At Club des Femmes HQ we’re sad that the current health crisis means we won’t all be able to meet in person for several months. We hope social distancing can keep everyone as well and as safe as possible. But social distance isn’t going to stop us. If there’s one thing feminism’s taught us it’s the importance of making community.
This is our plan. Each week, during this period of social distancing, Club des Femmes will announce one object of culture here – a book we’re reading, an album or a podcast we’re listening to, a film or tv series we’re watching, an artwork that’s inspiring us. We’ll tell you a little about why we find this object exciting as an invitation for you to join in, to read along, listen along, watch along with us each week. This may be a virtual thinking space but we’re creating it as a reminder of how we’re always all connected via the vital dialogue art creates.
Join in the dialogue. Join us on our femme-tastic trawl through culture. If you’d like to share what you’re reading, writing and listening to, find us on Twitter and Instagram, or if you’d like to write a post for the site, drop us a line at hello@clubdesfemmes.com.
We recommend our friends Burley Fisher Books for books-by-bike in Hackney and mail order further afield (plus personalised recommendations via Twitter and email), or you can search via the Booksellers Association for your local independent, specialist and children’s bookstores. Oxfam sells secondhand books online.
You can borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free if you have a UK local library card, via your local library website and/or the Libby app for your phone. This is the London Libraries Consortium site (library card number sign-in).
We recommend these UK streaming services for arthouse and cultural cinema: MUBI, BFI Player, Curzon Home Cinema, and of course our pals at Peccadillo Player for maximum queer content. And friend des Femmes Dr. Leshu Torchin is maintaining an outstanding list of Streaming Video Resources (including lots of free and otherwise hard-to-find) For Times of Social Distancing, with an emphasis on documentary, short films and international arthouse.
Keep up to date on what’s happening in international rep cinema via the excellent writing of Rep Cinema International and HEARD newsletters.
Keep an eye on this international list of arts organisations collecting emergency funding for art workers, and send them links to any more.
If you work in film or television, the Film & Television Charity have a dedicated mental health support line and online chat, and they offer financial hardship funds.