Listen to the podcast.

If your film makes it to number one on Netflix, you get a re-release of your podcast episode. Congratulations to Joshua on the success of this film.

From 2023: I talk with Joshua Caldwell, director of MENDING THE LINE. We talk about making films in high school, the film school of just making films, and how he brought MENDING THE LINE to life in an industry that doesn’t fund military and veteran films.

How did he do that? What choices did he make to appeal to the widest audience? Every director who wants to film post traumatic stress scenes should listen to the care Joshua gives the topic in his film. It's a must-listen.

We talk short films, film school, crowdfunding, and what he calls live environment filmmaking.

In an uncertain environment for emerging filmmakers, he offers hard-won lessons in the trenches of independent film.

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Links:
Watch MENDING THE LINE on Netflix
MENDING THE LINE
Joshua Caldwell’s Website
Joshua Caldwell 6k Filmmaker Site

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: 5 TO 7 (2014)

Director: Victor Levin

Written by: Victor Levin

Cast: Anton Yelchin; Berenice Marlohe; Olivia Thirlby; Glenn Close; Frank Langella

SYNOPSIS

A young writer (Anton Yelchin) begins an affair with an older woman (Bérénice Marlohe) from France whose open marriage to a diplomat (Lambert Wilson) dictates that they can meet only between the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

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Link to the podcast.

Peter Kimball is an inspiration for many reasons -- and not just for what you might think. For me, it's helping people feel seen -- some of his films, for instance, feature an all-Deaf cast and are entirely in American Sign Language -- without explaining why. Because it doesn't need explanation. It's bold only because more people aren't willing to do it, but I'm lucky enough to talk with one guy who is.

We talk about how he got his start; the state of documentary and independent film; how an academic career is a way forward for filmmakers and what he thinks the strengths (and weaknesses) of current students are; and how (and why) he makes such original, bold choices.

Peter's Indie Film Highlight: STAY AWAKE (2022) dir. by Jamie Sisley; THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS (2020) dir. by Robert Machoian
Links:
Don't Matter Media
Peter's Faculty Profile
Washington, DC's Filmmaker of the Month February 2024

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago.

Today's film: SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING (2023)
Director: Rachel Lambert
Screenplay: Stefanie Abel Horowitz; Kevin Armento; Katy Wright Mead
Cast: Daisy Ridley; Dave Merheje; Bree Elrod; Megan Stalter
SYNOPSIS
A lonely and socially awkward woman tries to make a connection with a friendly new co-worker who takes her out on a date..

Watch The Indie Film Highlight On YouTube.

Listen to the podcast.

In the first First Time Go live episode -- it streamed on YouTube -- I talk with the creators of 'A THOUSAND SUNS'. (You can watch the series here.) I was joined by:

MacGregor (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2021435/)
Tim Hyten (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2719211/)
Ruairi Robinson (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1099711/?...)
Tyson Wade Johnston (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4098234/?...)

We talk about how this series and model got started and the authentic nature of the films; the role shorts play in a director's career and whether this can be a new model; AI in filmmaking; episode specific questions; and what's next for these ultra-talented filmmakers. If MacGregor is to be believed, expect them to be living in Iceland and making 200 more.
Those kind of jokes made this a fantastic way to record an episode. I look forward to having more live episodes.

To watch on YouTube, here's the link.

To listen to the podcast, here's the link or search for "First Time Go" wherever you download podcasts.

Tim's Indie Film Highlights: BURNING (2018); THE DEATH OF DICK LONG(2019)
Ruairi Robinson's Indie Film Highlights: TANYA'S ISLAND(1980); COME TRUE(2020); THE WAILING(2016)
Tyson Wade Johnston's Indie Film Highlight: LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL(2023)

Links:
1K Suns Website
Blackmilk Studio

Listen to the full S2E27 Cara Yeates episode now.

I talk with Cara Yeates about her new film, GONE BEFORE YOUR EYES, and her tremendous career spanning film festivals, one woman shows, running her own production company, and making gorgeously moody films.

In this episode, we talk about the intentionality behind her films, including GONE BEFORE YOUR EYES; balancing corporate work and creative work; the financial viability of short films; festival strategy; and the benefits of owning a production company. If you feel like we have a lot of Canadian and Canadian-Americans on the show, there's a good reason for that -- they are creating valuable, unique art. The beautiful filmmaking of Cara Yeates is no exception.

Cara's Indie Film Highlight: TOTEM dir by Lila Aviles

Links:
GONE BEFORE YOUR EYES Website
Cara Yeates' Website
Trigger Creative