Director Susan Seidelman to join UWTSD’s 40th Anniversary Conference on Desperately Seeking Susan and Female Friendship in Film

Director Susan Seidelman will join students, filmmakers, and fans at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD)’s upcoming academic conference celebrating Desperately Seeking Susan and female friendship on screen. Taking place on April 10th and 11th, 2025, at the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea, the event marks the iconic film’s 40th anniversary.

Seidelman, who helmed the groundbreaking 1985 film, will join online and introduce the movie and participate in a pre-recorded Q&A session, offering insights into its lasting cultural impact. The conference will explore themes of female camaraderie and self-discovery, not only in Desperately Seeking Susan but across a broader landscape of film and television – an often-overlooked theme.

While male friendships have long been celebrated in film—whether through action-packed buddy films or sentimental “bromances”—cinematic narratives centred on female friendship remain relatively scarce. As Dr. Yvonne Tasker noted in 2012, the emotional depth and complexity of women’s friendships have not been explored as widely as their male counterparts.

This conference seeks to address that imbalance, using Desperately Seeking Susan as a springboard for broader discussions about how female camaraderie and reinvention are depicted on screen.

Conference organiser Becky Ellis said: “I am thrilled to be bringing a conference on female friendship on screen to Swansea, with the 40th anniversary of Desperately Seeking Susan being the perfect reason to celebrate female creators, stories, and camaraderie. Whilst the ‘bromance’ exists as a common narrative trope, female friendship is still a rarely cinematically celebrated occurrence. This conference will explore and celebrate female friendship on screen from an exciting range of speakers, including the director herself.”

Susan Seidelman, known for her unique approach to female-centred narratives (Sex and the City, She-Devil), will offer valuable insights into the film’s creation and its continued cultural impact. Reflecting on Desperately Seeking Susan, she said:

“When I made Desperately Seeking Susan back in 1984, what first drew me to the project was its theme of reinvention and the transformative power of female friendship. But that wasn’t just something happening on celluloid—it was happening behind the scenes, too. The film had two women producers, a woman screenwriter, two female lead characters, and me, a woman director. Even the Orion studio executive who gave us the ‘green light’ was a woman. That kind of totally female-driven production was radical at the time.

“The film challenges traditional ideas of womanhood through Roberta’s journey. She’s a conventional housewife, restless in her routine until she steps into Susan’s free-spirited world. Her fascination with Susan isn’t just admiration—it’s the spark that sets her own transformation in motion. At its heart, Desperately Seeking Susan highlights how women often find their way to self-discovery through each other.”

Conference Highlights and Key Panels

The two-day event will feature a dynamic line-up of speakers, engaging panel discussions, and in-depth analyses of female friendship in film and television.

Panel 1: Material Girls – Gal Pals on Screen

(Chaired by Hilary Jaques)

• Desperately Seeking Better Friends: A case study of ‘bad’ female friendships in Valley Girl (1983)
• Female Friendship and Solidarity on Wall Street: The Associate (1997) and Working Girl (1988)
• ‘Maybe we could be each other’s soulmates,’ or maybe… not: Friendships and fallouts in Sex and the City and And Just Like That
• Not so Pretty in Pink: Female friendship in the rom-com – A close study of Bridesmaids (2011)

Panel 2: Beautiful Stranger – Framing Oppositions

(Chaired by Becky Ellis)

• Desperately Seeking Sauron: Male vs. female friendships in Desperately Seeking Susan and The Lord of the Rings trilogy
• The Attraction of Opposites: Female Friendships in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Panel 3: Who’s That Girl – Star Images

(Chaired by Jenny Stewart)

• Blurred Lines: Into the Groove in Desperately Seeking Susan
• Ladies We Talk About: Female friendship in Barbara Stanwyck’s pre-Code roles

Express Yourself: Making Stories about Women – A Filmmaker’s Perspective

(Chaired by Becky Ellis)

• Women Talking and You Are Listening: The Making of Victoria (2024) – J Sivaranjini (ONLINE)

If you would like to attend the event, please Book Here