15 Questions With Tatti Ribeiro and Noelle Forougi of franknews
"I like a Saturday matinee. More specifically, I like a Saturday matinee in the dead of summer."
Name: Tatti Ribeiro and Noelle Forougi
Location: LA
Occupation: franknews, director and producers of Valentina
Links: franknews on Instagram and Substack, Valentina on Instagram
Valentina, directed by Tatti and produced by Tatti & Noelle, screens June 5 the Brooklyn Film Festival and June 18 at the Bentonville Film Festival.
1. What’s your favorite day & time to go to the movies?
Tatti: A Sunday matinee.
Noelle: I like a Saturday matinee — more specifically, I like a Saturday matinee in the dead of summer.
2. What’s your favorite movie theater?
Tatti: The New Bev — it’s next to our office, I love the programming, and I love the kosher hot dogs.
3. What’s your go-to movie theater snack & drink combo?
Tatti: Popcorn, side of jalapeños, Raisinetes, regular Coke.
4. What’s your dream movie theater snack & drink combo (if noise and sound weren’t an issue)?
Tatti: Theater snacks are theater snacks for a reason, just leave them.
5. First movie you remember seeing in a theater?
Tatti: Titanic at the Sequoia Cinema in Mill Valley with my dad.
6. Last movie you saw in a theater?
Noelle: I just saw Sunset Boulevard during the SLO Film Festival at the Palm Theatre — great theater, buttery popcorn, and a fabulous film. Norma is the blueprint.
7. Is there a movie you wish you could have seen in a theater?
Noelle: Seeing the closing scene of First Wives Club in a packed theater might be the closest thing to heaven on earth I can imagine.
8. Have you ever seen a movie more than once in theaters?
Noelle: Spring of 2022 was the spring of me watching The Worst Person in the World like once a week alone and crying. Classic.
9. Do you stay through the credits or leave as soon as the film ends?
Noelle: I try to stay for at least a portion. I feel guilty when I leave early because my mom (even though she has no film-industry background or relation) would always make us sit through and say to us “LOOK HOW MANY PEOPLE IT TAKES TO MAKE A MOVIE.”
10. What’s one thing you would change to make movie theaters better?
Noelle: I think it’s genius how the New Bev pipes the audio into the bathroom.
11. Tell me about an especially memorable moviegoing experience that stands out in your mind.
Tatti: In the 6th grade my mom picked me up early from school and we went to see Blue Crush with my best friend. I remember it like yesterday.
12. What’s a movie you’re looking forward to seeing?
Noelle: The History of Concrete!
13. What’s your dream combination of director and lead(s)?
Tatti: My dream is a reality — John Turturro and the Coen Brothers.
14. If you could live in a movie, which one would it be?
Noelle: Ever since I was a kid, my answer to this has been The Parent Trap (Lindsay Lohan’s version). I want the outfits, I want to wager nail polish during poker, I want the breakfast Chessy makes, I want the homes (duh), I want a TWIN.
15. Why do you think people should continue seeing movies at the movie theater?
Noelle: Because what is more special in this life than a collective experience with strangers!
Omg Blue Crush was a formative theater experience for me too and reading this just brought it all back immediately 🥹
They get it :,)