If Living Out Loud got you excited about the possibilities of queer stories…
💡 How complicated it can be to define what makes a film queer or queer-coded
💡 What it means to be forever in tension with heteronormative expectations and how queer stories are rebelling against them (or aren’t)
💡 How we’re in a constant process of reclaiming queer histories through storytelling, whether in film or the archives
💡 How filmmakers approach dealing with these complicated questions
💡 How queer stories can speak to anyone who feels a little like an outsider, regardless of whether you share the identity of the protagonists.
💡 How great queer films can pass under your radar, not because you’re not looking but because the marketplace is overwhelming and sometimes, great films don’t have the marketing budgets to make it to you
If you’re keen to have more conversations with people who can challenge and enrich your thinking about cinema and queer stories…
The Long Take is a place to continue that conversation…
With a capped (20 max) circle of engaged movie lovers by watching and discussing three exquisite — and underseen — gems of recent queer cinema.
Not once, but multiple times, over multiple weeks, with a bit of rewatching and a lot of comparing and contrasting built in.
Along the way, you’ll:
✨ Forge connections to a tight-knit group of movie lovers
✨ Discover new ways of thinking about these films
✨ Add a handful of tools to your arsenal to help you access every film you watch — and especially the queer ones — more deeply through new lenses.
Hi, I’m Alex Heeney, Film Critic, Curator, Theatre Nerd, Podcaster, and lover of learning about all the things
When I started Seventh Row, I was craving conversations that went beyond “did you like it” or “was it good”, to something deeper:
- Why did the characters behave that way?
- How did that film get me inside that character’s head?
- How did it transport me into a whole other time and place?
- How did it capture how delirious love can feel?
- How did it collapse years into minutes?
The kinds of questions you can’t answer after one viewing, and you often can’t answer alone— because you need other perspectives to help you see the whole picture.
I also found that the films I was told to watch — the canon, the critics’ top ten list — often weren’t the ones I connected with most deeply.
The ones I couldn’t stop thinking about were often overlooked: films by and about people who identify as women, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, disabled, or other marginalized creators.
Those are the voices and the works I’m most excited to sit with, and why I created The Long Take: a space to explore the films that linger, and the conversations that keep unfolding.
Starting the first week of November….
Join me and a small group of movie lovers for a journey through three very different queer (or queer-coded films) from the last 15 years.
They’re all stories filtered through the perspective of a single protagonist. And they all engage with how life has changed for queer people in the last 20-70 years.
And over the next 4 months, we’ll uncover even more similarities and differences between the three films, which help these films enrich each other when watched together.
Because these films are so rich and work on multiple levels, we’ll have multiple discussions on each film (one film per month), and then a full month to compare, contrast, and explore new perspectives.
Think of me as a little sidekick, saying “notice this,” “ponder this,” so those aha moments after watching a film start after the first watch, not just the fifteenth.
You won’t be wondering, how did that film make me feel that way? Because I’ll help you notice how it was constructed to evoke those feelings. (And what I miss, the group will catch.)
You’ll learn new tools for focusing your viewing, thinking about what you watched, and naming what you felt.
So not only will your experience of these films deepen, but the way you watch movies more generally will deepen, too.
“We don’t start from a place of, ‘I loved this, I hated this, this is good, this is bad.’ It’s more like, ‘Well, why is that character unlikable?’ It’s less about labelling and more about understanding.
Everyone has a different way of watching movies and of expressing their thoughts about the movie, even if it’s expressing a similar feeling. Sometimes, other members have had a whole different perspective that I wouldn’t have thought about at all, and it’s fantastic.
We don’t really talk about our personal lives… but it reveals a lot of personal things about people in a different way. The conversations reveal that. And I think that’s a very different way to interact.”
– Nurri Kim, Reel Ruminators Member, UK
From November to January, we’ll watch one movie a month…
We’ll meet 2-3 times per month live on Zoom on Sundays at 2 p.m. ET. I’ll always come prepared with curated scenes to rewatch together and questions to spark conversation. But we’ll always follow the group’s curiosity.
In between live discussions, we’ll chat asynchronously in the Group Space, where we can extend and continue the conversation, develop ideas for where future live conversations could go, and more!
I’ll get things going with prompts, but this is a space to pick up on threads started in the discussion, and those we didn’t get to.
We’ll kick off The Long Take in November with an additional live meeting (before we start the weekly schedule here) to meet the group. This is your chance to get curious about who’s here — and what makes this particular mix of humans worth listening to.
In December, we’ll have back-to-back discussions on December 7 and 14, so you won’t have any scheduled meetings during the holidays.
During week 4 in January, you might want to begin rewatching all three films.
We meet on November 2, 9, and 23; December 7 and 14; January 4 and 18.
Here’s what the month typically looks like:
Week 1: This month’s film through a queer lens
As we dive into the film, we’ll ask: what makes this film specifically queer, and how does that help to deepen the narrative? How does it push against (or fall into) heteronormativity? And how does the film reflect how life has changed for queer people in the timeline of the film compared to today? Live discussion.
Week 2: Continue the conversation
Last week’s conversation was just the tip of the iceberg. And now that you’ve had some time to reflect and process all those juicy insights, hop in the Group Space to pick up on threads we raised — or the ones we didn’t quite get to — last week. Or take the conversation in new directions!
Week 3: This month’s film through a subjective storytelling lens
We’ll dive into how the film gets us inside the protagonist’s head — through production design, sound, blocking, and more. What’s real, what’s imagined, and how might we tell the difference? Live discussion.
Week 4: Time to digest
This week is space to digest, revisit, or take a break before we dive into the next film. You can pick up threads we raised in the last few weeks in the Group Space, or chase your curiosity wherever it leads.
In February, we’ll put all three films in conversation with each other
In the first three months, you probably already started to notice how these three films were in conversation with each other.
This month is the time to discuss how they enrich each other, discover new lenses for thinking about the films, and follow the group’s curiosity.
We meet on February 1, 8, and 15.
The Group Space will stay open until March 1 to continue the conversation.
Afterward, you’ll retain access to all of the materials from this season.
Week 1: Other Lenses
This week is all about exploring other lenses to deepen our appreciation of the films we’ve seen.
Since this is a live, responsive space, what happens here will be a result of the conversations we’ve had over the previous weeks, but expect fresh (and sometimes challenging) perspectives. We’ll meet on February 1.
Week 2: Comparing all three films
How do these three films challenge, complicate, or intrigue us about the possibilities of queer stories and subjective storytelling? Do the films share other storytelling strategies (e.g. use of sound, long takes, music)? What other similarities or differences do they have? How does that complicate our reading of each film?
We’ll meet on February 8.
Week 3: Following the group’s curiosity
This last live session is yours. No set agenda, no fixed destination — just space to follow what’s sparking with the group. We might revisit threads from the Group Space, zoom in on a particular lens, compare across films, or even decide to bring in something new entirely.
It’s a chance to reflect on what’s shifted, what’s stuck with you, and what feels worth unpacking — together, one last time. We’ll meet on February 15.
Week 4-5: Final dive in the Group Space
Group Space will stay open until March 1 in case you’d like to keep the conversation going. After that, we’ll say adieu (though you’re always welcome in the next season!). You’ll maintain access to all of the discussion recordings, videos, and materials from the season.
The titles of the film will only be revealed when you join, but here’s a taste of the questions we’ll consider together:
- What do an unhappily married woman in post-war Britain, a man who grew up gay in the 1980s, and Latin American queer men today have in common? And how do they reflect or challenge our experiences today (and the stories we tell or don’t)?
- What makes these stories “queer stories”? Or are they ‘queer stories’?
- What does it look like when a film takes on the subjective perspective of its protagonist? How does that affect our understanding of the story? How is this achieved? What is real, memory, or imagined?
I’ve never run this space before, but…
It’s a higher-touch, more intentional community than my last membership, Reel Ruminators.
Here’s what Reel Ruminators had to say about the films I program and what it’s like watching them together:
“Films that you might have missed… films that for any number of reasons might have just skimmed past the mainstream. Films that aren’t likely to be suggested to you by an algorithm. Films you need Alex Heeney to tell you about.
With the films I wouldn’t have picked for myself… to be able to see them with the structuring questions that you provide helps me not to just be turned off by maybe some of the superficial parts. It’s not just an emotional journey — it’s how it’s working, how it was put together, what that did within the narrative.”
– Hazel Shaw, Reel Ruminators Member, UK
“It’s hard to see international films at even the best independent movie houses unless the films are in English or have made a big splash on the festival circuit. So many fine but less-touted works go under the radar. It’s equally hard to find film critics who champion these kinds of films and whose recommendations can be relied on.
I’m so happy to have discovered Seventh Row. I trust that if Alex recommends a film, it’s worth seeing.“
— Kaj Wilson, Film programmer and teacher, USA
“I trust that any film, even the worst, now has something that I can connect with. There is also a curatorial perspective that Alex always brings. It’s like the archaeology of the moment. It might have been made in 2020, but it’s like a discovery. So many films get made and can disappear. But here we bring our attention, watch it, and apply it to our lives.”
– Nurri Kim, Filmmaker, UK
So even if a film isn’t your usual taste, the questions and framing help you see what’s there — and why it’s worth sticking with.
“Reel Ruminators has helped to bring back the excitement and adventure of watching movies.
I feel less alone in my journey, less alone in liking what I like. There’s real validation from speaking to people about this movie that I know for a fact nobody I know in my life has watched.
It was fun to meet new people, to hear things that did not occur to me at all but that were insightful or surprising. I liked the movie even more after we discussed it…I feel more connected to the movie-watching community.
I feel reinvigorated in my excitement about the possibility of movies and what they can offer. And I’m excited for the next one.
— Michael Borek, Reel Ruminators Member, USA
Ready to dive in?
The Long Take is a tight-knit group capped at 20 people, designed to give you the space to dive deep into queer films and get to know fellow movie lovers who share your curiosity and enthusiasm.
Join now for one payment of $800 USD or 4 monthly payments of $200 USD.
Only 20 seats available.
Wondering why the Long Take is $200 per month when you can engage in other spaces for the cost of a large popcorn?
That’s a great question! Let’s take a look at how it compares to other spaces you might have tried out before…
🎬 The cinephile club
If you’ve ventured into a ‘cinephile club,’ you’ve probably encountered a group of people who:
🧐 Obsess over Criterion releases
🧐 Watch every film on the Sight & Sound List (or others of its ilk)
🧐 Expect a certain level of conversance with the classics to even have a seat at the table.
There’s an expectation that you’re here because you, too, have seen The Important Works of Cinema, are interested in The Most Important Auteurs, and know the lingo.
The focus can often be solely on cinema, rather than on how films reflect the context in which they were made — and how context (not just of cinematic movements but also social, political, economic, and historical) can be key to unlocking your understanding of cinema.
BTW, you are welcome here if any or all of these apply to you (several still apply to me), but the difference here is that there is no expectation of a certain level of cinema knowledge to participate.
In The Long Take, the only prerequisite — and the most important one — is curiosity, a willingness to learn, and an open mind to new ideas.
“I was worried I didn’t have film-expert insights to add — but that’s really not required. The community is so welcoming, and the emails felt genuinely encouraging.”
— Culture lover, Engineering Professor, and Reel Ruminators Member, Canada
“I have a bit of an academic background in film, but I don’t feel like I’m required to use any particular vocabulary. I don’t feel like I need to have done background reading on how film is made to have the discussion. As much as we are sometimes talking about shots or scenes in terms of filmmaking, a lot of the time, we’re also talking about just sort of what’s shown and when. There isn’t that same terminology for that at all.
Someone hiding their cigarette from their son is someone hiding their cigarette from their son, whether you want to talk about the focus or how the camera does or doesn’t move, or when the cut comes. But we’re talking at least as much about what’s in it, what’s visible on the screen, as we are about how the camera or the film is working.
Anyone who likes to pause, to consider, to discuss, to listen to other people’s opinions would get a lot from it. Especially in these times, looking at how narratives are presented to us is really important, and critically engaging with what you’re seeing and how you’re seeing it and how it’s being framed and presented is a huge part of any sort of media literacy, political engagement, and also film criticism.”
– Hazel Shaw, Reel Ruminators Member, UK
We are also less interested in what makes these great films (or good films, or even films you might like), and more in what they can teach us about ourselves, each other, and the world around us.
“Film is a bridge, but also a mirror to dig out in you and in us. The more it gets uncomfortable, I’m like, ‘Okay, this is great. The opportunity to learn about what parts make me feel uncomfortable.” It’s a gateway to understanding that mystery in you.
It’s like a psychotherapy room. You don’t judge. You want to understand the characters, or understand the filmmakers’ intentions for the characters.
What we are doing is active watching instead of watching and consuming. Film is a lot like dreaming. When we watch a film, it’s as if we’ve created a shared memory. The perspectives might be different, but we now have that shared memory.”
– Nurri Kim, Reel Ruminators Member, UK
👋 The drop-in if you feel like it club
Many film clubs look ike this:
👋 Monthly or weekly meetings
👋 A few regulars who show up most of the time
👋 A group of people who pop in and out when they have time/interest/etc.
It can be a great way to connect with others, but the conversation is often limited. With a revolving door of members, the group ends up a bit fragmented.
You don’t know who will be there from one week or month to the next, and there’s a culture of just dipping your toes in (It’s free! Or not expensive enough to actually show up!) rather than diving in headfirst with excitement.
Even though the group has a shared filmography, you can’t count on most members having seen any or all of them. Which means that every conversation about films starts from zero: you can’t bring in the context of the other films because not everyone shares it.
That can still lead to interesting conversations, but the deepest engagement with cinema comes from when you and the person you’re talking to have more common ground.
The Long Take is designed to ensure that everyone watches the same three films over three months and signs up with the intention of attending most meetings.
We have a consistent, tight-knit group of people who are eager to attend and engage in discussions.
With multiple discussions devoted to each film, turning over a film for weeks (with other people) is built into the structure!
Additionally, I’ve chosen these three films in this order because they will complement and enrich each other. We’ll get to experience that together, and making connections between the films is built into how the group works (not something that doesn’t quite fit).
Each film will build your knowledge and understanding of not just queer cinema, but cinema as an art form.
Here’s what the people inside Reel Ruminators said who came regularly:
“It feels nice to have a recurring group; it adds a friend element to what can otherwise be a solitary endeavour.
— Michael Borek, Reel Ruminators Member, USA
“Showing up regularly helps with the practice of paying attention to the film and the discipline of really engaging with the films regularly. It also helps structure my months in quite a nice way. I feel time passing in a much clearer way.
There’s also the community aspect — not just turning up one time and having a chat with some people, but being able to turn up each month, and having that sort of recognition and knowing that we’re all here because we like some of those films in Reel Ruminators.
There are people who I know get very different things out of the films. Or maybe there’s more overlap, and then suddenly, there’ll be quite a different take. And that just opens my eyes to something.
Showing up again and again means that there’s no real chance of me just going, ‘Oh, well, that was that was someone with an odd take,’ but just sort of saying, ‘No, this is and so and so who says some really insightful things month after month.’
Getting to know people across the world makes me feel very connected. It also means everyone is coming at the film from different frames of reference.
It helps me understand that I’m coming at things from a particular angle that’s influenced not just by who I am in my life but also where I’ve grown up — and other people are doing the same.”
— Hazel Shaw, Reel Ruminators Member, UK
❓The “Did we even talk about this film specifically?” Conversation
Have you ever shown up to a conversation about a film — whether over tea, in a more formal film club setting, or on the phone — and found you barely discussed the film at all?
You talked and talked for two hours, but you spent only about ten minutes actually discussing the film before running out of steam or getting distracted by other things.
And when you did talk about the film, was it mostly general impressions, or discussing if you liked it or whether it was good? (Or less congenially, taking intractable stands about whether this film is good and whether one should like it?)
That can still lead to interesting conversations, but the deepest engagement with cinema comes from when you and the person you’re talking to have more common ground.
When we arrive for our live discussion in The Long Take, we just talk about the film.
“We’re all there for the same reason: to have this discussion about a film for an hour and a half, and we’re committed to that. It’s like a months-long relationship that is just based on the films.
We’re not going to get sidetracked into discussions about something that happened this week. We’re going to talk about the film.
Reel Ruminators is really giving me that space to articulate out loud what I think about a film with people who’ve also seen it very recently. That’s really valuable to me. It’s something I really love and had been missing.”
– Hazel Shaw, Reel Ruminators Member, UK
Of course, talking about film (and art!) is always personal, but we stick to the film.
That doesn’t mean you have to come with pages and pages of notes to look at (you don’t need any at all, though you’re welcome to bring them). Or that you need years of experience going deep on film (again, none required).
Instead, I design our meetings so that we a) stick to the text and b) never run out of things to talk about (It helps that the films are so good!).
A key way to stick to the text — especially when not everyone has seen the film 10 times already — is to rewatch key scenes together and conduct close textual analysis (i.e., notice exactly what images we saw/sounds we heard in what combination and what order). It means we’re discussing this scene, this shot, this costume, and this gesture.
I usually choose 2-3 key scenes (usually under 3 minutes total) that I think watching closely and in this order will lead to fresh observations and insights that are specific to what we’re watching.
(I’ve seen these movies 10 times, so I’m drawing on the knowledge gained from that to choose the scenes.)
“I really appreciate Alex’s structuring of materials and the discussion session itself — the clips are super helpful (both to jumpstart convo and as a rewatch, which might spur other thoughts in real time).”
– Michael Borek, USA
It also means approaching each discussion with a specific lens through which we will discuss the film. E.g., How is this a work of queer cinema (or is it)? What does it tell us about queer stories?
Then, when we watch the film on our own or rewatch scenes together, we are watching them with a view to answering these questions…and any other mini-questions along the way (e.g., why did he turn his head at that moment? Why did she pause in the middle of that sentence?)…and then follow the group where we want to lead.
🗣 The ‘I’m just here to sound smart’ club
Whether it’s an interminable podcast where the hosts barely listen to each other, or a film discussion space where everyone politely waits for their turn to talk, barely listening to what other people have said before…we’ve all been in spaces where it’s all about individual people’s insights rather than what we can discover together.
In The Long Take, we understand that a good conversation is as much about listening as it is about speaking.
“The folks who join (in my experience) are overwhelmingly present/curious and not just there to sound smart.”
– Michael Borek, Reel Ruminators Member, USA
We don’t just wait for our turn to say something smart; we listen and respond to what other people are saying, allowing the conversation to flow with the group (with some facilitation from me!).
“We’re all very good at leaping off other people’s points, adding, redirecting, or disagreeing. There’s a nice group dynamic. The close attention to what each other is saying goes along with the close readings of the film. We will get into: “What did somebody mean in this precise moment?” Or “What did that cutaway shot tell us?” We really do have to think about things.
Maybe two of us feel like we’re making the same point, but coming at it from different angles, and that both of those angles need to be articulated. It helps us see where the viewpoints do and don’t meet up. Especially if there’s a third person who’s uncertain about something, two people are able to come in with their explanations that may boil down to something very similar, but the articulation is very different. One articulation might work better for the confused person than another one.
Sometimes, you just realize what you think while you hear someone argue something different. You may not have been sure what you thought about something, and then somebody tries to explain it, you go, ‘No, no, I don’t think it’s that! I think it’s actually something else. It helps clarify your own thought processes.'”
– Hazel Shaw, Reel Ruminators Member
So, while you might not get to share all 20 of your brilliant observations, you will leave feeling heard and knowing that others do, too. (And you can post the ideas we didn’t get to inside Group Space.)
“I really valued hearing insights and opinions I didn’t consider. She went into the elevator! I didn’t even clock that. The use of color—red and blue—didn’t really register with me. It’s also seeing how people react in their own ways to film. I’ve been in the Directors Guild for 25 years, and most of my adult life has been on film sets.
There’s something gratifying about forming connections/having discussions around a medium I take for granted sometimes. It’s not just work—people connect to the stories.”
– Directors’ Guild member and Reel Ruminators Member
The Long Take is for you if…
👍 You love it when other people think differently from you, which means they can extend and challenge your thinking in new and exciting directions.
👍 You want to be part of a circle of people who will happily nerd out with you about everything from the use of the colour red to the way masculinity is constructed in a specific context.
👍 You’ve ever left a great conversation about a film thinking, “There’s so much more to explore” — and wished you had the space to do it.
👍 You want a standing date in your calendar for thoughtful viewing and conversation, rather than hoping it happens by chance.
Sound like you?
Only 20 seats available.
‘How do I know you know something about these films?’
All of the films I’ve chosen are ones I’ve been thinking about since they were released (so, 2-14 years), by filmmakers whose work I’ve followed for almost as long as they’ve been making movies this century.
I’ve interviewed all the filmmakers — one in great depth over a decade — and have been engaging with these films and how they fit into their body of work for years.
I also love these films, which means I’ve watched them over and over and over again to pick them apart and figure out how they work. And I’ve watched around these films to better understand the context in which they’re made.
Among other things, I’ve been closely following queer world cinema for the last 15 years, at major festivals such as Cannes, Berlinale, and TIFF, as well as local LGBTQ+ festivals like Frameline (San Francisco) and InsideOut (Toronto).
‘How do I know you can teach me something about film more generally?’
As a film critic, theatre nerd, and engineer, I have a unique perspective on film, which I bring to the table when helping you see what I see in films. I’ve co-edited, co-written, and published over 14 ebooks on film, including the first full-length studies on queer filmmakers such as Céline Sciamma, Andrew Haigh, and Francis Lee.
I didn’t formally train in film, which means I received my film education informally by interviewing hundreds of directors from around the world (many of whom you’ve probably heard of and have since gone on to be Oscar-nominated), learning from the people who put them together. And I’ve also interviewed costume designers, production designers, cinematographers, composers, and sound designers.
When I watch films, I ask the kinds of questions filmmakers do: Why put these scenes in this order? Why cut at this moment to this shot? How can the sound design enhance the emotional impact of this moment?
“Alex knows a tremendous amount about film and isn’t just focused on one aspect, for example, the characters or the story, but looks at its entirety. This has allowed me to have a deeper experience of each film than I would usually have.
I don’t want to take a course, and I’m not trying to become a director, but I want to heighten my appreciation of films. Reel Ruminators has helped me do that. I think about what the score is doing and what it’s saying. I think about frame composition in a way I never did before. I just pay more attention now!”
– Nancy Mills, Reel Ruminators Member, USA
“When I’m watching films for Reel Ruminators, I’m paying more attention to how they’re put together and how they’re constructing my perceptions — noticing the shifts in my feelings, what changes my view of a character, when the camera holds back or moves in. I’m doing that more on a first watch now, not just on my 15th watch of a favourite.”
– Hazel Shaw, Reel Ruminators Member, UK
How do I know you can lead this space to be all the things you say it will be?
What I love most is helping other people think and come up with ideas. It’s why I ended up in a PhD program in engineering — because I wanted to teach engineers how to think about solving problems (before I learned that academia was not for me).
I’ve taught high school students math and science, as well as undergraduates and graduate students in engineering. I’ve helped PhD students in completely different fields to sharpen their thinking and their ideas for their thesis.
All of Seventh Row’s books were developed collaboratively, which meant long conversations with each writer to help them solidify their thinking. I do the same thing with my guests on my podcast, which I’ve been running for many years. And I’ll do the same thing with you.
Back in 2016, I started my first podcast — a Shakespeare podcast — and every single person I invited on told me they were ill-qualified. They weren’t. I did my homework (visiting the library and checking out 20 books) to provide the scaffolding that would let their brilliant insights shine through.
In all of these different teaching roles, it has always been about asking the right questions to spark other people’s thinking — not telling them what to think. Maybe offering some things they might want to know, which could shape their thinking.
And that’s the version of me you’ll get here, too: over-prepared, very researched, extremely enthusiastic about these films specifically, cinema generally, and queer cinema especially.
And here to ask questions or give you the context (or the right scenes in the right order) for you to make the connections only you can make — because of who you are, your life experiences, and the movies (and stories and reading and training) only you have access to.
“Every time Alex’s questions ask me to think about the technical aspects of filmmaking — like pacing and frame composition — it opens up the film for me in a way I wouldn’t immediately go to. It encourages me to rewatch each film to see what Alex sees.
— Nancy Mills, Reel Ruminators Member, USA
“Alex’s curation and ancillary materials have always been enlightening. I really appreciate Alex’s structuring of materials and the discussion session itself — the clips are super helpful (both to jumpstart convo and as a rewatch, which might spur other thoughts in real time).”
— Michael Borek, Reel Ruminators Member, USA
“The live discussion makes the whole month work. I like having the urgency to watch something that isn’t just looking at the gazillion films available and trying to figure out what I’m in the mood for.
With Reel Ruminators, I have one movie where I’m told this is good, and I have some accountability to make sure I watch the film. There is intelligent conversation to be had, so I need to ensure that I have seen the film so I can be part of it. Watching it and taking part in the conversation is so rewarding.“
— Hazel Shaw, Reel Ruminators Member, UK
It’s capped at 20 people.
What happens after you join
Right away, you’ll get access to:
✅ The titles of the season’s films
✅ Streaming info for the films
✅ A short video intro to the season
✅ A one-click link to add the discussions to your calendar
✅ Access to the Group Space, though this will really get going after November 2.
FAQs
What if I can’t make all of the live discussions?
If you can make most but not all of the discussions, you will be there enough to feel like an integral part of the group and get the benefit of this deep dive into queer cinema.
Live discussions are one of the best parts of The Long Take — but you’ll still get a lot out of them even if you can’t always be there in real time.
We record every discussion, so you can catch up later and still hear the insights, questions, and perspectives from the group. Many members of my previous membership, Reel Ruminators, found the replays just as valuable for noticing things they might have missed. And even people who join live often rewatch them.
You can still join in asynchronously on the online discussion board (Group Space) between live calls — whether you’re responding to prompts or continuing a thread from the call. That way, you can still share your perspective and hear from others, even if you couldn’t make it live.
Do I have to participate in the discussion?
As this is a limited-enrollment, tight-knit community, if you do not intend to participate in the live discussions or Group Space, this is probably not a good fit.
That said, participating doesn’t mean you have to talk a lot. The best conversations are as much about listening as talking — and many members of my previous membership, Reel Ruminators, said they learn the most by hearing others’ perspectives.
You will always have the opportunity to participate, and I will ensure everyone has the chance to speak at least once.
You’re welcome to attend and mostly just listen in. But if you’re planning to join on your phone with a noisy background and not really be present, this is not the right fit.
What if I don’t have anything valuable to say in the discussions?
As long as you show up having seen the film and ready to listen, I can pretty much guarantee you have something valuable to share.
Your unique life experiences, identity, and perspective mean you will notice different things in the films than other people. And what seems obvious to you isn’t always obvious to everyone else.
Also: There is zero expectation that you come in as a film expert or self-identifying cinephile (though I’m sure we’ll have a few of those). If you bring your curiosity, you’ll find you can participate.
I design the discussions so that selective rewatching is part of the experience — we’ll rewatch some carefully curated scenes together. That means that, in real time, you’ll be noticing things you missed on the first watch and making new connections. It also means we’re all talking about something very concrete — these 30 seconds of film and what we’re seeing and hearing — not just broad impressions of the film.
“There are times when I don’t necessarily think I’ve got that much to say, and then maybe Alex calls on me to start a discussion or something, and then I realize that actually I do as I’m talking.
But then there are other times that I’m trying really hard not to jump in on something else someone else is saying, because I want to say more on that topic, or take it into a slightly different angle, or maybe, maybe I disagree with them.
I realized I still have things to say in both of those situations, and I may say better things than when I don’t think I’ve got much to say. “
– Hazel Shaw
“If you’ve ever been surprised by a movie or enjoyed disagreeing with a friend about a movie, Reel Ruminators is for you. There’s a lot of value in having Alex pick a film for us and hearing from other like-minded people about the film.
Don’t worry about feeling you don’t have anything to contribute. If you have a thought about the movie, you’ll have something to say.”
– Michael Borek
What is the time commitment?
Each month, you can expect you’ll need time to:
Watch the movie: 2 hours (x2, assuming you rewatch each film each month)
Watch/engage with materials to frame your viewing/your thinking: 1 hour
Attend the discussions: 2 x 1.5 hours
Participate in the Group Space: 2 hours
Total: 10 hours
So essentially, each week you’ll probably be spending, on average, about 2.5 hours engaging with this space.
That said, I’ve designed The Long Take to be a place where we really get to geek out and engage deeply with the movies and each other. Which means this is a rare space where everyone shares your curiosity about cinema and the world and enthusiasm for discussing them!
The more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.
“My film-watching has been a bit patchy since moving, so having that structure and accountability has been especially helpful. When I watch the RR films, I find myself really noticing what thoughts and feelings come up — and what prompted them.”
— Hazel Shaw, Founding Member, UK
“The opportunity to spend time with one film and take in some of the supporting material. That provides a structure for thinking, and the deadline (Sunday 7 pm) focuses me.”
— Retired Film Lover, Film Club Head, and Reel Ruminators Member, UK
Who else is in the group?
Since this is my first time running The Long Take, I don’t know exactly what our group makeup will be.
But here’s what I’m sure of: These will be curious, open-minded people who love to think (and have their thinking challenged) and share perspectives. They’re also culture lovers — some will be cinephiles, others just love a good story. But these are people who, like you, want to watch a movie more than once and talk about it for more than 3 hours. I’ve deliberately designed this so that the people who join will be engaged and excited to be here.
That’s what I’m like, and I’ve spent years trying to become a magnet for similar people. And in my last membership, Reel Ruminators, that was definitely the case. Reel Ruminators boasted a diverse audience, which included lawyers, engineers, academics, filmmakers, and union organizers, from Canada, the US, and the UK (though many had lived in other parts of the world, too!) — and people from age 30 to 70 with a wide array of identities and backgrounds.
When are the discussions?
We’ll meet live on Circle on the following Sundays: November 2, 9, and 23; December 7 and 14; January 4 and 18; and February 1, 8, and 15.
We meet at 2 p.m. ET for 90 minutes.
If you’re in the UK, that’s 7 p.m.
If you’re in Europe, that’s 8 p.m.
If you’re on the West Coast, that’s 11 a.m.
When do I find out what the movies are?
As soon as you join, you’ll find out the titles of all three films with info on where to stream them.
I can’t promise that every film will feel instantly “made for you.” But I can promise that each one was chosen to reward your attention — and to open up something worth noticing, discussing, and maybe even loving. And sometimes, the films we don’t instantly jibe with can make for the best conversations.
“It was a film that was so, so up my street and yet that I had no idea about.”
– Hazel Shaw, Reel Ruminators Member, UK
How do I watch the movies?
You’ll get a streaming guide with suggestions for your region.
You’ll need to rent, buy, or stream the film yourself.
I only pick films that I know are available in Canada, the US, and the UK.
I’ll also include information for purchasing physical media. Since you’ll probably be watching these films more than once (and some of the DVDs/Blu-rays have fantastic special features), I’ll include info on where to find these.
If you’re outside those regions, you may need a VPN. If you’re not sure if the films will be available in your region (or if there’s a workaround), email me at contact@seventh-row.com, and I will let you know.
What happens after the four-month program ends?
You’ll keep access to all of the supporting materials from the program: the discussion recordings, intro videos, streaming guide, etc.
The Group Space will close on March 1, 2026.
“I think the film that I’m most glad to have rewatched was The Meaning of Empathy … getting the opportunity to come back and watch it again and watch it with more depth and then discuss it was just such a gift.”
— Hazel Shaw, Reel Ruminators Member, UK
How is the Long Take different from Reel Ruminators?
The Long Take is a much higher-touch, limited-enrollment program designed to create a tight-knit community of film lovers eager to dig into films. Reel Ruminators was more of a “drop in if you feel like it” sampler of world cinema. This space is much more intentional and much more community-centric.
That also means you actually get a lot more of my expertise, my framing, and my guidance as you watch — without it ever feeling like going back to school.
I’ve chosen these three films together and in this order for a reason. I’ve chosen films that I am uniquely qualified to discuss (e.g., ongoing relationship with the film/filmmaker’s work for years, interviewed the director often repeatedly, have been thinking about this theme/genre for some time!)
Inside Reel Ruminators, I often did a lot of research on the films, but didn’t have the space to share it — often squeezing it into a 15-20 minute intro video and surreptitiously in my discussion questions. Here, there’s time to allow that expertise to guide each discussion on each individual film (from the questions I ask to the framing I give you before you watch the film and for the conversation) and your deeper engagement with the films.
Plus, instead of seeing me once a month, where we have a limited time to dig into films that could very easily take up 10 hours of discussion and still have room to breathe…here you’ll see me multiple times a month: both in the Live Room and in the Group Space. That gives me more opportunity to bring my lens and perspective to each film, including the scenes I curate for us to rewatch and discuss together.
Inside Reel Ruminators, we’ve been very fortunate that most people are pretty engaged, thoughtful, and curious, but everyone is always surprised that this is what the group/experience is like. There should be no surprises here, because I expect everyone to be engaged, thoughtful, and curious…or else why would you sign up for this?!
I have another question!
Email me at contact@seventh-row.com, and I’ll be happy to answer!