Hello July
Hello to July and hello to you! I hope we are all doing okay and taking time out of our busy schedules to look after ourselves. If you are struggling with decision fatigue and don’t know what to watch, read, or listen to whilst you take time to yourself, then look no further as our lovely team have great suggestions of all the things we have been loving recently. Before you check these out however, have a listen to our wonderful founder Caris as she lets you know what we at Rianne Pictures are currently getting up to.
What have we been up to?
Last month was Pride month, something each team member at Rianne Pictures looks forward to every year. On social media, we see listicles of the best LGBTQ films that we should be watching, or the favourite characters from tv shows in the community or giveaways for queer books or DVDs to celebrate the important month. Along with the larger organisations changing their logo to a rainbow background - go on girl, give us nothing!
We didn’t actually do anything in particular for Pride month this year when it came to social media, not because we were busy or didn’t want to, but because we were hard at work behind the scenes. A film festival wrongly tricked us into submitting our little LGBTQ Christmas film to an event that we thought was inclusive and safe, when in reality it was rooted in hatred.
You probably saw the Twitter thread with screenshots of emails exchanged back and forth between the organisation, where we were told that the festival was well within its rights to remove the T and Q from its original name of ‘LGBTQ film festival’ because the T and Q had their bases well covered. Along with the name-calling the festival organisers threw at me for even speaking up about this change.
What you may not have seen, were the trolls. The death threats, the violence, the attacks on my appearance, the attacks on my company. I had muted the thread after a couple of days as receiving notifications every five minutes from people attacking you….is about as enjoyable as you can imagine.
But, the festival was challenged openly and the conversation continued on why the importance of Pride month is still here, why we need to support the trans community and why we should value integrity over a screening of our film and an award nomination. I spoke with the lead actress of our film regarding the situation and apologised that it meant we would no longer be able to attend a screening and potentially pick up an award - she was completely on board with our decision to remove the film from the festival and shared her hurt towards the situation.
When I created Women X film festival, a big part of this project was to provide a safe space for women after several years of bad experiences at festivals I had worked at, showed my work at and attended as a ticket holder. But our safe space approach stretches a lot further than just that, encompassing non-binary filmmakers who are still subjected to outdated gender-based award categories, along with each and every member of the LGBTQ community knowing that they won’t face the disgusting treatment we did from that festival earlier this month.
So no, we didn’t do a big social media campaign this month for Pride, or a special podcast episode, or listicle or change our logo to rainbow colours. We’re aiming for ongoing change and development and hope our audience is here for that.
Women X Submissions closed this month and we can’t believe that we received over 400 short films! Our team is now hard at work putting together the final selection and planning our launch night event! Where you’ll be able to watch our full selection and award nomination announcements, more news of that to come!
Over on the podcast, Neha took a little vacation and I was joined by Lauren for a couple of episodes, where we chatted all about Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and then was joined by Sophie to take a trip down memory lane to look at the films from 2011, which was….yes….10 years ago.
I’m off to buy some eye cream now, enjoy the recommendations for this month from Sophie and Co!
Love,
Caris
Never Have I Ever season 2 - Netflix
TV Shows
Never Have I Ever season 2 - Netflix
Set yourself a reminder for July 15th as the second season of Never Have I Ever is coming to Netflix! Neha is super excited to be back with the infectiously lovable Devi, her wonderful friends, and her fantastic mum (her current favourite tv mum and I join her in this sentiment, she is my fave character of the show). Oh, and in case you were wondering, Neha is very much team Ben.
Bo Burnham: Inside - Netflix
If you haven’t seen Bo Burnham’s Inside yet, go get on it, if you haven’t even heard of it yet, where have you been hiding?! He made this comedy special alone throughout the past year and for the foreseeable future it is all you will catch Lauren talking about. Funny, sad, beautiful - Inside will make you feel all emotions, all at once.
Feel Good season 2 - Netflix
Feel Good season 2 - Netflix
One of my favourites of recent times, Mae Martin’s semi-autobiographical show Feel Good is back with a second and final season. This show, starring Mae, Charlotte Ritchie and Lisa Kudrow amongst many others, is so close to my heart and is often very painfully relatable. Mae has created fantastic characters and they have truly put their all into the series, which shines through in heartfelt, funny, and touching ways. Feel Good explores themes of sexuality, gender identity, addiction, mental illness, and relationships brilliantly and with authentic complexity.
Atypical season 4 - Netflix
Larissa is excited for the fourth season of Atypical, and very much appreciates the way the show depicts neurodivergency as well as the impact on families. Caris also recommends it as she loves the dad (we love a well written and portrayed dad character)! This is also going to be the final season of the heartfelt comedy so it’s definitely worth watching the first three seasons in preparation for the finale.
Shiva Baby - MUBI
Films
Shiva Baby - MUBI
The greatly anticipated comedy Shiva Baby written and directed by Emma Seligman is now showing on MUBI and we are all so excited! Caris’ Glee babe Dianna Agron stars alongside Rachel Sennott as a bisexual Jewish girl who is dealing with various awkward family encounters. Lilia has already given it her seal of approval as she loved it and you may even still be able to catch it on the big screen in some cinemas near you.
First Cow
This was flooding my Twitter feed when it came out and Emily vouches that it lives up to the hype, complete with beautiful Pacific Northwest scenery. The latest film from director Kelly Reichardt presents male friendship in a really tender way which we sadly don’t get to see on screen very often. Emily also just finds cows really cute so if you do too, this is definitely one to check out.
Gunpowder Milkshake - Netflix/In Cinemas
Gunpowder Milkshake - Netflix/In Cinemas
This fantastic looking film starring powerhouse women Carla Gugino, Karen Gillan, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, and Lena Headey, is to be released in UK cinemas on 21st July, and shortly beforehand on Netflix in the US. Many of our team are super looking forward to this as it looks like such a brilliant action film and the promo posters are iconic. From what I’ve seen so far, it promises neon bisexual lighting and that’s an aesthetic I am fully on board with!
The Green Knight - In Cinemas
Starring Dev Patel (who is never given enough credit for how amazing he is) and Alicia Vikander, The Green Knight is released this at the end of this month in the US - Courtney can’t wait! - and on the slightly later date of August 6 here in the UK. The fantasy adventure film is a retelling of the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and I highly recommend checking the trailer out if you haven’t yet seen it, as this looks like a cinematic epic that is well worth seeing on the big screen.
All Light, Everywhere
All Light, Everywhere
I managed to catch this at Sheffield DocFest last month and was blown away by both the content and the visual style. This documentary explores the connections between technology and vision in the present day and the past, particularly focusing on the use of police body cameras and how bias and power are so often insidiously integrated into technology. The director really highlights and questions the idea of “objectivity” in a fascinating and thought-provoking way. Highly recommend checking this out if you can!
Podcasts
Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata - Earwolf
Drama Queens - iHeartRadio
Leading ladies of One Tree Hill - Hilarie Burton Morgan, Sophia Bush, and Bethany Joy Lenz - have started a reunion podcast which is perfect if like Caris you fancy feeling nostalgic and getting all the gossip on Chad Michael Murray as they collectively rewatch every episode of the show.
Best Friends with Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata - Earwolf
Ashton is absolutely loving the Best Friends podcast with the fab comedians, and best pals, Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata. It’s hilarious, goofy and just such a feel good pod with a wholesome friendship that radiates through your earphones. Definitely one to put on whenever you need a burst of happiness in your day.
Welcome to the OC, Bitches! - Kast Media
Another rewatch podcast recommendation from Caris is Welcome to the OC, Bitches! hosted by Rachel Bilson (who is the cutest button ever) and Melinda Clarke. Caris describes it as a wonderful nostalgia of 00s California…she wasn’t there at the time but it gives off the perfect vibes!
Books
Detransition, Baby - Torrey Peters
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 - Cho Nam-Joo
This was a book you couldn’t miss in bookstores when it came out (I feel like it was on every table/shelf!) and I’ve heard so many good things about it, including from Lilia! Upon release, it received a lot of backlash in South Korea as it generated so much discussion about endemic misogyny and institutional oppression. Lilia found it a hard read and raises a content note for assault, but contextually it’s just fascinating as it’s perceived as so radical in Korean culture.
Detransition, Baby - Torrey Peters
A rather recent release and longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters is a fantastic book about trans women and what it means to start a queer family. Emily thought this book was funny and heartbreaking in equal measure, and unlike anything she has ever read before. It’s also one of Rachel’s favourite books of the year!
The Psychology of Time Travel - Kate Mascarenhas
I read this as part of my LGBTQ+ Book Club a couple months ago (and only just finished it, very late whoops) but I absolutely loved it! The story jumps in time, beginning when four women invent time travel in the 1960s and following their explorations and older lives as well as intertwining other characters and storylines. It’s a cool sci-fi/mystery book with great characters and queer rep and I recommend highly!
Toksvig’s Almanac - Sandi Toksvig
If you love a book that you can read a chunk of every day for a whole year, this is one for you (these kinds of books are also great gift ideas)! Toksvig’s Almanac gives you a little snippet about an incredible woman throughout history for each day of the year - Ashton describes it as a fun read that’s both educational and amusing.
Music
Californian Soil - London Grammar
Californian Soil - London Grammar
If you’re looking for a new album to listen to, Neha highly recommends Californian Soil, the latest from London Grammar. Moody, theatrical, and just pretty damn amazing, these songs are perfect for making you feel like a real main character. Whether you’re on a walk, driving, or just sitting and staring pensively out of the window whilst daydreaming, this is a great soundtrack to add some melodrama to the moment.
Smith & Thell
A song from this Swedish pop/folk duo popped up on my Spotify Discover Weekly and I’m so glad it did as I instantly went straight to check out the rest of their songs and I was not disappointed. Smith & Thell have been the soundtrack to my June this year and I’ve been having the best time singing along in my car. My personal favourite tracks are Nangilima, Under the Moon, Statue (The Pills Song), and Goliath.
Other Bits & Bobs
The Sims 4 Cottage Living expansion pack
Caris’ favourite game and way to chill out is by playing The Sims and they are releasing a new expansion pack called Cottage Living which is giving her the perfect opportunity to live her dream of building and running a little farm. You can get cows, alpacas, chickens, rabbits - it’s probably their most wholesome expansion to date! If you need Caris, she will be indoors for the rest of the month living her best virtual cottagecore life.
