The Bulgari London Breakthrough Women Series
Long-Winded Lady Productions programmed and produced the Breakthrough Women Film Series, consisting of four pre-release screenings hosted by Bulgari Hotel London. The series championed young female filmmakers and female-driven storylines, and ran once-per-month between February and Mary 2018. Each screening was preceded by canapés and wine, and followed by a live Q&A session between Bridget Arsenault (Founder of LWLP) and the director or leading member of the film's cast, giving audiences intimate access to the backstory of each project. Money raised from ticket sales went to the charity, Save The Children.
27 February 2018
Advance screening of the much-anticipated documentary, Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist, followed by a live Q&A session between Bridget Arsenault and Westwood's director, Lorna Tucker. The documentary tells the remarkable story of Dame Vivienne Westwood’s life, her fashion, her personality, her activism, and her cultural importance. Westwood was later released in UK cinemas on 23 March by Dogwoof.
26 March 2018
A screening of the award-winning French film, Jeune Femme, followed by a live Q&A between Bridget Arsenault and the film's director, Leonor Serraile, and its lead actress, Laetitia Dosch. Winner of the Caméra d’Or at the Festival de Cannes 2017.
25 April 2018
Screening of the critically acclaimed film, Blame, followed by a Q&A between Bridget Arsenault and the film's 22-year-old writer, director, producer, and lead actress, Quinn Shephard. Chris Messina (Argo, Julie & Julia, The Mindy Project) stars as substitute drama teacher whose taboo relationship with an unstable student (Quinn Shephard) strikes a nerve in her jealous classmate (Nadia Alexander). Nadia Alexander won Best Actress at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.
30 May 2018
A screening of Chloé Zhao's lyrical docudrama, The Rider, followed by a Q&A between Bridget Arsenault and Zhao. The Rider blends fact and fiction in an intimate portrait of American masculinity at large and a solitary cowboy trying to find his way back to the only life he’s known. It uses a cast of non-actors, most of whom are tasked with playing versions of themselves, in a wholly unique slice-of-life drama.
16 November 2018
Helen Clark became New Zealand's first elected female Prime Minister in 1999, a position she held for nine years, championing nuclear disarmament and public health. My Year With Helen, a documentary by award-winning filmmaker Gaylene Preston, follows Helen Clark closely in her endeavour in 2016 to become the United Nations’ first female Secretary-General.
