The film PORCELAIN WAR (2024), opening in New York City today (November 22nd, 2024), won the 2024 Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize, among numerous other plaudits. And I asked the directors -- Slava Leontyev and Brendan Bellomo -- whether the awards matter to them, and in one of the many heart-aching answers in this interview, Slava responded: I am here instead of my friends. Sharing this film is the main mission in my life. The film offers hope in a sea of hopelessness against Russian...

If the best documentaries are made by outsiders observing a cultural phenomenon -- and then filming it -- consider watching FANCY LIKE, available for streaming on November 19th, 2024. Filmed by "French guy" filmmaker Matt Beurois, it shows the life behind country music star Walker Hayes in an intimate way and the story behind the song "Fancy Like" going viral (i.e. the Applebee's song). And all Matt had to do was ask. In this episode, we discuss: how he got started in filmmaking -- the...

Happy Veterans Day! Sign up for a $1 membership to Film Independent If there's a more innovative, surprising, enjoyable, and fun documentary than STARRING JERRY AS HIMSELF (2023), I haven't seen it this year. It's no surprise all those attributes could be used to describe my conversation with its director, Law Chen. In this episode, we discuss: how he got involved in filmmaking as a combination of growing up in China and the United States;how life in China influenced him today;how the...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: WEDDING PALACE (2013). Director: Christine Yoo Written By: Derek Draper; Robert Gardner; Christine Yoo Cast: Brian Tee; Kang Hye-jeong; Bobby Lee SYNOPSIS Jason finds the woman of his dreams online and tries to make it work in person. Watch This On YouTube Subscribe to our YouTube channel Follow us on Letterboxd Follow us on Instagram Follow us on X Follow us on Facebook Follow...

From leading the way in Asian-American romcoms to the brilliant 26.2 TO LIFE, I talk with filmmaker Christine Yoo about her career, how to depict marathons and prisons on film, the state of rom-coms and Asian-American filmmaking, and more. Just by those categories alone you should know you are hearing from a wildly original filmmaker. And that's before the CIA gets namedropped. In this episode, we discuss: prison films and film festivals;how she got started as a filmmaker, starting in Iowa as...

Most importantly, GO VOTE on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. You can find your polling place here. Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: THE SQUID AND THE WHALE (2005). Director: Noah Baumbach Written By: Noah Baumbach; Wes Anderson Cast: Laura Linney; Jeff Daniels; Jesse Eisenberg SYNOPSIS A pair of brothers living in Brooklyn are caught in the middle of, and deeply affected by, the divorce of their erudite parents,...

Watch This Episode On YouTube There's something so inspiring about a filmmaker who has a million different reasons for why he shouldn't be selected for this fellowship or that school, but goes forward boldly, anyway, and stays humble about it. And also a guy who would love the opportunity to teach at his film school -- NYU -- but I completely believe him when he says that he would quit if it got in the way of his feature filmmaking. That's the story of my guest, filmmaker Ward Kamel. Most...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: SOY NERO (2016). Director: Rafi Pitts Written By: Rafi Pitts; Razvan Radulescu Cast: Rory Cochrane; Khleo Thomas; Michael Harney SYNOPSIS Nero, a deported Mexican, eventually succeeds in making it back to Los Angeles. Unsatisfied with being an undocumented worker, Nero joins the U.S. Army to obtain citizenship. Watch the episode on YouTube Subscribe to our YouTube channel Follow...

Let's throw it back to how things used to be -- date night movies, romcoms, leaving the theater feeling good about what you just watched. I don't want to get too nostalgic about the past because right now we have access to so many great films from so many new creators than we ever had before, but we can all agree (I hope) that we need more films like HANGDOG (2023) in theaters. And thanks to filmmakers Matt Cascella (director + writer) and Jen Cordery (writer), we can. I would go see HANGDOG...

There is no other filmmaker working today that personifies being the "man in the arena", as Theodore Roosevelt so eloquently put it, than Matthew Heineman. His films have ranged from the frontlines of wars to the sweet and touching portrayal of Jon Batiste in AMERICAN SYMPHONY (2023). Just making one such film could be a career pinnacle -- Matthew has directed 14 wholly original, extraordinary special artistic contributions to the medium -- and he's here to share the details. In this episode,...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: SOMEWHERE (2010). Director: Sofia Coppola Screenplay By: Sofia Coppola Cast: Stephen Dorff; Elle Fanning SYNOPSIS While recuperating from an injury at Beverly Hills' famed Chateau Marmont, bad-boy actor Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) receives a visit from his young daughter, Cleo (Elle Fanning). Though his mind is not on parenting, she has a way of inserting herself into her...

The debut feature, TO NOWHERE (2020), of Sian Astor-Lewis is one of the best films I've seen this year, and she's here to talk about it. It's available now for streaming on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Nowhere-Sian-Astor-Lewis/dp/B0CWN8K3M3/), Tubi (https://tubitv.com/movies/100025711/to-nowhere), and Apple. The story of how she directed such a moody, original, character-driven film is an extraordinary one. The sets and vision are big, bold, and she's here to talk about it. In this...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: THE LONELIEST PLANET (2011). Director: Julia Loktev Screenplay By: Julia Loktev Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal; Hani Furstenberg SYNOPSIS An incident on the trail tests two lovers' (Gael García Bernal, Hani Furstenberg) relationship as they take a guided hiking tour through the Caucasus Mountains. Watch the episode on YouTube (https://youtu.be/Q2X1SaKWw7A) Subscribe to our...

Welcome to spooky season in this re-release of my conversation with filmmaker Hoku Uchiyama. Published last year while he was crowdfunding for WHITCH, we talk about: his filmmaking in the Bay Area starting when he was around 10; his new project, a horror comedy short; his fantastic team and whether you could put together such a cool group of people if you were a horrible person (his answer: probably not); behavior standards in indie film, the constraints and excitements of a five minute...

Be prepared to get a bill from The New School after this episode -- it's an hour with Vlad Nikolić, dean of the School of Media Studies at The New School. In this episode we talk about: how he got started in filmmaking and his advice for new students ("make something every day"; "watch films every day"); what the average day is like as dean of media studies at The New School; can all indie filmmakers be teachers? how does he feel about gen z as filmmakers? he talks about the ethos of The...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: FREMONT (2023). Director: Babak Jalali Written By: Carolina Cavalli; Babak Jalali Cast: Anaita Wali Zada; Gregg Turkington; Jeremy Allen White SYNOPSIS Formerly a translator for the United States military in Afghanistan, Donya struggles to rebuild her life in San Francisco and works for a Chinese fortune cookie factory. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send...

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,...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: SYNONYMS (2019). Director: Nadav Lapid Screenplay By: Nadav Lapid; Haim Lapid Cast: Tom Mercier; Quentin Dolmaire; Louise Chevillotte SYNOPSIS A young Israeli man, aided by his trusty Franco-Israeli dictionary, travels to Paris to flee his nationality. Watch The Episode on YouTube (https://youtu.be/zYYT9RyDNoQ?si=38WVBsZ9v4PiLjCc) Subscribe to our YouTube channel...

AI is the most controversial topic in filmmaking right now. I talk about it with the directors' duo of Julien Vallée and Eve Duhamel, artists who are now exploring the medium in the best possible way -- as an extension of their own art. In this episode, we talk about: how they got started in filmmaking and their exceptional career, which has included jobs for top corporate clients including Apple; their thoughts on AI filmmaking; the reaction to critics, who in many cases they said haven't...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: FORTY SHADES OF BLUE (2005). Director: Ira Sachs Screenplay By: Ira Sachs; Michael Rohatyn Cast: Dina Korzun; Rip Torn; Darren Burrows SYNOPSIS After moving from Moscow to Memphis, Tenn., Laura (Dina Korzun) feels isolated living a new, privileged life with her boyfriend, Alan James (Rip Torn), a famous music producer. As time passes, Laura becomes increasingly lonely,...

I mean this in the best possible way: Nathan Schiltz doesn’t give a f**k. About chasing laurels for your short films. The professors at Woodbury. THE FABELMANS saying you are going to get the girls by becoming a film geek. What he does care a lot about is the quality of his art. This is what made the episode so much fun for me. If you think I’m describing somebody with a nihilistic point of view, that’s not what I’m saying. He’s that dedicated to his art that he’s tuning out everything else...

I can say with certainty I've never laughed more when discussing dead bodies than I did with P.D. (Phil) Viner, currently crowdfunding for LAST NIGHT TOGETHER on Kickstarter. You can tell straightaway Phil is a born storyteller, whatever the medium. In this episode, we discuss: how he got started in filmmaking; whether crazy trips to film school in Moscow was part of a concerted plan to get "out there" or not (it was not); "write what you know" -- Phil considers it bollocks; his career on...

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: WILDLIFE (2018). Director: Paul Dano Screenplay By: Paul Dano; Zoe Kazan Cast: Carey Mulligan; Ed Oxenbould; Bill Camp; Jake Gyllenhaal SYNOPSIS 14-year-old Joe is the only child of Jeanette and Jerry—a housewife and a golf pro living in a small town in ’60s Montana. Nearby, an uncontrolled forest fire rages, and when Jerry loses his job, he decides to join the cause of...

Practically lives in a film theater? Develops films based around sex workers? Who does this sound like? It sounds like the brilliant Angel Fernandez, who wowed me with a tour-de-force discussion about the history of filmmaking and his current film, THE TIMES OF MELANCHOLY. In this episode, we talk about how he got his start in filmmaking; his decision making process about whether to go to film school; how his Mexican-American heritage influences his work; how THE TIMES OF MELANCHOLY came...