Bitch Talk

Send us a textIn this episode we discuss two beautiful SXSW Film Festival documentaries about processing loss and grief.Songs From The Hole is a documentary/visual album that follows JJ'88, a prisoner struggling with being both a perpetrator and victim of violence, through hip-hop and soul. We are joined by director Contessa Gayles, producer Richie Reseda, and writer/co-producer JJ'88 as they share why this project evolved from an album to a visual album/film, how they joined forces to create this film, and the importance of forgiveness.The In Between follows filmmaker Robie Flores as she returns home after the passing of her brother to reflect on her childhood, and what coming of age on the US/Mexico border looks like. Director Robie Flores and her brother/producer Alejandro Flores explain how the entire film was a family affair, their joy in working with sound producer/film composer Camilo Lara,  looking within to process grief, and their frustration at the common misrepresentation of life on a bo

Send us a textThis episode brings you two SXSW Film Festival documentaries that will introduce you to two amazing women that should already be household names.The World According to Allee Willis shares the story of one of the most successful singer/songwriter/artists of our time, Allee Willis, from her strict upbringing to her creative successes (despite struggling to fit in with sexual and gender norms), and eventually, her path to love. We are joined by director Alexis Spraic, producer Nicholas Coles, and EP/participant Prudence Fenton, who share the finding of hidden gems in Allee's archival footage, if there is potential for this to become a series (yes, please!), and how they are continuing Allee's legacy through the Willis Wonderland Foundation.Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, follows the life of one of music's first Black trans performers, and how she made it to the edge of stardom before disappearing. Directors Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee describe how they thankfully w

Send us a textToday we're bringing you two SXSW films (a documentary and a narrative) that deal with the search for family.She Looks Like Me is a documentary about a baby born without legs who was abandoned by her parents, and finds out that the gymnast she idolized, Dominique Moceanu, is her long lost sister. We were extremely excited to be joined by gold medal gymnast Dominique Moceanu, who shares why she knew it was the right time to make this film, her history of trauma and forgiving her dad, how she looks back on being a part of the '96 Olympic gymnastics team,  speaking out against abuse, and how she is working to change the sport for the better.Bob Trevino Like It is a narrative feature that is inspired by the real life friendship that writer/director Tracie Laymon found with a stranger while searching for her father on social media.  Tracie discusses how acts of kindness  can create a butterfly effect, getting to work with incredible actors like Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo, and lettin

Send us a textWe're bringing you two documentaries from the SXSW Film Festival that tell stories of sexual assault, a broken justice system, and women finding their voice.An Army of Women follows a group of women in Austin, TX, who join forces to challenge the broken system that allowed their rapists to walk free. Director Julie Lunde Lillesæter and one of the film's subjects, Marina Garrett, join us to share the anger that initially fueled this project, the beautiful community of survivors that lift each other up, and how they hope this story proves that you can fight the system. Roleplay follows college students as they confront sexual assault on their campus through a transformative theater process. Director Katie Mathews shares how she got connected with the students and this project, the difference it makes when the students are in charge of telling their own stories, her hopes for the future of this project, and the moment she knew she had an important film. Follow An Army of Women on IGFollow

Send us a textOur SXSW Film Festival coverage is in full swing with two narrative films that deal with lies and finding out the truth.We Strangers follows a commercial cleaner as she tells a lie (that she can speak to the dead) that spirals out of control. We chat with director/writer Anu Valia about how she created the uncomfortable/anxious tone for the film, interweaving themes of race, power, and assimilation, and how she hopes this film sparks a greater conversation afterwards.Birdeater is a thriller that follows a bride-to-be as she joins her fiance at his bachelor party in the Australian outback. It was a packed house as we were joined by lead actors Shabana Azeez and Mackenzie Fearnley, and co-director/writer Jack Clark and co-director Jim Weir. We get into the environmental and logistical drama that happened off camera, the importance and impact of working with an intimacy coordinator, and the details behind a horrible game we learn about in the film (that's apparently popular in Australia?) call

Send us a textY'all,  it's been way too long  since our last official Basic Bitch. Needless to say, we have a lot of catching up to do! We give you our awards season highlights, an awkward story about Ange's trip to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, fundraising for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, Erin's transformative experience at a Jon Batiste concert, the joy of seeing comedian Frankie Quinones live (and a cautionary tale about how not to act during a comedy show), and highlights from our time in Austin, Texas, for the SXSW Film Festival. And then we cap off our show with a call to action for a friend-of-the-show (and SF Giants PA announcer for the last 24 years) Renel Brooks-Moon.Sign the petition to reinstate Renel Brooks-Moon as the Giants PA announcer hereSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have reached 11 years, recorded 800+ episodes, and won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without your help! -- Be well, stay safe, Black Lives Matte

Send us a textWe're kicking off our SXSW 2024 coverage with a serious bang! Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told (streaming now on Hulu) is a documentary about the epic Atlanta street party (aka the "Black Woodstock") that took place in the 80s and 90s, and put Atlanta on the map as the epicenter of Black culture.This interview has a virtual lineup of heavy hitters, including EP/participant/hip-hop legend Jermaine Dupri, EP/participant/rapper/King of Freak Uncle Luke, EP/director P Frank Williams, and  Showrunner Geraldine Porras. We discuss the cultural significance of Freaknik, the party's original student organizers who never expected what it would turn into, revisiting classic hip-hop hits from the 90s, and what the next generation of hip-hop artists can learn from Freaknik's legacy.Follow Geraldine Porras on IGFollow P Frank Williams on IGFollow Jermaine Dupri on IGFollow Uncle Luke on IGSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have reached 11

Send us a textIn the fictional film Float (streaming now on Amazon Prime!), a young woman unexpectedly falls in love with the small-town lifeguard who rescued her from drowning. Director Sherren Lee joins us via zoom to share how she adapted the story from a book by Kate Marchant and was able to make it her own, why being an immigrant from Taiwan helped her relate to the theme of belonging, and how a young boy selling pickles on the side of the road became a beloved character in the film.Follow Sherren Lee on IGSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have reached 11 years, recorded 800+ episodes, and won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without your help! -- Be well, stay safe, Black Lives Matter, AAPI Lives Matter, and abortion is normal. -- Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage! Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts! Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.com Follow us on Instagram & Facebook Listen ever

Send us a textRecorded on our last day in Park City, Utah, we recap the Sundance and Slamdance Film festivals with our co-co-host and honorary bitch, John Wildman. We get into some R rated moments, behind the scenes etiquette (or lack thereof) at red carpets, talking Hall & Oates and Huey Lewis with the CEO of Netflix, and some highlights of our most memorable moments.Check out John Wildman's work at filmsgonewild.comSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have reached 11 years, recorded 800+ episodes, and won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without your help! -- Be well, stay safe, Black Lives Matter, AAPI Lives Matter, and abortion is normal. -- Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage! Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts! Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.com Follow us on Instagram & Facebook Listen every Tuesday at 9 - 10 am on BFF.FM

Send us a textThis is our final Sundance Film Festival episode and we're ending it with two documentaries about and made by some badass women!Frida (now available on prime video!) is a deep dive into the iconic artist Frida Kahlo, told through her own words from diaries, essays, letters, and interviews. Director Carla Guiterrez explains what she learned about Frida through making this film, the significance of Mexico in the 1920s, and how she took creative risks to make Frida's art come to life.And So It Begins follows the 2022 Philippine election as Vice President Leni Robredo battles against Ferdinand Marcos Jr, son of the former Filipino dictator. Our incredible list of guests included director Ramona Diaz, journalist (and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) Maria Ressa, and former Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo. We dive into revisionist history in Filipino politics, how Filipinos like to have a good time, and the power of disinformation in the age of social media.Follow director Carla Gutierrez

Send us a textToday we're bringing you two documentaries from the Sundance Film Festival 2024 that explore alternative lifestyles.DIG! XX exposes the friendship and rivalry of two dueling bands, The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. In this 20th anniversary extended cut of the rock documentary DIG!, director/producer Ondi Timoner and producer/editor David Timoner (yes they're siblings!) share how they chose the additional 40+ minutes of footage, the fun and nostalgia that came with revisiting their experiences on the road 20 years later, and how it feels to introduce this story to a whole new audience. Realm of Satan is a portrait of the Church of Satan that follows Satanists in their daily lives. Director Scott Cummings explains his use of staged, portraiture style filming, why he likes to fuck with the audience, and the surprising connection between Tiki and Satanists. Follow DIG! XX on IGFollow director Ondi Timoner on IGFollow producer David Timoner on IGFollow director Scott Cummi

Send us a textThis is our final Slamdance Film Festival episode and we're ending it with three   documentaries/projects that deal with important international issues.Petro follows former guerilla Senator Gustavo Petro's bid for president as it divides Colombia, a country yearning for change. Director Sean Mattison and producer Trevor Martin join us to share the unique way they first met Petro as college students in DC, moving to Colombia to shoot this film, and the assassination plots against Petro that caused them to also question their own safety.Migrant Sea is an immersive, multi-media documentary about Sub-Saharan migrants who now live in Italy. Director Stephane Grasso shares how his issue with media coverage of immigrants inspired this project, how mixed media not only gives the viewer flexibility in experiencing the project as well as the migrant's flexibility in sharing their story, and his hope that this project will take a life beyond him.Punishment is a documentary set in Norway that

Send us a textToday we're covering two Sundance Film Festival narrative short films, Boi de Conchas and Thirstygirl.In Boi de Conchas, a teenager is searching for her missing sister as local teens are mysteriously being turned into oxen. Director Daniel Barosa explains why death metal was the perfect sound for this story, telling dark themes through fiction, and the special meaning behind the film's location in Brazil.Thirstygirl is a short film about sisterhood and sex addiction. Director Alexandra Qin shares her own personal struggle with sex addiction, why this film was particularly difficult to cast, and the benefit of choreographing sexual scenes with an intimacy coordinator.Follow Boi de Conchas on IGFollow director Daniel Barosa on IGFollow Thirstygirl on IGFollow director Alexandra Qin on IGSupport the showThanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have reached 11 years, recorded 800+ episodes, and won Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 without your help!

Send us a textHoly shit, this is a fun episode! We're covering 2 Slamdance Film Festival short films that are frightening in very different ways.Legend of El Cucuy is a short film about a monster that kidnaps disobedient children at night. Director Cynthia Garcia Williams sits down with us to talk about the importance of casting Afro-Latinos and incorporating Spanish into the film, how Jordan Peele influenced the imagery of El Cucuy, and the first time she learned about El Cucuy as a kid.Welcome to the Enclave is a short film about two Texas sisters who flee to the metaverse to escape the pandemic, until their digital utopia gets taken over by internet trolls. Director Sarah Lasley and star Brenna Palughi shed some light on how Sarah's mom was an inspiration for the short, the beauty and freedom of working with your best friend, and the connection between breastfeeding and Carly Simon's Coming Around Again.Follow director Cynthia Garcia Williams on IGFollow director Sarah Lasley on IGFollow tal

Send us a textThis week we're highlighting three Sundance Film Festival films that deal with the effects of racism in America.As We Speak is a documentary that follows Bronx rap artist Kemba as he explores how rap lyrics are being weaponized in the criminal justice system. Director J.M. Harper and subject Kemba discuss how the film is like a song, the inadequacies of the criminal justice system, and how the story is not over.Seeking Mavis Beacon is a documentary that follows the investigation into what happened to one of the most influential Black women in technology who has been missing from the public eye since 1995. Director/investigator Jazmin Jones and associate producer/investigator Olivia McKayla Ross sit down with us to share how they met, how they learned to lean into the discomfort of the process, and servile fembots and marginalized bodies in the tech industry.Finally, we close things out at the red carpet premiere of The American Society of Magical Negroes, with fun chats with director Kobi L

Send us a textWe are at the Slamdance Film Festival bringing you three short films that deal with the complicated nature of family issues.Baby is a charming short film that follows what happens when a woman with down syndrome wants to have a baby. Director/producer James Di Martino and writer/producer Llewellyn Michael Bates explain why they found it important to tell this story, the inspiration behind the fun party scene, and what a joy it was to make.In Dosh, a hard-of-hearing mother must decide how to get help for her husband's mental illness after her son's life is put at risk. Director/writer Radha Mehta and talent Renu Razdan share how cultural differences and shame play a big part of this story, putting disability and bipolarism on the forefront, and what it takes for a woman to feel more empowered.Restorage is the pilot episode for a series about a man who's father has passed away and left him an old storage unit that has the ability to fix anything that's been broken. Co-creator/d

Send us a textThis week we're highlighting two Sundance documentaries that cover very different ways to deal with grief and loss.Look Into My Eyes is an intimate look at a group of psychics in New York and their clients. Director (and return guest) Lana Wilson shares how she found clients willing to be on camera, the importance of witnessing someone, and the 20 minute lizard story that she struggled to cut down for time.Eternal You uncovers the frightening new trend of startups using AI and avatars to allow users to "communicate" with their loved ones after death. Co-directors Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck explain their complicated feelings about the topic, and the emotions and conversations they hope will come from those who watch it.Follow director Lana Wilson on IGFollow director Hans Block on IGFollow director Moritz Riesewieck on IG--Thanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have reached 10 years, 700 episodes or Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 & 2023 without

Send us a textThis episode highlights two Slamdance Film Festival narrative films and the conversations cover everything from religion to chlamydia!Bliss is the second film in a trilogy that follows Virgil Bliss, a fugitive that has now been on the run for twenty years, and has to deal with the sudden death of his girlfriend and the surprise arrival of her religious sister. We had a packed house with director/writer Joe Maggio, actors/co-writers Faryl Amadeus and Clint Jordan, and Executive Producer Larry Fessenden. They share the significance of the desert in Virgil's story, how they had fun with the collaborative scriptwriting process, incidental filmmaking, and how religion became a big part of the story.The Bitcoin Car is a musical adventure that involves a young goat farmer and a cryptocurrency mine built on top of a graveyard. Director Trygve Luktvasslimo and talent Zoe Winter-Hansen join us to discuss how the film deals with serious issues in a fun way, why the film also needed to be a musical, an

Send us a textWe're at the Sundance Film Festival to discuss two short films that bring fantasy, horror, suspense, and surprise!The Rainbow Bridge is a film about dying pets, a questionable clinic, and sinister doctors who promise human-to-pet communication. Director Dimitri Simakis and actor Thu Tran share the evolution of puppetry and imagery in the film, and the fine art of acting with a stuffed animal.Dream Creep is a story about a couple that wakes up in the middle of the night to sounds emanating from a surprising orifice. Director Carlos AF Lopez and talent Sidney Jayne Hunt discuss how the shoot became a house party with friends, and how they were able to build suspense in this horrific short film.Follow director Dimitri Simakis on IGFollow director Carlos AF Lopez on IGFollow talent Sidney Jayne Hunt on IG--Thanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have reached 10 years, 700 episodes or Best of the Bay Best Podcast in 2022 & 2023 without your help! --Be well, stay safe, Bla

Send us a textWelcome to the Slamdance Film Festival 2024! Today we're talking about two great documentaries that highlight the passion and determination that it takes to be an athlete.The Death Tour follows wrestling hopefuls in the most grueling tour in wrestling, as they cross northern Canada (in the heart of winter) in order to entertain remote indigenous communities. We sit down with Executive Producer and wrestling great Chris Jericho, and directors Sonya Ballantyne and Stephan Peterson, to discuss the deep significance of the Death Tour (as it celebrates its 50th year!), the difficult task of choosing which wrestlers to highlight, and how a certain director reacted to being mistaken for a wrestler.Nina is an Athlete follows an Israeli wheelchair badminton champion, Nina Gorodetsky, as she attempts to fulfill her dream of making it to the Paralympics, while being a full time mother who is pushing 40. Director Ravit Markus shares the pros and cons of making a film about family, how she accidentally