For our final episode of season three, we have tossed out the script. By (possibly soon to be regretted) popular request, it’s just us, Monica and Emma, chit-chatting. We share our favourite fictional dinner parties of all time, our thoughts on how social media has changed the dinner party, tips for hosting the Emilies, and so much more. Pull up a chair, won’t you?

Show Notes:

Email us at fanfarefanmail@gmail.com! F, don’t H B! (You’ll know what we mean soon.)

Monica Ainley DLV @monicaainleyDLV | Emma Knight @emmalknight

Thank you so much for listening! See you in season four.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

French actress and director Ana Girardot has brought the mother of French cinema, pioneering early 20th century filmmaker Alice Guy, to dinner. Alice qui??? You might well be asking yourself. And to that we answer: precisely. Alice Guy was all but erased from the history of cinema until recent years, when a handful of biographers and documentarians have done some digging, and shown the world that some of the first narrative films in the history of cinema were written, directed, and produced by a woman. QUOI?? But why have we never heard of her? Why were her contributions to this art form buried for a century? Well…that’s the story of today’s podcast. And who better to enlighten us than one of the brightest stars of contemporary French cinema, actress and director, Ana Girardot. Queue up a case of champagne and a Lipp-style feast, don as many or as few layers as you please, and join us in toasting an inspiring female visionary.

Show Notes:

Email us at fanfarefanmail@gmail.com

Monica Ainley DLV @monicaainleyDLV | Emma Knight @emmalknight

Ana Girardot @girardotana

The podcast we mention: “Alice Guy,” featuring her biographer, author and historian Janelle Dietrick on Ephemeral from iHeartPodcasts

The Alice Guy short films we mention, available on YouTube:

“La Fée Aux Choux” or “Midwife, First Class” or “Midwife to the Upper Class” (!!), 1902

“The Consequences of Feminism” (we think this is a mistranslation – it should be “The Results of Feminism”), 1906

“The Race for the Sausage,” 1907

Some of the many recent films and articles correcting the record:

“Overlooked No More: Alice Guy Blaché, the World’s First Female Filmmaker” by Manohla Dargis in The New York Times

“Alice Guy-Blaché, Cinema’s First Woman Director in Newspapers,” A 2022 post on The Library of Congress Blog by Amber Paranick

“Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché,” TVO Docs, directed by Pamela B. Green

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we are joined by Molly Johnson, one of Canada’s most celebrated jazz vocalists, and her imaginary dinner guest, Billie Holiday. Born Elinore Harris in Philadelphia in 1915, Billie Holiday – a name she later chose for herself – rose from a very difficult childhood in Baltimore and then New York City to become one of the greatest and most influential jazz and blues singers of all time. Nicknamed “Lady Day,” Holiday was a key and very influential early voice in the civil rights movement, refusing to stop singing the song Strange Fruit, even under immense pressure and at significant risk to herself and her career. Molly Johnson, who grew up in Toronto with parents who were devoted civil rights activists and members of Toronto’s musical and artistic scene, is an alum of Canada’s National Ballet School, and beyond her musical career which has spanned multiple genres, she is a mother, a philanthropist, the founder of the Kensington Jazz Festival, and a recent laureate of Canada’s Governor General’s Lifetime Artistic Achievement award as well as France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des arts et des lettres, both awarded this year. You’ll want to stay until the wee hours for this one, and if you do, a friend peanut butter and jelly sandwich might just make its way into your hands.

Show Notes:

Listen to our Dinner with Billie Holiday playlist on Spotify

Email us at fanfarefanmail@gmail.com

Monica Ainley DLV @monicaainleyDLV | Emma Knight @emmalknight

Molly Johnson’s website, Instagram @mollyjohnsonmusic, + Twitter @themollyjohnson

The NPR Through-line episode we mention: The United States Versus Billie Holiday

The BBC documentary: Billie: In Search of Billie Holiday

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.