In Fruitvale Station, Cake, Dope, and Mudbound, Rachel Morrison’s cinematography immerses viewers in marginalized characters’ points of view.
Must Reads
Must reads are the best of the best articles at The Seventh Row. These include reviews, interviews, and essays. If you're new to the site, this is a good place to start to get a sense of what kinds of stories we write. Here is the best of our multidisciplinary approach to reviewing films, our most illuminating and original interviews, and our best essays.
Interview: Chloé Zhao on The Rider, her feminist film about masculinity
Chloé Zhao discusses The Rider and making a feminist film on masculinity. Read our interview with cinematographer Joshua James Richards on shooting the film. Winner of the top prize at Directors’ Fortnight, Chloé Zhao’s The Rider follows a young cowboy, Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau), forced to reconsider his dreams and priorities after a rodeo incident […]
‘You only address colonialism with solemn seriousness if you don’t experience it daily’: Lucrecia Martel on Zama
Argentine director Lucrecia Martel discusses Zama, colonialism, violent masculinity, and how absurdist humour is a potent way to criticize both.
Director Warwick Thornton on his TIFF Platform Prize Winner Sweet Country
Indigenous Australian director Warwick Thornton talks being his own cinematographer on Sweet Country, shooting on Alexa and UV, and developing the film’s aesthetic.
Sally Potter on The Party‘s confined, dynamic spaces
Sally Potter discusses getting us into the characters’ heads, the importance of set design for dramatic tension, and getting emotionally charged yet very funny performances from her actors. Read our review of the film here.
Keeping a straight face: How CMBYN‘s queer characters get misread
Call Me by Your Name is the latest in a long line of same-sex romances to have its queer characters diminished as empty vessels, yet this couldn’t be further from the truth. This essay is featured in the ebook Call Me by Your Name: A Special Issue which is available for purchase here.