Seventh Row Podcast

In this episode of the TIFF 2024 season, Alex discusses three films from around the world that take place within the world of sports but aren't really about sports.

Alex finds common ground in how the films are shot and tell stories, often through gestures and blocking rather than dialogue.

These films are:

• Leonardo van Dijl's Julie Keeps Quiet – Belgium/Sweden (sales title)
• Frida Kempff's The Swedish Torpedo - World Premiere - Sweden (sales title)
• Hiroshi Okuyama's My Sunshine - Japan (Film Movement will distribute)

About the TIFF 2024 season:

In the TIFF 2024 season, Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney will discuss some of the best under-the-radar gems at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival through themed episodes.

This is for you if:

• You're attending TIFF and looking for recommendations;
• You're looking ahead to your local film festival for must-see titles; and/or
• You're interested in how filmmakers from around the world explore similar topics/genres, even if you're not sure if you'll ever see the films.

The season will be spoiler-free and designed to be listened to even if you haven't seen the films (or are worried you won't ever be able to).

Check out all of our TIFF 2024 coverage here: https://seventh-row.com/tiff24

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Interested in attending a film festival?

Get my five essential tips for the film adventurer seeking a fantastic festival experience.

These tips are tailored to TIFF but will work for any other film festival.

Sign up here: http://email.seventh-row.com/tiff24

In this episode of the TIFF 2024 season, Alex discusses the four Palestinian films at this year's festival.

These films are:

• No Other Land (Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor) - Norway/Palestine
• To a Land Unknown (Mehdi Fleifel) - Germany, France, United Kingdom, Greece, Netherlands, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
• Happy Holidays (Scandar Copti) - Germany, France, Italy, Palestine, Qatar
• From Ground Zero (22 directors), France, Jordan, Palestine, Qatar

About the TIFF 2024 season:

In the TIFF 2024 season, Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney will discuss some of the best under-the-radar gems at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival through themed episodes.

This is for you if:

• You're attending TIFF and look for recommendations;
• You're looking ahead to your local film festival for must-see titles; and/or
• You're interested in how filmmakers from around the world are exploring similar topics/genres, even if you're not sure if you'll ever see the films.

The season will be spoiler-free and designed to be listened to even if you haven't seen the films (or are worried you won't ever be able to).

Check out all of our TIFF 2024 coverage here: https://seventh-row.com/tiff24

----

Interested in attending a film festival?

Get my five essential tips for the film adventurer seeking a fantastic festival experience.

These tips are tailored to TIFF but will work for any other film festival.

Sign up here: http://email.seventh-row.com/tiff24

The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) kicks off on Thursday, September 5, and Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney will cover it with a series of podcast episodes.

In this episode, Alex introduces the podcast season and explains why this season is for you and whether or not you're attending TIFF this year.

I'll explain what to expect from this podcast season and why TIFF and our coverage are relevant to you if you're interested in exploring world cinema.

About the TIFF 2024 season:

In the TIFF 2024 season, Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney will discuss some of the best under-the-radar gems at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival through themed episodes.

This is for you if:

• You're attending TIFF and look for recommendations;
• You're looking ahead to your local film festival for must-see titles; and/or
• You're interested in how filmmakers from around the world are exploring similar topics/genres, even if you're not sure if you'll ever see the films.

The season will be spoiler-free and designed to be listened to even if you haven't seen the films (or are worried you won't ever be able to).

Click here for a link to all of our TIFF 2024 coverage.

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Interested in attending a film festival?

Get my five essential tips for the film adventurer seeking a fantastic festival experience.

These tips are tailored to TIFF but will work for any other film festival.

Announcement: I'm covering TIFF, the Toronto International Film Festival!

Sign up to receive my five essential tips for the film adventurer seeking a fantastic festival experience, whether at TIFF (or any other festival) at email.seventh-row.com/tiff24.

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Alex Heeney interviews writer-director (and Seventh Row fan!) India Donaldson about her debut feature, Good One. Inspired by Seventh Row favourites Kelly Reichardt and Joanna Hogg (we wrote the books on both of them!), Donaldson's film is a quiet story of a teenage girl who goes camping in the woods with her self-absorbed divorced father and his father's best friend. We observe her as she observes the adults who don't quite behave like adults in ways that are often quite hurtful to her.

Donaldson tells Alex about adjusting her expectations to get her first feature made, working with her incredible cast, telling a story about a child of divorce, shooting outdoors in a remote area, and more.

The film premiered at Sundance before screening at the Cannes Film Festival in the Director's Fortnight sidebar.

The film is now in theatres in the US and Canada.

Want to keep exploring Joanna Hogg's and Kelly Reichardt's films?

Get our ebook on Joanna Hogg at thesouvenirbook.com

Get our ebook on Kelly Riechardt's films and process at reichardtbook.com

Listen to our podcasts on Kelly Reichardt and her films

Listen to our podcast on Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir Part I & II (ep. 118: FREE!)

Stay updated on Seventh Row

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter and Instagram. Read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Follow Alex Heeney on Twitter and Instagram.

For detailed show notes, visit the Seventh Row website. There is also an AI-generated transcript available.

Toronto film critic Nathalie Atkinson joins Alex Heeney to discuss their latest obsession -- Amazon Prime's swashbuckling fantasy series, My Lady Jane -- and why we can't stop thinking about it. From husbands that are sometimes horses, to intimacy coordination by Ita O'Brien (Normal People), to an incredible cast (Edward Bluemel!), the show is a whole lot of fun with impressive craft behind it.

The limited series reimagines the story of Lady Jane Grey, the Tudor Queen who, at age 16, was queen for nine days. The show asks, what could have happened if Lady Jane lasted a little bit longer, had a whole lot of gumption, and also, uh…what if a bunch of people, named Ethians, could also transform into animals? The show is part romance, part adventure, part YA coming-of-ager, with an incredible supporting cast.

>> Subscribe to our FREE newsletter for updates on the best new under-the-radar films and streaming theatre productions

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter and Instagram. Read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Follow Alex Heeney on Twitter and Instagram.

Follow Nathalie Atkinson on Instagram

For detailed show notes, visit the Seventh Row website. There is also an AI-generated transcript available.

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Announcement: Our new membership, Reel Ruminators: A Movie-of-the-Month Discussion Club is now open for new members in August! Doors close on August 9 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Once doors close, we won't be opening them again until October.

Find out more and reserve your spot by clicking here.

Announcement: Our new membership, Reel Ruminators: A Movie-of-the-Month Discussion Club is now open for new members in August! Doors close on August 9 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Once doors close, we won't be opening them again until October.

Find out more and reserve your spot by clicking here.

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Alex Heeney interviews South African director and co-writer Oliver Schmitz about the 4K restoration of his landmark 1988 film, Mapantsula. Mapantsula was the first movie about the realities of apartheid that was actually made by South Africans in South Africa.

In the press notes for, director Oliver Schmitz writes, "Mapantsula is not just a film, it is an act of defiance. It is guerilla filmmaking and a cameo of some of the best talent from South AFRICA in the 1980's — and by that, I mean Black talent, that had been held back, had no voice, and could not speak freely. Mapantsula was a taste of freedom at a time of the worst repression in South Africa. It was a loud andclear expletive at the Apartheid Government. It was a film that should not have been made, and yet, it was."

The film is now in theatres in the US and available to stream on BFI Player in the UK.

>> Subscribe to our FREE newsletter for updates on the best new under-the-radar films and streaming theatre productions

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter and Instagram. Read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Follow Alex Heeney on Twitter and Instagram.

For detailed show notes, visit the Seventh Row website. There is also an AI-generated transcript available.

I've just launched a Reel Ruminators: A Movie-of-the-Month discussion Club, a new membership for movie lovers to watch amazing movies and meet other film lovers to discuss them.

In this trailer, I will tell you more about Reel Ruminators and help you figure out whether it's a good fit for you.

Doors are currently open to join, and doors close Thursday, July 4 at 11:59 p.m. EST for July's Reel Ruminators.

Click here to find out more and join Reel Ruminators

Announcement: Our new membership, Reel Ruminators: A Movie-of-the-Month Discussion Club is now open for new members in July! Doors close on July 4 at 11:59 p.m.

Find out more and reserve your spot by clicking here.

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Alex Heeney interviews legendary Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland about her Venice Jury Prize-Winning film, Green Border. Holland discusses why she wanted to make the film, how it's in conversation with her other work, and why she chose to shoot it in black and white.

Green Border is about the ongoing migrant crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border and the horrors happening there. Holland tells the story from multiple perspectives, including a family of refugees, a group of activists helping migrants, and the border guards, to give a picture of the complex and harrowing situation.

>> Subscribe to our FREE newsletter for updates on the best new under-the-radar films and streaming theatre productions

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter and Instagram. Read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Follow Alex Heeney on Twitter and Instagram.

For detailed show notes, visit the Seventh Row website. There is also an AI-generated transcript available.

Show Notes

• Read Alex's interview with Agnieszka Holland on Spoor and her filmmaking approach

Related Episodes

• Ep. 55 The Secret Garden - Comparing Adaptations
• Ep. 93 The films of Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa, Washington Square, Charlatan)
• Ep. 104 A Masterclass with Agnieszka Holland on Directing

Our previous Agnieszka Holland episodes are only available to Seventh Row Members. Join here to listen.

Alex Heeney interviews co-directors Alex Thompson and Kelly O'Sullivan whose new film Ghostlight was a hit at Sundance. Ghostlight is the story of middle-aged construction worker Dan (Ian Keiser) who discovers that theatre and Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet are excellent outlets for working through his complicated feelings of grief, guilt, and anger.

>> Subscribe to our FREE newsletter for updates on the best new under-the-radar films and streaming theatre productions

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

Follow Alex Heeney on Twitter and Instagram.

For detailed show notes, visit the Seventh Row website. There is also an AI-generated transcript available.

Show Notes

• Read Lindsay Pugh's interview with Alex Thompson and Kelly O'Sullivan on Saint Frances
• Listen to our podcast on abortion on film featuring Saint Frances
• Listen to the 21st Folio Shakespeare Podcast

Related Episodes - Shakespeare on film

• Bonus Episode 24: Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (excerpt)
• Bonus Episode 22: Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth (excerpt)
• Ep. 124: Olivia Vinall on performing Shakespeare
• Bonus Episode 17: Saoirse Ronan and James McArdle in The Tragedy of Macbeth at the Almeida Theatre (excerpt)

Get the Spotify playlist of these episodes.

The full bonus episodes are only available to Seventh Row Members. Join here to listen.

In this episode, we discuss Luca Guadagnino's new film Challengers (2024), which stars Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Seventh Row favourite Josh O'Connor as competitive tennis players and romantic rivals.

Film critic and Katherine Hepburn obsessive Andrew Kendall joins host Alex Heeney for the episode. We are both Josh O'Connor super-fans and liked the film. But we had a lot of issues with it. We discuss why we can't stop thinking about it and where it disappoints.

Get your copy of Alex's book on Luca Guadagnino's Call Me by Your Name.

Get your copy of Alex's book on Francis Lee's film God's Own Country, which stars Josh O'Connor in his breakout role.

Get both books with our 35% discounted bundle here.

For detailed show notes, click here. There is also an AI-generated transcript available on our website.

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter for updates on all Seventh Row content + streaming recommendations.

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

Follow Andrew Kendall on Twitter. Follow Alex Heeney on Twitter and Instagram.

On this episode:

0:00 Intro to Challengers and why we're talking about the film (Josh O'Connor and Luca Guadagnino)

6:04 Why can't we stop thinking about the film even though we had issues with it? What's all the fuss about?

13:40 Tennis serves as an extended metaphor and a structure of the film and informs the film's grammar

26:15 Missing scenes and character development

56:49 The film fails to recognize momentous occasions and how this relates to the way the film was shot

1:00:00 How Luca Guadagnino's direction rescues weaknesses in the script and performances

1:20:00 Will Challengers still matter by the end of the year or years from now?

1:23:00 Where you can find us, related episodes, coming soon on the podcast

Show Notes

• Purchase a copy of Alex's ebook Call Me by Your Name: A Special Issue

• Purchase a copy of Alex's ebook God's Own Country: A Special Issue

• Read Andrew's review of Challengers for Stabroek News

• Read Seventh Row's Special Issue on A Bigger Splash

Read Alex's piece on Josh O'Connor's performances in Emma. and Hope Gap

Related Episodes:

Get the Spotify Playlist of FREE related episodes.

• Ep. 110: Weekend and End of the Century

• Ep. 115: Revisiting The English Patient 25 Years Later with Andrew Kendall

• Ep. 33: Comparing Emma Adaptations, including Emma. starring Josh O'Connor (Members Only)

• Ep. 28: 1917 and Jarhead: Sam Mendes' war films (Members Only)

• Ep. 66 Francis Lee's God's Own Country and Ammonite

• Ep. 71: The Crown Season 4

• Ep. 4: Suspiria and Luca Guadagnino's violent bodies (Members Only)

• Ep. 94: Looking HBO with Andrew Kendall (Members Only)

More episodes featuring Andrew Kendall

• Ep. 115: Revisiting The English Patient 25 Years Later (Members Only)

• Ep. 82: Quo Vadis, Aida and Our Lady of the Nile: Genocide on Film (Members Only)

• Ep. 108: The Deep Blue Sea(s) Redux

Discover all episodes featuring Andrew Kendall.

Coming Soon: Abortion on Film Season

In this six-episode season, we discuss how socially progressive depictions of abortion on film have changed and developed since the 1950s. The season will start airing publicly in late May, but you can listen to the entire season today as a member!

Find out more about the Abortion on Film season

Become a member to listen to the entire season today! We will begin airing the show to the public in the coming weeks.