In the 2010s, it was still possible to have a membership at a DVD shop, where you could watch as many films as you wanted for a few dollars each month. British screenwriter and director Georgia Oakley worked nearby one such DVD shop in her early 20s, and every day when she walked home, she picked up new films to watch.
Those formative years allowed Oakley to absorb the influences of feminist and queer filmmakers, who were making movies that challenged the norms of gender and sexuality at the time. Oakley began writing and directing her own short films: Bored explored the complexities of boundaries in queer friendships, and the short documentary We Did Not Fall From The Sky followed the lives of three transgender women navigating Indian society.
Now a decade later, she marks her feature film debut with Blue Jean, a historical drama about a lesbian PE teacher living a double life under England’s Section 28, legislation that banned the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools. For it, Oakley received a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer.
There are countless films that have influenced Oakley’s work, and naming only five is a difficult when they change day to day. After all, she still keeps that practice of soaking in new cinema like a sponge, especially when she’s in the process of writing a new film.
“When I’m writing, I try to watch a film every day, if not every other day. Often, I’ll write to lunchtime and then I’ll watch a film,” says Oakley. “Because particularly when you’re writing, I feel you have to be watching films and reading. That’s one of my favorite things about the writing process.”
Below, she shares with A.frame five of the films that have most influenced her.