What if the most powerful insights about a film don't come from watching it alone — but from talking it through with curious people who notice what you missed, and help you turn half-formed thoughts into something deeper?

In this episode, I share why I built The Long Take —

A space for deep, layered, perspective-shifting conversations about film — and how a spirit of collaboration, attention, and trust can transform how we see movies…and ourselves

We kick off Nov 2 with a zero-prep welcome session.
👉 Save your seat

Join me (Alex Heeney) on a journey through three films I programmed inside Reel Ruminators — a British political thriller, an Indigenous Canadian documentary, and a queer South African drama — and discover how their contrasts actually illuminate one another. 

By the end of this episode, you'll see how exploring differences between films can reshape your own viewing of film as an art form.

• Hidden threads connecting three very different films—and how noticing those threads can deepen your own film palate.

• Time as a storytelling tool in cinema: why stretching or compressing time matters, and how you can see it in action.

• Imagining "an otherwise": an academic concept—one I first encountered through queer cinema—that helps you consider films about marginalized lives in a new light and uncover new layers of meaning.

• Tiny moments, lasting impact: why just a few minutes of film can carry immense emotional weight—and stick with you long after the credits roll.

• Sneak peek at upcoming picks: what's on deck next inside Reel Ruminators and the threads you might spot in hindsight.

Links & Mentions:

• 🎬 Join Reel Ruminators

• 🎁 Free companion guide to one of 2024's best films

Alex Heeney & Orla Smith discuss the highlight of Sundance 2022: creative nonfiction. We discuss active listening, reframing history, and a risk taking volcanologist couple.

On this episode:

• Related episodes (1:26)
• Sundance overview (4:22)
• 32 Sounds (Sam Green) (8:59)
• Reframing history: Framing Agnes (Chase Joynt), The Janes (Tia Lessin), & Tantura (Alon Schwarz) (29:27)
• I Didn't See You There (Reid Davenport) (44:10)
• Fire of Love (Sara Dosa) (47:34)
• All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen) & Mija (Isabel Castro) (52:51)
• Conclusion (57:31)

Show notes:

• Read our selections of the 10 best films of Sundance 2022
• Read Orla's interview with Director Chase Joynt and co-writer Morgan M Page about Framing Agnes
• Read Orla's review of Reid Davenport's I Didn't See You There
• Read Orla's review of Isabel Castro's Mija
• Read Orla's review of Shaunak Sen's All That Breathes
• For more on creative nonfiction, purchase our ebook Subjective realities: The art of creative nonfiction film. Subjective realities is a six part ebook composed of interviews and essays. Discover the myriad forms of nonfiction filmmaking, from animation to archival and beyond, and find out what funding structures exist to make them possible.

Related episodes

• Ep. 105: Subjective realities: The art of creative nonfiction film
• Ep. 95: No Ordinary Man and John Ware Reclaimed: Reclaiming history in documentary (Member's Only)
• Ep. 78: Sundance 2021, part 1 (Member's Only)
• Ep. 79: Sundance 2021, part 2 (Member's Only)

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

We discuss the ups and downs of Sundance 2022, and chat about some of the festival's fiction films, including Sharp Stick and Living.

This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney and Executive Editor Orla Smith.

Become a Seventh Row member and get access to the full episode, as well as all other podcast episodes older than six months.

Show notes:

• Read our selections of the 10 best films of Sundance 2022
• Read the source of the "blocking is everything" quote: Alex's 2018 interview with Andrew Haigh
• See Alex's Sundance Bingo Card
• Read Orla's review of Fresh
• Read an excerpt of Lindsay Pugh's interview with The Worst Person in the World star Renate Reinsve
• Sign up to be the first to pre-order Existential detours: Joachim Trier's cinema of indecisions and revisions, the first book to ever be published on Joachim Trier, and receive the full interview with Reinsve

Related episodes:

• Ep. 122: Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World
• Bonus Episode 22: Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Bonus Episode 16: Watching Lena Dunham's Girls in 2021
• Ep. 106: Christine and Kate Plays Christine: Reviving Christine Chubbuck
• Ep. 78: Sundance 2021, part 1 (Member's Only)
• Ep. 79: Sundance 2021, part 2 (Member's Only)

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

The entire Seventh Row editorial team is here to talk about site favourite Joachim Trier's new film, The Worst Person in the World.This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, Contributing Editor Lindsay Pugh, and Editor-at-Large Mary Angela Rowe. 

On this episode:

• Existential detours: Joachim Trier's cinema of indecisions and revisions (2:21)
• Related episodes (4:15)
• The World Person in the World and our first reactions (5:39)
• Is Julie the worst person in the world?(19:31)
• The film's structure (27:23)
• The film's style (33:57)
• Julie's relationships (45:06)
• The time freeze scene (56:57)
• The mushroom scene (1:10:42)
• Intellectualizing and romanticizing (1:18:07)
• The retroactive Oslo Trilogy (1:33:38)
• Conclusion (1:49:20)

Show notes

• Read an excerpt of Lindsay's interview with Renate Reinsve from our upcoming email book Existential detours: Joachim Trier's cinema of indecisions and revisions
• Sign up to be the first to pre-order Existential detours: Joachim Trier's cinema of indecisions and revisions, the first book to ever be published on Joachim Trier. You will also receive exclusive excerpts from the book.
• Read Alex's review of The Worst Person in the World
• View our Directors We Love page on Joachim Trier, for extensive information on Trier and his key collaborators, and links to all of our coverage of his films

Related episodes

• Ep. 114: Mia Hansen-Løve's Things to Come and Bergman Island
• Ep. 112: Raw and Thelma: Modern female monsters
• Ep. 107: Another Round and Oslo, August 31st: Are men OK? Masculinity, mental health, & addiction Redux
• Ep. 54: Used to Go Here and Unexpected: Kris Rey's thirtysomethings (Member's Only)
• Ep. 40: Stories We Tell, Louder Than Bombs, & Mouthpiece: Dead mothers (Member's Only)

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Show notes:

• Read Alex's 2015 review of Justin Kurzel's Macbeth
• Listen to the 21st Folio episode discussing Kurzel's Macbeth
• Sign up for updates on the first book to ever be published on the films of Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier

Related episodes:

• Bonus 17: Saoirse Ronan and James McArdle in The Tragedy of Macbeth at the Almeida Theatre
• Ep. 108: The Deep Blue Sea(s)

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Lindsay Pugh joins hosts Alex Heeney and Orla Smith for a discussion of two rom-coms about unwanted pregnancies, Ninjababy and Obvious Child.

On this episode:

• Joachim Trier ebook (1:23)
• Related episodes (2:55)
• Why we are talking about these films (7:30)
• Obvious Child (11:40)
• The rom-com landscape of 2014 (16:59)
• Obvious Child's depiction of women's bodies (18:02)
• How has Obvious Child aged? (26:55)
• Ninjababy (36:53)
• The men of Ninjababy (54:08)
• The caveats of Ninjababy (1:07:49)
• Conclusion (1:17:11)

Show notes

• Read Alex's 2014 review of Obvious Child
• Read Lindsay's interview with Saint Frances director Alex Thompson and writer-star Kelly O'Sullivan
• Read Orla's interview with Ninjababy writer-director Yngvild Sve Flikke and actress Kristine Kujath Thorp
• See our 50 favourite films of the 2010s.
• Sign up for updates on the first book to ever be published on the films of Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier

Related episodes:

• Ep. 36: Abortion on screen and Never Rarely Sometimes Always
• Ep. 54: Kris Rey's thirtysomethings: I Used to Go Here and Unexpected

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Alex and Orla count down the 30 best films of 2021 and discuss the process behind creating the list.

On this episode:

• Why this bonus episode is free to everyone (0:00)
• Selecting the list and where we look for films (0:56)
• Another strong year for Indigenous films (7:37)
• Why we only have three American films (16:02)
• Films directed by women (19:00)
• The importance of psychological complexity and new approaches to social change (22:24)
• Documentaries (24:55)
• The list (26:41)
• Conclusion (1:10:01)

Show Notes:

• Read Alex's 2020 interview with Monkey Beach director Loretta Todd
• Read Orla's interview with Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
• Read Alex's interview with Slalom director Charlène Favier
• Read Orla's interview with Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy director Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers
• Purchase your copy of our ebook Subjective realities: The art of creative nonfiction film, which includes interviews with Robert Greene (Procession), Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Flee), Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt (No Ordinary Man), Cheryl Foggo (John Ware Reclaimed), and more.

Related Episodes

• Ep. 118: The Souvenir Part I and II
• Ep. 114: Mia Hansen-Løve's Things to Come and Bergman Island
• Ep. 113: The sci-fi love stories of About Time and I'm Your Man
• Ep. 101: Magnus von Horn's Films: The Here After and Sweat
• Ep. 95: Reclaiming history in documentary: No Ordinary Man and John Ware Reclaimed (Member's Only)
• Ep. 93: The films of Agnieszka Holland (Member's Only)
• Ep. 87: Couples dealing with cancer: Ordinary Love and Hope (Member's Only)
• Ep. 86: Depictions of childhood sexual assault: Una & Slalom (Member's Only)
• Ep. 85: The films of Naomi Kawase, featuring True Mothers (Member's Only)
• Ep. 84: Berlinale 2021, Part 2: The Competition (Member's Only)
• Ep. 82: Genocide on film: Quo Vadis, Aida

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

We're celebrating the legacy of Aboriginal Australian actor David Gulpilil. Gulpilil died on November 29th 2021, at age 68, leaving behind him a career of rich performances, despite the many ways the industry underserved him for decades. On this episode, we particularly focus on Charlie's Country, as a film that was so personal to Gulpilil, and which features probably his best performance.

We also survey Gulpilil's legacy, both his vital contributions to film, and also how his troubling domestic abuse conviction complicates that legacy. We discuss the issues that arise when representation of marginalised groups is so slim that we start to view the few successful figures as heroes rather than flawed humans.

This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and Associate Editor Brett Pardy.

On this episode

• Related episodes (4:55)
• Remembering David Gulpilil and My Name is Gulpilil (10:08)
• Walkabout, Crocodile Dundee, and The Right Stuff (15:13)
• Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Tracker (21:17)
• Charlie's Country (27:01)
• Gulpilil's domestic abuse conviction (36:14)
• Charlie's Country, systemic issues, and a settler audience (46:59)
• Gulpilil's performance (1:16:01)
• Another Country (1:25:13)
• The evolution of Gulpilil's collaboration with Rolf de Heer (1:28:36)
• Conclusion (1:37:16)

Show notes:

• Charlie's Country was 13 on our list of 50 favourite films of the 2010s. See our other choices here.
• David Gulpilil's performance in Charlie's Country was one of our picks for the 50 best performances of the 2010s. See our other choices here.
• Read the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute and Yolŋu Community & kin's statement on the use of David Gulpilil's name
• Read Brett's interview with Edge of the Knife co-director Gwaai Edenshaw, which includes a discussion about the challenges of making a "pre-contact" film
• Read Nancy E. Wright's article about Models of Collaboration in the Making of Ten Canoes (2006) in Screening the Past
• Read Alex's interview with Sweet Country director Warwick Thornton

Related episodes

• Ep. 39: Jeff Barnaby's Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Blood Quantum (Member's Only)
• Ep. 38: Australian westerns and True History of the Kelly Gang (Member's Only)
• Ep. 17.5: Performances in Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale (Member's Only)
• Ep. 17: Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale (Member's Only)

Show notes and related episodes:

• Ep. 118: The Souvenir Part I and II
• Bonus 19: Who is the Poshest Actor in Britain? (Member's Only)
• Ep. 69: Paddington and Paddington 2 (Member's Only)
• Ep. 22: The King attempts to adapt Shakespeare's Henry V (Member's Only)

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

• Peterloo in Process: A Mike Leigh collaboration (2:21)
• Related episodes (9:06)
• Our favourite Mike Leigh films (14:52)
• Naked (21:57)
• David Thewlis (29:15)
• Why do we like this film? (35:44)
• Why this title? (1:02:26)
• London (1:06:29)
• Is there a parallel to Naked with a female lead? (1:15:58)
• The film's great performances (1:20:33)
• Conclusion (1:27:04)

Show notes

• Purchase our ebook Peterloo in Process: A Mike Leigh collaboration. The book includes interviews with Mike Leigh himself, cinematographer Dick Pope, editor Jon Gregory, costume designer Jacqueline Durran, production designer Suzie Davies, make-up designer Christine Blundell, plus actors Rory Kinnear and Maxine Peake.
• Read Alex's interview with Josh O'Connor where he cites Thewlis as an inspiring "kind of weird looking guy"
• Follow David Thewlis on Instagram

Related episodes

• Ep. 117: The North Water
• Ep. 107: Are men OK? Masculinity, mental health, & addiction in Another Round and Oslo, August 31st
• Ep. 52: First Cow and Wendy and Lucy
• Ep. 36: Abortion on screen and Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Member's Only)
• Ep. 32: Sorry We Missed You and Peterloo (Member's Only)
• Ep. 11: Mike Leigh's Peterloo

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

• Our ebook Tour of memories: The creative process behind Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir provides the trademark Seventh Row 360-degree view of Hogg's filmmaking process on The Souvenir. Read interviews with all of Hogg's key behind the lens collaborators, several of whom have been working with her since her first film, Unrelated.
• Read Alex's 2016 essay on Tom Hiddleston and the hollow charm thwarting the promise of a great actor

• Bonus Episode 12: "Josh O'Connor Implying Sleekness and Speed" (Member's Only)
• Ep. 71: The Crown Season Four (Member's Only)
• Ep. 61: Toxic male privilege in The Riot Club and What Richard Did (Member's Only)

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Now best known for its stunt-heavy sequels, Mission: Impossible began as a Brian De Palma thriller about surveillance, performance, and how what you see isn't always the whole story.

In this episode, we get into:

• How the opening scene teaches you how to watch the film

• What makes the writing in this film sing

• Why the production design is more than just stylish — it's integral to the storytelling

• What costumes, props, and performances reveal about character

• The crackling chemistry of a cast that brings texture to even the smallest roles

• How the film's set pieces are more than just excuses for impressive stunts

💌Get the FREE companion viewing guide: Discover one of the best films of 2024, a different kind of genre film from the other side of the world

💬 Enjoy digging into filmmaking details like this?
That's one of the things we do inside Reel Ruminators — a space for curious film lovers to explore great movies together, spark insights, and deepen your appreciation of film craft.

Join by June 2, and you'll get access to May's featured film and the close readings we did together — perfect if you want more of the kind of scene-level analysis you heard in this episode.

👉 Click here to join Reel Ruminators

✍️ More on cinematic structure and craft at Seventh Row

On this episode

• Fiona Underhill, The Souvenir superfan (1:08)
• Tour of Memories (4:14)
• Related episodes (8:38)
• Synopses (15:19)
• How does Part II change how we see Part I (23:14)
• Julie's arc as an artist and a character (33:44)
• The ensemble (53:10)
• Where does Joanna Hogg go next? (1:03:04)
• The costumes (1:05:22)
• Julie's parents (1:14:30)
• Honor Swinton Byrne (1:20:22)
• The sound design (1:24:06)
• Hogg's other films (1:25:38)
• Conclusion (1:37:10)

Show notes:

• Our ebook Tour of memories: The creative process behind Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir provides the trademark Seventh Row 360-degree view of Hogg's filmmaking process on The Souvenir. Read interviews with all of Hogg's key behind the lens collaborators, several of whom have been working with her since her first film, Unrelated.
• Purchase our ebook Portraits of resistance: The cinema of Céline Sciamma
• Watch our Lockdown Film School session with The Souvenir production designer Stéphane Collonge (and Suzie Davies)
• Watch our Lockdown Film School session with The Souvenir costume designer Grace Snell (and April Napier)
• Read Fiona's review of The Souvenir Part II on Jumpcut Online
• Read Fiona's interview with Joanna Hogg on Jumpcut Online

Related episodes

• Ep. 114: Mia Hansen-Løve's Things to Come and Bergman Island
• Ep. 69: Paddington and Paddington 2 (Member's Only)
• Ep. 44: Shirley and portraits of female artists (Member's Only)
• Ep. 14: The Souvenir and the films of Joanna Hogg

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Tickets for The Seventh Circle: A Symposium on Gender, Sexuality, and Disability in Horror Cinema, have reopened for one week only! Get your ticket before Sunday at midnight. Purchase at http://seventh-row.com/seventh-circle

50% discount code: SeventhCircleDec21 (expires Friday Dec 10th at midnight EST).

Content warning: This episode discusses body mutilation.

Titane is available on VOD in Canada and the USA. It will be out in January in the UK.

Show notes

• Read Mary Angela's 2017 review of Raw
• Read a preview of Orla's essay on sisterhood in Raw from Beyond Empowertainment.

Related Episodes

• Ep. 103: Pascal Plante's films: Fake Tattoos and Nadia Butterfly
• Ep. 101: Magnus von Horn's films: The Here After and Sweat
• Ep. 80: Motherhood in horror: The Babadook and Prevenge (Member's Only)
• Ep. 69: Paddington and Paddington 2 (Member's Only)
• Ep. 66: Francis Lee's God's Own Country and Ammonite (Member's Only)
• Ep. 21: Feminist horror

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

On This Episode:

• Intro (1:05)
• Why did Andrew Haigh do this series? (16:42)
• Andrew Haigh on upending expectations in his work (28:11)
• Who is the real evil? Drax, Cavendish, and Baxter (35:01)
• What does it mean to be civilized (45:12)
• Sumner and Drax as mirrors (51:51)
• The episodic structure (1:00:03)
• The Inuit characters (1:20:01)
• The lack of promotion for the series (1:27:27)
• Conclusion (1:32:55)

Show Notes:

• Visit our Directors We Love page on Andrew Haigh, collecting all of our articles and podcasts about his film and television work
• Check out MovieJawn magazine for Fiona's article on The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, starring a young Tom Courtenay
• Purchase our ebook on Andrew Haigh's Lean on Pete
• Purchase our ebook on Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir

Related episodes

• Ep. 110: Brief encounters: Weekend and End of the Century
• Ep. 94: Looking
• Ep. 91: AIDS on screen, featuring It's a Sin
• Ep. 69: Paddington and Paddington 2
• Ep. 53: Boys State and First Stripes
• Ep. 32: Sorry We Missed You and Peterloo
• Ep. 7: Andrew Haigh's Lean on Pete

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Show notes:

• Read Alex's review of Ammonite
• Read Alex's review of Ralph Fiennes in Richard III at the Almeida, directed by Rupert Goold
• Listen to the 21st Folio episode discussing the Almeida Theatre's 2012 production of King Lear starring Jonathan Pryce and directed by Michael Attenborough
• Read Alex's review of the 2015 Stratford Festival production of Hamlet
• Read Alex's review of Justin Kurzel's Macbeth
• Listen to the 21st Folio episode discussing Kurzel's Macbeth

• Ep. 98: Angels in America
• Ep. 66: Francis Lee's God's Own Country and Ammonite (Member's Only)
• Ep. 60: Old Vic In Camera Productions: Three Kings and Faith Healer (Member's Only)
• Ep. 49: Split-screen storytelling: Lungs: In Camera and Conversations With Other Women (Member's Only)

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

We are making a few changes to our podcast schedule

• You can listen to our first 15 bonus episodes by becoming a Seventh Row member
• Read Alex's 2017 review of Paterson
• Read Alex's 2016 review of City of Tiny Lights

Related Episodes

• Ep. 97: The Films and TV of Desiree Akhavan
• Ep. 94: Looking
• Ep. 73: Explorations of rape culture in Promising Young Woman and The Assistant (Member's Only)
• Ep. 54: Kris Rey's thirtysomethings: I Used to Go Here and Unexpected (Member's Only)

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

• The English Patient and its reviled Oscar legacy (7:10)
• The state of modern literary adaptations (15:50)
• Why we like the film (21:40)
• Almásy and Katherine/Ralph Fiennes and Kristen Scott Thomas (24:53)
• Hana and Kip/Juliette Binoche and Naveen Andrews (53:51)
• The English Patient as a war movie (1:04:22)
• Stand out scenes (1:14:20)
• Adaptation (1:23:29)
• Caravaggio/Willem Dafoe and alternate castings (1:27:12)
• Minghella's other work (1:47:05)
• Conclusion (1:57:37)
• Joachim Trier announcement (1:57:52)
• Podcast format change (2:00:59)

Show notes

• Sign up for updates on the first book to ever be published on the films of Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier

Related episodes

• Ep. 108: The Deep Blue Sea(s) Redux
• Ep. 107: Are men OK? Masculinity, mental health, & addiction in Another Round and Oslo, August 31st Redux
• Ep. 100: Films for the future
• Ep. 76: Abderrahmane Sissako's Bamako and Timbuktu (Member's Only)
• Ep. 29: Films about finite romance (Member's Only)
• Ep. 28: 1917 and Jarhead — Sam Mendes' war films

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

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 the first book to ever be published on the films of Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier
• Read Elena Lazic's interview with Mia Hansen-Løve about her 2019 film Maya
• Read Lindsay Pugh's discussion of Vicky Krieps and Mia Wasikowska in Bergman Island
• Bergman Island was our 4th favourite film of TIFF 2021. See the other 19 choices here.

Related Episodes

• Ep. 109: TIFF 2021, part 1
• Ep. 103: Pascal Plante's Films: Fake Tattoos and Nadia Butterfly
• Ep. 44: Shirley and portraits of female artists (Member's only)
• Ep. 27: Comparing Little Women adaptations
• Ep. 21: Feminist horror
• Ep. 14: The Souvenir and the films of Joanna Hogg

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

• Read Alex's review of I'm Your Man
• Register for The Seventh Circle, a symposium on gender, sexuality, and disability in horror cinema.
• Sign up for updates on the first book to ever be published on the films of Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier

Related Episodes:

• Ep. 110: Brief encounters: Weekend and End of the Century
• Ep. 92: Commodifying Women: Sugar Daddy and An Easy Girl
• Ep. 89: Coming of Age at Forty: Spinster and The Forty-Year-Old Version
• Ep. 73: Explorations of rape culture in Promising Young Woman and The Assistant (Member's Only)
• Ep. 61: Toxic male privilege in The Riot Club and What Richard Did (Member's Only)

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is one of the best films of 2025. In this episode, Alex Heeney zooms in on its beginning and ending scenes to show how they set up and pay off the film's emotional arc.

From the start, you know you're in a warm, fun place (with a touch of sadness); by the end, you land on a romantic high the film truly earns. 

Alex unpacks how choices from structure to song lyrics to blocking work together to deliver that strong emotional payoff.

🎧 Full breakdown of the film: Episode 172

💌Get the FREE companion guide to one an under-the-radar gem from 2024

💬 Enjoy digging into filmmaking details like this?
That's one of the things we do inside Reel Ruminators — a space for curious film lovers to explore great movies together, spark insights, and deepen your appreciation of film craft.

Join by June 2, and you'll get access to May's featured film and the close readings we did together — perfect if you want more of the kind of scene-level analysis you heard in this episode.

👉 Click here to join Reel Ruminators

✍️ More on cinematic structure and craft at Seventh Row

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 the Criterion Channel in Canada and the US and BFI Player in the UK
• End of the Century is available on VOD, and streaming on BFI Player in the UK
• Purchase our ebook on Andrew Haigh's Lean on Pete, which includes an essay on home in all of Haigh's films.
• Weekend was our 5th favourite film of the 2010s. See the other choices.
• Read our list of 25 unsung queer cinema treasures, featuring End of the Century
• Stay tuned to the site for more coverage of Weekend this week

Related episodes:

• Ep. 96: Girlhood and compulsory heterosexuality: Water Lilies and Jennifer's Body
• Ep. 94: Looking
• Ep. 91: AIDS on screen, featuring It's a Sin
• Ep. 69: Paddington and Paddington 2 (Member's Only)
• Ep. 66: Francis Lee's God's Own Country and Ammonite (Member's Only)
• Ep. 29: Films about finite romance (Member's Only)
• Ep. 7: Lean on Pete (Member's Only)

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

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 1952 play, The Deep Blue Sea. Davies' 2011 film version is a moving portrayal of memory and Carrie Cracknell's National Theatre Live production from 2016 features strong characterization. We discuss adaptation choices, acting brilliance, how the two directors adapt the play to fit their interests, and more. This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and special guest Andrew Kendall. Show Notes

• Sign up for our daily TIFF 21 newsletter (September 9-19). Discover the best new films to premiere at the festival, from buzzed-about titles like The Worst Person in the World and The Power of the Dog to under-the-radar gems nobody else is talking about.
• Read Alex on how Davies' adaptation is a memory film with an unreliable narrator.
• The Deep Blue Sea was 13th on our best of the decade list. See the other choices here.
• Read Alex on the Tom Hiddleston and the hollow charm thwarting the promise of a great actor.
• Visit our Special Issue on a A Quiet Passion page for more on Terence Davies.
• Read Alex's interview with Lone Scherfig, which includes a discussion about Helen McRory in Their Finest.
• Become a Film Adventurer Member to listen to more great episodes from our archive.

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, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and Editor-at-Large Mary Angela Rowe. Oslo, August 31st is available on VOD, and is streaming on Kanopy in Canada

Another Round is available on VOD, and streaming on Crave in Canada and Hulu in the US

Want to go deeper on Joachim Trier?

Inside The Deep Focus: Oslo, August 31st, we'll trace his formal obsessions (like voiceover, montage, and prologues) from Oslo, August 31st to Sentimental Value.

 👉Join the waitlist here.

Show Notes

• This episode is part of our week long celebration of Oslo, August 31st's 10th anniversary.
• Oslo, August 31st was our best film of the decade. Check out our other 49 selections here.
• Read Alex's essay "There is a world elsewhere: exile in Joachim Trier's Oslo, August 31st and Louder Than Bombs"
• Read our special issue on Louder Than Bombs, which includes a review and interviews with director Joachim Trier and cinematographer Jakob Ihre.
• Read our in-depth guide to director Joachim Trier
• We will be writing an ebook on Joachim Trier, to celebrate the release of his new film, The Worst Person in the World. It will be released early next year. Sign up here for updates

Related Episode

• Ep. 40: Dead Mothers: Stories We Tell, Louder Than Bombs, & Mouthpiece (Member's Only)

• 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 film (20:55)
• The book's six sections (32:19)
• The films in the book (37:01)
• What we discovered writing the book (40:39)
• The Creative nonfiction workshop (45:58)
• Conclusion (49:44)

Show notes

• Pre-order the book
• Visit our Lockdown film school page to view some past sessions and find information on upcoming sessions, including one with Robert Greene and Joe Bini
• Read six filmmakers, from Penny Lane to Kirsten Johnson, weigh in on the question, what do you call your nonfiction film?
• Read our survey of fifteen critics and filmmakers on the films that changed how they thought about documentary.

Related episodes

• Ep. 99: Creative Nonfiction with Penny Lane and Carol Nguyen

• Subjective realities: The art of creative nonfiction film discussion (1:38)
• Similar episodes (9:05)
• Why did we pair these two films (9:49)
• Fake Tattoos (12:10)
• Avoiding the manic pixie dream girl trope (24:07)
• Nadia, Butterfly (37:51)
• A very Canadian musical interlude (58:28)
• How the two films depict sex and sexuality (1:02:43)
• What are the film's character arcs? (1:07:48)
• Why are relationship stories good for telling stories about transitions (1:14:57)
• Conclusion (1:21:28)

Episode Notes

• Pre-order our newest ebook, Subjective realities: The art of creative nonfiction film
• Read Alex's interview with Pascal Plante on Nadia, Butterfly
• Read Orla's interview with Nadia Butterfly cinematographer Stéphanie Anne Weber Biron

Related Episodes

• Ep. 101: Magnus von Horn's Films: The Here After and Sweat
• Ep. 66: Francis Lee's God's Own Country and Ammonite (Member's Only)

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 Here After (12:42)
• Sweat (39:17)
• Comparisons (1:15:59)
• Preview for next week (1:28:36)

Episode Notes

• Read Orla's interview with von Horn about Sweat
• Read Alex's 2015 review of The Here After

Related Episodes

• Ep. 97: The Films and TV of Desiree Akhavan
• Ep. 93: The Films of Agnieszka Holland
• Ep. 85: The Films of Naomi Kawase, featuring True Mothers
• Ep. 66: Francis Lee's God's Own Country and Ammonite (Member's Only)
• Ep. 45: The films of Anne Émond, from Nuit #1 to Nelly (Member's Only)

• 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)
• Lena Wilson and Teeth (24:28)
• Andrew Kendall and The English Patient (27:19)
• Emily Garside and Pride (32:23)
• Fiona Underhill and Empire of the Sun (36:39)
• Lindsay Pugh and Ishtar (41:00)
• Brett Pardy and The Farewell (45:57)

• Emily Garside (@EmiGarside), Writer, Researcher, and Theatre Maker. Visit her website.
• Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste), Editor-in-Chief, Seventh Row.
• Andrew Kendall (@DepartedAviator), Film Critic, Stabroek News.
• Caitlin Merriman (@CaitlinSnark).
• Brett Pardy (@AntiqueiPod), Associate Editor, Seventh Row.
• Lindsay Pugh (@womaninrevolt), Contributing Editor, Seventh Row. Writer, Woman in Revolt.
• Orla Smith (@orlamango), Executive Editor, Seventh Row.
• Fiona Underhill (@FionaUnderhill), Editor-in-Chief, JumpCut Online.
• Lena Wilson (@lenalwilson), Culture Writer. Visit her website.
• Debbie Zhou (@debbie_zhou), Managing Editor, Rough Cut.

Episode Notes:

• Read Alex's interview with Proxima director Alice Winocour
• Read Alex's 2014 review of Pride
• Read Orla's interview with The Farewell director Lulu Wang

Related Episodes

• Ep. 51: Working Mothers: Proxima & Baby Boom
• Ep. 1: Leave No Trace

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

• Why this episode and the origins of creative nonfiction (1:17)
• Intro with Penny Lane and Carol Nguyen (4:18)
• Why creative nonfiction (7:03)
• Inspirations (17:03)
• Documentary vs creative nonfiction as a label (20:49)
• Editing and pre-screening (26:01)
• Animation in documentary (33:02)
• Audience questions (41:31)

Show notes:

• Read Orla's article "What is creative nonfiction?"
• Read Alex's review of Penny Lane's Nuts!.
• Watch Watching the Pain of Others, Chloé Galibert-Laîné's excellent and artful video essay on Penny Lane's films, focusing on the emotional impact that Lane's The Pain of Others had on her and the way the film's editing creates and shapes audience empathy.
• View the other Lockdown Film School sessions

Related episode

• Ep. 95: Reclaiming history in documentary: No Ordinary Man and John Ware Reclaimed
• Ep. 46: Mina Shum and Philippe Falardeau
• Ep. 12: Hail Satan? featuring director Penny Lane

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

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 attending. The only way to purchase tickets is to pre-register.

To pre-register and find out more about the workshop, visit lockdownfilmschool.com/nonfiction

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 Garside. Dr. Garside did her PhD on theatrical representations of the AIDS crisis, with a focus on Angels in America and Rent.

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Laura Piani's Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is more than just a great rom-com — it's a funny and moving portrait of grief, writer's block, and a woman learning to move forward. Alex Heeney digs into how Agathe's emotional arc is mirrored in the film's structure, how the frame composition is key to the film's humour and storytelling, and how Piani reimagines Jane Austen archetypes for 2025.

🎁 Want more films that linger? Grab my free companion guide to a recent hidden gem — complete with a streaming guide, intro video, and prompts to deepen your viewing.

👉 Get the Guide

Read detailed show notes

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 Film Adventurer today for $39.99 (CAD) per year.

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's films (1:00:52)
• Akerman's aesthetic (1:09:24)
• Conclusion (1:13:36)

This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and Contributing Editor Lindsay Pugh.

Episode Notes:

• Read Alex's review of Chantal Akerman's 2015 film, No Home Movie
• Preview or purchase our ebook Tour of memories: The creative process behind Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir
• Preview or purchase our ebook Road to nowhere: Kelly Reichardt's broken American dreams.
• Preview or purchase our ebook Peterloo in process: A Mike Leigh collaboration
• Listen to our episode featuring Promising Young Woman (content warning: discussion of sexual violence)
• Listen to our episode featuring Spinster
• Read our newest feature, our editors picks for the fifty most exciting emerging actors working today

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Jasmila Žbanic's Quo Vadis, Aida 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, and special guest Andrew Kendall.

For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2021/03/10/ep-82-genocide-on-film-quo-vadis-aida-and-our-lady-of-the-nile/

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2021/03/03/ep-81-in-their-own-words-fiction-directors/

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

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 at seventh-row.com.

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-elegy/

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

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 special guest Michael Snydel

For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2020/11/24/ep-67-frederick-wisemans-ex-libris-city-hall/

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

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 special guest Lena Wilson.

For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2020/11/17/ep-66-francis-lees-gods-own-country-ammonite/

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2020/11/03/ep-64-lockdown-film-school-with-alice-winocour/

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

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 falling apart in various ways. We discuss how Triet's blending of multiple genres emphasizes the multiple facets of a character's life, and more.

This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Editor at Large Mary Angela Rowe, and special guest Lindsay Pugh.

For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2020/09/08/ep-56-justine-triets-women-on-the-verge-in-bed-with-victoria-and-sibyl/

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

The 2025 Cannes Film Festival kicks off today...and the question on everyone's mind is: what will be the great movies?

Mostly, people look to the Cannes Competition (the films that compete for the Palme d'Or) to find the best films. But it's a lesser-known fact that many amazing films screen in the festival's sidebars.

And many of the best films in cinema history have screened in the festival's sidebars. In fact, Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, which was named the greatest film of all time in the 2022 Sight & Sound poll did not screen in competition! It screened in the Directors' Fortnight.

So on today's episode, Alex peels back the curtain on how all the different parts of the Cannes Film Festival work together. And she talks about the amazing films you've heard of (and some you probably haven't) that have screened outside the festival's competition. And she talks about some of the films she's excited for this year.

Finally, Alex talks about some of the films she's excited for in this year's competition, and how they were already making fantastic films years ago that were hiding out in the festival's sidebars.

• Become a Seventh Row Insider to stay updated on the best films at Cannes this year and in past years that you might not otherwise stumble upon
• Interested in picking up Seventh Row's ebooks on Lynne Ramsay, Joachim Trier, Joanna Hogg, Debra Granik, or Céline Sciamma? They're available exclusively on Seventh Row. Peruse our ebooks here
• Listen to the Women at Cannes Podcast Season 
• Listen to the Women at Cannes episode on Kelly Reichardt

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 Nowhere contributor Angelo Muredda.

For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2020/08/11/ep-52:-first-cow-&-wendy-and-lucy/

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.