First Time Go

Director Kenny Riches is here to break down pretty much every stereotype in independent film: it's in his fourth feature where he feels like it is his first; you can cast your own mother, a non-professional actor, in your film and have it work out well (she's so good in his latest film); and you can make unconventional decisions about the screenplay in MOUSE (2026) that makes viewers wonde...

There was intense fighting during America's Global War on Terror era in Iraq and Afghanistan, no question. But it's nothing compared to the sheer horror of what's been going on in Ukraine for years now. Especially with drones playing a ubiquitous role, a better way to think about that particular conflict is modern day World War I. At great personal risk, director Alisa Kovalenko set ou...

We're so accustomed to the tropes of addiction related films. Recovery is inspiration. There's a happy ending. The story is over when your protagonist comes out of therapy. As I listen to this conversation, it even invades how we talk to the directors of films. But my guest today, Aaron Strand, director of the brilliant film WITHDRAWAL (2025) , thinks about all of these things differently:...

The most Irish friendly film podcast is back with another Irish guest, director Damian McCann, who brings a host of firsts with him -- first Irish language film made in Northern Ireland; first guy to be doing the laundry when he found out that his film, AONTAS (2025) , is Ireland's nominee for the 2027 Oscar for Best International Film; and first guy to ask his parents about how to rob a bank...

Not a pop psychology show, but if it was, I'd explore more with my guest, writer and director Paula González-Nasser of the brilliant film THE SCOUT (2025), how she made her first feature about a job she didn't care for. I can't imagine a scenario where she was working as a location scout, and thought, this is my first feature film. And yet. THE SCOUT works brilliantly as a observationa...

My guest today, director Mylissa Fitzsimmons, previously released two features -- EVERYTHING IN THE END (2021) and THE LONG RUN (2025) -- and never got a premiere. She suffered from burnout of the excruciating process of making these brilliant films. And yet: here she is in 2026 with MACKENZIE (2026) , opening at Film Fest Oldenburg this year. What does that say about perseverance? Resilience? A n...

Expectations are good in a lot of ways. They hold us to a standard and promote accountability. But they can also be creatively limiting. For actor and executive producer Glen Steele of the film INFINITELY DENSE, who you heard in the intro, he took the shackles off the word expectation and made his art, giving the middle finger to age or any other perceived limitation. INFINITELY DENSE is having it...

Watch This Episode On YouTube Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: RYE LANE (2023) Director: Raine Allen Miller SYNOPSIS Two twenty-somethings reeling from bad breakups spend an eventful day wandering South London, helping each other face their nightmare exes and rediscovering the possibility of romance. Subscr...

Watch This Episode On YouTube When you normally see a series like HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD, put together by my guest, filmmaker Dylan Mulick (and the team at World Within Studios), the tendency is to brush it off as do-gooders doing good things. Where is the conflict in that? A lot of great documentaries aren't seen because of these assumptions. Dylan turns the usual tropes of the series upside...

One of the most fascinating things I've learned about in conducting interviews are how top awards can end up meaning -- nothing. Think back -- can you name who won the Oscar for best documentary short five years ago? Two years ago? So often, it doesn't show a noticeable trajectory change in the filmmakers' careers. That's not true of my guest today, Orlando von Einsiedel, whose fil...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: EVELYN (2018). Director: Orlando von Einsiedel SYNOPSIS When a 22-year-old kills himself, his three siblings try to bury their pain. Ten years later, they go on a hiking trip and seek out the places he liked to walk in the English countryside, allowing them to contemplate the...

Watch This Episode On YouTube If you are staying up till 1030 pm to talk with me from Milan, Italy, well, I'm going to be grateful no matter what. But even better if your film is truly exceptional. My guest, Ang Geck Geck Priscilla, director of AH GIRL (2026), which premiered at Rotterdam and now screens at the Toronto International Film Festival next month, made a fantastic coming of age stor...

It always fascinates me when people with other artistic backgrounds settle on making films. They end up creating an art form that is noticeably different than their peers. My guest, Australian director Peter Skinner, spent five years as a sculptor, and then with the precision that art form requires, turned his focus into making astonishing films like his most recent, TWO UGLY PEOPLE (2025) . It&#3...

Watch This Episode On YouTube Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: MOON (2009) Director: Duncan Jones Cast: Sam Rockwell; Kevin Spacey; Dominique McElligott; Kaya Scodelario SYNOPSIS Astronaut Sam Bell's (Sam Rockwell) three-year shift at a lunar mine is finally coming to an end, and he's looking forward...

At the risk of sounding corny (and real in a world of AI slop podcast descriptions), let me add a fourth F: Ford. As in Tom Ford. No, not that one -- the cinematographer Tom Ford, who made my favorite film of the year absolutely shine through his work years ago. What do I mean by that? As we talk about, much of what I love about URCHINS is its lighting, and that came from enduring relationships th...

The story behind URCHINS (2026), a coming of age tale set in the waterways of Florida, distills what is best and what is worst about the modern state of independent film. URCHINS is a dazzling display of cinematography and storytelling at its most compelling: it shows Florida like you've never seen before and the story is told in a very unconventional way without the tropes of the genre. But:...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI (2011) Director: David Gelb Cast: Jiro Ono; Masuhiro Yamamoto; Daisuke Nakazama; Harutaki Takahashi SYNOPSIS A documentary about an octogenarian sushi master, his two sons, and the tiny restaurant in which they tirelessly work. Subscribe to our YouTube c...

Watch This Episode On YouTube From the looks of it, LEFT-HANDED GIRL (2025) has everything going for it. Fantastic film. Taiwan's 2025 Oscar submission (and widely expected to be a nominee.) Edited and co-written by Sean Baker. A Netflix rollout. But the reality is much more complicated. This was a 20 year labor of love by my guest, director Shih-Ching Tsou, and we talk about everything relate...

I talk to filmmakers all the time who say things like, I'm reviving the romcom. Or my film is a homage to 1950s Westerns. The statements encompass so many genres but the truth is, most of the time they don't work. It ends up being a facsimile of something great, which isn't good at all. This is a long way at getting to the point that NIMRODS, opening in theaters on August 14th, is the...

Watch This Episode On YouTube Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: OVERNIGHT (2003) Directors: Tony Montana; Mark Brian Smith Cast: Troy Duffy; Harvey Weinstein; Chris Brinker SYNOPSIS This documentary follows Troy Duffy, a brash, foul-mouthed bartender whose screenplay for an action film called "Boondock Sa...

I'm always on the lookout for original filmmaking to highlight, so if you just look at the objective facts of my guest Yiru Deng's film, TUNNEL VISION (2026), which premiered at LA Shorts International Film Festival on August 4th, 2026, you'll be impressed: 4 minute run time. Animation with just killer transitions that we find out were painful to draw. An excitingly original topic that...

Watch This Episode On YouTube I couldn't stop laughing during the funniest film of the year, directed by my guest, Elliot Connors. It's called FULL FRONTAL, or if you want to use the full title (and you should), it's I’M GOING FULL FRONTAL FOR MY NYU STUDENT SHORT FILM (2026) , streaming today, August 4th, 2026 on NoBudge. I'd argue getting laughs is the hardest thing to do in inde...

Watch This Episode On YouTube Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (2008) Director: Jonathan Demme Screenplay: Jenny Lumet Stars: Anne Hathaway; Rosemarie DeWitt; Bill Irwin; Debra Winger SYNOPSIS A young woman who has been in and out of rehab for the past ten years returns home for the we...

Watch This Episode On YouTube There's something especially New York about the sentiment of my guest, Anthony Argento, saying, "we're only going to give you what you give us" about film promotion. And in the best possible sense, that kind of New Yorker attitude is at the heart of the Greenpoint Film Festival, now celebrating its 15th year and 7th under the leadership of Mr. Argento,...

Watch This Episode On YouTube I imagine there's not a lot of debate out there but here's what I believe: there's nothing worse in the human experience than losing a son or daughter. It violates our understanding of the cycle of life and it forces a unyielding loss amongst the living that can never be taken away. Any experience so intense can, in the right hands, be channeled to create...