At TIFF 2025, Alex discusses Alice Winocour’s film Couture on the podcast, starring Angelia Jolie, and how it fits into Winocour’s body of work about traumatized bodies, outsiders, and backstage stories.
Alice Winocour’s Couture, which premiered at TIFF 2025 and stars Angelina Jolie, might sound like a fashion film. But it’s more of a peek behind the scenes of the lives of people who touch the fashion world, and how it chews up their bodies.
In this episode, I unpack how Couture fits into Winocour’s larger body of work from a filmmaker. I’ve been critically engaging with and researching her films closely since 2015. Winocour is deeply interested in stories about trauma, the body, alienation, and the systems that shape how we move through the world — including medicine, motherhood, masculinity, and here, the image economy of fashion.
As always, I’m thinking through the film in real time — connecting it to her earlier work, pointing to the patterns that are emerging, and reflecting on what makes her storytelling so rich and specific. I’ve only seen the film once so far, and I’m already itching for a rewatch. So this isn’t a tidy summary. It’s a close read-in-progress.
If you’ve never seen a Winocour film, or this one’s not on your radar yet, that’s okay. This episode still gives you a window into how I approach cinema, what I notice, and what I’m always chasing in the stories I watch.
Want to go deeper?
🎟 I’m hosting a free Queer and Trans Storytelling Summit called Living Out Loud the first weekend of October.
On Day 3, I’ll be leading a live short film screening and group discussion. So you can experience what it’s like to unpack a film with me, not just listen in. Register here →
Related Episodes to Alice Winocour’s Couture
169. The Shrouds: Cronenberg, Grief, and Technology (with Angelo Muredda)
181. Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value at TIFF 2025
✨ Living Out Loud Summit
If this conversation resonates with you, I’d love to invite you to Living Out Loud, a FREE three-day live online event happening in October.
It’s all about queer and trans stories and queer and trans history — the stories that don’t usually get told, what they reveal about the world we live in, and the space they create for us to reflect together.
Podcast Credits for this episode on Alice Winocour’s Couture starring Angelina Jolie
Alex Heeney edited, produced, and recorded the episode.
Follow Seventh Row on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram. Read our articles at seventh-row.com.
Follow Alex Heeney on Bluesky, Twitter and Instagram.
An AI-generated transcript for the episode is available on Apple Podcasts.
Discover one film you didn’t know you needed:
Not in the zeitgeist. Not pushed by streamers.
But still easy to find — and worth sitting with.
And a guide to help you do just that.
