Our double feature borrows its name and conceit from Claudia Weill's first feature film. 

Girlfriends (1978) has a deceptively simple premise: with her roommate moving out, Susan has to decide whether to live by herself, take on another roommate, or move in with someone else. This simplicity belies a much more complex, rewarding, and often very funny movie about women navigating professional and personal challenges in the 1970s, and people in their mid-to-late twenties pursuing their ambitions. Above all, it is a movie about friendship in all its joys and complications. Since its release, Girlfriends has developed a major following, with major works in the 2010s ("Girls," Francis Ha) taking direct and indirect inspiration from the film. In November 2010, Girlfriends will be released in a 4k transfer by the Criterion Collection. A direct link to watch the film is included below.  

Walking and Talking (1996) likewise features two friends at moments of personal and professional inflection. A portrait of friendship, Walking and Talking is a spiritual successor to Girlfriends. As Janet Maslin noted in her New York Times review, the film "goes straight to the heart of the friendship between these women. It understands what has kept them together and why they drive each other crazy, too." Starring Catherine Keener and Anne Heche, Walking and Talking introduced writer and director Nicole Holofcener, one of the leading female voices in American Independent cinema over the last 25 years. A link to the DVD is included below. 

As part of the program, we are also making available via streaming Claudia Weill's second feature, It's My Turn (1980). A contemporary screwball comedy starring Jill Claybaugh as a math professor torn between a former New York Yankee (Michael Douglas) and a real estate developer (Charles Grodin)

On October 22nd, Claudia Weill will join us on Zoom for a conversation about her work. Follow the link to register for the event.