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.
🎧 The latest from TIFF: Palestinian films and sports movies for people who don't like sports movies
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Hello Reader, The Toronto International Film Festival has begun...and so has my coverage (bookmark this page for everything), in writing and podcast form. On the podcast, I'm putting groups of related films in conversation with each other to discover new insights and current preoccupations in the film industry. I want to offer you a spoiler-free discussion that's more than just "is this film any good?" This is for you if:
The season will be spoiler-free and designed to be listened to even if you haven't seen or will not see the films (either ever or for some time). ​TIFF #2: Palestinian Films​In my first dispatch from the festival, I discuss the four Palestinian feature films at the festival, which address different aspects of Palestinian life:
​Listen to the episode​ ​TIFF #3: Sports movies for people who don't like sports movies​In my second dispatch, I discuss three movies set in the world of sports that are thoughtful character dramas from early career filmmakers. Two of these films have some of the best blocking I've seen in cinema all year. The films address a variety of issues and milieus from multiple countries
​Listen to the episode​ Don't want to listen to my TIFF coverage?You can read my reviews! Reviews are now live for several of the films listed here (No Other Land, Julie Keeps Quiet, To a Land Unknown), plus the best shorts at the festival. ​Find all my TIFF coverage here.​ Coming soon:
Happy listening (and watching, if you're at the fest)! Alex
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Seventh Row
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.
You might be wondering what it's actually like to step into The Deep Focus. So here's a little taste. The first thing I always do is point you to a moment worth looking at. Below is one from the beginning of Sentimental Value. Take a sec to see what you spot in the image. Everything counts — even (and especially) the obvious. You might have noticed: ✨ We're looking through a window (which takes up most of the frame). ✨ We're watching someone through glass. ✨ Someone is leaving. ✨ It's a...
I’m running something new in April. It’s called The Deep Focus. We’ll spend three weeks with two films by Joachim Trier — Oslo, August 31st and Sentimental Value — following how they’re put together. We'll look at specific moments, trace patterns within and across the films, and see how those choices shape what you feel. If you’ve ever felt a scene hit — and weren't quite sure why — this is a space to stay with that question long enough to find an answer. I won’t tell you what to think.But I...
A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to Bill Hader, the SNL star-turned-writer-director, on the Team Deakins podcast. He was talking about rewatching Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, hitting a moment that felt like an emotional gut punch — and literally pausing the film to ask:“Why did that hit me?!” That kind of moment — where something lands harder than you expect —and you feel something strongly before you know why… You’ve probably had that, too. Even Hader — who thinks about directing...