Seventh Row Podcast

This episode previews the exciting contents of our new ebook, Roads to nowhere: Kelly Reichardt's broken American dreams . Associate Editor Brett Pardy interviews Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney and Executive Editor Orla Smith about the process of creating the book and explore the book section by section. For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2020/07/07/ ep-47:roads-to-nowhere / Foll...

This episode highlights a session from our Lockdown Film School with writer-directors Mina Shum ( Double Happiness ,  Ninth Floor , and  Meditation Park ) and Philippe Falardeau ( Monsieur Lazhar ,  The Good Lie ,  My Internship in Canada . In it, the two discuss their craft, compare notes on process, and discuss how they were inspired by each other. The discussion was facilitated by Editor-in-Chi...

Recent hit Normal People and site favourite On Chesil Beach both feature couples failing to communicate. We analyze the characters, the story's approaches to class, and break down the directing choices in key scenes. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and special guest Fiona Underhill. For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2020/05/19/...

This episode focuses on three films, Stories We Tell, Louder Than Bombs, and Mouthpiece, united by their focus on dead mothers and formally expressive explorations of grief, memory, and subjectivity. Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney is joined by Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and Editor-at-Large Mary Angela Rowe. For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2020/0...

Kelly Reichardt has directed two films set in the 19th century American West, Meek's Cutoff and First Cow. To explore how she differs from the traditional Western genre, we compare her films with Oregon-set Bend of the River (1952) and cow film Red River (1948). Join Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and Associate Editor Brett Pardy as along the way we also look at modern W...

Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man re-imagines the Universal Monsters character as a stalker. The theme reminded us of one of Seventh Row's favourite films, Steven Soderbergh's Unsane (2018), so we had to discuss them in conversation with each other. Michael Snydel from  The Film Stage Show joins the entire Seventh Row editorial team: Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Assoc...

In this episode, Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney and Executive Editor Orla Smith have a wide ranging conversation about film criticism with Lindsay Pugh of Woman in Revolt. They begin discussing our new ebook, Portraits of Resistance: The Cinema of Céline Sciamma and the conversation evolves to cover Seventh Row's approach to putting together books and the lack of good film criticism on women director...

In this episode, we compare and contrast three adaptations of Emma: The 2020 Autumn de Wilde film, the 2009 BBC mini-series, and the 1996 Douglas McGrath films. We discuss the films' differing approaches to characters, comedy, and class. Special guest Caitlin Merriman joins Executive Editor Orla Smith and episode host Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney. For detailed show notes, please visit: https://seve...

Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, two long time British directors associated with social realism, are frequently compared to each other, despite having significantly different approaches. Loach's latest film, Sorry We Missed You reminded us of Leigh's most recent film Peterloo in their political commitment to improving the lives of the working class. Sorry We Missed You  (2019) is a contemporary film abou...

Our latest episode of the Seventh Row podcast is the perfect companion piece to our new ebook, Portraits of Resistance. Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney is joined by Executive Editor Orla Smith and Associate Editor Brett Pardy to discuss Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady of Fire, a chapter-by-chapter breakdown, behind-the-scenes stories of the book, and reader reactions. For detailed show notes, plea...

Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and Associate Editor Brett Pardy dive into site favourite Kelly Reichardt's two(pre-First Cow)films about men. In this episode, we discuss why Reichardt is drawn to Oregon, how her films make driving look interesting, the lack of movies about male friendships, James LeGros' one shirt, and more For detailed show notes, please visit: https://...

In the latest attempt to adapt Shakespeare for modern audiences, Australian director David Michôd (The Rover) directs Timothée Chalamet in The King, a sort-of rewriting of Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1 & 2 and Henry V. The film is set in the original time period, but Shakespeare's language has been gutted, while his structure is preserved, in favour of modern English with the occasional "ye olde"...

Episode 21 celebrates our new ebook, Beyond Empowertainment: Feminist Horror and the Struggle for Female Agency. In addition to discussing the films featured in the book, Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and Editor at Large Mary Angela Rowe talk about what feminist horror is, the strengths of the horror genre, and the book's origins. For detailed show notes, please visit:...

"This film assumes the viewer has a huge amount of context that I don't think most of us had" - Mary Angela Rowe. Through repeated viewings and research, we are here to provide this context. Our latest episode is the perfect companion piece to our new ebook, Tour of memories: The creative process behind Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir. Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste), Executive Editor Orla...

On our recap of 2018 Canadian Cinema (episodes 8 & 9), Alex, Orla, and Brett all selected Patrica Rozema's Mouthpiece as their favourite Canadian film of the year. To coincide with Mouthpiece's theatrical release, theatre artist and Seventh Row staff writer Laura Anne Harris (@lauraanneharri1) joins editor-in-chief Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste) and associate editor Brett Pardy (@antiqueipod)to disc...

Episode 11 celebrates our new ebook, Peterloo in Process: A Mike Leigh collaboration. Peterloo, the latest film from the legendary Mike Leigh, portrays the events leading up to the Peterloo Massacre, where British soldiers killed 15 and injured as many as 700 people protesting for parliamentary reform. Our new ebook pulls back the curtain on how Leigh builds films in which every frame feels real a...

This episode concludes our discussion on the best of 2018 Canadian Cinema, through the lens of Canada's Top Ten Film List. In this episode, we discuss Genesis, Giant Little Ones, Mouthpiece, Roads in February, and What Walaa Wants Each year, the Toronto International Film Festival releases a list of Canada's ten best films. Using this list to guide discussion, Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executiv...

This episode begins our discussion on the best of 2018 Canadian Cinema, through the lens of Canada's Top Ten Film List. In this episode, we discuss Anthropocene, Edge of the Knife, Firecrackers, The Fireflies are Gone, and Freaks. Each year, the Toronto International Film Festival releases a list of Canada's ten best films. Using this list to guide discussion, Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executiv...

In this episode, we discuss Andrew Haigh's latest film, Lean on Pete, a film we loved so much we wrote an entire eBook on the film, which you can now purchase in our shop. Based on the book by Willy Vlautin, Lean on Pete tells the story of 15-year-old Charley, who finds himself suddenly without a home or guardian, and sets off alone, in search of somewhere and someone to call home — first at the l...

To celebrate the release of our eBook of our Special Issue on You Were Never Really Here, the writers and editors behind it discuss the film and what they learned about it from putting the issue together. Associate Editors Elena Lazic (@elazic) and Orla Smith (@orlamango), who spearheaded our Special Issue on You Were Never Really Here, are joined by Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste) fo...

Our brand new Seventh Row podcast brings together the writers who participated in a given Special Issue to talk about the film in question in depth and in detail. Having already spent so much time thinking about the given film, each guest on the podcast will always be familiar with it, and ready to truly engage with all of its elements. In our first episode, our host and Associate Editor Elena Laz...