Seventh Row Podcast

This episode was originally recorded for a panel at the Berlinale Film Festival called Let's talk about (short) films! Pluralistic Discourse in Film Criticism.
I was invited to speak about the online film programs I've been building for thinking and talking about film — where we don't just share opinions about a film and move on.
Instead, we're looking for something new: what does this film offer that I didn't notice the first time?
Because you don't need to wait for a major life change to see a film differently. Sometimes, all you need is a new question, a new lens, or the chance to look again with other curious people.
In this episode, I walk through some of the ways I structure those conversations to be places to explore ideas and discover something new.
And the best part? You don't need to be a film expert. You just need to be willing to notice something — even if it feels obvious — and let the group carry the torch from there.
Curious about joining the next film program? 
👉 Join the waitlist to find out when the next one opens

Sound of Falling, the second feature by German writer-director Mascha Schilinski, follows women across four generations of the same farming family. Gothic and ambitious, it explores memory, intergenrational trauma, and what it's like to live inside a woman's body — while still showing moments of joy and connection. Through its form, the film offers the audience a catharsis that the characters don't have access to.
So on today's episode, host Alex Heeney digs into why the film won her over…and then talks to Schilinski about developing the film's 
Schilinski talks about how the film blurs memory and imagination, the titular image of falling, the sound design, and more.
Want to learn how, like Schilinski, Joachim Trier builds a catharsis that only the audience has access to?
👉 Join the waitlist for The Deep Focus: Oslo, August 31st

The best directed TV show of 2025 is a queer hockey romance from Canada called Heated Rivalry.
And like the rest of the internet, host Alex Heeney has become quite a fan. 
But she's been thinking a lot about what makes it good and what has made it popular, and how those two things definitely intersect, but the Venn diagram isn't just a circle. 
So on today's episode, Alex talks about why she, too, was very excited for the cottage, why the show is hitting in this cultural moment, what still felt lacking — and how all of that sent her to rewatch Looking, a very different kind of show, to get the hit she was really craving.
👉 Want to watch/rewatch Looking with Alex and a small group this spring? Get on the waitlist here: http://email.seventh-row.com/looking

Early screenings of Chloé Zhao's Hamnet had critics weeping in the aisles
Host Alex Heeney left it dry-eyed — and so did her guest, Angelo Muredda.
We're Shakespeare fans, long-time film critics, and not exactly immune to a good cry — so in this episode, we try to figure out why the film didn't land.
We dig into what works in the film (a short list) and what doesn't (a longer one), where the adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel went awry, and whether having read a synopsis of Hamlet on Wikipedia might actually impede your enjoyment of the film.
👉 Stay updated on Alex's next group experiences
Related Episodes
169. David Cronenberg's The Shrouds with Angelo Muredda
132. Sarah Polley's Women Talking with Angelo Muredda
159. Macbeth with David Tennant

This Tuesday, October 28, I'm hosting The Short Take — a free, one-time-only live workshop for film lovers who want to watch and think together.
We'll watch an award-winning 22-minute short from 2017 that looks at queer history — and who gets to tell it. It's a film I haven't stopped thinking about in the last 8 years.
Then, we'll rewatch key scenes and unpack how the film's form (e.g. blocking, shot choice, editing, production design, and more) shapes what it makes us feel.
🗓️ When: Tuesday, Oct 29 → 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT / 7 PM Europe
💡 More info on The Short Take
🎟️ Register free (no replay)