Seventh Row Podcast

We discuss French director Mia Hansen-Løve's newest film Bergman Island and her 2016 film, Things to Come. We analyze both films' shared themes of women in existential crises, the passage of time, and the speed of change. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and special guest Lindsay Pugh.  Show notes Sign up for updates on t...

We discuss two sci-fi-ish romantic comedies, Maria Schrader's I'm Your Man, which was one of our favourite films from the Berlinale earlier this year, and Richard Curtis' About Time, about which we have complicated feelings. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and staff writer Lena Wilson. Show Notes : Read Alex's review of I'm Your Man Register for The...

We discuss Raw and Thelma, two classics of modern horror from directors who both have exciting new films on the festival circuit. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and Editor-at-Large Mary Angela Rowe. Show Notes Purchase our ebook Beyond empowertainment: Feminist horror and the struggle for female agency . The book features a case study on Thelma, fea...

We finally discuss Andrew Haigh's Weekend on the podcast. To celebrate the film's 10th anniversary, we are going into detail on the film and discussing another great film about a brief encounter between gay men, End of the Century. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and staff writer Lena Wilson. Show notes Weekend is available on VOD, and streaming on t...

To commemorate the passing of Terence Davies, we are re-releasing our discussion of his film  The Deep Blue Sea . It was originally published on September 8, 2021.   This week we are re-releasing our The Deep Blue Sea podcast in celebration of Terence Davies' new film, Benediction , and in memorial to Helen McRory, who passed away in April. This episode discusses two versions of Terence Ratigan's...

This week, we're celebrating the 10th anniversary of Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31 , our favourite film of the 2010s. As part of the celebration, we are presenting a special edition of our December 2020 podcast episode, "Are men OK? Masculinity, mental health, & addiction in Another Round and Oslo, August 31st. " This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Ass...

Seventh Row Editors Alex Heeney and Orla Smith discuss the journey of writing our new ebook, Subjective realities: The art of creative nonfiction film . On this episode The book's origin story (2:22) What do we mean by "creative nonfiction" (8:53) How we put the book together (11:25) Editing and revising site content (12:33) Targeting new films and filmmakers (14:12) Why we focus on contemporary f...

We discuss the two features of Quebecois filmmaker Pascal Plante, Fake Tattoo and Nadia, Butterfly. Plante is an expert at depicting turning points in his characters' lives and how they deal with major upheaval. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and Contributing Editor Lindsay Pugh. On this episode   Subjective realities:...

We discuss the two features of Swedish filmmaker Magnus von Horn: his latest, Sweat, and his first feature from 2015, The Here After, with particular focus on how empathy is so crucial to his work. The episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and Contributing Editor Lindsay Pugh. On this Episode: Why we paired these films (7:45) The H...

To celebrate our 100th episode, Executive Editor Orla Smith hosts nine regular contributors sharing their picks for a film which can be constructive for the world and illuminate something about the people and society around us. On this episode Orla Smith and Support the Girls (3:35) Alex Heeney and Proxima (9:41) Caitlin Merriman and The Lady in the Van (15:21) Debbie Zhou and Lust, Caution (19:35...

This episode highlights a session from last summer's Lockdown Film School with Penny Lane and Carol Nguyen. Lane and Nguyen discuss their approaches to creative nonfiction. It was recorded as a conversation between Lane, Nguyen, Editor-In-Chief Alex Heeney and Executive Editor Orla Smith in May 2020 as part of our Lockdown Film School series. On this episode Why this episode and the origins of cre...

This summer, Seventh Row is hosting The 2021 Creative Nonfiction Workshop: a series of masterclasses, screenings, and discussions about boundary-pushing nonfiction filmmaking. But what do we mean when we say "Creative Nonfiction"? We discuss on this bonus episode. Pre-registration for the workshop closes on Wednesday June 23 at midnight ET, so make sure you sign up by then if you're interested in...

On the first in our series of Pride Month episodes, we delve into one of our favourite TV shows, HBO's Looking. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and special guest Andrew Kendall. Episode Notes Visit our Directors We Love page on Andrew Haigh Read more about Haigh (and editor Jonathan Alberts) in our Lean on Pete ebook Read Brandon Norwalk's Looking re...

On this episode, we have a wide-ranging conversation about the history of AIDS on film, inspired by the recent TV miniseries, It's a Sin . We focus on films from the US, UK, France, and Australia, including  BPM ,  Holding the Man , Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo,  Philadelphia , and How to Survive a Plague . Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney and Executive Editor Orla Smith welcome a new guest, Dr. Emily Gars...

In addition to our weekly episodes, we are launching a new premium bonus podcast for Film Adventurer members. Additionally, all episodes of our podcast older than six months will be available only to Film Adventurer members. Listen to Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney and Executive Editor Orla Smith explain how the premium feed works and highlight their favourite episodes from our archives. Become a Fil...

We celebrate Mother's Day with an episode on the queen of on-screen mothers, Chantal Akerman, and her films Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles and Les Rendez-vous d'Anna. On this episode: Chantal Akerman's legacy (4:20) Jeanne Dielman (17:52) What to make of Jeanne Dielman 's ending (34:31) Les Rendez-vous d'Anna (41:03) Mothers in the two films (55:25) Jewish identity in Akerman...

Jasmila Žbanic's Quo Vadis, Aid a is one of the best films of the year. On this episode, we discuss it in context of Atiq Rahimi's Our Lady of the Nile , another film approaching the theme of genocide with tremendous empathy towards the human cost rather than being a spectacle of suffering. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy...

We've gathered a panel of editors who worked on our new ebook, In their Own Words: Fiction Directors , to talk about what is in the book, how it was made, and why it's so exciting. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and In Their Own Words editor Lindsay Pugh. For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2021/03/0...

On this episode, we look back on Season Four of The Crown and compare it to other key episodes from past seasons. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney and special guests Caitlin Merriman and Fiona Underhill. For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2020/12/22/ ep-71-the-crown-season-four / Follow Seventh Row on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook , and read our articles...

In this episode we compare the new awards bait film Hillbilly Elegy to a more empathetic, politically conscious portrait of a mother struggling with addiction: Debra Granik's 2004 debut, Down to the Bone. This episode features Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and special guest Lindsay Pugh For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2020/12/01/ ep-68-hillbilly...

Frederick Wiseman's long career exploring the functions of American institutions continues with his recent City Hall . On this episode, we contrast it with Ex Libris , considering how Wiseman's films differ when looking at systems which function well and systems which are not working. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and...

We loved Francis Lee's debut film God's Own Country, so much so that we wrote about a book about it. In this episode we discussed God's Own Country and Ammonite, two films that are somewhat the antithesis of each other, to uncover how they explore class, sex, intimacy, and labour. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and spec...

This episode presents our Lockdown Film School master class with writer-director Alice Winocour in podcast form. We discuss her three features including the recently released Proxima, her writing process, and her cinematic interest in the body. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney and Executive Editor Orla Smith interviewing writer-director Alice Winocour. For detailed show notes, vis...

In honour of Justine Triet's historic Palme d'Or win, we are republishing our in-depth discussion of her two most recent films for free. This episode was originally released on September 8, 2020 as episode 56. This week on the podcast we look at Justine Triet's two films, In Bed With Victoria and Sibyl. Both films are non-judgemental character studies of career women in their thirties who are fall...

Kelly Reichardt's newest film First Cow is her second feature, after Wendy and Lucy (2008), to explore the effects of capitalism through character's relationship with an animal. In this episode, we discuss the connections between the two films (and animals). This episode of the podcast features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and Roads to Now...