Teaching Fellow Alice Pember has curates ‘Trailblazers: Women in New Hollywood’, a season that reconceptualises this renaissance in American filmmaking by celebrating unsung female directors whose creativity also began to flourish in this more open filmmaking landscape, but whose work has often been unfairly overshadowed by their male counterparts.  

Spotlighting the trailblazing filmmaking of directors Claudia Weill, Barbara Loden, Joan Micklin Silver, and Kathleen Collins, the season showcases a range of their rarely-screened films from the 1970s and 80s. From Claudia Weill’s masterly examination of female friendship Girlfriends (1978), to the point zero of the modern indie rom-com Crossing Delancey (Joan Micklin Silver, 1988), the season highlights the visionary filmmaking and lasting impact of these women on contemporary American cinema. Accompanied by Q&As, expert introductions, discussions, and special events, the season invites reconsideration of this important era of American filmmaking, shedding light on women’s hard-fought (and sometimes short lived) contributions.

Tickets are available to purchase on The Garden Cinema website.

On Saturday the 1st and Sunday the 2nd of July, Horror and the Gothic students will be hosting the annual Horror and the Gothic film festival. It’s called No Cash Slash, and features an exciting selection of films and activities. The festival is free admission, and begins at 15:00 on Saturday the 1st in the FAB cinema (FAB 0.21). Please refer to the festival’s Instagram account for more information, and a gradual unveiling of the scheduled films: https://www.instagram.com/nocashslash/ I hope some of you will be able to join us for what promises to be a fun way to end the term.

Third year Film Studies student and investigative journalist Fran Hughes reports from the screening of Lyra (2022) at Coventry Cathedral, about the murdered Northern Irish journalist Lyra McKee. The film was accompanied by a panel chaired by Professor Helen Wheatley (Director of Film and Television Studies) with Lyra's sister Nichola McKee-Corner and brother in law John Corner, the film's producer, Jackie Doyle, the Rev Dr Alex Wimberley (leader of the Corrymeela Community) and Professor Michele Aaron. Fran attended the screening as a recent recipient of the Centre for Investigative Journalism's Lyra McKee Bursary Scheme, and writes about the experience of watching the film and meeting Lyra's family