weapon.

This episode is in partnership with Netflix.

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Watch Girls On Film on the BFI’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX…L89QKZsN5Tgr3vn7z

Girls On Film is an HLA production.
Executive Producer: Hedda Lornie Archbold
Producer: Heather Dempsey
Intern: Ruby Bradshaw
Audio editor: Alex Jones
Host: Anna Smith
© HLA Agency

This episode of Girls on Film is all about Frankenstein – and we’re ‘a-live’ onstage from our special Q&A screening of Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation with its Production Designer Tamara Deverell and costume designer Kate Hawley. Our host Anna Smith sits down with these two exceptionally talented female heads of department – both of whom have been BAFTA and Oscar nominated for their work on the film – to find out how they created this movie’s extraordinary visuals. It’s based on a classic tale, over 200 years old and first written by a teenage girl – the 18-year-old Mary Shelley. Del Toro’s new take has garnered 9 Oscar nominations and 8 BAFTA nominations. We’re giving you the low down from the women who helped bring it to life and up-to-date on the big screen. Plus they answer questions from you lovely Girls On Film listeners in our audience Q&A.

Sign up to the Girls On Film newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/iEKaM-/ Or email [email protected] to be signed up.
Become a patron of Girls On Film on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/girlsonfilmpodcast
Follow us on socials: www.instagram.com/girlsonfilm_podcast/ www.facebook.com/girlsonfilmpodcast www.twitter.com/GirlsOnFilm_Pod www.twitter.com/annasmithjourno
Watch Girls On Film on the BFI’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX…L89QKZsN5Tgr3vn7z
This episode of Girls On Film is in partnership with Netflix.
Become a patron of Girls On Film on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/girlsonfilmpodcast
Follow us on socials:
www.instagram.com/girlsonfilm_podcast/
www.facebook.com/girlsonfilmpodcast
www.twitter.com/GirlsOnFilm_Pod
www.twitter.com/annasmithjourno

Watch Girls On Film on the BFI’s YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX…L89QKZsN5Tgr3vn7z
Girls On Film is an HLA production.
Executive Producer: Hedda Lornie Archbold
Producer: Heather Dempsey
Intern: Ruby Bradshaw
Audio editor: Jack Howard
Host: Anna Smith
© HLA Agency

Philippa Lowthorpe, the writer-director behind H is For Hawk, and the film’s star, Claire Foy, join Anna Smith to discuss the moving adaptation of Helen Macdonald’s hit memoir, co-starring Brendan Gleeson, Denise Gough, Lindsay Duncan and Sam Spruell. Philippa speaks frankly to Anna about the film’s poetic embodiment of the experience of grief, which produces a story that is both powerful and inspiring. Claire and Philippa discuss the process of collaboration, and consider how the on-set dynamics allowed for an element of freedom in Claire’s performance. Claire’s embodiment of Helen is represented beautifully by Philippa, whose documentary background informed her process of capturing the moment. No film made with live, wild animals is without its challenges, and Claire and Philippa speak to Anna about the incredible experience of working with hawks on set, Claire’s own personal reflections of working with them, and the intense, ethical falconry techniques and training involved. Finally, Philippa and Claire discuss bringing the role of Helen to life in all her messy complexity with the support of the film’s producer Dede Gardner.

This episode is in partnership with Lionsgate.
H is For Hawk is in select UK cinemas on 23 January.
Philippa Lowthorpe has also appeared on episodes 28 and 145 of Girls On Film, when she attended the Girls On Film Awards.

Become a patron of Girls On Film on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/girlsonfilmpodcast

Follow us on socials:

www.instagram.com/girlsonfilm_podcast/
www.facebook.com/girlsonfilmpodcast
www.twitter.com/GirlsOnFilm_Pod
www.twitter.com/annasmithjourno

Watch Girls On Film on the BFI’s YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX…L89QKZsN5Tgr3vn7z

Girls On Film is an HLA production.

Host: Anna Smith
Executive Producer: Hedda Lornie Archbold
Intern: Ruby Bradshaw
Audio Editor: Benjamin Cook
Principal Partners: Peter Brewer and Vanessa Smith

© HLA Agency

Kate Hudson joins Anna for an exclusive, in-depth conversation about her leading role in the film Song Sung Blue, an inspiring true story about a Neil Diamond tribute act, directed by Craig Brewer and co-starring Hugh Jackman. She shares the joys and challenges of taking on the role of Clare, a complex real-life character who has a dramatic journey.

Kate talks frankly about the film’s exploration of mental health, about the responsibilities of playing a real character, and about the importance of maintaining a happy film set: something she and Hugh Jackman both feel strongly about.
She shares how the love story personally inspired her and gives the inside track on the song recordings. Having been Oscar-nominated for Almost Famous in 2000, Kate talks about being in the awards conversation in 2026 alongside actresses she adores. She also shares how she feels about body image and women ageing in Hollywood.

This episode is in partnership with Song Sung Blue.

Song Sung Blue is in UK Cinemas now.

You can also hear Kate Hudson on episode 134 of Girls On Film, talking about Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

Become a patron of Girls On Film on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/girlsonfilmpodcast

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