Projections Podcast: Recent Episodes
Sarah Kathryn Cleaver and Mary Wild
We're back and thrilled to be joined by Dario Llinares of The Cinematologists podcast to discuss some films that didn't make it into our erotic cinema series. Listen to discover some of our naughty faves.
In the final episode of our erotic cinema series, Mary and Sarah talk guilt, S&M therapy and the sublime in Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac (2014) and David Cronenberg's Crash (1996).
Wondering what films to see in the upcoming months? Sarah and Mary share their picks from the 2022 BFI London Film Festival. Films covered (spoiler free) include The Whale, Decision to Leave, Triangle of Sadness, Holy Spider, No Bears, The Wonder and more…
This week we return to the erotic film series. Mary and Sarah discuss fetish, mortification and fairy tales in Liliana Cavani's controversial 1974 classic The Night Porter, and Armie Hammer's favourite film Secretary (2002).
As promised, Mary and Sarah watch Discovery+'s three-part House of Hammer documentary, and deliver their psychoanalytic verdict. We speculate on Armie Hammer's unconscious motivations, kink shaming, rogue therapists, trauma as spectacle and a serious misreading of the 2002 film Secretary. TWs obviously include sexual assault and abuse.
This week Mary and Sarah talk taboo, manic pixie dream girls and curatorship in two erotic classics: Alfonso Cuarón's Y Tu Mamà También (2001) and 9 1/2 Weeks (1986) by Adrian Lyne.
For episode 4 of our Erotic Cinema series, Mary and Sarah review two soft-core classics, Just Jaeckin's directorial debut Emmanuelle (1974) and Tinto Brass' gorgeous Paprika (1991). Digressions include Mary's favourite porn stars and Sarah's greatest ambition...
In episode 3 of our Erotic Cinema series, Sarah and Mary analyse a Paul Verhoeven double bill over a delicious meal of brown rice and vegetables. We discuss excess and female jouissance in Basic Instinct (1992) and Showgirls (1995).
In episode 2 of our Erotic Cinema series, Mary and Sarah analyse Thanatos, family dysfunction and repetition compulsion in Louis Malle’s Damage (1992) and Steve McQueen’s Shame (2011). We also completely rebrand the death drive, no big deal.
We're back with a new series on Erotic Cinema! Mary and Sarah catch up on life and films before delving into their first topic of the series – 'Eros'. We discuss sex, creative work and the mystery of female sexuality in Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs (2001) and Julio Medem's Sex and Lucia (2004).
Mary and Sarah turn agony aunts to tackle 5 romantic listener queries, and give their thoughts on The Tinder Swindler (2022) for a special bonus episode.
It’s the final episode of The Uncanny series! Mary and Sarah discuss uncanny tech in Alex Garland’s Ex Machina (2015) and Spike Jonze’s Her (2013) and share some of their own strange technology experiences.
In the penultimate episode of our Uncanny series, Mary and Sarah talk surgery and identity formation in Georges Franju's Eyes Without a Face (1960) and Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In (2011).
Mary and Sarah explore the meaning of dummies and dolls in two uncanny horror movies; the 1945 anthology film Dead of Night, and John Lafia’s Child’s Play 2.
Mary and Sarah discuss the differences between beauty and the sublime in episode three of our series on The Uncanny. First up the sublime becomes ridiculous in Robert Zemeckis’ Death Becomes Her (1992), then beauty lead to the sublime in Claire Oakley’s Make Up (2019).
On episode two of The Uncanny series, Mary and Sarah engage in a slightly delirious discussion of food, family dynamics and trauma in Robert Aldrich’s Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) and Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ Swallow (2020). Deviations include our favourite bodily fluids and a great idea for a new A24 project.
Welcome to series 7 of Projections Podcast. This week Mary and Sarah kick off The Uncanny with a look at two domicile-based films by masters of cinema: Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel (1962) and Roman Polanski’s The Tenant (1976).
It’s time for our final episode on the subject of The Double. Mary and Sarah discuss two body horror films about transformation, Brandon Cronenberg’s inspired debut Antiviral (2012), and Mary’s favourite film, Darren Aronofsky’s contemporary classic Black Swan (2010).
In our penultimate episode of The Double series, Mary and Sarah explore confused identities, society’s love for the persona and LARPing in Basil Deardon’s The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970) and Sophia Takal’s Always Shine (2016).
In a very special bonus episode, Mary and Sarah fulfil a shared dream and speak to philosopher, writer, Pervert's Guide star and meme sensation Slavoj Žižek! The conversation covers the pop culture subjects of Lars Von Trier films, 'yes means yes' laws, pandemic viewing, Agatha Christie, identity politics and sex advice.
Sarah and Mary are back with another episode of The Double series. This time we're looking at stage personas in Casey Affleck's performance piece I'm Still Here (2010) and Todd Haynes' cult masterpiece Velvet Goldmine (1998). We discuss the psychoanalytic persona and Mary gives an insight into her own change of name–plus numerous fun facts about David Bowie and Joaquin Phoenix.rous fun facts about David Bowie and Joaquin Phoenix.
Mary and Sarah are back on the theme of ‘The Double’, discussing the Jungian shadow in Jordan Peele’s Us (2019) and Christopher Smith’s Triangle (2009). Ideas thrown about include ‘the deplorables’, the interior world of the abuser and why Australians are so damn good at cinema.
In this bonus episode, Mary and Sarah review two recently released rape revenge films; Emerald Fennell's highly anticipated Promising Young Woman (2020) and Madeleine Sims-Fewer's Violation (2020) which several listeners recommended to us. Spoiler warning!
For episode 3 of The Double series, Sarah and Mary discuss ‘Clones’ and relationship anxiety in Sean Ellis’ 2008 film The Brøken and Duncan Jones’ Moon (2009). Deviations include Edgar Allan Poe and… Jackie Collins.
Continuing our series on the subject of The Double, Mary and Sarah discuss lookalikes in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s sublime film The Double Life of Veronique (1991) and John Woo’s ridiculous one Face/Off (1997). We talk Otto Rank’s influential text, projection, creativity and religion.
Welcome to Series 6, in which we will explore The Double in cinema, an uncanny storytelling device often relied upon to represent self-division, a split in personality, or an emotional conflict. In Episode 1, Mary and Sarah discuss the desire to return to the womb and the doubling of the psychoanalytic process in David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers (1988) and François Ozon's L'Amant Double (2017).
In this relaxed fit bonus episode, Sarah and Mary speculate over the things left unsaid in the New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears (2021)
We tried to take January off, but felt duty bound to analyse the FEAST of signifiers within the (alleged) Armie Hammer DMs situation. Mary and Sarah talk abandonment issues, wife envy and borderline personality disorder, and come up with an amazing idea for a screenplay. Slide into our DMs producers! We do read these messages aloud so TW for mentions of cannibalism, mutilation, rape and Olympic swimmers.
In the final episode of our Cults on Film series, Sarah and Mary talk deprogramming in Jane Campion’s Holy Smoke! (1999) and Mary Harron’s Charlie Says (2018). Our discussion covers the termination of psychoanalysis, education and the ‘cult of love’. Also we wonder whether any Manson family member really cut an umbilical cord with their teeth and find out whether babies can breathe underwater. Thanks for listening to our latest series, we’ll be back with a new one in February.
In the penultimate episode of our Cults on Film series. Mary and Sarah tackle two heavily alliterative titles; Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) and Josephine Decker’s Madeline’s Madeline. We discuss isolation, disassociation and the psychically dangerous profession of acting.
Sarah and Mary dive into the murky waters of Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master (2012) and Alex Gibney's Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015) to explore brainwashing, Lacan’s four discourses and families in the fourth episode of our cults on film series.
In episode 3 of our Cults on Film series, Mary and Sarah discover that David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999) and Ari Aster’s Midsommar (2019) are essentially the same film, and discuss Freudian ideas of identification and lack.
Our Cults on Film series is back. Sarah and Mary talk conspiracy, lack and possession in Ken Russell's The Devils (1971) and Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's The Endless (2017), coming to the conclusion that conspiratorial thinking reigns when trauma is seen as not being enough.
Mary and Sarah discuss their top five films from the London Film Festival, Natalie Erika James' Relic, Josephine Decker's Shirley, Natalia Meta's The Intruder, Brandon Cronenberg's Possessor and Francis Lee's Ammonite.
Welcome to Series 5: Cults on Film! Mary and Sarah begin with a discussion of faith, infantilism and creative purpose in Danny Boyle's The Beach (2000) and Will Allen's Holy Hell (2016). Join us!
We warmed up for our upcoming series on cults by discussing psychoanalysis, the occult and Ari Aster's Hereditary (2018) with special guest Vanessa Sinclair. Vanessa Sinclair is a practicing psychoanalyst, writer, podcaster, and collage artist. Together we discussed the connections between the practices of art, magic and psychoanalysis, grief and rogue therapists on film.
Wrapping up our ‘Work and Money’ series, Mary and Sarah discuss whether we can liberate ourselves from the tyranny of neoliberal oppression, as tested in Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Sam Mendes’ American Beauty (1999).
In the penultimate episode of our Work and Money series, Mary and Sarah discuss the absence of humanity in the post-digital economy, as exemplified by Daniel Goldhaber and Issa Mazzei’s Cam (2018) and Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You (2019).
This week on our Work and Money series, Mary and Sarah talk liminal spaces and the uncanny in the homes of Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982) and Boots Reiley's Sorry to Bother You (2018).
Mary and Sarah return to the exploration of work and money with a look at the concept of ‘austerity’ and its effects in two unsettling films; Craig Zobel’s Compliance (2012) and Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin (2013).
This week Sarah and Mary discuss working to survive in Rob Reiner's Misery (1990) based on the Stephen King novel that Sarah was too scared to finish reading, and Mike Judge's cult favourite Office Space (1999).
Continuing their look at work and money on screen, Mary and Sarah find themselves with an ambivalent view of competition after watching James Foley’s Glengarry Glen Ross and Alain Corneau’s Crime D’Amour.
This week Sarah and Mary continue their discussion of economics through the lenses of Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring (2013). We discuss the interlacing of sex and money, emotional labour, the masks we wear at work, the sadness of consumption and so much more!
‘Neoliberalism is capitalism without a safeword’. Welcome to Series 4: Work and Money. In our first episode in the series, Mary and Sarah discuss ‘excess’ in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers (2012).
In this bonus episode recorded a little while ago, Mary and Sarah invited special guest, friend of the podcast Alex Pearce to discuss the horrors of art, as represented in Netflix’s Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) and The House With Laughing Windows (1976).
With Shudder giving new customers a 30 day free trial with the code 'Shutin' Mary and Sarah see what the horror streaming service are offering and give their top picks to take you through the lockdown. Stay inside, stay safe!
This week Sarah takes a day off, and Mary invites writer and cinephile Katy D'Avella to see and discuss Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2020). In this spoilerific discussion, the two look at the film through the lenses of desire, psychoanalysis and... astrology.
While we work on our new series we’re releasing some bonus content. Mary and Sarah discuss Leigh Whannell’s new release The Invisible Man (spoilerific) and then Mary discusses Whannell’s previous film Upgrade (2018) with special guest… her sister, Mimi!
While we record the next series, we’re releasing some bonus content. We spoke to Adam Chamberlain of the Frame of Mind blog to discuss representations of mental illness in our favourite TV shows. Adam is a part-time author and blogger, with an academic interest in psychology and mental health, including its representations on screen. Shows discussed include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Replacement, Homeland, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Breaking Bad and more…
In our final episode of Women in Horror, we’re thrilled to be joined by the master of horror podcasting himself; Mike Muncer from The Evolution of Horror. This week’s chosen movies are Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body (2009) and Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity (2007) We discussed trauma resurfacing, demonic activity and rape revenge. Don’t be scared, you’re safe with us.
For the penultimate episode in our Women in Horror series, Zoe from Zobo With A Shotgun podcast joins us to talk extreme horror. We discuss Pascal Laugier’s infamous Martyrs (2008) and the Soska sisters’ American Mary (2012) stopping along the way to explore the depiction of trauma on screen, revenge and rejecting ‘respectable’ society. Don’t be scared… you’re safe with us.
Sarah and Mary continue their exploration of women in horror with an in depth look at two female investigators; the women of Thesis (1996) and The Ring (2002). They touch on the myth of the snuff film, the real life evils of the golden age of television and why Gore Verbinsky’s sequel is so much better than the original.
Mary and Sarah get past their fear of having children to explore what’s really so scary about birth in this week’s ‘women in horror’ films - new French extremity film Inside or À l'intérieur (2007) and Darren Aronofsky’s Mother (2017). We discuss the selfishness of creativity, the killing of one’s former self and the horror of abjection. Stick around, you’re safe with us.
Mary and Sarah discuss the horrifying aspects of romantic relationships in the second episode of the Women in Horror series. They look at Claire Denis’ erotic horror Trouble Every Day (2001) and Ben Young’s debut, semi-based on a true crime story, Hounds of Love (2016). Don’t be scared, you’re safe with us!
Welcome to our new series; Women in Horror! We’re starting off on the theme of perfection, discussing trauma, exploitation and the pain of transformation in Starry Eyes (2014) by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer and Netflix’s The Perfection (2019) - Richard Shepard.
While you wait for our Women in Horror series (starting next Wednesday 30th October) to begin, listen to our take on the year’s most divisive film, Todd Phillips’ Joker (2019), starring Joaquin Phoenix.
For our final episode in the Fashion Films series, Mary and Sarah discuss the controversial documentary The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye (2016) and Olivier Assayas’s Personal Shopper (2016). We’re wrapping up our exploration of fashion and film with a look at Jung’s theory of the shadow, public personas, fakes, counterfeits, truth and lies. And a bit of astrology too.
Sarah and Mary welcome special guest artist, gallerist, PHD scholar and former make-up artist Cathy Lomax to talk about make-up, style and surface in Anna Biller’s extraordinary 2016 film The Love Witch. The three discuss their favourite make-up moments in film, styles of female power and Lomax’s film diaries.
This week Mary and Sarah delve further into the subject of fashion and fetish with two films about shopping and its connection to control; Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) and Pretty Woman (1990) directed by Gary Marshall.
Sarah and Mary discuss fetishism, fashion and wigs in Ken Russell’s Crimes of Passion (1984) and David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986).
Mary and Sarah spoke to director Gareth Tunley about his 2016 film The Ghoul, representing metal illness in cinema, magical thinking and more…
Mary and Sarah discuss the darkness and destruction of American Vogue documentary The September Issue (2009) and Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon (2016).
Sarah and Mary discuss two films featuring murder in the fashion world: Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace (1964) and Irvin Kershner’s The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978).
Sarah and Mary revisit Bruce Weber’s strange essay film Chop Suey (2001) and Tom Ford’s sublime A Single Man (2009) and their exploration of desire in fashion.
Sarah and Mary begin their analysis of films about fashion with George Cukor’s My Fair Lady (1964) and Michaelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up (1966).
Happy New Year listeners! Mary and Sarah deal with the various personal issues raised by Ben Wheatley’s Happy New Year Colin Burstead (2018).
Mary and Sarah review Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nations (2018) and talk nudes, memes and snuff films.
Sarah and Mary review new Netflix release Cam (2018) and interview the filmmakers Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei in this supersize bonus episode.
Mary and Sarah revisit Michael Pearce’s directorial debut Beast (2017), along with some Jersey-based true crime and Terence Malik’s Badlands.
Sarah and Mary went to see Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread (2017) and talked about fashion and death, soulmates and power afterwards.
Sarah and Mary review Gaspar Noe’s Climax (2018) and can’t prevent themselves spoiling (sorry).
Mary and Sarah lift the mask of sanity on Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals (2016).
Sarah and Mary get a little intense with Barbet Schroeder’s Single White Female (1992) and Jason Reitman’s Young Adult (2011).
Mary and Sarah show Gus Van Sant’s To Die For (1995) and David Fincher’s Gone Girl (2014) some admiration.
Sarah and Mary unpick the realities of Graeme Clifford’s Frances (1982) and Peter Weir’s The Truman Show (1999).
Mary and Sarah discuss the veil of sadness surrounding Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides (1999) and Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake (2016).
Welcome to our first ever episode! Sarah and Mary explore the anxious feelings they get from Otto Preminger’s Bunny Lake is Missing (1965) and Alice Lowe’s Prevenge (2016).