Seventh Row Podcast Seventh Row

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.
----
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.

Director Uberto Pasolini and James Norton discuss avoiding sentimentality and collaborating on their film Nowhere Special (2020). 
Seventh Row Host Alex Heeney interviews them and offers her take on why this heartwarming and heartbreaking tearjerker is worth your time.
James Norton plays John, a 35-year-old window cleaner and single dad who is dying of an unspecified disease. To prepare for the future, he searches for adoptive parents to care for his three-year-old son Michael after he dies. The film is about the relationship between father and son and its mundanities, how we care for and protect our children, and how the pair learn to cope with their reality. It's tender and warm, and James Norton is great.
Nowhere Special is out in US cinemas today. It's streaming on BBC iPlayer on the UK. 
For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2024/04/26/ep-136-nowhere-special-interview-james-norton-uberto-pasolini/
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.
On this episode:
0:00-10:49 Introduction to the film 10:49-29:22 Interview with James Norton and Uberto Pasolini 29:22-31:06 Related episodes, announcements Related Episodes:
Ep. 85: The films of Naomi Kawase, featuring True Mothers Bonus 19: Who is the poshest actor in Britain? 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. We’re putting the finishing touches on the season now, and hoping to have it out in about a month’s time. 
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.

Emerald Fennell's new film, Saltburn, comes out today, so we're re-releasing our 2021 episode about two very different depictions of rape culture from 2020: Fennell's revenge thriller Promising Young Woman and Kitty Green's The Assistant, a portrait of a young woman working in a misogynistic office environment. This is a landmark episode of the podcast, which kickstarted a series of episodes on rape culture on film.
This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and special guest Lindsay Pugh.
Want to support the podcast? Become a member today, and access our entire archive of 150+ episodes. It helps us pay our expenses to keep the podcast going and continue to improve the podcast.
For detailed show notes, visit: https://seventh-row.com/2021/01/06/ep-73-explorations-of-rape-culture-in-promising-young-woman-and-the-assistant/
Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and read our articles at seventh-row.com.
Related episodes:
Ep. 86 (Members Only): Una & Slalom: Depictions of childhood sexual assault  Ep. 92 (Members Only): Sugar Daddy and An Easy Girl: Commidfying women Ep. 132 (Free): Sarah Polley's Women Talking 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. We’re putting the finishing touches on the season now, and hoping to have it out in about a month’s time. 
Members get early access to the Abortion on Film season! Once the season starts, we’ll be releasing new episodes every two weeks, but members will get the first three episodes immediately, and early access to the remaining episodes. Become a member.