First Time Go

I love Minnesota; in fact, on June 29th, there I'll be, beside one of its 10,000 lakes, ready for America's 250th birthday. (It's the best place to spend the Fourth.)

It's also a great place for filmmaking so I talk about that with deputy director of Explore Minnesota Film, Nell Lawrenz-Wareham. This was recorded at the beginning of the month so apologies about any confusion about application deadlines.

I am quite certain if we support filmmaking in Minnesota, they'll be back around this time next year.

In this episode, Nell and I talk about:<...

I conclude Tribeca special coverage with one of my favorite films at the festival, CAITY (2026). To say Lindsay Calleran has been through some things to get her debut feature made is underselling it by a lot. Please read this First Person IndieWire article that Lindsay wrote; it gives a lot of important background to her story and how CAITY came to be.

I'm so impressed by so many different things: the resiliency she showed in both losing her father and getting this film made; the journey to sobriety; having the guts to put it all out there...

The Tribeca Film Festival helped organize this tremendous in-person panel with two New York filmmakers: Lily Weisberg, dir of RARE BIRDS (2026) and Maria Sofia Hernandez, dir of LA LUCHA DE LUCÍA (2026).

Recorded on June 9th at Spring Studios, we talk about their incredible films; the challenges of writing different types of characters; what BACKROOMS (2026) and OBSESSION (2025) mean for independent filmmakers; and more.

In this episode, we talk about:

If you're going to make a film about surfing in Senegal, I assume the viewer expects beautiful shots of surfing and the landscape of Dakar, Senegal's capital city. And man, does my guest, filmmaker and director, David Clancy, of NIO KO BOKK or THIS BELONGS TO ALL OF US (2026) deliver.

The film is a valentine to so many things: refugees, Senegal, surfing, and documentary filmmaking itself. David's story of creating the film relies so much on his exciting background, and it was a such a joy to hear about it from his spot now in the Canary...

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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: STRAIGHT TO HELL (1987)

Director: Alex Cox

Writers: Dick Rude; Alex Cox

Stars: Joe Strummer; Dick Rude; Courtney Love

SYNOPSIS

Three bank robbers (Sy Richardson, Joe Strummer, Dick Rude) and a pregnant woman tear up a desert town.

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What a last month or so for Haiti and director Elisee Junior St. Preux's debut feature. Upon its release at the Tribeca Film Festival, THE TROPIC SUN AND HIS EYES (2026) received the Special Jury Mention for Best New Narrative Director alongside rave reviews. It is truly stunning filmmaking, offering both a realistic glimpse of Haiti and an expansive view of fatherhood.

Let's count the ways in which his month just aligns perfectly for this film: Haiti playing Brazil in its second World Cup today (there's special screenings of this film in Atlanta); Father's Day in the United...

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VIA NEGATIVA resonated with me on so many different levels -- as a Catholic; as someone who uses firearms; as a veteran (there's a moment in there, if you've seen it); and most importantly, a lover of truly astonishing filmmaking. Director Hannah Peterson achieved something extraordinary with this film by bringing a novel to life in the best possible way and making you think of life's grand questions without pandering.

The film's log line: "It follows the story of Father Dan who goes on a mythic road trip with a...

It's one thing to say you're going to create the "Chinese lesbian version of BEFORE SUNRISE (1995)"; it's another thing to actually pull it off.

In EPHEMERA (2026), the debut feature for filmmaker Shan Jiang which premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival, it appears she has done just that. It took global producers, a fantastic team, and a truly extraordinary story in how she found the actors, but the film will stand as wide shoulders for so many people and so many future projects.

In this episode, we talk about:

MON TAXI (2026), which premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival, is a "love letter to the filmmaker's dad." Architect + filmmaker Meriem Sakrouhi created a film that is part New York, part Moroccan, and altogether touching cinema, and we talk about how she did it for the podcast.

Along with directing, she edited and produced the first Moroccan entry at Tribeca in 20 years. Given that she pitched a project at Cannes Docs this year and beautifully describes what Moroccan influence looks like, we shouldn't have to wait that long for another.

In this episode, Meriem and 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: LURKER (2025)

Director: Alex Russell

Writer: Alex Russell

Stars: Théodore Pellerin; Archie Madekwe; Havana Rose Liu;

SYNOPSIS

A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.

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The career path -- M.S. in Neuroscience to filmmaking -- is a wholly original one and so is his filmmaking. His second feature, PONDEROSA (2026), is a comedy-horror film that looks at American masculinity in a way I've never seen before. It is a gift to watch -- beginning to end -- not because I understood everything going on, but because I didn't.

The best type of filmmaking should challenge you and make you think differently about the world around you. Mission accomplished here by Rob, with brilliant actors by his side. I'm texting my friend with...

Very rarely, you'll watch a documentary, and think...how did he get that all on film? That was the case for me and the film MOUTH FULL OF GOLDS (2026) premiering this week at the Tribeca Film Festival. It's about "grillz" -- the teeth attachments/implants and their cultural connection in New York City, Miami, Atlanta, and Paris.

If that description sounds incredible, that's because the film is incredible. Director Lyle Lindgren joins for me the pod and traces his history from car salesman to his first film festival here in New York City.

Grillz or...

The journey from Yugoslavia to New York City is a wild one, and filmmaker Branislav Jankic has been a keen observer along the way. Coming off a debut feature that was released at the height of COVID, Branislav is now at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival with a story about his wife called WHITE BELT (2026). The film traces the journey of supermodel Monika "Jac" Jagaciak from the runway to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). It's a tight, accomplished film that shows what he's learned about the process, and it was so cool for him to explain how he made such an exciting...

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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: OUT OF LOVE (2025)

Director: Nathan Ambrosioni

Writer: Nathan Ambrosioni

Stars: Camille Cottin; Monia Chokri; Juliette Armanet

SYNOPSIS

A woman is forced to take care of her niece and nephew after their mother voluntarily disappears.

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The podcast concludes this unreal Cannes Film Festival series with Lightdox founder and CEO, Anne Berthollet. Lightdox has consistently championed stunning documentaries, like GABIN (2026); FLOPHOUSE (2025) and so much more. How is the company able to find such amazing documentaries? What happens when Lightdox grows -- will they be able to maintain their quality offerings? And what is her advice for aspiring documentarians?

See you next year, Cannes!

In this episode, Anna and I discuss:

I'd argue the Pierre Angénieux Tribute is the best thing going at the Cannes Film Festival. Why? Two reasons:

they elevate one filmmaker -- this year, it was Japanese cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa -- by way of tribute. If you haven't seen her work, now is your opportunity. But they don't stop there.

they utilize the platform of that tribute to give a "special encouragement" to a young cinematographer. This year, it was my guest, Nguyễn Phan Linh Đan, who combines Vietnamese and French cultures to offer a new and fresh perspective on storytelling.

What an incredible honor to be joined by famed cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa, who was honored at the Cannes Film Festival with the 2026 Pierre Angénieux Tribute. We talk about her career, how she thought the tribute was spam!, females in cinematography, and more.

The episode is recorded thanks to a translator.

In this episode, Akiko and I discuss:

We've seen the future of indie filmmaking the last few weeks with the theatrical runs of OBSESSION (2025) and BACKROOMS (2026).

Let me argue that sometime in the future, we'll see a Sandbox VR or immersive experience film have that kind of launch. In this Cannes episode, I talk with senior vice president of content for Sandbox VR about what the future looks like for VR + immersive experience films.

Given how many locations they already have, I'm confident Sandbox -- and Michael Hampden -- will be a part of it.

In this episode, Michael and...

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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: FIRST GROWTH (2015)

Director: Jérôme Le Gris

Writers: Vanessa Portal; Rémi Bezançon; Jérôme Le Gris

Stars: Gérard Lanvin; Jalil Lespert; Alice Taglioni

SYNOPSIS

Charlie must take over operation of his family's vineyard when it nears bankruptcy. He gambles on the farm's future by using traditional methods that went away with the introduction of new tec...

Why film in Peru? I stopped by a booth at Le Marche du Film at the Cannes Film Festival to talk about what they have to offer filmmakers. At the Cannes Film Festival, they have a market where most countries around the world are represented.

I talked with Carlos Manuel Arca Hoyle, director of Promperú France, about why people should film in western South America.

In this episode, Carlos and I discuss:

It's a hard question for me to answer because I saw so many wonderful films, but people ask it -- what was your favorite at Cannes?

And I answer it with THE STATION (2026) by Sara Ishaq, her fiction debut at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film tells a story we hardly see in war films: what is happening with the families during a conflict. The characters are richly drawn from the amazing tapestry of Sara's life and she imbues it with such life that it will stay with you long after you walk out of...

Today, I'm talking with Irish filmmaker Sophie Power, whose film WHATEVER A SUN WILL ALWAYS SING (2025), which was selected to screen at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner - Cinema De Demain. The film is built entirely around recreations of four anonymous people answering the question: what was the moment you were forced to grow up?

In some random order, I love hybrid documentaries; Irish filmmakers; people screening their films at Cannes and talking about it, which meant that I absolutely loved Sophie's film and talking with her about it.

In this episode, Sophie...

The people that filmmaker Ant Roberson inspires are legion: athletes looking to enter filmmaking; film school students heading to Cannes; actors inspired by meaty roles; filmmakers looking to make their feature breakthrough, and so many others.

Add me to the list because I have zero doubt he'll be taking a film here to competition very shortly.

In this episode, Ant and I discuss:

Former pro footballer turned literature major and outstanding filmmaker, director Rostislav Kirpičenko brings brutal authenticity to his feature film debut, VESNA (2026), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film follows a Ukrainian priest who sees his church turned into a morgue in a Russian-occupied city, and he depicts Russians in a way we hardly ever see on screen but is an accurate telling based on dispatches from occupied areas of Ukraine.

He brings a humanity to a conflict that desperate for any sense of warmth, and it is an important -- but difficult...

From the opening scene of the brilliant film, GABIN (2026), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, it was clear you were in the hands of a master of the craft of documentary. And it's no wonder: director Maxence Voiseux and producer Élise Hug worked ten years to make this happen.

How such brilliance wound up on a screen at Cannes is what I wanted to know from the filmmakers, and they were happy to share.

What Maxence and Élise want you to know about the film;

What's it like taking a film that's 70% finished to the Cannes Film Market? Filmmaker Alain Furcajg joins me today to talk about that very question and his insightful, beautiful -- and time-sensitive - documentary RETURN TO BRITTANY, which he is hoping to finish up in the coming year before the story becomes impossible to tell due to the age of the participants.

(With a potential guest appearance by Tilda Swinton on a bicycle. We'll never know.)

In this episode, we discuss:

A GIRL UNKNOWN (2026), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, succeeds on multiple levels: as a work of art about the struggle of life and the potential for rebirth; an eye-opening journey of a young girl trying to find her place in the world; a statement about the policies of China without falling into tired stereotypes; and ultimately, as a phenomenal film that challenges the viewer about how we should think of families, parenthood, and relationships.

We talked about all of this for this exceptional episode of the podcast.

In this episode, we talk about:<...

The word paikar is Persian for "war" or "warrior" and what you're getting from a documentary of the same name is war, of a sort, but layered among so many levels: the war within a family, the war in Afghanistan, the war within the director's own self. This is filmmaking at its highest level, and I'm so thrilled to be joined by director Dawood Hilmandi today to talk about his truly epic directorial debut, which screened at this year's Hot Docs.

PAIKAR (2025)'s logline: "an Iranian expat journeys back to his homeland, where he must face his...

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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: FOUR LETTER WORDS (2000)

Director: Sean Baker

Writer: Sean Baker

Stars: Henry Beylin; David Ari; Darcy Bledsoe; Fred Berman

SYNOPSIS

A study of the post-adolescent male psyche looks at their views, attitudes, and language.

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The kind of filmmaking that my guest, Vanessa Esteves, does is all encompassing -- job, hobby, passion. And that shows through in her latest work, CHRISTOPHER & THE BUG (2025), a "heartwarming short film about a reclusive owl whose peaceful solitude is disrupted when a tiny bug unknowingly moves into his home."

We talk about why we don't see the bug, what college roommate inspired her to write this story -- not in a good way!; animated films and screentime for kids, and more.

If all of our films were given the thought and love Vanessa gives...

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If you're looking to understand the business of film, let me suggest listening to Ben Fritz, who covers entertainment for the Wall Street Journal and is my guest for the podcast.

Why? Well, for me, it's two things. First of all, if you listen to his astonishing documentary podcast called "With Great Power: The Rise of Superhero Cinema", you get to hear why he's such a successful journalist. An executive will offer a throwaway line, and Ben simply asks: why? You get something much closer to the truth from a...

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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: LAST SUMMER (2023)

Director: Catherine Breillat

Writers: Catherine Breillat; Pascal Bonitzer; Maren Louise Käehne

Stars: Léa Drucker; Samuel Kircher; Olivier Rabourdin

SYNOPSIS

Successful lawyer Anne leads a happy life with her husband Pierre and their two daughters. But when she begins an affair with Theo, Pierre's son from a previous marriage, her career and family life are in je...

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The film SEAWEED SNACKS (2026), which screened at Slamdance this year, was so moving for me as a father that I wanted to talk with the person that directed it -- Sylvia Ray, a great episode, you can find it linked in the show notes -- and my guest today, the writer, Brandyn Johnson.

What does it feel like when someone else directs your words? Why the focus on fatherhood? What is it like mentoring young up and coming filmmakers at Ghetto Film School? Is a USC grad education worth it...

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The words "artist, writer, and director" that my guest, filmmaker Suki Chan, uses to describe herself, do not come close to encompassing the artistic brilliance of her feature directorial debut, CONSCIOUS (2026), which she premiered at CPH:DOX this year in Denmark.

The film delves into the stories of three people who "navigate dementia in transformative ways", and even that gives short shrift to what we see on screen. I don't think I've seen a documentary get closer to explaining the frailty of the human mind in visual form.

...

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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: YEAST (2008)

Director: Mary Bronstein

Screenplay: Mary Bronstein; Greta Gerwig

Stars: Mary Bronstein; Greta Gerwig; Benny Safdie

SYNOPSIS

A maddeningly oblivious, tyrannical and emotionally stunted young woman tries her best to negotiate two toxic friendships

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Only a Marine could get away with writing a novella entitled -- let me make I'm sure I got this right -- "Let's Murder the Fuck out of Baby Hitler." And even then, maybe only a Marine who is a filmmaker and screenwriter.

Fellow redleg Eric Leja (servicemember assigned to the artillery branch) returns to the podcast to talk about his new novella which is he is hoping to turn into a feature or a series; the reaction to such a provocative title in an industry that claims to support...

Elected at 26 to the New York State Assembly, my guest today, filmmaker Rafael Espinal says it was easier to become a politician than chase his dreams into indie film. Think about that for a moment!

Now he's helping you achieve your dreams by serving as commissioner of New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, or MOME. And what I mean by that is I didn't expect him to be so in tune with the plights of independent filmmaking, in New York City and elsewhere. We talk about the challenges of indie filmmaking in NYC, including...

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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: HAPPYEND (2024)

Director: Neo Sora

Writer: Neo Sora

Stars: Kurihara Hayato; Hidaka Yukito; Ayumu Nakajima

SYNOPSIS

Friends Yuta and Kou, about to graduate, sneak into school. They pull off a terrible prank and face unforeseen consequences as graduation approaches.

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One time, it might be a coincidence. But time after time, if you're going to areas that make other people afraid, like underground fight clubs in Asia or the Chilean Andes or like in her latest film, SILVER (2026), a mine in Bolivia, that's your hallmark as a filmmaker.

You can say that about my guest, brilliant director Natalia Koniarz, whose film SILVER won the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize at this year's Slamdance film festival. No explanations, no interviews, just gorgeous cinema about a Bolivia mine that needs to be...

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Let's all wish happy birthday to filmmaker Victoria Trow, whose film ERUCTATION (2026) won big at SXSW this year -- not at all surprising once you watch it.

That said, when you first read about it, at least for me, it was...a film about what? Burping? Then you watch it and realize you're in the hands of an ultra-talented admaker and filmmaker for six quick minutes that makes you know right away that she's going far.

Her attention to detail, use of color and sound, all make ERUCTATION...