Hello Reader,
This is the free version of our weekly newsletter. The premium version has 14 excellent recommendations, on top of these, of what to watch at festivals, virtual cinemas, VOD, and via streaming. We also spotlight several virtual film festivals worth catching worldwide, featuring films we love that have yet to secure distribution (so this may be your only chance to see them!).
In our premium newsletter for members this week, we recommend more virtual film festival screenings, plus additional VOD, virtual cinema, and streaming recommendations. If you become a member now, shoot us an email, and we'll be happy to send you these recommendations, too!
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As the month comes to a close tomorrow, several amazing otherwise unavailable films are leaving streaming services so we recommend prioritising watching them: Pascal Plante's Nadia Butterfly on Mubi and A Season in France on Criterion Channel. Plus, catch Sweat on Mubi (US/India/Latin America) or on Curzon Home Cinema in the UK, and '71 streaming or on VOD all over the place.
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It will continue to be available on SBS Movies Australia and VOD in Canada.
Including today, you have just two days left to catch Nadia, Butterfly on Mubi and it couldn't be more timely: set at the now fictional 2020 Tokyo Olympics, it stars real life Bronze Medalist Katerine Savard, who is currently competing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics!
The film was our #8 film of 2020, one of our picks for the best cinematography, and we'll be discussing it in depth on the podcast next week. Catch it while you can!!
Here's an excerpt from the intro to my interview with writer-director Pascal Plante:
Orla also interviewed cinematographer Stéphanie Anne Weber Biron about her impressive work to shoot Nadia swimming.
Read our interview with cinematographer Biron here.
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's latest film, Lingui, just premiered in the Official Competition at Cannes. Catch his previous film while you can.
His film A Screaming Man is also worth watching, and also leaving Criterion Channel at the end of the month. Although both films are emotionally draining, so if you only have the energy to watch one, we recommend A Season in France as a great entry point for his work.
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Here's Elena Lazic on the film from the intro to her interview with the director:
So, right now, it's available in the US, India, and Latin America on Mubi. It's supposed to come to Canada/UK later this year. And it's available to rent on Curzon Home Cinema in the UK right now.
It's one of the best films of the year... and we went deep on it on the podcast last week!
Here's an excerpt from Orla's review:
Read Orla's interview with director Magnus von Horn.
Yann Demange's first feature is now a who's who of actors who have since broken out as major talent of their generation. It stars Jack O'Connell (star of Andrew Haigh's new series, The North Water), but also features early roles for Jack Lowden (Benediction, Dunkirk), James McCardle (Ammonite, Man in an Orange Shirt), Barry Keoghan (The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Dunkirk), Adam Nagaitis (The Terror, Chernobyl), and Sam Reid (Belle) — all of whom are Seventh Row faves! Even Denise Gough has a teeny tiny cameo trying to save Jack Lowden's life!
Here's an excerpt from my review:
Read my interview with director Yann Demange.
Best,
Alex Heeney, Editor-in-Chief
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Seventh Row is a nonprofit Canadian film criticism publication and publishing house. We're dedicated to helping you expand your horizons by curating the best socially progressive films from around the world and helping you think deeply about them. This newsletter is run by Seventh Row (http://seventh-row.com) but features exclusive content not found on the website.
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