This year, Anna Smith is joined by a panel including actress Sophia Myles, best known for Doctor Who, Spooks, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and Outlander, as well as writers and performers Sally Phillips and Ronni Ancona, who formed the independent production company Captain Dolly.

Girls On Film has amassed a loyal following since it was founded in 2018, welcoming guests including Carey Mulligan, Amma Asante and Gillian Anderson among a host of other notable actors, directors, and critics. In 2022, Girls On Film was nominated for Best Live Podcast at the British Podcast Awards, and the same year, increased its reach through the Girls On Film Awards rewarding “excellence in the field of feminism, inclusion and diversity, female representation, and the female gaze”.

The Girls On Film live edition at Cinemagic 2023 will once again feature fresh perspectives, insightful analysis and a chance for questions from the audience.

Sally Phillips is one of Britain’s best known comic talents with twenty-five years of credits in film and television including the Bridget Jones trilogy, Veep, I’m Alan Partridge, Green Wing, Taskmaster and Miranda. She co-created the double Emmy Award winning Smack the Pony and wrote The Decoy Bride. She has also won awards for screenwriting and documentary making and is a passionate disability advocate.

Ronni Ancona first became known for her work on the BAFTA winning The Big Impression series with Alistair McGowan for which she won the British Comedy Award for Best Actress and the prestigious Variety Club Award. She also received a BAFTA for her performance in The Sketch Show which she also co-wrote. She has worked extensively in both comedy and drama.

This event is part of Cinemagic ‘On the Pulse’ Short Film Festival.

On the Pulse is funded by the Department for Communities through Northern Ireland Screen and BFI FAN Film Exhibition Fund, awarding funds from National Lottery.