Episode #447: 'Spacewoman' with Kevin Smokler

We’re capping off a month at looking at different films directed by women with Hannah Berryman’s documentary, Spacewoman. Kevin Smokler (kevinsmokler.com), author of Breaking the Frame: Conversations with Women Filmmakers joins us to talk about this close look at the stellar career of astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot, and later command, a Space Shuttle mission.

What’s Good

Alonso - Calm (calm.com) for naps

Drea - getting a doctor’s appointment

Kevin S. - Memorizing Oscar winners as a sleep aid

Kevin A. - 3 hour Celebrity game

ITIDIC

• AI-Generated Val Kilmer Will Appear in Movie Kilmer Was to Shoot Before His Passing (variety.com/2026/film/news/val-kilmer-ai-film-…)

• April Wolfe/Chloe Okuno Project Bad Hand Lands at Searchlight (deadline.com/2026/03/searchlight-april-wolfe-b…)

Staff Picks

Alonso - Late Shift (justwatch.com/us/movie/heldin)

Drea - Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice (justwatch.com/us/movie/mike-and-nick-and-nick-…)

Kevin S. - Say Amen Somebody (justwatch.com/us/movie/say-amen-somebody)

Kevin A. - A Teacher (justwatch.com/us/movie/a-teacher)

Directors Mentioned in C-Block:

• Patricia Cardoso (letterboxd.com/director/patricia-cardoso)

• Debra Granik (letterboxd.com/director/debra-granik)

• Amy Heckerling (letterboxd.com/director/amy-heckerling)

• Anna Boden (letterboxd.com/director/anna-boden)

• Rose Troche (letterboxd.com/director/rose-troche)

• Donna Deitch (letterboxd.com/director/donna-deitch)

• Cheryl Dunye (letterboxd.com/director/cheryl-dunye)

• Joan Micklin Silver (letterboxd.com/director/joan-micklin-silver)

• Lizzie Borden (letterboxd.com/director/lizzie-borden)

• Wanuri Kihiyu (letterboxd.com/writer/wanuri-kahiu)

• Melanie Laurent (letterboxd.com/director/melanie-laurent)

• Maggie Gyllenhaal (letterboxd.com/director/maggie-gyllenhaal)

• Allison Anders (letterboxd.com/director/allison-anders)

• Gillian Armstrong (letterboxd.com/director/gillian-armstrong)

• Celine Sciamma (letterboxd.com/director/celine-sciamma)

• Lynn Shelton (letterboxd.com/director/lynn-shelton-1)

• The Wachowskis (letterboxd.com/director/lilly-wachowski)

• Penny Marshall (letterboxd.com/director/penny-marshall)

• Martha Coolidge (letterboxd.com/director/martha-coolidge)

• Vera Drew (letterboxd.com/director/vera-drew-1)

• Jane Schoenbrun (letterboxd.com/director/jane-schoenbrun)

• Alice Maio Mackay (letterboxd.com/director/alice-maio-mackay)

• Mira Nair (letterboxd.com/director/mira-nair)

• Věra Chytilová (letterboxd.com/director/vera-chytilova-3)

• Ida Lupino (letterboxd.com/director/ida-lupino)

• Dorothy Arzner (letterboxd.com/director/dorothy-arzner)

• Alice Guy-Blaché (letterboxd.com/director/alice-guy-blache)

• Caitlin Adams (letterboxd.com/film/sticky-fingers/crew)

• Susan Seidelman (letterboxd.com/director/susan-seidelman)

• Nia DaCosta (letterboxd.com/director/nia-dacosta)

• Kathryn Bigelow (letterboxd.com/director/kathryn-bigelow)

• Julia Hart (letterboxd.com/director/julia-hart)

• Dee Rees (letterboxd.com/director/dee-rees)

• Catherine Breillat (letterboxd.com/director/catherine-breillat)

• Mary Harron (letterboxd.com/director/mary-harron)

• Regina King (letterboxd.com/director/regina-king)

• Dyan Cannon (letterboxd.com/director/dyan-cannon)

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at maximumfun.org/joinmaxfilm

Follow us on BlueSky (bsky.app/profile/maximumfilmpodcast.bsky.social), Facebook (facebook.com/groups/maximum_film), Instagram (instagram.com/maximumfilmpodcast), or Letterboxd (letterboxd.com/maximumfilm)
With
Kevin Avery (instagram.com/kevinaverycomedy)
Drea Clark (twitter.com/thedreaclark)
Alonso Duralde (bsky.app/profile/aduralde.bsky.social)
Produced by Marissa Flaxbart (instagram.com/flaxbart)
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher (twitter.com/swish)