Gimme Three Podcast - A Series For Cinephiles

This week, Bella Efstratis is back on the podcast! We celebrate the release of Freakier Friday by revisiting its 2003 predecessor and the 1976 original.

Bella & Nick do a deep dive on each Freaky Friday film, pick their favorites, and revisit some of their favorite scenes. 

• We start with the original 1976 film Freaky Friday, starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster. This screenplay was written by Mary Rodgers, the author...

This week, we’re talking with two outstanding filmmakers from this year’s 2025 Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival. 

Sylvia discusses her film, The Vote, a powerful and gripping drama that’s screening with LADFF on Sunday, August 24th at the Laemmle NoHo 7. 

The Sunday block of shorts is called Las Ángeles, and it will feature five incredible filmmakers who were affected by the Eaton fires in Altadena this year. LADFF will donate a p...

This week we’re talking with two outstanding filmmakers from this year’s 2025 Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival. 

Lyla Mzayek discusses her film, The Rain Lady, a beautiful love letter to immigrant mothers. Lyla talks about her approach to the project, her courage to make it, and how it became a family affair. 

We also interviewed Faranak Sahafian from Iran. From poet to filmmaker, her short film Kisses and Bullets perfec...

This week we’re talking with two outstanding filmmakers from this year’s 2025 Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival. 

Lee Ott discusses their journey to filmmaking and stop-motion animation, which led them to their directorial debut, Dragfox. A wildly impressive short film loaded with heart, design, and a fox in… you guessed it, DRAG! The short also features the voice-over work of Sir Ian McKellan. 

We also interview Bijon, a...

As we gear up for the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival, Bella and Nick explore the work of some of the most important figures in Black Independent Cinema and Independent Cinema in general. 

These powerful voices are a huge reason why this podcast and the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival exist today - so tune in for our discussion on these bold movies. 

• We start with A Symbol of the Unconquered by the legendary Osc...

Earlier this month, the cinephile community lost another tremendous performer. In this episode, Nick & Bella pay tribute to the ever-cool and always hypnotic Michael Madsen. 

The duo discusses Madsen’s unique approach to the art and craft of acting and delves into some of his most famous roles, as well as some of his lesser-known performances. 

• We start with Quentin Tarantino’s debut feature film, Reservoir Dogs, wh...

This week, we’re stepping away from the cinema and turning our attention to the world of music videos.

Joined by returning guest and producer Sonja Mereu, we dive into nine standout videos that span genres, decades, and styles—each one iconic in its own right and packed with amazing visual storytelling.

Check out the lineup:

• Take On Me by A-ha
•  Express Yourself by Madonna
•  Telephone by Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé
•  Doin’ Time (cover) by Lan...

It’s summer! And for the cinephile community, that means it’s blockbuster season. In this episode, we tip our hat to the godfather of the summer blockbuster, Mr. Steven Spielberg. To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the industry-changing classic, Jaws, we highlight three of Spielberg’s most iconic blockbusters. 

• We start with 1975’s Jaws, the summer blockbuster that started it all. 
• Second, Spielberg warms hearts and spar...

This week, in a really fun compilation episode, we travel back to 1995! Thirty years ago! Nick and Bella (and a friend or two along the way) chat about the magical year of ’95 and some of the blockbuster movies that accompanied it. 

On the list today:

• From our Pixar Films episode, guest Max Sopkin and the gang discuss the OG Pixar movie, Toy Story.
• From our Val Kilmer Tribute episode, we revisit the highest-grossing film of 1...

We’re keeping the Pride celebration going this week with an episode all about the history of drag!

Bella Efstratis is joined by a very special returning guest, Bailey Katler, to break down three essential documentaries that celebrate the art, power, and evolution of drag culture.

• First up: The Queen, which takes us inside the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest in New York City.
•  Then, it’s Paris Is Burning — the iconic deep...

This week, Bella is joined by special guests Melia and Henry Chendo to celebrate Pride with a look at Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse Trilogy:

• Totally F***ed Up (1993)
• The Doom Generation (1995)
• Nowhere (1997)

A trailblazer of New Queer Cinema, Araki captured the chaos of queer youth in the ’90s like no one else. These films are loud, sexy, surreal, and devastating — soaked in color, contradiction, and emotion.

In this episode, w...

To celebrate the re-release of Dogma (which is celebrating its 25th Anniversary), Bella and Nick took a field trip to see the Kevin Smith classic on the big screen. We were joined by our good friend and returning guest, Max Sopkin. 

The trio discusses their theater experience and does a deep dive on Kevin Smith’s early career work. 

• First up, we explore the industry-shaking “little movie that could: " the foul-mout...

This week, we’re heading to the shore—but not for the sunshine. Returning guest Michel Eljaiek joins co-host Bella Efstratis to explore the darker side of paradise through three beach-set thrillers that reveal just how quickly bliss can turn into terror.

• First up is Old (2021), M. Night Shyamalan’s eerie tale of a secluded beach where visitors age rapidly, confronting the horror of time and mortality.
• Then it’s The Beach (2000), ...

This week, we’re celebrating the release of Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, which highlights three films with the biggest stunts, highest stakes, and most pulse-pounding, applaud-worthy finishes of the Mission: Impossible franchise. 

• We start at the beginning, with Brian De Palma’s now legendary spy thriller. 1996’s Mission: Impossible. 
• Second, we jump to the franchise’s fourth installment. Tom Cruise scales the ...

This week, Paddington is officially joining the Gimme Three Podcast family! Join us as we dive into these three magical films that feel like storybooks brought to life!

• We start at the beginning with Paddington (2014), where a little bear from darkest Peru arrives in London and teaches the Brown family—and all of us—how kindness and a little marmalade can change everything. A cozy classic right from the start.
  
  
• Next, we ...

In celebration of Mother’s Day, we are revisiting one of our favorite themes: Great Mother Characters (our third installment). In this episode, we are highlighting immigrant mothers with three powerful and inspiring films. 

• We start with the epic tale of generational courage, trauma, and perseverance in the 1993 classic Joy Luck Club. 
• Second, an underrated gem that highlights the incredible sacrifice of immigrant mothers in...

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, three real-life friends broke into the Mexican and International film scenes and made their mark on the art form. Since then, Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo Del Toro, and Alejandro González Iñárritu have delivered several masterpieces and won several Academy Awards. 

In this episode, we highlight three of the filmmaker's finest early works:

• We start with Alfonso Cuarón’s breathtaking c...

Returning guest and friend of the show, Max Sopkin, returns for an in-depth episode on the legendary Barbra Streisand. After watching all nineteen of Streisand's films, Max has selected three that highlight the range, talent, and overall superstardom that Barbra possesses. 

- We start with Barbra Streisand's on-screen debut, her Oscar-winning performance in Funny Girl. 

- Second, a little-known and underrated gem, Up The Sa...

With Baseball season in full swing, we thought it’d be appropriate to dive into classic films that find a home on the diamond. America’s Favorite Pastime is the pastime of the Gimme Three Podcast this week. 

Listen to host Nicholas Ybarra's torment over his love/hate relationship with the sport, and find out if host Bella Efstratis was finally able to shed a tear for a sports movie. 

• First up, the 1976 Michael Ritc...