Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer, my brother, is the guest on today’s podcast.  His film, THE CATCH, is going to be debuting at the Austin Film Festival next Thursday.  Tickets are just $10 and you can watch from the comfort of your living room!  We had a great chat about his creative journey, filmmaking, and what it takes to be in a creative career. 

MATTHEW YA-HSIUNG BALZER (Writer/Director)…

…grew up outside Boston and learned to fish in the waters around Vinalhaven, Maine.   He began writing screenplays while working at a bakery, and the pursuit of a hands-on filmmaking education took him to Los Angeles, where he took every job he could get on a film or TV set.  

Matthew’s feature script for THE CATCH received recognition at numerous film festival competitions as well as receiving Faculty Honors from the Columbia University graduate film program, from which Balzer received his MFA in Directing. THE CATCH will make its World Premiere at the Austin Film Festival on October 22.  Balzer lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and their son.  

Here are some stills from the film:

And here is the trailer for the film:

THE CATCH – TRAILER from Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer on Vimeo.

You might also enjoy this short video about Bob Morris, the fisherman who was so integral to the shooting of The Catch:

THE CATCH – BOB from Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer on Vimeo.

You can also read this article about Bob from The Gloucester Times.

Some things we discuss on this episode:

• writing “The Great American Novel”
• Erin Cressida Wilson
• Robert Creely
• fitting in or not fitting in
• control
• being flexible
• creating opportunities for yourself
• being curious

Find Matthew & The Catch online:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecatch_film/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCatch_Film
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCatchFeatureFilm/
• Austin Film Festival Debut Ticket: https://bit.ly/TheCatchAFFTickets
• Website: https://www.matthewbalzer.com/

I hope you enjoyed this episode.  If there are topics you’d like us to cover or guests you’d like us to invite, please let us know.  Thanks for stopping by!

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