Episode 73: Anna Bogutskaya, Programmer, Broadcaster, Writer & Creative Producer

My guest this week is Anna Bogutskaya. Anna used to work at the BFI around the same time I was there and I believe I’m right in thinking she was the youngest programmer at the BFI Southbank - at the time, not of all time - although that might also be true. Anyway all this to say I always admired Anna from afar, she seemed incredibly ambitious and accomplished and I thought what she was doing both within the BFI - and outside of it - was refreshing and almost revolutionary in that she was often putting woman-directed cinema and indie filmmaking front and centre. 

Anna is currently a freelance film programmer, broadcaster, writer and creative producer. She is also the co-founder of the horror film collective The Final Girls and Festival Director of Underwire Festival where Best Girl Grip had it’s first live outing.

As mentioned she was previously the Film and Events Programmer at the British Film Institute, where she curated many seasons and also created the Woman With A Movie Camera Summit which we talk about in-depth.

We also go deep into the principles and considerations that uphold Anna’s programming ethos and all the aspects that go into designing a film season. We talk about her decision to go freelance, the other avenues its allowed her to pursue and how she manages her schedule. And fittingly we also wax lyrical about podcasts.

I’m hugely grateful to Anna for coming on the podcast and sharing her wisdom - of which there is a lot - so do tuck in.