First Time Go

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: what it's...

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 accurat...

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, an...

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 app...

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...

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 abou...

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: 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. Subscribe to our YouTub...

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...

Watch This Episode On YouTube 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 hea...

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: 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...

Watch This Episode On YouTube 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 fatherh...

Watch This Episode On YouTube 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 wa...

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: 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 toxi...

Watch This Episode On YouTube 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 i...

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...

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: 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 grad...

Watch This Episode On YouTube 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...

Watch This Episode On YouTube 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 min...

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: ADOPT A HIGHWAY (2019) Director: Logan Marshall-Green Story By: Logan Marshall-Green Stars: Ethan Hawke; Elaine Hendrix; Diane Gaeta SYNOPSIS When an ex-convict finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster, he gains a new lease on life, deciding to dedi...

Watch This Episode On YouTube Here's a challenge: watch the first few minutes of ROAD TO L'ETAPE DU TOUR (2026) and not get the sense you're seeing a documentary. Impossible because the film is that good about its comparison to real life. The logline: facing a turning point in her life, a woman with a congenital heart defect embarks on a journey to train for a famous cycling race. 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: THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH (2011) Director: Pawel Pawlikowski Story By: Douglas Kennedy Stars: Ethan Hawke; Kristin Scott Thomas; Joanna Kulig SYNOPSIS Tom Ricks, estranged from his wife and daughter, travels to Paris to try and reunite with them, bu...

Watch This Episode on YouTube When you watch SOUVENIR (2025) , you know you are watching something incredible -- filmmaker Renée Marie Petropoulos brings the power of cinema to the topic of relationship abuse. And what I mean is that she uses the full force of the medium to craft a story of what it really looks like in the modern age. It's like nothing I've ever seen before, and SXSW agree...

Watch This Episode On YouTube PHENOMENA (2026) is a type of film that I've never seen before -- an exploration of nature through a visual medium. It's not surprising that it, too, comes from a filmmaker of a type I've never talked with-- an Australian who started doing art exhibitions and immersive experience shows before his debut feature. So it's not surprising it's getting t...

Watch This Episode On YouTube During this episode, you'll hear a part that's normally edited out -- a phone ringing. But given that's one of my guests' school calling, I decided to leave it in. Because that's the life of a parent, right? It doesn't stop for a podcast recording, a film premiere, whatever you have going on in life. And the point of this episode, with Cinecamp...

A short film has never met its moment like THE SEEING EYE DOG WHO SAW TOO MUCH (2026) , which premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival this month. Of course it won the audience award -- how could it not? The film, as filmmaker Eric Jackowitz explains, is a homage to Italian giallo films, a mix of mystery horror and thriller films that peaked in the 1970s. Eric's career, as a filmma...