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 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

This episode presents our June masterclass with Agnieszka Holland. She discusses her body of work, what drives her, and her newest film, Charlatan. This episode was recorded as a conversation between Holland, Editor-In-Chief Alex Heeney and Executive Editor Orla Smith in June 2021 as part of our Lockdown Film School series. Read the shownotes.

Related Episodes:

• Ep. 93: The films of Agnieszka Holland
• Ep. 55: Comparing adaptations of The Secret Garden (Member's Only)

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: 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)

Alex and Orla discuss the Cannes 2021 films they watched from home: a couple of competition titles, and even more interesting sidebar films that flew under the radar. On this episode:

• Announcements (1:11)
• Cannes and COVID (4:54)
• Cannes Winners (9:32)
• The Divide (Catherine Corsini) (19:10)
• Bergman Island (Mia Hansen-Løve) (22:19)
• The films we have not many thoughts on (36:32)
• How Cannes treats documentaries (41:20)
• Murina (Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović) (47:05)
• Olga (Elie Grappe) (50:23)
• A Radiant Girl (Sandrine Kiberlain) (54:53)
• The Innocents (Eskil Vogt) (1:02:58)
• Conclusion (1:11:54)

Episode Notes

• Read Alex's review of Une jeune fille qui va bien (A Radiant Girl)
• Read Alex's 2018 interview with Cannes "breakout" Anders Danielsen Lie
• Read Alex's 2017 interview with Eskil Vogt, on Thelma
• Read Mary Angela Rowe's review of Julia Ducournau’s Raw
• Read Elena Lazic's 2019 interview with Mia Hansen-Løve on Maya
• Read our January article about the thirty films we’re most looking forward to in 2021

Related Episodes

• Ep. 84: Berlinale 2021, Part 2: The Competition
• Ep. 83: Berlinale 2021, Part 1: The Sidebars
• Ep. 82: Genocide on Film: Quo Vadis, Aida and Our Lady of the Nile
• Ep. 79: Sundance 2021, Part 2
• Ep. 78: Sundance 2021, Part 1
• Ep. 75: Portrayals of disability in Sound of Metal and Blind
• Ep. 17: Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale (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)

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)
• 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)

Contributors:

• 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.

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 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.

On this episode, we discuss two renditions of Tony Kushner’s gay fantasia Angels in America: Mike Nichols’ HBO Miniseries from 2003 and the NTLive recording of Marianne Elliot’s 2017 production at the National Theatre in London.

This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney and special guests Dr. Emily Garside and Noemi Berkowitz

On this episode, we discuss the work of bisexual Iranian-American filmmaker Desiree Akhavan, who is best known for the films Appropriate Behaviour and The Miseducation of Cameron Post, as well as the TV shows The Slope and The Bisexual.

The episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney. Executive Editor Orla Smith, and special guest Lena Wilson.

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