Ep 97: From lesbian sex clubs to naked period dramas: Rebel Dykes and Mothering Sunday

In this episode, Anna hears from Eva Husson and Odessa Young, the director and star of Mothering Sunday. They discuss the quiet radicalism of a period drama that tells a woman’s story without the primary focus of female struggle, and how mesmerising it is to watch a female creator come into her own. Anna, Eva and Odessa also chat about the teething problems around the burgeoning role of intimacy coordinators on set, how the industry is (or isn’t) changing for women, and battling grey weather and gales to make England look sunny on screen. Next, Anna speaks to the co-directors of Rebel Dykes, Harri Shanahan and Sian A. Williams. Telling the story of a community of lesbians who met in the 1980s “doing art, music, politics and sex”, Rebel Dykes was recently nominated for the BIFA Discovery Award, and is a firm favourite of Girls On Film. Harri and Sian discuss the process of collecting their Rebel Dykes archive, the stories they wanted to tell (spoiler: this is definitely not “another sad lesbian film”), and the unique tone they managed to strike with Rebel Dykes — humour and queer joy at the forefront of an important documentary. Mothering Sunday is out in cinemas now and is produced by Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley. Rebel Dykes is out in cinemas and on digital on the 26th of November 2021. Become a patron of Girls on Film on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/girlsonfilmpodcast Follow us on socials: www.instagram.com/girlsonfilm_podcast/ www.facebook.com/girlsonfilmpodcast www.twitter.com/GirlsOnFilm_Pod www.twitter.com/annasmithjourno Watch Girls On Film on the BFI’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX…L89QKZsN5Tgr3vn7z Girls On Film is an HLA production. Executive producer: Hedda Archbold. Audio Producer: Emma Butt. This episode was produced in partnership with Rémy Martin. Interns: Rosa Herxheimer and Shanaiya Pithiya.