Seventh Row Podcast

In the fifth and final episode of our Creative Nonfiction Film podcast season, Alex Heeney talks to Penny Lane about her experimentations with documentary form in Confessions of a Good Samaritan. The film is a trip inside Penny’s brain as she goes through the stressful process of anonymously donating her kidney and investigates why kidney donations are necessary. Lane weaves almost all of the techniques from her previous films (and a few more!) into Confessions of a Good Samaritan, offering a thoughtful, educational, and funny look at the complicated feelings that come with doing good in the world at some personal expense. Click here to read the episode show notes. You will also find an AI-generated transcript in the show notes. Useful links Visit the Creative Nonfiction Podcast homepage Discover all of our resources on the films of Joachim Trier Pre-order Existential detours: Joachim Trier's cinema of indecisions and revisions More on creative nonfiction Download a FREE excerpt from Subjective Realities here. Get your copy of the ebook Subjective Realities: The art of creative nonfiction film here. Get your copy of the ebook In their own words: Documentary Masters vol. 1 Listen to the podcast on the ebook Subjective realities: The art of creative nonfiction film Become a Member Members receive early access to all new episodes of our season. Members can also access the entire podcast archive of 150+ episodes. Our recent episodes from our seasons and regular episodes from the last six months are free to all for a limited time. To get full access to the podcast, including episodes from past Sundance Film Festivals and past Sundance films, become a member. As a member, you will also be supporting what we do, and helping us cover the (expensive) costs of hosting, running a website, podcast equipment, and more. This helps to ensure we can continue producing the podcast. Related Episodes Members Only Episodes Ep. 12: Penny Lane on Hail Satan? (Members' Exclusive): Penny Lane discusses her 2019 film Hail Satan Ep. 40: Dead Mothers (Members' Exclusive): We discuss Joachim Trier's Louder Than Bombs, a film that expertly gets inside the head of its thoughtful characters. We also compare it to Mouthpiece and Stories We Tell. Ep. 122: Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World (Free): Joachim Trier's breakout hit is also a film that is very good at getting us inside the protagonist's mind amidst an existential crisis. Free Episodes Ep. 105: Subjective Realities: The art of creative nonfiction film: We discuss the making of the ebook Subjective Realities and what you can expect from the book Ep. 99: Creative Nonfiction with Penny Lane and Carol Nguyen Ep. 123: Sundance 2022: Creative Nonfiction Credits Host Alex Heeney is the Editor-in-Chief of Seventh Row. Find her on Twitter @bwestcineaste. Email us at contact seventh row com. This episode was edited, produced, and recorded by Alex Heeney.

In the fourth episode of our Creative Nonfiction Film podcast season,  Alex Heeney talks to Sam Green about 32 Sounds and his work exploring the possibilities of his work that he describes as "live documentaries". These are part locked footage, part live performance, usually including a live band on stage performing the film's music. On this episode, we give some background on Sam Green's work in live documentary, talk about how A Thousand Thoughts (2018), co-directed with Joe Bini, felt like a turning point for his work in the form, and discuss what makes 32 Sounds such a wonderful and innovative film. Finally, Alex talks to Sam Green about making 32 Sounds, and more broadly about how he thinks about live documentary and why this is a space he likes working in. The episode features a conversation between Alex Heeney and Orla Smith about 32 Sounds and live documentary, recorded in January 2022 right after the world premiere of 32 Sounds. The interview with Sam Green was conducted via Zoom in January 2022 the day after 32 Sounds had its world (virtual) premiere at Sundance. This is an edited version of the complete conversation; the complete conversation is available on our website here.  Click here to read the episode show notes. You will also find an AI-generated transcript in the show notes. Useful links Read Alex Heeney's full interview with Sam Green on 32 Sounds Find screenings of Sam Green's live documentaries Find screenings of 32 Sounds Read Sam Green's introduction to live documentary and Utopia in Four Movements More on creative nonfiction Download a FREE excerpt from Subjective Realities here. Get your copy of the ebook Subjective Realities: The art of creative nonfiction film here. Get your copy of the ebook In their own words: Documentary Masters vol. 1 Listen to the podcast on the ebook Subjective realities: The art of creative nonfiction film Become a Member All of our episodes that are over 6 months old are available to members only. We also regularly record members only episodes. To get full access to the podcast, including episodes from past Sundance Film Festivals and past Sundance films, become a member. As a member, you will also be supporting what we do, and helping us cover the (expensive) costs of hosting, running a website, podcast equipment, and more. This helps to ensure we can continue producing the podcast. Related Episodes Members Only Episodes Ep. 67: Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris and City Hall  Ep. 95: No Ordinary Man and John Ware Reclaimed: Reclaiming history in documentary (Members only) Free Episodes Ep. 99: Creative Nonfiction with Penny Lane and Carol Nguyen Ep. 123: Sundance 2022: Creative Nonfiction Credits Host Alex Heeney is the Editor-in-Chief of Seventh Row. Find her on Twitter @bwestcineaste. Email us at contact seventh row com. This episode was edited, produced, and recorded by Alex Heeney.

In the third episode of our Creative Nonfiction Film podcast season, Philippe Falardeau discusses Lac-Mégantic: This is Not An Accident is a four-part documentary series about the catastrophic 2013 trainwreck in Lac-Mégantic, its inevitability, the aftermath, and the government failure to change safety requirements to avoid another "accident" in future. Lac-Mégantic had its world premiere at the HotDocs Film Festival where all four episodes were screened back-to-back. The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster was the fourth-deadliest rail accident in Canadian history (47 people died) and the deadliest involving a non-passenger train. The documentary Lac-Mégantic not only chronicles the disaster and its devastating effects on the town Lac-Mégantic, but also how blame was handled and how similar disasters continue to happen. The series reclaims the history of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster by showing how systemic problems lead to a disaster that has been blamed on individuals. The series also reveals how appropriate safety measures have not been taken in the intervening years to prevent a similar disaster from happening (and other, smaller disasters have indeed continued to happen). At the beginning of the episode, Alex Heeney introduces the series Lac-Mégantic, and why she thinks it's worthy of discussion. Next, we play your Alex's interview with Falardeau about the film. Finally, we wrap up with how the film fits into the framework for creative nonfiction that we at Seventh Row created in our ebook Subjective realities, and offer some suggestions for what to watch and listen to next.  Click here to read the episode show notes. You will also find an AI-generated transcript in the show notes. Useful links Watch our masterclass with Philippe Falardeau and Mina Shum Read our interview with Philippe Falardeau on My Internship in Canada More on creative nonfiction Download a FREE excerpt from Subjective Realities here. Get your copy of the ebook Subjective Realities: The art of creative nonfiction film here. Get your copy of the ebook In their own words: Documentary Masters vol. 1 Become a Member All of our episodes that are over 6 months old are available to members only. We also regularly record members only episodes. To get full access to the podcast, including episodes from past Sundance Film Festivals and past Sundance films, become a member. As a member, you will also be supporting what we do, and helping us cover the (expensive) costs of hosting, running a website, podcast equipment, and more. This helps to ensure we can continue producing the podcast. Related Episodes Members Only Episodes Bonus Episode 25: This is Going to Hurt and physician mental health Ep. 41: In the Loop and My Internship in Canada: Political satires Ep. 67: Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris and City Hall  Ep. 95: No Ordinary Man and John Ware Reclaimed: Reclaiming history in documentary (Members only) Free Episodes Ep. 99: Creative Nonfiction with Penny Lane and Carol Nguyen Ep. 123: Sundance 2022: Creative Nonfiction Credits Host Alex Heeney is the Editor-in-Chief of Seventh Row. Find her on Twitter @bwestcineaste. Email us at contact seventh row com. This episode was edited, produced, and recorded by Alex Heeney.

In the second episode of our Creative Nonfiction Film podcast season, Sophie Fiennes discusses The Four Quartets and how she approaches documenting live performance on screen. In The Four Quartets, she captures the stage play of the same name, directed by and starring her brother, actor Ralph Fiennes. For the production, Ralph Fiennes adapted the T.S. Eliot poem for the stage — which was never originally intended to be performed that way — and then toured this production around the UK in 2021. Sophie Fiennes’s film of The Four Quartets is neither live capture nor a full adaptation of the play. Instead, Fiennes remarkably documents the theatre production on screen, maintaining all the original lighting and blocking. Her choices of framing and camera movement really puts us in the black box theatre with Ralph Fiennes. Unlike most recorded theatre, where there is a constant sense of information loss, Sophie Fiennes gives us a sense of the theatrical space so we get a better sense of what we’re missing when we’re missing it. It’s built into Sophie Fiennes’s direction. Sophie Fiennes discusses Ralph Fiennes’s production, the challenges of documenting the play on screen, and how working with Declan Donnellan of Cheek by Jowl just before she shot The Four Quartets changed how she thinks about acting and theatre. Click here to read the episode show notes. The show notes also include excerpts from Sophie Fiennes's director's script. You will also find an AI-generated transcript in the show notes. Useful links Read T.S. Eliot’s The Four Quartets Listen to Cheek by Jowl’s Not True But Useful podcast episode on thresholds and space Read our interview with Sophie Fiennes on Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami More on creative nonfiction Download a FREE excerpt from Subjective Realities here. Get your copy of the ebook Subjective Realities: The art of creative nonfiction film here. Get your copy of the ebook In their own words: Documentary Masters vol. 1 Become a Member All of our episodes that are over 6 months old are available to members only. We also regularly record members only episodes. To get full access to the podcast, including episodes from past Sundance Film Festivals and past Sundance films, become a member. As a member, you will also be supporting what we do, and helping us cover the (expensive) costs of hosting, running a website, podcast equipment, and more. This helps to ensure we can continue producing the podcast. Related Episodes on creative nonfiction Ep. 99: Creative Nonfiction with Penny Lane and Carol Nguyen Sundance 2023 Ep. 7: Best of the fest + documentaries Fantastic Machine, Is There Anybody Out There, and more Ep. 123: Sundance 2022: Creative Nonfiction Members Only Episodes Ep. 67: Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris and City Hall  (Members only) Ep. 95: No Ordinary Man and John Ware Reclaimed: Reclaiming history in documentary (Members only) Credits Host Alex Heeney is the Editor-in-Chief of Seventh Row. Find her on Twitter @bwestcineaste. Email us at contact seventh row com. This episode was edited, produced, and recorded by Alex Heeney.

In the first episode of our Creative Nonfiction Film podcast season, Alex Heeney previews what to expect in this five-episode season and discusses what is creative nonfiction film. Click here to read the episode show notes. You will also find an AI-generated transcript in the show notes. Get the tote bag with the Céline Sciamma quote "Cinema is the only art form ever where you share somebody else's lonelines" More on creative nonfiction Download a FREE excerpt from Subjective Realities here. Get your copy of the ebook Subjective Realities: The art of creative nonfiction film here. Get your copy of the ebook In their own words: Documentary Masters vol. 1 Become a Member All of our episodes that are over 6 months old are available to members only. We also regularly record members only episodes. To get full access to the podcast, including episodes from past Sundance Film Festivals and past Sundance films, become a member. As a member, you will also be supporting what we do, and helping us cover the (expensive) costs of hosting, running a website, podcast equipment, and more. This helps to ensure we can continue producing the podcast. Related Episodes on creative nonfiction Ep. 99: Creative Nonfiction with Penny Lane and Carol Nguyen Sundance 2023 Ep. 7: Best of the fest + documentaries Fantastic Machine, Is There Anybody Out There, and more Ep. 123: Sundance 2022: Creative Nonfiction Members Only Episodes Ep. 67: Frederick Wiseman’s Ex Libris and City Hall  (Members only) Ep. 95: No Ordinary Man and John Ware Reclaimed: Reclaiming history in documentary (Members only) Credits Host Alex Heeney is the Editor-in-Chief of Seventh Row. Find her on Twitter @bwestcineaste. Email us at contact seventh row com. This episode was edited, produced, and recorded by Alex Heeney.

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 two of Justine Triet's feature films, In Bed With Victoria (2016) and Sibyl (2019). 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.  In Bed With Victoria (2016) had its world premiere in the Critics' Week section at Cannes. Sibyl (2019) had its world premiere in the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Justine Triet is now the third woman director to receive the Palme d'Or, and the second woman director to not share the prize with a man. 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.

On this episode, Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney talks about several highlights of the 2023 Berlinale from the festival's sidebars. 0:00 Intro to the Berlinale & the episode 4:12 Here (Belgium, dir. Bas Devos) 12:20 The Teacher’s Lounge (Germany, dir. İlker Çatak) 16:59 The Quiet Migration / Stille Liv (Denmark, dir. Malene Choi) 23:17 Intro to the Generation sidebar  25:30 Delegation (Israel/Poland/Germany, dir. Asaf Savan) 30:15 Le Paradis / The Lost Boys (Belgium/France, dir. Zeno Gratan) 37:20 Wrap up First, Alex discusses the best film of the festival she saw, Here (dir. Bas Devos), which screened in the Encounters section where it won the top prize. Next, Alex discusses two films from the Panorama sidebar (the not quite prestigious enough for competition sidebar): award winner The Teachers' Lounge and the low key Danish film The Quiet Migration. Finally, Alex discusses two films from the Generation sidebar, a sidebar of Young Adult films for Young Adults: Delegation and Le Paradis. Finally,  Become a Member All of our episodes that are over 6 months old are available to members only. We also regularly record members only episodes. To get full access to the podcast, including episodes from past Sundance Film Festivals and past Sundance films, become a member. As a member, you will also be supporting what we do, and helping us cover the (expensive) costs of hosting, running a website, podcast equipment, and more. This helps to ensure we can continue producing the podcast. Show Notes Read our interview with the director and star of Ninjababy, a Berlinale 2021 Generation program highlight Listen to our podcast on Ninjababy Read our interview with the director of Brother's Keeper, a Berlinale 2021 Panorama film which, like The Teachers' Lounge, is also about systemic injustices in the educational system. Read our review of Magnus von Horn's The Here After, which would make a great double feature with the 2023 film Le Paradis (The Lost Boys). Listen to our podcast on My Small Land, which screened in the Generation sidebar at Berlinale 2022. Like this year's The Quiet Migration, My Small Land also tackled the story of a young immigrant in a country where they grew up not looking like the majority of the population. Read and listen to all of our Berlinale coverage from this year and past years. Related episodes mentioned on this episode Ep. 83: Berlinale 2021 Part 1: The sidebars Ep. 84: Berlinale 2021 Part 2: The Competition Ep. 125: Berlinale 2022 Ep. 101 Magnus von Horn’s films: The Here After and Sweat How to listen to episodes marked "MEMBERS ONLY" Click here to become a member, and access our entire podcast archive, as well as new Members Only episodes. When you purchase your membership, you wil be given a personal podcast feed link, which you can then open in your favourite podcatcher. After that, the Premium Seventh Row Podcast (MEMBERS ONLY), will update in your podcatcher with new episodes just like every free podcast you listen to. All of our podcasts that are more than six months old are only available to members. We also regularly release members only bonus episodes. Many of the episodes listed here are now only available to members (Members Only). Speakers on the episode This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney You can find Alex on Twitter @bwestcineaste, Instagram @bwestcineaste, and Letterboxd @bwestcineaste.  

In the seventh and final episode of the Sundance 2023 podcast season, we discuss the documentaries at Sundance 2023, focusing on the films Fantastic Machine, Is There Anybody Out There?, The Stroll, and Plan C. We also discuss the best films of Sundance and wrap up our discussion of the festival. 00:00 Introduction 01:26 Why we’re talking about documentaries at Sundance 03:05 And the King Said What a Fantastic Machine directed by Axel Danielsen & Maximilien Van Aertryck 11:19 Is There Anybody Out There? directed by Ella Glendining (and other first-person disability docs) 31:13 The Stroll directed by Kristen Parker Lovell & Zackary Drucker 36:04 Plan C directed by Tracy Droz Tragos 39:35 Milisuthando directed by Milisuthando Bongela 42:28 Against the Tide directed by Sarvnik Kaur 56:27 Final thoughts on Sundance 2023 and top tens 01:10:57 Sundance bingo Click here to read the episode show notes. You will also find an AI-generated transcript in the show notes. Become a Member All of our episodes that are over 6 months old are available to members only. We also regularly record members only episodes. To get full access to the podcast, including episodes from past Sundance Film Festivals and past Sundance films, become a member. As a member, you will also be supporting what we do, and helping us cover the (expensive) costs of hosting, running a website, podcast equipment, and more. This helps to ensure we can continue producing the podcast. About the Sundance 2023 season Visit https://seventh-row.com/sundance for links to all of the episodes in the season, a downloadable bingo card, as well as a list of all of the films covered on this season. You will also find links to the show notes on each of the episodes and information on our coverage of Sundance dating back to 2015. Show Notes Buy a copy of our ebook Subjective realities, which features essays and interviews on creative nonfiction film (including our interview with Pacho Velez on Searchers). The book also features an interview with director Chase Joynt who has made two documentaries featuring Zackary Drucker, director of the 2023 Sundance film The Stroll. Read our 2016 Sundance interview with Penny Lane on NUTS! in which she introduced us to the term 'creative nonfiction' as a way to describe innovative approaches to documentary. Watch Axel Danielsen and Maximilien Van Aertryck’s short film Ten Meter Tower for free on YouTube. Watch Guy Goma’s hilarious interview on the BBC, which features in Fantastic Machine Read Orla’s review of I Didn’t See You There Read Alex’s review of Gleason Read Orla’s interview with Chase Joynt and Morgan M. Page on Framing Agnes, which stars Zackary Drucker who co-directed in the 2023 film The Stroll Read Orla's interview with the filmmakers behind No Ordinary Man, which features Zackary Drucker, director of the film The Stroll. Read Orla’s review of All That Breathes Read Alex’s review of Captains of Za’atari Read Orla’s Letterboxd ranking of the Sundance 2023 films she saw Read Alex’s Letterboxd ranking of the Sundance 2023 films she saw Download the Sundance 2023 bingo card to follow along at home. Listen to our last podcast season, which tackles the history of women at the Cannes film festival, and read our comprehensive list of all the women filmmakers who have been programmed by Cannes. Related episodes mentioned on this episode For more information on how these episodes relate to this episode, click here. To listen to each episode, or find out more about the episode, click on the link below Ep. 123: Sundance 2022: Creative nonfiction (MEMBERS ONLY) Ep. 99: Creative nonfiction with Carol Nguyen and Penny Lane (FREE FOREVER). Ep. 106: Christine and Kate Plays Christine: Reviving Christine Chubbuck (MEMBERS ONLY) Ep. 53: Boys State and First Stripes (MEMBERS ONLY) Ep. 95: No Ordinary Man and John Ware Reclaimed: Reclaiming histories in documentaries. (MEMBERS ONLY) How to listen to episodes marked "MEMBERS ONLY" Click here to become a member, and access our entire podcast archive, as well as new Members Only episodes. When you purchase your membership, you wil be given a personal podcast feed link, which you can then open in your favourite podcatcher. After that, the Premium Seventh Row Podcast (MEMBERS ONLY), will update in your podcatcher with new episodes just like every free podcast you listen to. All of our podcasts that are more than six months old are only available to members. We also regularly release members only bonus episodes. Many of the episodes listed here are now only available to members (Members Only). Speakers on the episode This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney and Executive Editor Orla Smith. You can find Alex on Twitter @bwestcineaste, Instagram @bwestcineaste, and Letterboxd @bwestcineaste. You can find Orla on Twitter @orlamango, Instagram @orla_p_smith, and Letterboxd @orlamango  

In the sixth episode (and third dispatch) of the Sundance 2023 podcast season, we discuss highlights like Ira Sachs's film Passages, Nicole Holofcener's film You Hurt My Feelings, Sebastián Silva's Rotting in the Sun, and Angus MacLachlan's A Little Prayer, as well as other buzzed-about films at the festival. 00:00 Introduction 01:10 Brief thoughts on Fremont, Infinity Pool, Bad Behaviour, Rye Lane, Drift, A Thousand and One 39:20 You Hurt My Feelings by Nicole Holofcener 52:04 Rotting in the Sun by Sebastián Silva 1:04:22 Passages by Ira Sachs 1:21:55 A Little Prayer by Angus MacLachlan 1:33:30 Fair Play, Cat Person, and the legacy of Promising Young Woman 1:54:49 Sundance bingo Click here to read the episode show notes. You will also find an AI-generated transcript in the show notes. In this episode, we discuss four of our favourite films of Sundance 2023, each in the Premieres section: Nicole Holofcener's dreamed, You Hurt My Feelings, Sebastián Silva's black comedy Rotting in the Sun, Ira Sachs' relationship drama Passages, and Angus MacLachlan's quietly insightful family drama. We also talk briefly about the disappointing films that have forged themselves in the image of Promising Young Woman: Fair Play and Cat Person. Orla discusses one of her most hated films of the festival, Infinity Pool, and Alex defends Alice Englert's troubled feature debut Bad Behaviour. Alex also adds her thoughts on Fremont, which Orla first discussed in episode 3 (Alex agrees it's excellent). Finally, we both discuss some minor highlights of the festival. We were underwhelmed by British rom-com Rye Lane, though think it's a good depiction of the city. Alex liked Anthony Chen's (Ilo Ilo and Wet Season) English-language debut Drift, starring Cynthia Erivo and Alia Shawkat, despite its problematic script, because the direction and performances were so good (Honor Swinton-Byrne also shows up!). Orla also weighs in on the US Grand Jury Prize Winner One Thousand Nights. Become a Member All of our episodes that are over 6 months old are available to members only. We also regularly record members only episodes. To get full access to the podcast, including episodes from past Sundance Film Festivals and past Sundance films, become a member. How to follow our Sundance 2023 coverage Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the 2023 Sundance podcast season and coverage on the website. Follow Seventh Row on Twitter and Instagram @SeventhRow; Alex Heeney @bwestcineaste on Twitter and Instagram; and Orla Smith @orlamango on Twitter and @orla_p_smith on Instagram. Show Notes Read Indiewire’s article on the making of Rotting in the Sun, which we quote from in this episode. Read our interview with Sebastián Silva on his film Magic Magic Treat yourself by following Franz Rogowski on Instagram. Read our profile of Geraldine Viswanathan, who was wasted by Cat Person. Read Kristen Roupenian’s original Cat Person short story, published by The New Yorker. Listen to episode three of our Sundance 2023 podcast season, in which we discuss Slow, which features a far better example of asexual representation than Cat Person. Read our interview with Ana Katz, the director of The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet, which was our favourite film of Sundance 2021. Download the Sundance 2023 bingo card to follow along at home. Listen to our last podcast season, which tackles the history of women at the Cannes film festival, and read our comprehensive list of all the women filmmakers who have been programmed by Cannes. Related episodes All of our podcasts that are more than six months old are only available to members. We also regularly release members only bonus episodes. Many of the episodes listed here are now only available to members (Members Only). Click here to become a member, and access our entire podcast archive, as well as new Members Only episodes. Episodes related to the Franz Rogowski in the film Passages Ep. 5: Christian Petzold’s Transit (MEMBERS ONLY): Franz Rogowski, who stars in the film Passages, is one of the best actors working today. Head back to one of our earliest episodes where we discuss his amazing (best of the decade) performance in one of the best films of the decade. Ep. 119: Mike Leigh’s Naked (FREE — soon becoming MEMBERS ONLY): There are very few good cinematic depictions of narcissists. Ira Sachs's Passages is the latest entry into the canon, and the narcissist at its centre, played by Franz Rogowski, reminded us of Johnny (David Thewlis) from Mike Leigh's Naked, if much less sympathetic (and yet less abusive). Episodes about Ben Whishaw, co-star of Passages Ep. 69: Paddington and Paddington 2 (MEMBERS ONLY): Ben Whishaw was at Sundance this year with two new movies: Alice Englert's film Bad Behaviour (as a cult leader) and Ira Sachs's film Passages (as a man married to Franz Rogowski who cheats on him with a woman). We celebrated Whishaw's work in both Paddington films, and his prowess as an actor more generally, in this discussion that concludes Paddington is the ultimate symbol of British colonialism. Bonus ep. 25: This is Going to Hurt (MEMBERS ONLY): Ben Whishaw is one of the very best working actors today. With two films at Sundance coming out later this year (hopefully!), now is a great time to visit his tour de force career best work as the lead of This is Going To Hurt, a show about physician mental health in the NHS. His performance is both comic and dramatic and absolutely heartbreaking. It's also so incredibly detailed. Nobody else could do it like him. Related episodes to the films A Little Prayer, Rotting in the Sun, and You Hurt My Feelings. Ep. 40: Remembering dead mothers in Stories We Tell, Louder Than Bombs, and Mouthpiece (MEMBERS ONLY): A Little Prayer is a film very much about the family as an ecosystem and a unit of people trying their best under difficult circumstances and often screwing. That's also what Joachim Trier's Louder Than Bombs (2015) is about, and we discuss it in depth in this episode. Louder Than Bombs is also about what happens to a family when a major secret has been kept and comes out, wreaking some havoc, just as in the film You Hurt My Feelings. Ep. 94: HBO’s Looking (MEMBERS ONLY): It's not often that we get media that is unabashedly gay, depicting gay spaces and the gay community in a way that might make heterosexuals uncomfortable. HBO's Looking was pioneer for this on TV, including the way it depicted gay sex and intimacy. Sebastián Silva's Rotting in the Sunalso pushes the envelope, though in a much more confronting (and depressing) way. Related episodes to Cat Person and Fair Play Ep. 73: Explorations of rape culture in Promising Young Woman and The Assistant (MEMBERS ONLY): Fair Play and Cat Person at Sundance this year feel like poor attempts to ride the Promising Young Woman hype. Revisit our original bashing of Promising Young Woman for context about why we think its approach to addressing sexual assault is really problematic. We compare it to The Assistant which was way better and also screened at Sundance that year, a much subtler and smarter approach to the topic. Bonus ep. 16: Watching Lena Dunham’s Girls in 2021 (MEMBERS ONLY): Lena Dunham was a pioneer of uncomfortable sex scenes involving women in the their 20s, and films like Promising Young Woman, Cat Person, and Fair Play have picked up the baton (if not reached Dunham's heights). In this episode, we discussed what it was like to watch Girls in 2021 (for the first time for Orla).

In the fifth episode of the Sundance 2023 podcast season, we discuss some of this year's buzziest titles, including William Oldroyd's film Eileen, Andrew Durham's film Fairyland, and some hidden gems like Babak Jalali's film Fremont and Rachel Lambert's film Sometimes I Think About Dying. 00:00 Introduction 01:49 Brief thoughts on Mutt, Cassandro, Polite Society, Theater Camp 17:58 Sometimes I Think About Dying directed by Rachel Lambert 28:45 Fremont by Babak Jalali 36:16 Eileen by William Oldroyd 51:43 Fairyland by Andrew Durham 1:08:59 Sundance bingo Click here to read the episode show notes. You will also find an AI-generated transcript in the show notes. Become a Member All of our episodes that are over 6 months old are available to members only. We also regularly record members only episodes. To get full access to the podcast, including episodes from past Sundance Film Festivals and past Sundance films, become a member. How to follow our Sundance 2023 coverage Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the 2023 Sundance podcast season and coverage on the website. Follow Seventh Row on Twitter and Instagram @SeventhRow; Alex Heeney @bwestcineaste on Twitter and Instagram; and Orla Smith @orlamango on Twitter and @orla_p_smith on Instagram. Show Notes Read Orla Smith’s analysis of Thomasin McKenzie’s performance in Leave No Trace, which appears in our ebook Leave No Trace: A Special Issue. Leave No Trace premiered at Sundance, and McKenzie returns to Sundance this year as the lead of William Oldroyd’s Eileen. Read Alex Heeney's analysis of Gael García Bernal's performance in Ema, and why he is one of the very best actors working today. Bernal stars in and is the highlight of Cassandro. View the list of all of the films covered on the Sundance 2023 podcast Sundance 2023 season (FREE): Catch up with all of our episodes. Sundance 2023 season (FREE): Catch up with all of our episodes. Discover all of our past podcast episodes on films that screened at Sundance. Related episodes All of our podcasts that are more than six months old are only available to members. We also regularly release members only bonus episodes. Many of the episodes listed here are now only available to members (Members Only). Ep. 1: Leave No Trace (FREE): We first fell in love with Thomasin McKenzie for her work in the Sundance film Leave No Trace, which we wrote a book about. In this companion episode to the book, we discuss why the film was so great and what a talent McKenzie is. McKenzie returned to Sundance this year as the star of William Oldroyd's film Eileen. Ep. 22: The King (FREE): In this crossover episode with our Shakespeare Podcast, 21st Folio, we watch the terrible film The King for you, and report back on what a mess it is and how under-used Thomasin McKenzie is. Ep. 91: AIDS on screen, featuring It’s a Sin (MEMBERS ONLY): In this episode, we give an overview of films/TV/recorded theatre dating back to the 1990s that have addressed the AIDS crisis. It's a must listen before seeing Fairyland and offers many recommendations for films that address the AIDS crisis well (which Fairylanddoes not). Ep. 98: Angels in America adaptations (MEMBERS ONLY): Tony Kushner's Angels in America is one of the most famous AIDS plays, and we delve deep into the HBO miniseries and the National Theatre's 2016 recorded production. We also talk about how the two productions address the AIDS crisis and how the views of the play have shifted in the last 20 years.