...You're professor & writer, Dr. Robin J. Hayes

Hi friends,

Welcome to SCREEN SOMM, a newsletter filled with recommendations of what to watch, from me, Kristen, a screenwriter. Last week we shouted out ‘Merica on her 250th. Next week I’ll ready you to go on an Odyssey. Daily recs and Thursday hang sesh on Substack (website or app).

On to this week’s recs from our first Guest SOMM!

Robin is a filmmaker, founder, and professor based in Venice, CA. Author of Love for Liberation and the substack ROOF Razers. She’s also my good friend, movie buddy, and she has excellent taste.

No, we can’t all be her… but we can watch like her!

I’m watching My Father’s Shadow a film by Akinola Davies as well as RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars and its accompanying Untucked.

Is God Is, the film by Aleesha Harris and All Her Fault with Sarah Snook.

Before sleeping, which is terrible sleep hygiene. It’s easy but my taste is better when I watch earlier during the day.

Yes I’m a theater person. I’m lucky to be invited to theater screenings of films and TV series as a WGA member. It was impactful to see Spider-Noir that way.

No one* or friends.

^{*editor’s note: LUCKY YOU!}

Hands down Paris is Burning.

More recently, One Battle After Another. (Watch on: HBO Max)

One Battle After Another.

My special blanket that was made by revolutionary Zapatista women in Chiapas.

This usually varies depending on what I’m writing. So currently, Malcolm X, Bonnie and Clyde, Battle of Algiers, Ocean’s 11 (the original), and Purple Rain.

For folks looking for some hope and baddassery in these tough times, they can check out the films on my Letterboxd list: “Black Women Revolt”.

I’d love a recommendation for mid-century classic films like “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” — light-hearted working-class BFF women getting over on the system with sass and style.

SCREEN SOMM Rec: Philadelphia Story (1940)

A socialite’s wedding weekend turns to hijinx and honest introspection when her ex-husband (Cary Grant) and a very cute tabloid journalist (Jimmy Stuart) converge for the event. TW: Opens on some “comedic” (?!) domestic abuse that has not aged well, but pushing past that (you can honestly skip it if you need to) I love the heroine’s journey to valuing her own personhood. There’s also the beloved 1956 Frank Sinatra musical reboot version that some prefer, High Society (1956).

I also strongly recommend Robin’s award winning documentary Black and Cuba is streaming on Tubi. It follows a group of outcast Ivy League students who adventure through the streets of Havana and Santiago. Find Robin on substack, Instagram, and Letterboxd.

MOVIES • ‘Series’ • Did Not Finish* • Rewatched • Ongoing… •  🍼= first rewatch >20 years

06/29 - ‘The Other Bennett Sister’ (ep 1-2)

06/30 - WIDOWS…

07/01 - ‘The Other Bennett Sister’ (ep 3)

07/02 - ‘The Other Bennett Sister’ (ep 5-7)

07/03 - ‘The Other Bennett Sister’ (ep 8-10) - Pretty great, it turns out.

07/04 - ZODIAC (Happy FOJ!)

New releases on my radar

• MOANA (Live Action) - There is no bar higher.

• Little House on the Prairie (Netflix) - I’m weirdly excited and nostalgic for IP I have never enaged with. I’ve heard it’s stressful and not cozy… maybe the anti-trad wife programming we need whilst we wait for Yesteryear to premiere? I hope it’s woke as hell.

• Big Brother Season 28 (CBS/Paramount+) - Never watched but I might start!

• Project Runway Season 22 (Disney+/Hulu) - This is an easy show to start even if you haven’t seen earlier seasons. (I started with last season.)

And more importantly, what did you think about it? Let’s discuss.

Happy watching, everyone!

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