This Week I Watched‪!‬ Sallie Keena

Celebrate your weirdness! Sallie and Teko start off a SPOOKY chat about a favorite albeit short-lived femme-created high school show by sharing feels about mindfulness and the individual journey of feeling safe and confident in ones' body. My So-Called Life is a 1994 series created by Winnie Holzman, and this episode was written by Holzman and Jill Gordon and directed by Mark Piznarski.
The gals go over why this show is such a gem that hits the feels on multiple levels, and why we need more content like this, as well as:

1. The power of staying present in a moment, and how Teko uses mindfulness to be present in her relationship and let go of the to do list.
2. The Laban warmup exercise Sallie and Teko learned in an acting class and the power of feeling safe in your body after years of dissociating ✨
3. The actual flapper dresses Sallie and Teko wore to a 1920's murder mystery party where they fully invested in their characters.
4. Surprising moments in MSCL that challenge tropes with alliances forged between unlikely characters.
5. Late 90's / early 00's prom hairdos.
6. The touching and realistic depiction of sister relationships and the importance women exploring each others bathroom cabinets.
7. The cinematic composition the gals both hit pause on.
8. Fomo and the art of creating versus waiting for something interesting to happen.
9. TEENAGE HALLOWEEN PARTY HEARTBREAK!

This week, Sallie sits down with filmmaker Jen Sommer to chat about CLUELESS, Amy Heckerling's generation-defining confection of a Jane Austen remix that serves all the 90s feels. Jen casts new feminist and neurospicy perspective on a movie we've all seen a million times, and the gals chat about:

1. Jen's childhood dream job and the film that sparked her journey to becoming a filmmaker
2. The specific, character-shaping language of Clueless and how we'd like to see Cher grow
3. Trusting timing one's life, personally and professionally
4. How Clueless could be seen as a movie about feminism and neurodivergence! And the creative way Jen secured her own accommodations in high school, like Cher!
5. The movie you should watch next if you wish Clueless was more queer✨

You can find Jen's work on her website: sommerfilms.com
Follow her on Instagram: @bluecauliflower

This week, we are CHEATING just a little bit on our all-female first season with an episode about a film *written and produced* by Nancy Meyers and directed by Charles Shyer.
Sallie's comfort-watch-devoted cousin Rose Austin (always a horse woman, never a horse girl) joins to discuss Baby Boom, Diane Keaton's delightful romp from city grind to country life, and Rose's new inductee to the comfort list.
Rose shares her own experience growing up on and helping to run various iterations of farms in Virginia, including raising goats for her family's goats milk soap (which sold at Whole Foods btw), and her surprise at seeing those bucolic aspects pop up in Baby Boom, as well as her delight at deeply enjoying a film about reluctant motherhood, as a currently pregnant person who did not always want to be a parent herself.
Sallie pitches a unique idea for guessing one’s 3rd trimester maternity size, suggestions on how to rewrite a kiss scene in the film to make it non-problematic, and shares the simple note she offered a fellow screenwriter on re-writing problematic female characters.

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Jack Lemmon, a heartthrob for the ages! (Jack Lemmon is not in this film) But do you know who is? HAYLEY MILLS and ROSALIND RUSSELL with a cameo by Gypsy Rose Lee herself!
This week, Sallie chats with whimsy-embracing writer, illustrator, and lover of nun-baked breads Abby Powell about Ida Lupino's color-soaked comedy that runs deep: The Trouble With Angels. Abby and Sallie unpack why this is a deeply loved film, from Abby's first rental of it from a mom-and-pop video store (which might still exist!!) to Sallie's most recent re-watch, which sparked new revelations.
The gals compare their art class experiences as Sallie recalls the SMELLS of various mixed-media studios during her academic life, and Abby shares how career burnout led her to the delicious freedom of exploring an art practice based on embracing joy and color rather than exactitude.

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This week, Sallie chats Goonies, Molly Ringwald, and the Annie Potts fan fiction she wants to write with filmmaker (and t-shirt collector) Michelle Hernandez, as well as the fascinating sparkle of Thomasin Mackenzie in this week's movie: Debra Granik's 2018 drama Leave No Trace, which is based on a true story. The gals agree on the most epic 80's movie fashion moment letdown, and Michelle shares about the realization of how beautiful and special her family home is, and about the film she made there. That film is Douk - and Michelle shares her incredible tribal linguistic history, as well as the largely untold (and crucial to learn about) side of US history this film touches on.

Follow Michelle and all her work (and hopefully get a glimpse of the American Girl meme I'm talking about) @shellher89 on instagram.

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Balloons! Boobies! Bodily Autonomy! This week, Sallie chats with filmmaker Julia Brekka about Agnes Varda's powerful, musical, glorious 1977 French film / love letter to female friendships, chronicling the bond of two women over spans of time, distance, and life events.
Julia shares about the powerful women who shaped her upbringing, and how a recent trip to Amsterdam strengthened her relationship with herself. The gals chat about how the film resonates, the inspiring camera choices, and about the necessity of choosing a crew who 100% support your vision. Julia shares about her upcoming film, Land of Milk and Honey, which is eerily on brand with this week's film choice...coincidence? Mais non! Welcome to the hard-won magic of being female, and being a filmmaker surrounded by kindred spirits. ✨

Watch Julia's short film, Art Show Erotica: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG-fzhCN6P4&t=7sand
Watch Sallie's short film, Moon Eyes:https://vimeo.com/358333713