When I started my seasonal position at the Virginia Film Festival I decided to put together a presentation of THE FILMS THAT INSPIRE ME. It was a fun project!

I love documentaries, movies that make me laugh, and films that make me cry. 

The last 4 movies I’ve watched as of October 15, 2022 are:

• Sidney 
• ‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas
• Bad Moms
• Devotion

I’m so excited that the Virginia Film Festival 2022 program is finally released! It’s been hard to stay quiet about all the amazing films coming to Charlottesville on November 2-6. I can’t wait to see (in alphabetical order):

• All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
• Black Fiddlers
• Clarissa’s Battle
• Dani’s Twins
• Empire of Light
• Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
• Good Night Oppy
• Huesera
• Karaoke
• Liquor Store Dreams
• Living
• The Lost King
• Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power
• Mama’s Boy with Dustin Lance Black
• My Father’s Dragon
• Saint Omer
• Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams
• She Said
• Songs About Love
• Ten Months
• Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb
• Women Talking

Wow, that’s a long list! I probably won’t get seeing all of these during the festival, but I’ll keep them on my watchlist for when they get released on demand. :) 

These panels should be really interesting;

• From Page to Screen—Screenwriter’s Panel
• The Power of Media, Storytelling, and The Muppets of Sesame Street​

Updated (10/15/22)

Watching a variety of tv series, documentaries, and movies is something that helps refocus me when I’m caught in rumination and worry. Here’s my recommendation list for inspiration. Some items I highly recommend**** and others have had an impact on me in other ways. Will delve into how exposing my mind to such amazing shows has helped me in future posts. 

Television

• Bad Sisters ****
• Girls5Eva ****
• Hacks ****
• ​The Other Two ****
• Dollface ****
• Shrill ****
• The Baby ****
• The Rehearsal ****
• Abbott Elementary ****
• We Are Lady Parts ****
• State of the Union 2nd season **** 
• Somebody Somewhere ****
• The White Lotus ****
• The Sex Lives of College Girls **** 
• Nine Perfect Strangers ****
• Succession **** (my fave show right now, watched it 100+ times)
• The Morning Show ****
• Six Feet Under ****
• In Treatment  ****
• The Leftovers ****
• Gravity Falls **** (also watched this dozens & dozens of times)
• We Own These Streets ***
• Six Feet Under ****
• The Wire ***
• The Sopranos ****
• Mrs. America ****
• Enlightened ****
• Servant
• Single Drunk Female​
• And Just Like That…
• 30 Rock
• Inventing Anna
• Little Fires Everywhere
• Only Murders in the Building
• The Bold Type 
• Suspicion
• Suspicion
• Winning Time
• The Gilded Age  
• Mare of Easttown 
• Big Little Lies

Films

• Good Luck to You, Leo Grande ***
• Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen ****
• a-ha: The Movie ****
• Don’t Look Up ****
• CODA ****
• Sing Street ****
• ​Sidney ****
• The Tinder Swindler
• Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
• WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn
• MIGHTY IRA documentary

Recommended by Friends and I Still to Watch…

• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
• Severence 

Shows I Tried, but Just Can’t Enjoy or Get Really into for Some Reason

• Ted Lasso
• Industry
• Euphoria
• Barry 
• House of the Dragon

• The Flight Attendant
• Irma Vep

Guilty Pleasures / Background TV

• Law & Order (ever season ever, but only the original show, no spin-offs)
• Monarch 
• Southern Charm
• Real Housewives of New York City
• Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
• House Hunters

When I started my seasonal position at the Virginia Film Festival I decided to put together a presentation of THE FILMS THAT INSPIRE ME. It was a fun project! I love documentaries, movies that make me laugh, and films that make me cry. 

The last 4 movies I’ve watched as of October 15, 2022 are:

• Sidney 
• ‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas
• Bad Moms
• Devotion

Peacock has two of my favorite new shows: Girls5eva and We Are Lady Parts.. Both feature an ensemble of women in lead roles as well as some catchy tunes that’ll make you smile.

I had "Coded Bias" on my DVR since it aired on PBS's Independent Lens on March 22, but I finally watched it yesterday. It was riveting and mind-blowing for me.

I'm actually shocked I didn't have nightmares about data collection and face recognition software last night because I was terrified watching this documentary.

I'm also in awe of the work that Joy Buolamwini has done and just signed up for the Algorithmic Justice League!

You can watch Coded Bias on PBS:

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