Before a film screening at BAM I notice some commotion in a row beneath me: an older man sitting in the aisle seat has to get up and move his things so that a woman can sit in the unoccupied seat next to him. A few minutes later, just before the film is about to begin, the man gets up again, gathers his things, moves several rows up to where I’m sitting. He sits down in one of the seats with a ‘reserved’ sign (these appear to be left unoccupied). Then, after the film has begun, he gets up yet again, moving two seats closer to me. Later, after the film has ended, the man raises his hand during the Q&A. He says that for the first part of the film he thought the central female character was the protagonist’s sister, not step-mother. The filmmaker corrects him: No, it was the stepmother – then doesn’t elaborate. The man, realizing that his comment is gaining no traction, makes a plea to the audience: Perhaps others had this impression too? No one responds, and the moderator awkwardly moves on to the next question. I realize, as I listen to the next exchange, that I actually shared this impression about the central female character: I too thought she was the protagonist’s sister. Why didn’t I speak up when the man looked for support from the audience? The fact is, I realize, the man’s seat-changing behavior before the film so irritated me that I took a small pleasure in his minor Q&A humiliation.