SWIPED screening

Writer-director Tom Demar attended the Swiped screening at Harmony Gold on Sunset, the 2025 biographical drama about Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, starring Lily James and directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, followed by a panel with both filmmaker and star.

Rachel Lee Goldenberg on her process: "98% casting." Five years from script to screen. Minimal rehearsal, some table reads, then discovery on the day. Hire department heads who care too much. Let the period world inform the performances rather than just dress the set.

Lily James on building Whitney: essence, spirit, energy, rhythm, speed of thought, watching and listening rather than imitating surface. "The nervous system can't tell the difference between acted trauma and real." Long takes. Letting it live and breathe. A supportive crew, a lot of women behind the camera.

The film's audience response has been extraordinary, with women around the world writing to say "I feel seen finally." That's not entertainment. That's the reason these stories get made.

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