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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

Writers: 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.

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When I went back and edited this episode with my guest, filmmaker Tom Koch, I realized: he's doing a color series of films! To put that much thought into his work as well as have the creative control to name his films is the perfect way to describe Tom: extraordinarily thoughtful, humble, and a guy capable of doing anything in his films: acting, writing, directing, accents, ballet even!

His latest film, OLIVE (2025) is an absolute treat -- the logline "while caring for grandma, Sam, the character played by Tom -- begins to question the nature of their...

I don't know if I've met a more accomplished yet depreciatively humble filmmaker than my guest, Conor McCormick. Here are the facts, though: he was admitted as one of the few to the Square Peg Social, a program set up by Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen "break down the walls and barriers that too often exist within the film industry." (There's a bunch of Reddit threads that speak to how hard this was). His films, most recently BUNKER BABY (2024) and FOR THE CURE (2025), speak to the current state of masculinity in a way that is sorely needed in today's...

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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.

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The pod's annual thank you edition episode.

Thank you to the guests. There wouldn't be a show without you. I am grateful you are willing to take the time to talk about your career. I hope through my preparation I show my appreciation for you.

Thank you to the listeners. The podcast started as a way to get a documentary made and has grown almost every month. I spend a lot of time editing so every second is hopefully something worthwhile for you. Let me know how I can improve.

Thank you to...

I am very much aware of the fact that I make the occasional podcast about films that listeners can't just stream, even though I wish so badly you could. The short film, MERCY, by my guest, director Hedda Mjøen, is a film like that -- it shows the moral dilemma of a woman who has to choose whether she stands by a friend accused of rape. I endeavor that the essence of the film comes through on the podcast, so if I can't show it to you, I can paint a picture about what you're seeing.

B...

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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.

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If I told you just five words, it is a spy film, your mind would go to either action packed or maybe campy. Would you really think about a psychological thriller? And if I told you the film won a prestigious French award for best first film, how does it sound when the director says he made a foreign film? Contradictions abound with my guest Jonathan Millet's film, GHOST TRAIL (2024). One thing it is in any description is a cinematic gem. Currently streaming on Mubi, it expands the genre in ways you won't see coming. And the absolute best...

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.

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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?

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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...

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.

...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: THE HOTTEST AUGUST (2019)

Director: Brett Story

SYNOPSIS

A complex portrait of a city and its inhabitants dealing with climate change, disguised as a portrait of collective anxiety.

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In so many films like WALUD (2025), which depicts the life of an ISIS fighter and his relationship with his two wives, the women are given very little agency. They have things happen to them and deal with the consequences rather than decide their own story. WALUD isn't that type of film.

It's the work of co-directors Louise Zenker and Daood Alabdulaa, film students who made a visually stunning and culturally relevant film about unexplored lives. If there's justice in the world, we'll see it nominated for an Academy Award. Streaming soon in Germany, the rest of us...

What's it like being accepted into Mexican film school and later direct a film that the country chooses to represent its filmmaking at the Academy Awards? My guest, Pierre Saint-Martin, can speak to that as well as a love for sound design and film noir cinematography.

The podcast begins its highlighting of international films nominated for the 98th Academy Awards with WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED (2024), Mexico's selection. The film was directed by an artist who is by turns thoughtful and proud of his work.

It can be seen in November at the Portland Latin...

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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.

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Is there a better titled film in the history of the medium than DID YOU REMEMBER THE CAT (2025)? I'd argue no. It gives you an idea of what it's about -- remembering a cat. The title suggests comedy (it's a mix of comedy, drama, and horror). And it's something you'll never forget as a film title. Perfection.

That's the kind of thought process my guest, filmmaker Daniel Foster, has put into all of his films, and he has such fantastic advice on filmmaking, festivals, crowdfunding, making short films, and more.

Happy Halloween. I can't think...

Occasionally, I'll watch a film so stunning -- visually, musically -- and so important, in terms of cultural relevancy and the issues that it raises, I'll know within a few minutes that I'd love for the director to be on the podcast. It's a blessing that my guest today, filmmaker Contessa Gayles, is here to talk about her journey from CNN to making groundbreaking documentaries.

It's not to say that the topics are easy. Making a documentary visual album about an incarcerated musician is an unbelievably daunting task. But Contessa is more than up for it. Go...

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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.

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I wouldn’t be surprised if people thought this was a director-only podcast; it’s usually who I host. My guest today, Rachel Noll James, has directed films, of course, but she didn’t direct her last one, INHERITANCE (2024), which is the subject of a lot of discussion in this episode. 

What I’m really getting at is finding guests who make films happen, whose force of personality in a variety of different disciplines — acting, producing, writing, directing — brought the images at your theater or on your screen to life. Rachel is doing all those things, for her own proje...

Some documentaries are too urgent to wait for normal distribution. BIG ROCK BURNING (2025), David Goldblum’s directorial debut, certainly qualifies. The film covers the aftermath of the California wildfires this year in Big Rock from a man who lost his home in the fires.

The film is still embarking on a festival run but because of the immediacy of the story, it is now available for streaming on Vimeo. Alongside this film, David has tackled some of the most pressing topics facing our country today, and he’s been able to do it by making the title exec...

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Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: FRAY (2012)

Director: Geoff Ryan

Writer: Geoff Ryan

Cast: Bryan Kaplan; Marisa Costa; Catherine Johnson

SYNOPSIS

Just back from combat, a young Marine veteran faces a new battle to find purpose in the mundane existence of civilian life while struggling through a shattered economy while burdened by the physical and emotional scars of war.

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It takes a brilliant insight to get a question added to the podcast, but my guest, South African filmmaker Tristan Holmes, achieved that. Do you actually like your movie? It stunned me when he said he wonders if his debut feature was better off as an idea and we got to the real truth of it in the podcast.

What exists on screen of THE FRAGILE KING (2023) is award-winning — it tells the story of a 15 year old sent to live with his grandfather who he doesn’t know after his mom dies — but what Tristan knows is what w...

If you could highlight one person standing at the intersection of journalism and filmmaking, it would be my guest today, Diana Schemo. 11 years ago, she founded the Double Exposure Film Festival as a way to reach people, alongside journalism, and it’s been extraordinarily successful, in both the quality of films and its importance in the larger filmmaking and journalistic communities.

This year’s edition takes place October 30th - November 2nd, in Washington, DC, and it not only includes films but fantastic panels and a matchmaking platform for you to find funding and for funders to find...

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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.

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My guest, writer, director, and actor Guillaume Campanacci made a film, THE SILENT SINNER (2025), for $2000 and then released it at his favorite film festival, the Oldenburg Film Festival. That topic alone would make for a great podcast. But then add in his rich sense of humor and ability to critique everything -- including himself -- and you've got an all-time episode.

It'll help if you read this Hollywood Reporter article before listening.

In this episode, Guillaume and I talk about:

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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 inte...

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Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: BLACKBIRD (2020).

Director: Roger Michell

Writer: Christian Torpe

Cast: Sam Neill; Susan Sarandon; Anson Boon

SYNOPSIS

A terminally ill mother arranges to bring her family together one last time before she dies. A remake of the 2014 Danish film 'Silent Heart'.

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You expect a first feature to show its stripes a bit. And be a little bit excusable. As in, well, this is my guest, Zoe Eisenberg’s first feature, so give her a little credit for just getting it done. Zoe said hell no — let’s just jump to fantastic filmmaking. The best way I’d describe CHAPERONE (2024) is a slow burn that builds into a bonfire. The film’s logline: “Alienated by friends and family for her lack of ambition, 29 year old Misha finds a dangerous acceptance in a bright 18 year old athlete who mistakes her for a fellow stude...

My guest today, Peter Callahan, made such a fun film called OUT AND ABOUT (2022) that explores the life of a middle age suburban white guy walking around his neighborhood. That’s the film. I watched half of it before going out on my birthday a few weeks ago, and came home, buzzed, ready to watch more of a guy walking around filmmaking. 

And through meeting his neighbors and other characters, we get a deeper understanding of his life. 

And today, we do that with the director Peter Callahan. His personal story is crazy — dropping out of hig...

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Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: THE FRAGILE KING (2022).

Director: Tristan Holmes

Writer: Tristan Holmes

Cast: Andrew Buckland; Alex de la Rey; Deon Lotz

SYNOPSIS

After his mother's death, 15-year-old Michael is sent to his ageing grandfather. During a road trip, the two develop a relationship they never had.

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In the atmosphere we live in in the United States, putting up a title card for your film's first shot that says "in solidarity with Planned Parenthood" and then screening it in red states is brave. That's just the reality. But when you hear from my guest, Lauren Melinda, about her film BEFORE YOU (2025), she tells you this was not her intent. She was not trying to make a political film or send a message on the issue of abortion. In some ways, that would be the easier thing to do...pick...

“Criminally underrated” is what one Letterboxd critic called Irving Franco’s second feature, ADAM THE FIRST (2024). The film stunned me. The logline: “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.” It’s a hero’s journey, well-acted, and the last few scenes will crush you. Irving also scored the film, which you don’t see very often. 

So why is it misunderstood? We talk about it in this episode with this two time feature writer-director-composer, Irving Franco. 

In this episode, I...

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Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: BACK TO BURGUNDY (2017).

Director: Cédric Klapisch

Writers: Cédric Klapisch; Santiago Amigorena; Jean-Marc Roulot

Cast: Pio Marmaï; Ana Girardot; François Civil

SYNOPSIS

After a ten year absence, Jean returns to his hometown when his father falls ill. Reuniting with his sister Juliette and his brother Jérémie, they have to rebuild their relationship and trust as a fami...

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They say "write what you know" to start your filmmaking career. In this episode, my guest, Jake Ringsell, makes the case to create films about subjects you don't know. If it works, that's great, but if it doesn't, he concludes, then you've learned something.

This is advanced, gutsy filmmaking, and I'm here for it with director-editor-musician Jake Ringsell. His new film, now streaming on YouTube, is called THE RALLY (2024). The tagline for the film is, "mortality is brought to the fore when a terminally ill woman goes on a camping...

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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 a...

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.

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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...

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Watch SHANTI RIDES SHOTGUN Now, a Vimeo Staff Pick

His feature film, SOMEWHERE WITH NO BRIDGES (2020)? Too short, he was told. His award winning short film, SHANTI RIDES SHOTGUN (2025)? Also -- too short! What the world is telling my guest, filmmaker Charles Frank, is that we need to see more of his lyrical vision of the world in the documentary space. His awards and credits in the indie space -- an incredible 10 Vimeo Staff picks, New York Times and New Yorker films, he runs his own production company called Voyager...

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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.

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