What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out.

Ari Flesch’s debut film  “It’s Not For Me To Say” took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film, Animation at FI-LA 2025.

Ari and I were wearing almost the same outfit, have similar heritage  and discovered that neither of us participate in social media, so naturally I was curious if we had any 4 Questions opinions in common as well.

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Welcome Back To All You Indie Film Discoverers!

I met filmmaker Ari Flesch at the Opening Night Gala of Film Invasion Los Angeles in June 2025.                                                                                                                                                                               Ari’s animated short “It’s Not For Me To Say” was an official selection and, this might only be funny for Ari and I, but we noticed our similar looks and heritage and then, when he came over to do this podcast, we were both wearing a black shirt and green shorts.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Okay, this is all less important than the fact that “It’s Not For Me To Say” took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film, Animation at FI-LA 2025.

Ari’s film is beautiful, funny, touching and even a little heartbreaking.                                                                                                                                                                                                                               We had a great Q&A at the theater but anyone who listens to this podcast knows that a fifteen minute Q&A where people in the audience get to ask questions as well is not enough for me!

This is normally where I type that you can follow the guest on social media, but Ari isn’t wasting his time on that nonsense! Yay!!!                                                                                                                            This is why he manages to be such a productive creative while working full time in animation.

Enjoy!

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What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out.

Annie Girard and Diana Wright co-directed and co-wrote the short film “1 in the Chamber” that took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film – Comedy at FIlm Invasion Los Angeles 2025.                                                     I was extra-happy when Diana and Annie scheduled their podcast, because only Diana was able to attend the screening.

We had a wonderful chat that we posted Friday but the journey with these amazing ladies isn’t complete until you hear their 4 Questions.

You cannot watch the film yet, as “1 in the Chamber” is still on the festival circuit, but as soon as you can we will add a link here. In the meantime, you can follow this brilliant creative team at…

The Film @1intheChamberfilm

Diana @thatswright24

Annie @anniegirardyay

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Welcome back, Listeners! We have a great episode for you today.

Annie Girard and Diana Wright are officially one of my favorite creative teams.                                                                                                                                                                                                          They co-directed and co-wrote the short film “1 in the Chamber” that took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film – Comedy at FIlm Invasion Los Angeles 2025.                                                     I was extra-happy when Diana and Annie scheduled their podcast, because only Diana was able to attend the screening.                                                                                                                                        We had a wonderful Q&A at the screening that went around 17 minutes, but for a film this good that’s just not enough. Plus… Annie wasn’t there!

You cannot watch the film yet, as “1 in the Chamber” is still on the festival circuit, but as soon as you can we will add a link here. In the meantime, you can follow this brilliant creative team at…

The Film @1intheChamberfilm

Diana @thatswright24

Annie @anniegirardyay

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What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out.

A.J. Lising wrote and directed “Papa’s Corner,” a film that was an official selection at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Supporting Performer in a Short Film, for Val Victa’s performance as Papa.

A.J. was not able to stay for the Q&A at FI-LA so I was thrilled for the chance to dive deeper with A.J. about his incredible work and get to the 4Qs to see what type of films helped him cultivate it.

Follow A.J. and his work at:

Website: http://filmbyaj.com/

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A Marvelous Monday to You All!

A.J. Lising wrote and directed “Papa’s Corner,” a film that was an official selection at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Supporting Performer in a Short Film, for Val Victa’s performance as Papa. I was in the theater for this screening and even though I had already seen it as a member of the jury, after the film’s beautiful ending I wept for nearly all of the credits.

We did hold a Q&A at the theater with Erik Luminarias (producer & lead actor) and Patricia Esguerra (editor & script supervisor), but A.J. was not able to stay for the Q&A.

It was a pleasure to talk to A.J. and I hope to see a lot more work from him in the future.

Follow A.J. and his work at:

Website: http://filmbyaj.com/

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Happy Friday!

Time for something different! The guest for this podcast is Jessie Sparrow, Executive Director of RE:IMAGINE ATL, a community-based nonprofit in Atlanta that’s reshaping access to film, media, and digital storytelling for the city’s youth. RE:IMAGINE ATL reached out to me about this and even though the main focus of this podcast is indie filmmakers and their work, in this case RE:IMAGINE ATL’s mission struck me as important enough for me to be a little more flexible than usual.

Because the closest I’ve come to visiting Atlanta is changing planes at their massive airport, I thought it would be a good idea to pull in frequent Discover Indie Film guest and Atlanta resident Fr3deR1cK Taylor as a co-host.

I think you’ll agree that RE:IMAGINE ATL is doing wonderful, necessary work.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Visit these links to learn more:

RE:IMAGINE Website: https://reimagineatl.comDreamfest Ticket Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1141075771349?aff=oddtdtcreator

RE:IMAGINE Socials

Facebook –https://m.facebook.com/reimagineatl/?

TikTok- https://www.tiktok.com/@reimagine.atl?_t=ZT-8yz6RUvqvLZ&_r=1

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What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out.

Sweden-based Henrik Larsson co-directed, co- wrote and co-produced “Pierre West” with Jakob Arevärn, a drama about hope & darkness spanning 17 years. This remarkable film took home two awards at Film Invasion Los Angeles in June, 2025 (Grand Jury Award – Best Lead Performer – Featurette – Tomas Hartwig and Best Screenplay – Featurette – Henrik Larsson & Jakob Arevärn)

Henrik was unable to make it to the festival in person so I was not able to do a Q & A. Which made this interview all follow up 4 Questions that much more exciting. His excellent taste did not disappoint!

You can catch “Pierre West” on the big screen at the Silicon Beach Film Festival on Friday, Sept 5 in Block H. https://www.siliconbeachfilmfestival.com/tickets

Or you could also follow Henka on Instagram to catch other festival screenings near you! @fotohanke

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Happy Labor Day, Listeners!

I hope everyone is kicking back today, firing up the bbq and popping on your favorite indie film podcast while you flip burgers for your friends and family. It’s a good one too!

Sweden-based Henrik Larsson co-directed, co- wrote and co-produced the film “Pierre West” with Jakob Arevärn.                                                                                                                                                            A drama about hope & darkness spanning 17 years, this remarkable film took home two awards at Film Invasion Los Angeles in June, 2025 (Grand Jury Award – Best Lead Performer – Featurette – Tomas

Henke, his preferred name just as I prefer Jeff to Jeffrey, hopped onto Zoom for an extended chat about his career and “Pierre West.”                                                                                                                      The film is still on the festival circuit, so that you cannot catch it online yet, but as soon as it is we will provide links here.

But you CAN catch “Pierre West” on the big screen at the Silicon Beach Film Festival on Friday, Sept 5 in Block H. https://www.siliconbeachfilmfestival.com/tickets

You should also follow Henka on Instagram to catch other festival screenings near you! @fotohenka

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What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out.

Jesseca Ynez Simmons had her film “Heaven in a Wild Flower” at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2024 and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Cinematography – Arthouse/Experimental.

I was thrilled for the chance to finally sit down (virtually) and have a chat with Jesseca since she was not able to attend the festival and, of course, that included the 4 Questions follow up.

Website: https://www.jessecaysimmons.com/

Personal Instagram: @jessecaynezsimmons

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