Women X Film Festival Podcast

Planning a festival is glamorous… said no one ever. From late-night spreadsheet marathons to last-minute schedule disasters, festival prep can be messy, stressful, and often downright hilarious in hindsight. This episode dives into ten things that went wrong while planning the festival — yes, the real behind-the-scenes chaos — and the bonus chapter: navigating burnout while still trying to make it...

The festival can be overwhelming — so many films, panels, and events, and only so many hours in the day! This episode shares top tips for curating your ultimate festival experience. From choosing the screenings that truly excite you, navigating packed schedules without losing your sanity, to using a festival pass like a pro, this is a guide to enjoying every moment your way . Whether it’s a first-...

Festival season is here, and festival director Caris is spilling all the secrets from her festival bag! 🎒 From the must-have essentials to little extras that make your day easier (and way more fun), we're sharing what we pack for a full day of screenings, panels, and surprises. Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned festival-goer, this episode has tips, tricks, and a few unexpected items you...

Women X’s Caris Rianne dusts off the mic and dives into what makes this year's festival extra special, highlighting the experience for both returning festival go-ers and the newbies. Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/riannepictures/ https://www.tiktok.com/@riannepictures The Women X Film Festival Podcast is produced by Rianne Pictures: https://riannepictures.com/ Make sure to subs...

Women X’s Caris Rianne and Ashton Clarke reflect on the last five years of Women X Film Festival, from what started as an online venture in 2020 to hundreds attending the 3-day festival at Darlington Hippodrome. (And we’re still growing!) Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/riannepictures/ https://twitter.com/riannepictures https://www.tiktok.com/@riannepictures The Women X Film Fes...

Mel and Caris return for the third episode in our popular film festival scams series. They cover a well-known, successful festival that flopped after promising 1,000 films and bogus hotel packages, and a scam script competition offering AI feedback! Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/riannepictures/ https://twitter.com/riannepictures https://www.tiktok.com/@riannepictures The Women...

Abbie from the Women X team is joined by Jessie Craig Roche, director of the short film ‘Three Things We Don’t Talk About’. She talks about why horror is so interesting as a genre, particularly for short films. They also discuss Jessie’s filmmaking experience, making a film in between COVID lockdowns, and more. Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/riannepictures/ https://twitter.com/...

Emily Garbutt from the Rianne Pictures team chats with Athanasia Bartzoka, whose film ‘Raja’s Had Enough’ screened at last year’s festival. Athanasia talks crowdfunding £10k for the film and how much work it took to get there, getting into filmmaking after a finance undergrad, and the challenges of balancing life and freelancing work. Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/riannepictur...

Emily Garbutt from the Rianne Pictures team chats with Athanasia Bartzoka, whose film ‘Raja’s Had Enough’ screened at last year’s festival. Athanasia talks crowdfunding £10k for the film and how much work it took to get there, getting into filmmaking after a finance undergrad, and the challenges of balancing life and freelancing work. Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/riannepictur...

Women X’s Abbie is joined by Ella Maree Carey, whose film ‘Prawn’ screened at WXFF 2023. Ella discusses making a film during lockdown, her bad directing experience which taught her to embrace failure and learn from her mistakes, and her top tips for making short films. Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/riannepictures/ https://twitter.com/riannepictures https://www.tiktok.com/@rian...

In this episode, Caris Rianne is joined by Zoë Bullock, one of the Rianne Pictures script competition finalists! They discuss top tips for entering script competitions, how Zoë got into writing scripts, whether creative industries are becoming more accessible for women, and the differences between writing for theatre and TV. Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/riannepictures/ https:...

Women X's Emily Garbutt sits down with Women X alumni Jo Lane (“MUG”) to talk about making a film with BFI funding, how her own grief inspired her film about a grieving character, and how she came to filmmaking from a background in interactive and fine arts. Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/riannepictures/ https://twitter.com/riannepictures https://www.tiktok.com/@riannepictures...

Women X's Emily Garbutt chats with Tyro Heath about her film 'BIRDS', including how it felt to shoot the film in a decommissioned women's prison. She also discusses her documentary background, and how her skills inform her fiction filmmaking. Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/riannepictures/ https://twitter.com/riannepictures https://www.tiktok.com/@riannepictures The Women X Film...

In this episode, we delve into Rianne Pictures' experience at the Woman with a Movie Camera Summit, where they gained valuable insights and inspiration from female filmmakers in the industry. The summit provided a platform for discussing challenges, successes, and the importance of female representation in film. Rianne Pictures shared their key takeaways from the event, including their two events!...

Listen to a Christmas special episode of our first podcast Not Having It All, where hosts Caris, Laverne and Neha discuss where the magic of Christmas films went. The original podcast will be back in 2024!

Cais reflects back on her highlights of each year of Rianne Pictues in celebration of the 10th anniversary

Learn all the behind the scenes magic of this year's film festival, Festival Director Caris Rianne and Festival Producer Ashton Clarke take us through all the moments from the start to the end.

Learn all the behind the scenes magic of this year's film festival, Festival Director Caris Rianne and Festival Producer Ashton Clarke take us through all the moments from the start to the end.

In the final interview recorded live at this year’s Women X Film Festival, Charlotte chats with the writers, directors, and producer of “A Television Broadcast from Outer Space”: Mo, Steph and Mikel. They talk about the process of getting funding for the film, how they came up with the idea of making a short film that crosses several genres, and how they each found their way into the industry. Fin...

At Women X Film Festival, we sat down with Amber Clarke-McGrath to talk about her short 'Hairy'. Amber talks about taking on multiple roles when creating the short film, the inspiration behind it and her film festival strategy. Amber’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amberclarke-mcgrath5327 Watch ‘Hairy’ here: https://www.minuteshorts.co.uk/film_player/hairy Find us on social media: http...

Welcome back to our series of interviews recorded LIVE at the 2023 edition of Women X Film Festival! Charlotte from the Women X team chats with Samantha Castro, director of ‘Love That’. They talk about how Samantha went from attending Women X last year to becoming one of this year’s filmmakers, why she founded Newcastle Film Club, and what’s on her bucket list as a filmmaker. https://scastrocreati...

Welcome to the first in a series of interviews recorded LIVE at this year’s Women X Film Festival! Charlotte from the Women X team sits down with Joanne Michael, producer of ‘Blind Spot’, to talk about her film and all things crowdfunding. She tells us why she wanted to be a filmmaker, the inspiration for ‘Blind Spot’, and how a successful crowdfunding campaign made it happen. Find us on social me...

Women X's Emily Garbutt chats with filmmaker Sascha Lo about her film 'Model of Life'. They discuss Sascha's career journey from standup comedy to comedic filmmaking, how she made a film using only an incredible £30 budget while at university, and how filmmaking can be very accessible to anyone who has an idea and the drive to give it a go. Find us on social media: https://www.instagram.com/rianne...

Women X's Neha Vyas interviews filmmaker Sinéad O'Loughlin about her film 'Lamb'. They chat about Sinéad's inspirations for her short film, the funding process in Ireland & how she overcame challenges while shooting. Sinéad also talks about the film's journey on the film festival circuit ('Lamb' is now on the longlist for the Oscars!) and why networking at festivals is so valuable. Find us on...

Women X's Ashton Clarke interviews Yangming Liu about the female gaze in film, the process of writing, directing and editing 'Body Rhapsody' & how she developed her filmmaking style. You can watch Yangming's short film 'Body Rhapsody' at Women X Film Festival 2023, which will run from 9-10 September at the Darlington Hippodrome. You can also join us online. Get your tickets here: https://www.r...