Explore every episode of the podcast First Time Go
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wendy Corn | 18 Jul 2023 | 00:16:36 | |
Did you know burial and cremation are both bad for the environment? That bartending may be the best training for documentary filmmaking? What about death haikus? I talk to Wendy Corn about her new film, Exit Strategy: From Scared to Sacred, which recently raised over $34,000 as part of a successful crowdfunding campaign on Seed & Spark. Wendy is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose films have been featured at SXSW and other festivals. She gives advice to filmmakers, talks about why Austin is a great home for indies, and shares the level of commitment -- and vulnerability -- it requires to embark on a crowdfunding campaign. Links mentioned in the conversation:
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| Christian Kamaal | 03 Sep 2024 | 00:41:13 | |
You can see the artistic talent of Christian Kamaal in the vivid way he describes his life -- he borrowed a camera from his father, who used it to film funerals for his community ("unfortunately, in the city I come from, a lot of funerals"); his power of observation earned him a spot at USC's film school; and he utilized his power of observation, of visual artistry, to make BLACKIFIER, a powerful short that hits you with more thoughts about our world than most features. And that's only half of it. In this episode,
Christian's Indie Film Highlight: Letia Solomon Links: Christian Kamaal’s Website Support the Podcast Through Membership | |||
| Hyejin "Grace" Park | 06 Aug 2024 | 00:23:47 | |
Filmmaker Hyejin "Grace" Park has such incredible range as an indie filmmaker: she's directed everything from sci-fi to gangster films and made them her own in a way that's utterly enchanting and unique. Her Vimeo page is a testament to her range as a filmmaker. In this episode, we discuss how she got started in filmmaking; her goal of making sure minority filmmakers feel seen; how life experiences have made her a better filmmaker; the depth of the story behind her genre-breaking film COMET ORPHAN; what made her decide to use Seed & Spark for the film ("we were way short because we had to built a spaceship"); where you can expect to see the film; and what's next for Grace. If there's a Grace Park fan club, I'm the first member. Go to her Vimeo and see for yourself. It's truly incredible what she's accomplished and I cannot wait to see what's next. Grace's Indie Film Highlight: Christian Kamaal Links: Grace Park's Vimeo Page Meet Hyejin "Grace" Park Hyejin "Grace" Park's Website Support the Podcast Through Membership | |||
| Ross McDonnell (Re-Release) | 24 Sep 2024 | 00:24:35 | |
This is a re-release of my discussion with Ross McDonnell. His film, SWIFT JUSTICE, is up for a News & Doc Emmy in Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary. The awards will be revealed live on September 26, 2024. Ross died on November 5, 2023. His co-director, Victor Blue, writes movingly about his work. Later on this year, I'll post an episode remembering Ross and the legacy of independent filmmakers. In this episode, I talk with Ross McDonnell, co-director of the new documentary short, SWIFT JUSTICE, about Sharia justice in Afghanistan. Ross and I discuss:
Ross' Indie Film Highlight: Jonathan Glazer; Wong Kar-wai; Spize Jonze; Chris Cunningham; Floria Sigismondi; Chris Doyle; Lance Acord Links: Watch The News & Doc Emmys Live On September 26, 2024 Support the Podcast Through Membership | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: THE BACHELORS (2017) | 13 Apr 2025 | 00:01:19 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: THE BACHELORS (2017). Director: Kurt Voelker Written By: Kurt Voelker Cast: JK Simmons; Josh Wiggins; Odeya Rush SYNOPSIS After the death of his wife, Bill and his 17-year-old son, Wes, move from a small town to a big city for a fresh start. As they begin to adjust to life in the city and seek ways to heal their wounds, they both find comfort in newfound romances. Although circumstances contribute to Bill and Wes growing apart, they come back together and rediscover their true selves in the process. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: 5 YEARS APART (2019) | 06 Apr 2025 | 00:01:30 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: FIVE YEARS APART (2019). Director: Joe Angelo Menconi Written By: Joe Angelo Menconi; Zac Krause Cast: Chloe Bennet; Scott Michael Foster; Ally Maki SYNOPSIS Two estranged brothers born on the same day five years apart run into each other at their family vacation home with wildly different expectations for how their birthday weekend will play out. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: SAY YOU WILL (2017) | 16 Mar 2025 | 00:01:37 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: SAY YOU WILL (2017) Director: Nick Naveda Written By: Nick Naveda Cast: Travis Tope; Katherine Hughes; Israel Broussard; Sam Trammell SYNOPSIS After his father's suicide, a promising young musician tries to help his mother survive her grief while he tries to find solace in a troubled childhood crush. | |||
| Special Slamdance Coverage: Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine | 08 Mar 2025 | 00:24:25 | |
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine is an accomplished actor, director, and documentary filmmaker, and so it's no surprise that his film, MEMORIES OF LOVE RETURNED (2024), is a love letter to the arts. It's also a love letter about Uganda, and offers a deeply personal look at his experience in the country and that of photographer Kibaate Aloysius Ssalongo. In this episode, we discuss:
Ntare's Indie Film Highlight: WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS (2024) dir. by Misha Kapany Schwarz, Maarya Zafa. Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: BROADCAST NEWS (1987) | 16 Feb 2025 | 00:01:46 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: BROADCAST NEWS (1987). Director: James L Brooks Screenplay: James L Brooks Cast: Holly Hunter; William Hurt; Albert Brooks SYNOPSIS A highly strung news producer finds herself strangely attracted to a vapid anchorman even through she loathes everything he personifies. To make matters worse, her best friend, a talented but not particularly telegenic news reporter, is secretly in love with her. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: ONCE AGAIN (2019) | 09 Feb 2025 | 00:01:42 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: ONCE AGAIN (2019). The film is also on streamers as "una vez más." Director: Guillermo Rojas Written By: Guillermo Rojas; Kevin Dániel di Angelo Cast: Silvia Acosta; Teresa Arboi; Beatriz Arjona SYNOPSIS Abril left Daniel behind 5 years ago, when she decided to try her luck in London. She is back home now, to bury her grandmother. Walking the streets of what was her home with the man who was her love, she realizes she had missed it all. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: TO DUST (2018) | 11 May 2025 | 00:01:41 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: TO DUST (2018). Director: Shawn Snyder Written By: Shawn Snyder; Jason Begue Cast: Matthew Broderick; Géza Röhrig SYNOPSIS A Hasidic cantor in upstate New York, distraught by the untimely death of his wife, befriends a local community college biology professor and the two embark on an increasingly literal undertaking into the underworld. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: BABYSITTER (2022) | 02 Feb 2025 | 00:01:47 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: BABYSITTER (2022). Director: Monia Chokrisd Written By: Catherine Léger Cast: Pierre-Marcel Blanchot; Fabrice Lambot; Catherine Leger; Martin Paul-Hus SYNOPSIS After a sexist joke goes viral, Cédric loses his job and embarks on a therapeutic journey. When he and his girlfriend hire a mysterious and liberated babysitter to help shake things up, everything seems too good to be true. | |||
| Daniel Lombroso | 09 May 2025 | 00:33:57 | |
It’s hard to say what’s been the biggest achievement for Daniel over the past few weeks — starting his own studio, Outerboro Films, getting selected as a 2025 Film Independent Documentary Story Lab Fellow, or telling the white supremacist Nick Fuentes that he’s an asshole. Daniel said it’s the latter, but I’m guessing as we look back, it’ll be the first two, as he releases more of his critically acclaimed docs under his own banner. Daniel has made truly extraordinary films, and now he’s put himself in a position to help others make theirs. In this episode, Daniel and I discuss:
Daniel's Indie Film Highlight: ETERNAL FATHER (2023) dir. by Omer Sami Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: LONG DECEMBER (2023) | 22 Dec 2024 | 00:02:25 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: LONG DECEMBER (2023). Director: Thomas Torrey Writer: Thomas Torrey Cast: Stephen Williams; Emily Althaus; Charley Koontz SYNOPSIS Nearing the end of another financially difficult year and feeling pressured to finally give up on his dreams, struggling musician Gabe Lovell wonders if his break is just around the corner when his rock star cousin offers him a spot in the final show of his tour. | |||
| Mira Shaib | 11 Dec 2024 | 00:43:32 | |
I am so pleased to be joined by groundbreaking filmmaker Mira Shaib, director of Arzé, a brilliant first feature comedy-drama about the relationship of a family in Lebanon. (In North America, it should be released early next year.) Mira Shaib is an alumnus of prestigious film development labs and residencies, including Robert Bosch Stiftung, where she attended the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Film Independent's Global Media Makers LA Residency, the Red Sea Lodge, and the Torino Film Lab. Her first feature film was among the first recipients of the Red Sea Film Festival Foundation Production Fund. Mira is the cofounder of Cinema For All, an arts initiative with a mission to make cinema accessible in rural Lebanon. The initiative was launched in 2019 in Ain Ebel with film-making workshops and outdoor screenings of Sophie Boutros' Mahbas and Cyril Aris's documentary feature The Swing. In this episode, we talk about:
Mira's Indie Film Highlight: TO A LAND UNKNOWN (2024) dir. by Mahdi Fleifel Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: BROKEN FLOWERS (2005) | 04 May 2025 | 00:01:23 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: BROKEN FLOWERS (2005). Director: Jim Jarmusch Written By: Jim Jarmusch; Bill Raden; Sara Driver Cast: Bill Murray; Jessica Lange; Sharon Stone SYNOPSIS When his latest girlfriend (Julie Delpy) leaves him, retired computer magnate Don Johnston (Bill Murray) has no greater ambition than to sit around the house. When he receives an anonymous letter from a former girlfriend claiming he has a 19-year-old son he's never met, Don doesn't even think to follow up. It's not until his neighbor, a mystery fan, encourages him that Don resolves to visit the exes who seem the most likely candidates and find out the truth. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: UNTOGETHER (2018) | 25 May 2025 | 00:01:34 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: UNTOGETHER (2018). Director: Emma Forrest Written By: Emma Forrest Cast: Jamie Dornan; Ben Mendelsohn; Jemima Kirke; Lola Kirke; Billy Crystal SYNOPSIS Once considered a teen prodigy, a recovering addict sobers up and tries to get her writing career back on track. She begins a relationship with a rising author known for his wartime memoirs. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: GOD'S POCKET (2014) | 08 Jun 2025 | 00:01:44 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: GOD'S POCKET (2014) Director: John Slattery Writers: Peter Dexter; Alex Metcalf; John Slattery Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman; Richad Jenkins; Christina Hendricks; John Turturro SYNOPSIS A boozy lowlife (Philip Seymour Hoffman) tries to bury the truth about his crazy stepson's suspicious death, but a nosy newspaper columnist (Richard Jenkins) and the young man's mother complicate matters. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: BEFORE/DURING/AFTER (2020) | 01 Jun 2025 | 00:01:19 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: BEFORE/DURING/AFTER (2020) Director: Stephen Kunken; Jack Lewars Screenplay: Finnerty Steeves Cast: Finnerty Steeves; Jeremy Davidson; John Pankow; John Ellison Conlee SYNOPSIS This sharp-witted dramedy studies a middle-aged NYC theatre actress suddenly forced to figure out the kind of person she wants to portray in real life when her marriage comes to an end after she catches her husband cheating. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: YOU CAN COUNT ON ME (2000) | 29 Jun 2025 | 00:01:50 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: YOU CAN COUNT ON ME (2000). Director: Kenneth Lonergan Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan Cast: Laura Linney; Kenneth Lonergan; Mark Ruffalo; Matthew Broderick SYNOPSIS Sammy is a single mother who is extremely protective of her 8-year old son. She is satisfied with living in the small town she grew up in and working in a local bank. When her brother Terry visits he fits the void in the life of both her and her son. Temporarily free of the constraints of single motherhood she begins to break free of her normal routine. In a string of traumatic events Sammy is torn between helping her brother and her maternal instinct to protect her son from getting hurt. Watch This Episode On YouTube | |||
| Antonio Harper & Abby Burton | 27 Jun 2025 | 00:35:16 | |
Watch FORWARD THINKING (2025) Now I’m not sure if the pod has ever gotten a bigger honor than what Antonio Harper & Abby Burton gave it in this episode — sure, they said, listeners can watch our short, currently on its festival run. FORWARD THINKING (2025) is a “surreal short film about a young black man who is attempting to trademark his likeness in the event that he's murdered by the police.” And to me, that sells it short. It’s a film about race that goes further than any other film I’ve seen in a way that makes you think about what you saw so much you’ll watch it again, all to make you smile once again with the amazing closing scene. Go watch FORWARD THINKING, go watch it again, and come back and hear this fantastic conversation with an epic filmmaking duo from Cleveland. In this episode, we talk about
Abby’s Indie Film Highlight: TALK (2025) dir. by Jessica Perlman; RENEGADES - Judy-Lynn del Rey dir. by Jeremy Hsing Memorable Quotes: “Don't be a Dwayne. Practice cultural appreciation, not cultural appropriation.” “ Do I see myself wanting to get up at 4:00 AM to run suicides or get up at 4:00 AM for a call?” “The music just ended up being that Cleveland luck” “ Disability and disabled filmmakers are just that, they're just more filmmakers and they need to have their stories told. They need to have the opportunity to show what they can do. And, yes, it's a very vulnerable thing to come out and talk about it when it's not as accepted in the industry.” The approach to race “ should be a lot like what Abby and I did with FORWARD THINKING” “What I would hope to see is, especially in the in industry, is just having more people of color and underrepresented actors in roles that aren't necessarily traditionally tailored for that group.” Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES (2024) | 22 Jun 2025 | 00:01:25 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES (2024) Director: Pat Boonnitipat Writers: Pat Boonnitipat; Thodsapon Thiptinnakorn Cast: Putthipong Assaratanakul; Usha Seamkhum; Sanya Kunakorn SYNOPSIS A man, driven by his desire for a multi-million dollar inheritance, begins to care for his terminally ill grandmother. However, winning her favor will not be an easy task and he is not the only one with an eye on the money. Watch This Episode On YouTube | |||
| Hope Lawson | 16 Sep 2025 | 00:39:27 | |
This conversation could have gone on for another few hours. I felt so blessed to chat with a kindred spirit about raising the profile of independent filmmakers, Hope Lawson. Hope founded Takeout LA after finding herself in the filmmaking business. She also works for Gersh so this episode opens up discussions I’ve been dying to have on the podcast. Takeout LA is a film screening series and it’s also a party, which come to think of it, is what this episode is like. In this episode, Hope and I discuss:
Hope’s Indie Film Highlight: FORMER CULT MEMBER HEARS MUSIC FOR THE FIRST TIME (2020) dir. by Kristoffer Borgli — Watch Now Memorable Quotes: My former boss told me when I started, I came in and I was just hungover…”if you get sober before the age of 40, it'll be detrimental to your career.” “ I started Takeout right when I got to my agency job when I started as an assistant. And coming in, I immediately realized like all of my friends that do creative things, they hold these networking events, but it's all creatives. And we hold these networking events and it's all business people. There's no low pressure way for creatives to show their work to up and coming young people in the business.” “ And I got a job as a COVID PA, very glamorous. It was my job to get there at 3:45 AM and greet all of the really happy people on this freezing cold ranch.” “ For the first time in five years in Hollywood, I'm no one's assistant. It's great.” “When you go to school for this and you're promised like this kind of easy path up, it's a lot harder to motivate yourself to do like truly grunt work.” “There's the flip side of the coin, if you're too good of an assistant and you start feeling like, oh, this is where they want me forever, it's time to go.” “You are always your first agent.” “I think bringing young creatives into that kind of bubble where everyone's young and hungry now and we can't really do much, but once we're recognized and we get a little bit more power, we're gonna remember all the people we met when we were young and hungry, and we wanna make those movies.” “So a good short makes me care about the people in it and wonder when it ends.I don’t need to know the whole story. I need to want to know.” “ We do a q and a after it's just kind of me up there cracking jokes and trying my best.” “The motto of me is I love to help.” “You can cool kid yourself into no one seeing your work ever.” Links: Follow Takeout LA On Instagram Some of the films that were screened at Takeout: MIRIAM (2025) dir. by Josie Andrews FUCK THAT GUY (2024) dir. by Hanna Gray Organschi CONFESSIONS (2023) dir. by Stephanie Kaznocha MY BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH THE DOJ (2024) dir. by Luke Strickler ITS SNOWING IN THE SUMMER (2021) dir. by Gladimir Gelin A KIND FAVOR (2024) dir. by Christian Klein and Mattias Evangelista The Cursed Sea (Il Mare Maledetto) dir. by Eliana Victoria Alcouloumre RABBIT (2024) dir. by Carson Culver BETWEEN GIGS (donSMITH Visual Album) dir. by Brittney Briggs | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: ADAM THE FIRST (2024) | 14 Sep 2025 | 00:01:42 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: ADAM THE FIRST (2024). Director: Irving Franco Writer: Irving Franco Cast: Oakes Fegley; David Duchovny; T.R. Knight SYNOPSIS After finding a list of names and addresses, 14-year-old Adam sets out across the country to meet a series of men who could be his father. | |||
| Bloomberg Green Docs Part 2: The Finalists | 26 Jul 2024 | 00:41:20 | |
After listening to all five finalists of the Bloomberg Green Docs, be honest -- there's no way you can tell who won. They are all that good. In part 1, I talked to the judges and today, you'll hear from the five finalists.
And you'll hear who won. But as David Luff says, they all won by being a part of this process. Thanks again to Bloomberg Climate for helping make these interviews happen. Links: Support the Podcast Through Membership | |||
| Bloomberg Green Docs Part 1: The Judges | 23 Jul 2024 | 00:43:22 | |
This week is all about the Bloomberg Green Docs festival, held in Seattle on July 12, 2024. Thanks to Bloomberg Climate, especially Emily Anton and Courtney J. Boland, I interviewed most of the judges and all of the five finalists. Taken altogether, they paint a picture of where the industry is going in regards to climate documentaries; how nonprofits are changing views through both narrative and documentary filmmaking; the secrets to success in a tough industry; and what they were looking for from the five finalists. I've broken down the interviews into two episodes: the first is with the judges and the second with the finalists. Maybe you've read who won, but if you haven't, I urge you to go on a ride with me this week and wait till the end of part 2 to see who takes home the $25,000. In this episode, I talk with:
In part 2, I'll talk with the five finalist teams:
Links: A Louisiana Story (the 1948 film Lindsay Firestone references) Support the Podcast Through Membership | |||
| Lee Knight | 12 Sep 2025 | 00:35:30 | |
My guest, Lee Knight, won Best Director at 2025's HollyShorts for his stunning film, A FRIEND OF DOROTHY (2025), but you wouldn't know it because as you just heard, his thoughts are with the indie filmmakers still out there struggling. That sounds exactly like my type of filmmaker to host on the podcast. A FRIEND OF DOROTHY could be described as "a lonely widow's quiet life is upended when a teenage boy accidentally kicks his football into her garden", but that doesn't do justice to the casting, the lighting, the cinematography, and the music of this short. It's brilliant filmmaking from a man who worked his way up to making it, and I'm so glad to have him on the show to celebrate his success and talk about how he made it happen. In this episode, Lee and I discuss:
Lee's Indie Film Highlights: 22+1 (2025) dir. by Pippa Bennett-Warner; COOL BOY (2024) dir. by Peter Bjerre Salling Memorable Quotes: "I look back on my career as an actor and I think there was always there was always a writer director there, even when I was training. And I think it's because of ownership of story." "I also think that the film highlights a kind of safety that older people give, and specifically older women and as a gay man, and I think a lot of gay people say this...we always loved and felt very safe with older women. " "You have to be forced to dig deep because every time you are rejected, it's the same as an actor, every time you are rejected, if you stop, you just are missing out on digging that bit deeper to kind of really push forward." "When did you want to be a filmmaker? And I think I didn't, I wanted to be everything -- a storyteller in every sense, whatever medium it takes." "I actually don't think it's my job as a director to know about lenses. My job is to have people that are experts in that field and then we collaborate." "You've got to surround yourself with people you trust who are not going to feed your ego." "I really believe that you've got to aim high with actors because if they connect with your story...they don't do short films for the money...they will do it if they really believe in the story." "If you need to really get an actor to feel safe and vulnerable...it's a bespoke job." Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: GOODBYE, HELLO (2024) | 07 Sep 2025 | 00:01:21 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: GOODBYE, HELLO (2024). Director: Jack Cooper Stimpson Writers: Jeremy Ford; Bec Pittard Cast: Steve Guttenberg; Nancy Linari; Hollie Bahar SYNOPSIS Nate Ryan returns home to Bundy Canyon to visit his dying father; Nate opens old wounds in an attempt to make peace with his incredibly unpeaceful father. | |||
| Alex Salam | 05 Sep 2025 | 00:45:52 | |
That’s my guest, Alex Salam, with one of the most riveting reasons to become a filmmaker I’ve ever heard. Given their significant training, it’s practically impossible to do, but I wish we had more doctor/filmmakers in the world. From those that I’ve seen, they’ve produced work that is equal parts precision and creativity, the perfect combination of soul and mind. Alex’s film, TWENTY TWENTY (2025) certainly does that — it’s “set over one brutal night shift at the height of the COVID pandemic and shows a very seasoned doctor’s emotional transformation” — and I feel so grateful we have filmmakers like Alex making art. In this episode, Alex and I talk about:
Alex's Indie Filmmaker Highlight: NFTS Sean Connery Lab Shorts Memorable Quotes: “What medicine has done for me as a filmmaker, it gives you a good understanding of character and emotion.” “You have to be clinically insane to go straight to a feature without having done a short or worked on TV.” On what makes a great short: “Have a beginning, a middle, and an end to a story.” “That’s an advantage…if you’re making a drama set in hospital, it’s a shortcut.” “ The kind of collaborators that I like working with that are important for me to work with [are] other collaborators who can be a little bit vulnerable.” Links: | |||
| Jeffrey Scotti Schroeder | 29 Aug 2025 | 00:37:23 | |
I haven’t done a how much I love New York City episode in a couple weeks, so the indie smash, OR SOMETHING (2024), and the film’s director, Jeffrey Scotti Schroeder, makes for the absolute perfect guest. Why is the film being extended at Quad Cinemas? What does it say for indie filmmakers that the Substack crowd got so behind this film? Is it repeatable? Let’s hope so. And if you haven’t seen it at the time this airs, go see it through September 4th. Or later, if we keep talking about it. In this episode, Jeffrey and I talk about:
Jeffrey’s Indie Film Highlight: THE SWEET EAST (2023) dir. Sean Price Williams Memorable Quotes: “The good agents would have a really hard and fast rule that they’d return everybody’s call at least the same day.” “If you like your classic New York City walk and talk film and if you don’t mind two people talking the entire movie….then you’ll like it. If you don’t like that type of movie, you’re not gonna like this film.” “Hey, do you wanna do this ultra low budget feature? They were, what’s the rate? And I told them…like..nothing.” “Whereas New York people are just mind your fucking business on both ends, like we’re filming. And then we’re in their space, excuse me, can you, they’re like, mind your business. It’s New York City.” “If you’re leading with the idea of profitability, it might not come to fruition.” “Word of mouth is definitely the only way because we have a $0 marketing budget.” Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: THE PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE (2023) | 26 Oct 2025 | 00:01:23 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: THE PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE (2023) Director: Chris Cottam Writer: Wally Marzano-Lesnevich Cast: Paul Reiser; Colm Meaney; Jane Levy SYNOPSIS Things don't go as planned when two distant cousins -- one from New York City, the other from Ireland -- come together to finally put an end to a generations-long family feud. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: INHERITANCE (2024) | 12 Oct 2025 | 00:01:36 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: INHERITANCE (2024). Director: Emily Moss Wilson Writer: Rachel Noll James; Austin Highsmith Garces Cast: Austin Highsmith Garces; Rachel Noll James; Wes Brown SYNOPSIS Estranged sisters Lucy and Paige reunite to bury their father, becoming entangled in the complicated web of their past as they realize that they have inherited more from their father than just money. | |||
| Ömer Sami | 07 Oct 2025 | 00:26:03 | |
At the end of each episode, I ask my guest if they’d like to highlight someone else, given how hard indie filmmaking is. It’s called the indie film highlight. And of course they do. My guest today, Ömer Sami, is the only person who was nominated on two separate occasions and that speaks to both how well respected he is amongst his peers but how groundbreaking his filmmaking is. In this conversation, I get to find out why that is, and I think it’s partially due to his interest in psychology. His background gives him the skillset to better understand the human condition and then portray it on film. Or maybe he’s just a fantastic guy who supports his fellow filmmakers. Why can’t it be both? In this episode, Ömer and I discuss:
Ömer ’s Indie Film Highlight: BALOMANIA (2024) dir. by Sissel Dargis Morell Memorable Quotes: “The question that I was always interested in was what it’s like to be someone in a specific situation. I studied psychology because I was interested in consciousness of what it’s like to be another being. And then I found out that film was actually a much better way of conveying that emotionally.” “Generally I love working with kids because they have an unfiltered, immediate way of seeing the world.” “In the case of the kids, my experience is that they have to get bored of it. And when the novelty wears off, that’s when the interesting things start happening. And in the case of adults, I think a lot of documentary is about performance, how intentional that is.” “Short documentaries are often tied to news outlets, so people are used to consuming shorter form content. And I’m not a snob at all about length. I think it’s ridiculous this idea that the feature is a kind of holy grail of filmmaking.” “I think often you leave feeling that film could be shorter. It’s very rare that it could have been longer.” “The shorts that work best for me are the ones that embrace the limits and the constraints of this sort form instead of trying to be a mini feature.” “The curation is just really important in terms of what is the emotional journey that you go on. [Film festivals] are like having a birthday party and a funeral in the same room.” Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: JIMMY AND CAROLYN (2022) | 02 Nov 2025 | 00:01:46 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: JIMMY AND CAROLYN (2022) Director: James Andrew Walsh Writer: James Andrew Walsh Cast: Alberto Bonilla; Mark H Dold; Gregory Harrison SYNOPSIS An emotional crisis threatens to destroy James and William's 20-year relationship. | |||
| Geoff Ryan | 11 Nov 2025 | 00:50:18 | |
Happy Veterans Day! For this special episode, I talk with filmmaker Geoff Ryan about his 2012 film, FRAY. For me, FRAY is one of the more authentic "return from war" stories in a usually bad genre of overwrought films. I wanted to find out more about the making of the film, how the lead actor was cast, and what made Geoff the best person -- a non-veteran -- to tell this story. I'm looking to support more veteran actors, producers, directors...filmmakers. And we need more filmmakers like Geoff telling these kinds of deeply researched stories. In this episode, Geoff and I talk about:
Geoff's Indie Film Highlight: OVATION (2025) dir. by Noam Kroll; Al Profit Memorable Quotes: "A few of them really let me just follow them. I stayed overnight under a bridge with one guy, walking through the woods where one of them would sleep at night." "Another big motivator of it was so many of the vets that I did know and got to meet during that time would just trash talk the way that movies portrayed them." "I jokingly refer to it as a 94 minute montage of misery." "One of the worst pieces of advice...and it's so ubiquitous, it's annoying, is write what you know, which isn't wrong, but it's mistaken all the time." "There's no music throughout the entire film other than location music." "I honestly don't know how a lot of these things get funded other than like venture capital and money laundering. And unfortunately, I don't know any money launderers or VC investors." "I'm fortunate FRAY still gets at least 10,000 views a month. Unfortunately, I get literally 2 cents every time somebody watches it." "Can you cut out the the cursing,the drugs, the sex, and the violence? I'm like, that's the whole movie." "If you're in USC, you're gonna have the connections. They're gonna place you in the industry." "Trust your voice. Don't try to do what someone else is doing. Don't try to do what you think is popular." Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: HAM ON RYE (2019) | 23 Nov 2025 | 00:01:28 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: HAM ON RYE (2019) Director: Tyler Taormina Writers: Tyler Taormina; Eric Berger Cast: Haley Bodell; Audrey Boos; Gabriella Herrera SYNOPSIS A bizarre rite of passage at the local deli determines the fate of a generation of teenagers, leading some to escape their suburban town and dooming others to remain. | |||
| Taylor Lee | 19 Nov 2025 | 00:39:56 | |
By the standards of twenty years ago, it is easy to have a film look "gorgeous." So indie filmmakers can't rely on equipment alone to set their films apart. It takes the work of true craftspeople, one of which is my guest, filmmaker Taylor Lee. In October, Taylor was the recipient of the NYU 2025 Grad Film Volker Bahnemann Award for Outstanding Cinematography. His story is an extraordinary one -- majoring in computer science at UCLA in 2020 to some of the most prestigious student awards and fellowships in filmmaking. How did he get there? Let's find out. Also, watch LAYOVER before listening. A Vimeo Staff Pick, it will be with you for awhile. In this episode, Taylor and I talk about:
Taylor's Indie Film Highlight: THE LOVE THAT REMAINS (2025) dir. by Hlynur Pálmason Memorable Quotes: "Recently I've been pretty drawn to filmmakers who...are very aware that an audience is watching the film and that the audience wants to be surprised." "In terms of a fresh perspective....I think I still need to watch more movies, honestly. I think it helps." "Sometimes it's my prep with directors. I'll ask them to give me like 10 of their favorite films." "I learned pretty much everything I know from film school, and from YouTube, and really just doing it. I think that film school offers you an opportunity to just keep doing it." "In an ideal world, you would look at several of my films and not see the same cinematographer." "if you look at my reel, my cinematography reel, you'll see the same cinematographer. But that's just because I choose the best wide shots for the reel." "The role of the director is really to have the vision and to communicate that vision to your crew and to your actors. And if I were to shoot it at the same time...I would need two of myself." "Directors should treat each film like it's the last film that they're going to direct and cinematographers should treat each film like it's the first film that they shot." "One of my professors always said, your relationship to feedback will define your graduate school experience." "PARKSIDE EAST, it was all my classmates. There was no paid crew." Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: GHOST TRAIL (2024) | 16 Nov 2025 | 00:01:44 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: GHOST TRAIL Director: Jonathan Millet Writers: Jonathan Millet; Florence Rochat; Sara Wikler Cast: Adam Bessa; Tawfeek Barhom; Julia Franz Richter SYNOPSIS Hamid is a member of a secret organisation pursuing Syrian regime's fugitive leaders in Europe. He ends up in Strasbourg while searching for his former torturer. What happens when they finally meet? | |||
| Brett Story | 14 Nov 2025 | 00:35:20 | |
If your documentary films were entered into the Criterion Collection, you barely need an introduction, but let me give one to my guest, filmmaker Brett Story, by saying this: her films expand what's possible through visual styling and extensive preparation work. What I mean by that is if you take a look at her work, the story that she is telling can only be said through film. So Brett gives us both something to appreciate and something to strive for. What a thrill it was to talk with her for the podcast. In this episode, Brett and I discuss: the future documentary on the 2025 NYC Mayoral race (not by her, unfortunately); how she came upon her unique style of documentary filmmaking; does she watch a lot of documentaries? her feelings towards her films entering the Criterion Collection and what that means about her art; whether the honors has made pitching projects easier; what about her work is particularly Canadian? how does she start her documentaries and her process for making her films; the visual attractiveness of her documentaries; the festival and release strategy for her films; how can someone with no name recognition make it into a big festival; her film, UNION, and the tradeoffs doc filmmakers have to make to get their films made; what’s next for her (such an incredible next project, combining art + film, called PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD; Brett's Indie Film Highlights: THE IMAGE YOU MISSED (2018) dir. by Dónal Foreman; Deborah Stratman; Jem Cohen Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: CHRISTMAS, AGAIN (2014) | 07 Dec 2025 | 00:01:16 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: CHRISTMAS, AGAIN (2014) Director: Charles Poekel Writer: Charles Poekel Cast: Kentucker Audley SYNOPSIS A heartbroken Christmas tree salesman returns to New York hoping to put his past behind him. He spends the season living in a trailer and working the night shift until a mysterious woman and some colourful customers rescue him from self-destruction. | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: THE FEATHERWEIGHT (2023) | 30 Nov 2025 | 00:01:47 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: THE FEATHERWEIGHT (2023) Director: Robert Kolodny Writers: Tyler Taormina; Eric Berger Cast: James Madio; Ruby Wolf; Keir Gilchrist SYNOPSIS In 1964, a camera crew follows retired featherweight boxing champion Willie Pep. Down and out in Hartford, Conn., married to a woman half his age and facing mounting debts, Pep decides to return to the ring. | |||
| David Borenstein | 12 Dec 2025 | 00:27:58 | |
Surely he didn't know it then, but his work in media in China made my guest, filmmaker David Borenstein, the perfect person to direct MR NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN (2025). It's a fantastic film following a Russian teacher "secretly documenting his school becoming a war recruitment center during the Ukraine invasion." What David and especially his co-director, Pasha Talankin did was make a film at great personal risk because it's so cutting towards the Russian authoritarian regime. And astonishingly, as David shares in the podcast, he wants to do more of these stories in repressed societies. Thank God there are people like David and Pasha. Denmark's nominee for best international film at the 2026 Oscars is an absolute gem. In this episode, David and I discuss:
David's Indie Filmmaker Highlight: Nathan Fielder Memorable Quotes: "The co-director, he actually responded to a casting call in the beginning. So in the beginning, we were filming him as a character." "The very first time that I was involved with cameras of any sort was actually as a Chinese speaking host on Chinese TV." "if you are a quite fluent foreign speaker of Chinese living in China, they'll find you after a while. You are a curiosity to Chinese audiences." "[John Grierson] defined documentary in a very special way. He didn't define it as journalism per se. He actually called it the propaganda of democracy." "There were so many points where I thought about quitting or walking away 'cause it was so hard. But don't give up." "The way I work with editors is I make a rough cut myself and then I deliver it to editors to work for a little bit of time to challenge me." "I think it's really important as director to be generous." "[The film] is resonating with people in Russia and not necessarily people who are already part of the Russian opposition." "I'm still really interested in getting into the big kind of countries that we don't understand enough, Russia and China." Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: TO THE WONDER (2012) | 18 Jan 2026 | 00:01:33 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: TO THE WONDER (2012) Director: Terrence Malick Writer: Terrence Malick Cast: Ben Affleck; Olga Kurylenko; Javier Bardem SYNOPSIS After falling in love in Paris, Marina and Neil come to Oklahoma, where problems arise. Their church's Spanish-born pastor struggles with his faith, while Neil encounters a woman from his childhood. | |||
| Robert Ham | 16 Jan 2026 | 01:03:21 | |
My guest today, director Robert Ham, has lived a life of service -- to his country, to art, to his family -- and it moved me deeply to host him for the podcast. We talk about his military service in the Army as a combat cameraman; losing his wife to cancer and making a documentary about her beautiful life, of honoring a 9/11 family with his latest film, ZZASLOW K-427, which is screening in New York City on January 18th, 2026. And if this sounds heavy, that's the duopoly of sometimes difficult service. I can't speak to any other profession like medicine that often walks the line so closely with the fragility of life, but in the military, a positive outlook even in the harshest conditions is the only way you'll make it through, and that spirit is reflected today on the podcast. Welcome to our world. In this episode, Robert and I discuss:
Robert's Indie Film Highlights: WARFARE (2025) dir. by Ray Mendoza; MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE (2024) dir. by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes; HOLLYWOOD GRIT (2025) dir. by Ryan Curtis; SAND CASTLE (2017) dir. by Fernando Coimbra and Chris Roessner; Rebecca Murga; Maximilian Uriarte; Mike Dowling Memorable Quotes: "As going through the unique experience of being in the military and then coming out of the military and now being labeled a veteran, which becomes so much part of our personality...when I meet other veterans, it is that common bond." "I did extra work. I was a Marine in FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (2006) as an extra." "Same thing with everybody in the military. It's hard. You're asked to do morally complicated things that you have to then live with. And so that's the first thing that I would approach it with is that like, where do you stand?" "It feels like the further you get away from the source of anything, the further from the truth you're gonna get, right?" "I've always used the camera to almost separate myself from the trauma." "All I could do was film. I don't know, I'm not a doctor, I'm not, I'm like trying to read these crazy things that she's researching and that we're looking together and taking notes when doctors tell us diagnoses and what we're trying to do and what options and medicines and stuff I've never heard of before." "We had the conversation about how we share this with the world and she just basically said, I trust you." "She was a great person. She was a wonderful woman. She deserved a film to be made about her." "It does come back down to my own inability to know how to help a helpless situation." "I have four kids. I'm married, I have a mortgage. So whoever calls up and says, we got a budget, I'm like, okay, let's do this." "I'm very self-critical of my edits and I don't hold onto things very closely. As a director, you shoot something and you're like, oh, this is it. And then the editor has to be like, no, that wasn't it." Links: Watch MADE WITH MELANIE (2022) | |||
| Charles Poekel | 23 Dec 2025 | 00:28:48 | |
Merry Christmas and happy holidays from the new classic (if that's a thing) CHRISTMAS, AGAIN (2014) and director Charles Poekel. He's hosting screenings ten years on for the film, saying it's found a new audience, and it's easy to see why. The film captures Christmas in New York City -- or at least what it looks like in reality versus postcards -- and starred talent that exploded in the indie film scene in the last decade. It's the perfect time to catch up with its director. In this episode, Charles and I discuss:
Charles' Indie Film Highlight: OBEX (2025) dir. by Albert Birney Memorable Quotes: "Every year there's a little bit of bump in people who discover it." "People really appreciate the familiarity of Christmas tree sellers in New York." "There'd be a lot of complications trying to shoot a film like this at somebody else's Christmas tree stand." "And then the third year we shot the film at the Christmas tree stand while it was open. So we had people working there selling trees while we were shooting. Our actors would stop and sell trees if customers came up right." "I was working documentaries. I'd never made a feature. I hadn't even made a fiction short since college at this point. My boss very smartly at the time was like, don't make a short, make a feature. And I was like I don't even know what I'm doing." "And I've shot some stuff on an iPhone and even if someone gave me a million dollars, I wouldn't have shot it on 35 because it just wasn't the right thing to do." "Shooting on film is more than just like an aesthetic look of a one frame versus another frame." "Especially with cinephiles, we all kinda approach this as like, film is a holy thing that we have and let's treat it that way." Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER'S POINT | 21 Dec 2025 | 00:01:33 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER'S POINT (2024) Director: Tyler Taormina Writers: Eric Berger; Tyler Taormina; Kevin Anton Cast: Matilda Fleming; Francesca Scorsese; Maria Dizzia SYNOPSIS A family gathers on Christmas Eve for what could be the last holiday in their ancestral home. As the night wears on and tensions arise, one of the teenagers sneaks out with her friends to claim the wintry suburb for her own. | |||
| Jaydon Martin | 19 Dec 2025 | 00:40:57 | |
Watch the film FLATHEAD, currently streaming on IndiePix Unlimited, and let me know what you think. It took home awards from the International Film Festival Rotterdam, among others, because it's like nothing you've seen before. It tells the intimate tale of Cass and Andrew making their way in working class Australia. In my discussion with director Jaydon Martin, we delve into what is truly fiction in a documentary; his work at moving furniture to support his vision; and his advice for indie filmmakers embarking on their first feature. It's astonishing filmmaking from the Australian, and I cannot wait to watch what's next. In this episode, Jaydon and I discuss:
Jaydon's Indie Film Highlight: SONG OF ALL ENDS (2024) dir. by Giovanni C. Lorusso Memorable Quotes: "A lot of working class cinema or just media in general, it's always from a distance." "That was all just, talking through and establishing trust and establishing a relationship where, you go, all right, we want to do an intimate scene. And Cass was like, yeah, just, come in boys in the morning, I'll be stark naked." "That award has set me up. I'm working on two features right now." "I think sometimes you get into a trap if you try to work for industry jobs, you get burnt out. If you sat in an edit room four days a week, it's hard to jump into your own edit." "Mindless work is great because it's you can think about anything. You can dream away while you're moving a desk, moving furniture." "That's how you capture intimacy because if there's three people, two people there, the camera just fades away eventually after a while." "I've got a version of myself which is different to my partner's version of me or my friend's version of me or someone I work with. I've got different versions of myself in this world. Which is the most truthful version of yourself?" "I'm a big believer in trying to create an aesthetic of now rather than an aesthetic of nostalgia." "People get wrapped up about...this nostalgia about the tools." "And realistically, I can't pitch an idea, go, all right, can you gimme money? And two years later I'll have something to show you." "For any young filmmakers, I think EPs (executive producers) help a lot as well. Getting good eps that can get your film in front of programmers." Links: | |||
| Jeremy Musher | 16 Dec 2025 | 00:36:30 | |
I'm so happy to return to the roots of the podcast by talking REQUIEM FOR A SOLDIER with filmmaker Jeremy Musher, currently crowdfunding on Seed & Spark. It is the story of a "Vietnam veteran who in his last weeks of service, found a Vietnamese soldier's diary, and 56 years later returned it to the soldier's family." We talk war films, fatherhood and filmmaking, and his sweeping vision for a topic that doesn't get as much love as it should: Vietnam veterans. And this film has the added pleasure of showing the Vietnamese perspective. Let's get REQUIEM over the line. Happy holidays.
Jeremy's Indie Film Highlights: THE ZONE OF INTEREST (2023) dir. by Jonathan Glazer; LITTLE DEATH (2024) dir. by Jack Begert Memorable Quotes: "The interview we did with him to shoot this kind of teaser was a seven hour interview, and Peter just has story after story." "It is the story of a Vietnam veteran who in his last weeks of service, found a Vietnamese soldier's diary, and 56 years later returned it to the soldier's family." "I feel like financing a film is harder than actually making the film." About one of the subjects of the documentary: "He struggled with a lot. He struggled with PTSD. He was an alcoholic, he was homeless, divorced arrested, and never lost the diary." "I've never done a crowdfunding campaign before and I've always pushed it off until I found a project that I really cared about." "[Animation] works so well for war...because I think that war is probably one of those things that you can't really understand unless you've lived through it and as somebody who hasn't lived through it, it's hard to ever fully understand it. I think love is honestly on that same spectrum." "It is a really hard industry...to have kids in, be a filmmaker and to have kids in our industry. You get locked in to staying local. And I think there's a reason, Terrence Malick took 20 years off of being a filmmaker so he could watch his, so he could actually raise his children." Links: | |||
| Indie Film Highlight: THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN (1995) | 14 Dec 2025 | 00:03:13 | |
Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN (1995) Director: Edward Burns Writer: Edward Burns Cast: Jack Mulcahy; Michael McGlone; Edward Burns SYNOPSIS Three Irish Catholic brothers from Long Island struggle to deal with love, marriage, and infidelity. | |||
| Lorenzo Vigas | 29 Mar 2024 | 00:30:20 | |
Translating life to art and art to life is the subject of my discussion with Venezuelan director, screenwriter, film producer, and Golden Lion recipient Lorenzo Vigas. There's just something about Lorenzo's deeply moving films -- he refers to his three feature films as a trilogy about fathers and sons -- that makes a viewer think more deeply about...well, more deeply about everything. And the same thoughtfulness you see in his films is on full display here: his thoughts on film school and film festivals; tackling hard issues in service of art; the state of film in Latin America; and what's next for this extraordinarily talented filmmaker. Lorenzo's Indie Film Highlight: Gustavo Rondon Cordova (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2271584/) Links: Lorenzo Vigas' IMDb (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1729237/) Watch THE BOX on Mubi (https://mubi.com/en/us/films/the-box-2021-lorenzo-vigas) Five Films That Inspired My Career (https://aframe.oscars.org/what-to-watch/post/lorenzo-vigas-five-films-that-inspired-my-career) | |||