by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport

The best thing that happened after joining Twitter was that I found: Meredith Borders of BIRTH. MOVIES. DEATH. (BMD).  

After many moons of avoiding this social media platform, I decided to stop being a little old lady and create a Twitter account in the name of Moviejawn. Quickly, I was immersed into the world of “@s” and stumbled upon many of my favorite lady film critics including: Amy Nicholson, Jen Yamato, Priscilla Page, and Alicia Malone…just to name a few. I discovered there was this entire film community out there. It was not until a shared tweet by Amy Nicholson that I stumbled upon Meredith Borders.

Meredith Borders is the Editorial Director of BMD and a kick ass lady. I have not met Meredith personally, but after following her Twitter feed I imagine she would be someone that I could park myself at a bar with, throw back some whiskey, and just talk about movies for hours. Quite possibly, the only way that she could become radder is if she somehow managed to pull a few strings and get an Alamo Drafthouse opened in Philadelphia.

Now for those of you that don’t know the website that is BMD, they are in partnership with Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, and take it from their name, they love movies. They post reviews, news, and dissertations about the only thing (in Moviejawn's opinion) that matters: MOVIES. They also share stories about all that other entertainment stuff: TV, Video Games, and even comic books.

Meredith and I connected when she tweeted that she was looking for ladies interested in writing professionally. Well, your favorite old sport jumped at the chance and the rest is history. In her reply, Meredith informed me that I should consider her the “friendliest possible resource." Fact: Meredith Borders truly is one of the friendliest possible resources. It is incredibly great to know that there are ladies out there helping other ladies, for this Meredith, Moviejawn salutes you.

Recently your favorite Old Sport got to catch up with Meredith and talk about her favorite things and of course MOVIES.

Old Sport (OS): How long have you been contributing to BIRTH. MOVIES. DEATH.?

Meredith Borders (MB): I started at BMD - then called Badass Digest - in 2011. I began as a free contributor, then worked my way up to being a paid contributor, then managing editor, until I became Editorial Director. 

OS: Tell us about your day to day as Editorial Director. What does the job entail?

MB: It's a lot of spinning plates. I oversee our Senior and News Editors in accepting and guiding pitches from our freelancers, as well as working with the Alamo Drafthouse, our umbrella company, in providing content in support of the theater's programming. I also supervise our magazine, BIRTH.MOVIES.DEATH., from start to finish: editorial, design, sponsorship, printing, distribution, and I do the social media for the Alamo Drafthouse's genre film festival, Fantastic Fest.

OS: What led you to this career? How did you find yourself in this field? 

MB: I've always been a writer, and have specifically wanted to write about movies since high school. I had my own little blog that no one read, but I contributed to it daily for years while working a day job. It taught me persistence, consistency, honoring my own deadlines, and it made me a stronger writer. I was just biding my time until I found an in at a "real" website, and it turns out that was the right approach!

OS: Who are some of your favorite female filmmakers?

MB: I love Ava Duvernay, Jane Campion, Laura Poitras, Sarah Polley, and Karyn Kusama. I think Stephanie Rothman's the coolest. And I'm ride or die for Amy Heckerling. 

OS: Do you have any advice for aspiring film critics?

MB: Just start writing and never stop. Even before I had the guts to publish my reviews online, I was saving them as docs on a little word processor I got for free from a friend. Writing for yourself is great practice for when you're ready to write for an audience. And don't be afraid of your opinions. Mine aren't often considered "cool" by Film Twitter standards, but I refuse to care about that.

OS: Where is your favorite cinema to see a movie?

MB: Alamo Drafthouse! I'd say that even if they weren't my employers. Real food, great beer, a code of silence and terrific programming. 

OS: What’s your favorite movie concession?

MB: I love to buy strawberry Twizzlers and a Diet Coke, bite the ends of the Twizzler off and use it as a straw until it gets soggy. Then I eat it and start the process over again.

OS: What do you love most about your job?

MB: Guiding new and under-represented voices. It's a privilege that I take very seriously.

OS: What are some of your favorite siblings flicks?

MB: Cripes, so many! I'm a sucker for sister movies. I love Melancholia and Ginger Snaps. More recently, Raw - I programmed a Raw / Ginger Snaps double feature screening and had the time of my life. 

Find Meredith @xymarla and of course, at birthmoviesdeath.com