I first met Matthew Domenico as the writer of the pilot “Nutt To Butt,” an official selection at Film Invasion Los Angeles in June 2022.  Then he shows up at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in November with the official selection screenplay “Contact 360.”  But there’s more.  Matthew shared his short film “If I Were To Speak Of War” with me and I immediately replied, “This is a wonderful film.  Can we add it to the Discover Indie Film TV series?”  He said yes and it will be coming soon as part of Season 8 of the Discover Indie Film TV Series on Amazon Prime Video.

It was an absolute pleasure to get to know Matthew better. Follow Matthew on Instagram at @mattydomenico and his website is matthewdomenico.com

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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.

Ari Groobman wrote and directed the short film “Essentially Amy,” an official selection at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2022 that took home four awards.   And I should mention that Ari was a first time director. Four awards for his first film!  As long as Ari came over to do a DIF interview you know I was going to get his answers to the 4Qs above.  Enjoy!

You can watch “Essentially Amy” right now!  Just click right here.

In the meantime, you can follow Ari on Instagram at @ari_groobman

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First time writer/director Ari Groobman’s film “Essentially Amy” was an official selection at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2022 and took home four awards.  Four! The Grand Jury Award for Best Lead Actress – Short Film – went to Stacy Chu who played the titular character. Meanwhile, a jury of Ari’s peers on the Filmmakers Board have “Essentially Amy” Outstanding Short Film – Drama, Outstanding Director – Drama and Outstanding Performance, Cast – Drama.

You can watch “Essentially Amy” right now!  Just click right here.

In the meantime, you can follow Ari on Instagram at @ari_groobman

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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.

Soren McVay and Alan Sanchez collaborated on the film “Watcher,” with Alan writing, directing and producing and Soren producing and acting the lead role.  “Watcher” was an official selection at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2023 and took home three Filmmakers Awards; Outstanding Short Film – Horror, Outstanding Screenplay – Horror – Alan “Poe” Sanchez, and Outstanding Performance, Individual – Horror – Soren McVay.

As always, if you come in for a DIF interview then you also get asked the DIF 4Qs above.

It was an absolute pleasure to hang out with these two and you can watch “Watcher” right now on TVHi.

Follow Alan on Instagram at @alanpoefosho

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Alan Sanchez wrote and directed the short film “Watcher,” starring lead actor Soren McVay and these two both produced the short as well.  “Watcher” was an official selection at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2023 and took home three Filmmakers Awards; Outstanding Short Film – Horror, Outstanding Screenplay – Horror – Alan “Poe” Sanchez, and Outstanding Performance, Individual – Horror – Soren McVay.

It was an absolute pleasure to interview them and as soon as Alan releases the short online I’ll include a link right here.

Follow Alan on Instagram at @alanpoefosho

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Fr3deR1cK Taylor was my guest on this podcast for Episode 294, one that we recorded on Zoom back in 2022.  One of the joys of having podcast is that you get to know and like people.  When Fr3deR1cK came out to Los Angeles from Atlanta we met up for a bite and decided to follow-up that Zoom podcast by recording an in-person conversation.  This podcast is simply a filmmaker and producer (Fr3deR1cK) and an enthusiastic film festival programmer (Jeff) having an impromptu conversation about anything and everything.  I called it “Shoot the S**t, Part 1” because it just might become the first of many.

My favorite descriptor for Fr3deR1cK is “public intellectual,” because in my opinion the world needs intelligent, learned people to influence society.  His Documentary Short “Pre-Existing Freedom” was an Official Selection at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2021 and took home the award for Outstanding Performance by an Individual, Documentary.  And I’m proud to say that you can catch “Pre-Existing Freedom” in Season 7 of the Discover Indie Film TV Series on Amazon Prime Video!

Learn more about Fr3deR1cK Taylor at these links:

Learn more about Jeff at these links:

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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.

Michael Heubel  and Schyler Martin made the brilliant short film, “Lucky,” that took home the Audience Award for Short Film – Arthouse/Experimental at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2021.  And guess what?  You can watch “Lucky” right now on TVHi, the streaming service dedicated to excellent indie films that might be even better to watch a little high.

You can follow Schyler on Twitter at @skyytweet

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Schyler Martin and Michael Heubel collaborated to make the short film, “Lucky,” the short film I’ve hoped for years that someone would make.  Why was I longing for a film like”Lucky”?  It is a film where comedy meets arthouse, abstract expressionism meets narrative structure, and it’s just generally f***ing great.  Schyler & Michael brought “Lucky” to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2021 and took home the Audience Award for Short Film – Arthouse/Experimental.

It was an absolute pleasure to interview them and it’s an even greater pleasure to mention that you can watch “Lucky” right now on TVHi, the streaming service dedicated to excellent indie films that might be even better to watch a little high.

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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.

Alex Kannan produced and directed the documentary short “La Cita (The Appointment)” that took home the Audience Award for Short Film – Documentary and at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2021.  Alex jumped onto Zoom from his car to record an interview, so of course I had him answer the 4Qs above.  Our apologies for the audio quality – it’s a Zoomy mobile kinda world!

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Alex Kannan directed the documentary short “La Cita (The Appointment)” and brought it the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2021, taking home the Audience Award for Short Film – Documentary.  Alex is such a busy person, fitting his film and music pursuits around his schedule as an attorney, that he had to record this Zoom from his car.  Our apologies for the audio quality!

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