On this episode of Black Girl Film Club, we welcome blogger and fellow podcaster Lauren from Fashion Grunge! We get lost in L.A. and dodge Valley Girls, the Atari Gang, and some creepy alien while chatting about 90s culture, movies, and fashion in Gregg Araki's Nowhere (1997), starring James Duval and Rachel True.Our recommendations: The Doom Gener…

On this special edition of the Rough Cut, we're back to talk about this year's Oscars! In this very loose episode, we list a few of our predictions, chat about the Razzie's, a dissect the online uproar over the Barbie nominations. No recommendations this week! Slide us your recommendations or tell us your your nomination predictions at our email:💌 …

This week, we close out Black History Month with the 2024 BAFTA winning Earth Mama (2023), directed by Savanah Leaf and starring Tia Nomore, Erika Alexander, and Doechii.In this episode, we continue our discussion on Black womanhood, this time with an expanded conversation on adoption, the struggles of being a young mother looking for a support sys…

Happy Black History Month and happy 6 years of Black Girl Film Club! ✊🏾🎞️✊🏾We’re taking the train to Brooklyn with a discussion on Just Another Girl on the IRT (1992), directed by Leslie Harris and starring Ariyan A. Johnson, Ebony Jericho, and Kevin Thigpen. In this episode, we have a very important question: where are all the Black girl coming of…

For our final Rough Cut of 2023, we watched May December (2023), directed by Todd Haynes and starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton. In this episode, we discuss actors making the leap from tv to film, power dynamics in relationships and the audience perception of these relationships, and the real-life case that inspired the mo…

We're wrapping up Noirvember with Deep Cover (1992) directed by Bill Duke and starring Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Charles Martin Smith, and Victoria Dillard.In this episode, we discuss modern day copaganda, Laurence's lack of film acting nominations, early 90s racism and more. This week recommendations: The Fast and the Furious (2001), Unde…

We kick off #noirvember by traveling back to our childhoods with Belly (1998), a hip hop classic directed by industry legend Hype Williams and starring DMX, Nas, T-Boz, Taral Hicks, and Method Man.In this episode, we give Hype his well-deserved flowers, discuss if this movie really depicts Black people in a stereotypical light, and reflect on just …

We dug deep into the BGFC Archives and unearthed something we've been teasing since our very first official release: our pilot episode, recorded in the ancient time of AD 2017. Braindead/Dead Alive (1992) is Peter Jackson's 3rd directorial feature and stars Timothy Balme and Diana Peñalver as two lovers determined to stay alive after the undead tak…

**Congrats on the WGA for their deal with the AMPTP — solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and other unions that are fighting for a fair deal.**In this episode of Black Girl Film Club, we talk about fight clubs, classic teen comedies, and what's next in the queer movie canon in Bottoms (2023), directed by Emma Seligman and starring Rachel Senott, Ayo Edebiri,…

We finally gave in to you, the listeners, and answered a request. In this episode, we review Freeway (1996), a loose adaptation on Red Riding Hooding directed by Matthew Bright and starring Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland and Freeway II: Confessions of a Trick Baby (1999), its Hansel and Gretel-esque sequel directed again by Matthew Bright …

We dap up the spirits and give our first impressions on Talk to Me (2023), directed by Danny and Michael Philippou and starring Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jansen, Joe Bird, and Miranda Otto. This week's recommendations: Sissy (2022), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975, 2018)Support your girls with a ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclubCheck out the rest of ou…

In this brand new Rough Cut, we *finally* give first impressions on the cutest rom-com of the year, Rye Lane (2023) directed by Raine Allen-MIller and starring David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah.In this episode, we discuss British rom-coms, breakups, and being Iconic™.This week's recommendations: Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Lost City (2022), The Perf…

Hi Barbie! Join us on the Barbieland Disco Dancefloor for the movie event of the year, Barbie (2023) directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and America Ferrera.In this episode, we talk existential crises, the homoeroticism of the patriarchy, and growing up with Barbie.This week's recommendation: The Brady Bunch Movie(199…

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.co…

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,…

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 to…

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 o…

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 Mojgan…

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…

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 Britne…

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 chemistr…

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 dis…

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 recommendation…

We're back with part 2 of our 2023 Oscars coverage! In this episode, we look at the efforts taken to diversify the Oscars in the present day and pick our Big Five before Sunday's award ceremony, before diving into our movie: Ruben Ostlund's Triangle of Sadness (2022), a Best Picture nominee that attempts to make a statement on class, beauty, and eq…

It's Oscar season here at Black Girl Film Club and we're celebrating the most chaotic night in movies with a look at pre-code Oscar winner It Happened One Night (1934) directed by Frank Capra and starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. In this episode, we discover the origins of the Academy Awards and the Hays Code and their impact on the so-ca…

On this new edition of the Rough Cut, we're doing something a little different: a book review! In this episode, we analyze The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar (Gallery Books, Saga Press) written by Horror Noire's Dr. Robin Means Coleman and Mark H. Harris.The Black Guy Dies First traces Black horror history from its m…

We're back with another Black Classic! Today's episode is all about Boomerang (1992) directed by Reginald Hudlin and starring Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, Robin Givens, Martin Lawrence, David Allen Grier, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt. Boomerang isn't often counted in the rom-com canon but we're here to give it its due. In this ep, we talk Eddie Murphy's …

Five years ago, we here at Black Girl Film Club dropped our first episode on a Black Classic, House Party (1990) and wondered when we'd get another great high school party film. This February, we've come full circle with House Party (2023), directed by Calmatic and starring Tosin Cole, Jacob Latimore, Karen Obilom, Scott Mescudi, and Lebron James. …

We did it, guys. We made it to the end of this heinous year. In this episode, we look back on what is probably the longest year ever recorded and discuss our favorite and least favorite movies of 2022 (featuring some great answers from you, the listeners!).Support us with a Ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclubFollow us on Twitter twitter.com/blkgirlf…

Ho ho ho! This week on Black Girl Film Club, step under the mistletoe with us as we finally dip our toes into the Holiday TV Movie Industrial Complex with Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas (2019) starring Aisha Dee, Kendrick Sampson, Kimiko Glenn, Jazz Raycole, and Missi Pyle. In this episode, we investigate the growing popularity of holiday TV mov…

Hotcha! Whoopee! This week on Black Girl Film Club, we're diving into the world of jazz, murder, liquor, and infamy in Chicago (2002), directed by Rob Marshall and starring Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones, Queen Latifah, Richard Gere, and John C. Reilly. In this episode, we take another look at the legendary work of Bob Fosse—this time direct…

Five, six, seven, eight…On this week’s episode of Black Girl Film Club, Ashley and Britney are talking the life and legacy of Bob Fosse—we mean Joe Gideon in Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979), directed by Bob Fosse and starring Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Leland Palmer, and Ann Reinking. Your favorite podcast hosts discuss musicals, the legendary B…

Warning: This film contains some descriptions of sexual assault. We talk about them briefly and give warning during the episode, but feel free to skip those sections (56:00- 1:03:00 in this episode)if necessary!We're back with some more found footage from deep in the forest! In this episode we discuss Creep (2014) directed by Patrick Brice and star…

Hey, come see this! We just happened to find a couple of video tapes in the woods!On this week’s episode, we discuss Blair Witch (2016) directed by Adam Wingard and starring James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Brandon Scott, Corbin Reid, Valerie Curry, and Wes Robinson. Your favorite twig figures bound in twine—I mean, podcast hosts—discuss the l…

Welcome back to another episode of Black Girl Film Club! We’re hitting the rink again, this time in the Dirty South with the coming of age classic ATL (2006) directed by Chris Robinson and starring T.I., Evan Ross, Lauren London, Keith David, and Big Boi. In this episode, we talk about classic Southern hip hop, growing up under a Confederate legacy…

On this week’s episode of Black Girl Film Club, Ashley and Britney are breaking out the roller skates and bell bottoms to watch Roll Bounce (2005), directed by Malcolm D. Lee and starring Bow Wow, Brandon T. Jackson, Chi McBride, Wesley Jonathan, Jurnee Smollett, Meagan Good and Rick Gonzalez. Your favorite podcast hosts discuss the life at the rin…

**This Episode is NOT Spoiler Free!**Howdy there partner! This week on Black Girl Film Club, we welcome back friend of the show, Davalyn, and take in the filth and the spectacle of Jordan Peele's latest film Nope (2022), starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, and Brandon Perea.Our recommendations this week: The Twilight Zone - A Travele…

Black Girl Film Club is back with front-row seats to the robot uprising with this week's pick, Ex Machina (2014) directed by Alex Garland and starring Alicia Vikander, Domnhall Gleeson, Oscar Issac, and Sonoya Mizuno. In this episode, we discuss what makes a being sentient, misogyny in the tech space, and if society is really ready for the conseque…

This week on black Black Girl Film Club, we do a deep dive into the dystopian near future of Upgrade (2018), a cyperpunk revenge tale directed by Leigh Whannell and starring Logan Marshall Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson, and Melanie Vallejo. In this episode, we try to understand what it would be like to live in the kind of world where po…

Sa da tay, my damies! We sat down with Cameron and Jordan from White People Won't Save You to talk about a truly once-in-a-lifetime film, Pootie Tang (2001), directed (unfortunately) by Louis C.K. and starring Lance Crouther, Wanda Sykes, Chris Rock, J.B. Smoove, and Jennifer Coolidge.In this episode, we interviewed Cameron and Jordan about their W…

On this special episode of Black Girl Film Club, we welcome pop culture archivist Bri Malandro to the show to talk about her favorite movie, Death Becomes Her (1992, dir. Robert Zemeckis and starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, and Isabella Rossellini). If you were on Tumblr in the early 2010s, you're probably familiar with Bri's work …

This week on Black Girl Film Club, we tackle part 2 of our theme on passing with 2021's Passing, directed by Rebecca Hall and starring Ruth Negga, Tessa Thompson, Andre Holland, and Alexander Skarsgard.In this episode, we go into the similarities and differences the film and Nella Larsen's novel, using passing as a way to achieve power and autonomy…

This week on Black Girl Film Club, we take a long (very long!) hard look at Imitation of Life (1959), directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, Susan Kohner, and Sandra Dee. This melodramatic movie and the original 1934 version are so beloved that they've both been included in the National Film Registry and we honestly can't…

On our last Black History Month episode of the year, Black Girl Film Club continues our discussion on Black families with Claudine (1974) directed by John Berry and starring Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones. In this episode, we talk about the legendary Diahann Carroll, social supports, raising a family, and onscreen portrayals of Black mothers.…

We're back with another Rough Cut! In this episode, we discuss our virtual experience attending the 7th annual Final Girls Berlin Film Festival and review a few of our favorite shorts. Link to Black Women in Horror panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ5Ogr7eOE0Link to Sudden Light via Wellington Films: https://vimeo.com/658563372You can now sup…

It’s Black History Month and Black Girl Film Club is back to discuss 1994’s Crooklyn directed by Spike Lee and starring Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, Zelda Harris, and Spike Lee. Ashley and Britney discuss black families on film, coming of age, and when life inspires art.This weeks recommendations include Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. (1993) and E…

It's Christmas time here at Black Girl Film Club and we're in the spirit to root for the sexy, homewrecking angel Dudley in The Preacher's Wife (1996) directed by Penny Marshall and starring Whitney Houston, Denzel Washington, Courtney B. Vance, Jenifer Lewis, Loretta Devine, and Gregory HInes. This is our first review of a "real" family friendly C…

So, dear listener, when did you fall in love with hip-hop? On this week’s episode of Black Girl Film Club, Ashley and Britney discuss Brown Sugar (2002) directed by Rick Famuyiwa and starring Sanaa Lathan, Taye Diggs, Queen Latifah, and Mos Def. Your favorite podcast hosts go in-depth on hip-hop both past and present and expound on the question pos…

On this week’s episode of Black Girl Film Club, Ashley and Britney finally visit a classic romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally, directed by Rob Reiner and starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. Your favorite podcast hosts discuss the inspiration for the film, Nora Ephron, and the question at the heart of the film—can men and women be friends?This w…

Saddle up for a new Rough Cut! On this episode, Ashley and Britney share their thoughts on 2021’s The Harder They Fall directed by Jeymes Samuel and starring a whole bunch of beautiful Black folk— Idris Elba, Regina King, Jonathan Majors, LaKeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz.This week’s recommendations include Posse (1993) and Gang of Roses (2003).Fo…