Director Laura Holliday and writer/producer Anna Baumgarten collaborated to make Disfluency, a brilliant film (watch it now!) that cleaned up the awards a Film Invasion Los Angeles 2018.  After the interview about their backgrounds and their film, they took the time to answer the Discover Indie Film Four Questions.

What are the 4Q’s?

Here are Laura’s answers:

Here are Anna’s answers:

Comments are blocked on this website. To discuss Discover Indie Film episodes, visit the Facebook Group.

You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

Disfluency.  There is so much to say about this short film.  From writer/producer Anna Baumgarten and director Laura Holliday, Disfluency tackles sexual assault and the aftermath with the perfect mix of realism, understanding, and maturity.  But the filmmaking here is so good that I jumped on a soapbox at Film Invasion Los Angeles and insisted that the Q&A focus on how well written and directed this film is.

By the way, at FILA 2018 it won the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film as well as Best Director for Laura Holliday.  And as you can see by all the laurels on the video below, Disfluency received accolades throughout its festival run.  We had a great Q&A with Anna and Laura at FILA; I think I may have mentioned the podcast to them back then.  Maybe I didn’t, but it’s a good story.

This is a loooong interview.  After all, we had two filmmaker’s histories to cover.  But don’t worry, it’s also a fun interview.  Laura and Anna started in sketch comedy and their ability to play off of each other shows throughout the interview.

But… SPOILER ALTER.  WATCH THE FILM FIRST.

Disfluency is superb in every way.  You really just need to watch it.  So do that right now!

Comments are blocked on this website. To discuss Discover Film episodes, visit the Facebook Group.

You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

Filmmaker Natasha Babenko answers the Four Questions in this episode.  Born in Ukraine, educated in France, and now getting an MFA at NYU in filmmaking, this global citizen has some movie recommendations you don’t want to miss!

What is DIF4Q?  It’s the Discover Indie Film Four Questions.

Here are Sarah’s DIF4Q answers:

Comments are blocked on this website. To discuss Discover Indie Film episodes, visit the Facebook Group.

You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

One of the most unforgetable films at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2018 was Girl Eating Banana: Audition.  One part art film, one part comedy, one part drama, and completely original, filmmaker Natasha Babenko wowed the crowd with both her film and her amazing energy during her Q&A.

I knew even before meeting her that I would want the filmmaker responsible for Girl Eating Banana: Audition to do this podcast.  So much so that we went ahead and recorded one even though she is not yet ready to release the film online.  So you don’t get to see it, you just get to hear about it.

When Natasha releases her film online, I will be sure to ask her to allow me to put it here.

In the meantime, please enjoy this interview!

Comments are blocked on this website. To discuss Discover Film episodes, visit the Facebook Group.

You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

This DIF4Q is with Sarah Prikryl.  Sarah’s documentary short film Family: A Love Story took home a Grand Jury Prize at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2018. It is without a doubt one of the most wonderfully documentaries you could have caught on the festival circuit, and now it is available online.  (Watch it right now!)

What is DIF4Q?  It’s the Discover Indie Film Four Questions.

Here are Sarah’s DIF4Q answers:

Comments are blocked on this website. To discuss Discover Indie Film episodes, visit the Facebook Group.

You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

The documentary Family: A Love Story took home a Grand Jury Prize at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2018.  It is without a doubt one of the most wonderfully documentaries you could have caught on the festival circuit, and now it is available online at IndieBoom.

When you hear this interview with director Sarah Prikryl you get to find out that the process which brought this documentary to screen is as heartwarming as the documentary itself.  And Sarah’s path from actor to photographer to director has set her up perfectly to be one of the most talented filmmakers to come through the doors of Film Invasion Los Angeles.

But BEFORE you listen to the interview, you should watch this terrific short documenter.  For now you have to settle for the link above to the main IndieBoom page, but if I get an update link I’ll make sure it takes you directly to the film.

And… I just saw that IndieBoom allows an embed of the video… so here it is!

Comments are blocked on this website. To discuss Discover Film episodes, visit the Facebook Group.

You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

Heather Hillstrom took home the Grand Jury Prize at Film Invasion Los Angeles 2018 for her short film The King In The Ring.  Anytime I see a film that great at the festival I immediately start thinking about interviewing them for the podcast and finding out their favorites and not-so favorites when they answer the DIF4Q.

By the way, if you want to see The King In The Ring you can watch it right here!

What is DIF4Q?  It’s the Discover Indie Film Four Questions.

Here are Heather’s DIF4Q answers:

Comments are blocked on this website. To discuss Discover Indie Film episodes, visit the Facebook Group.

You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

At Film Invasion Los Angeles in June, 2018, Heather Hillstrom’s short film The King In The Ring took home a Grand Jury Prize.

This is one of those films that people will never forget.  I’m certain that in five or ten years, I can refer to this film and anyone who saw it will know what I am talking about.  It is that good and that memorable.

Heather sat for a great Q&A at the festival, so I was excited to have her come do a podcast and give us the full story.  She doesn’t disappoint.  In this interview you get to hear exactly what path she took to become the filmmaker she is today.

And look at her with the huge H on her shirt in front of my Ikea cabinets.  Could she look any cooler?  Nope.  She could not.

But BEFORE you listen to the interview, you should watch this terrific short film.  That way you’ll recreate the festival experience where you see the film and then hear from the filmmaker afterward.

Comments are blocked on this website. To discuss Discover Film episodes, visit the Facebook Group.

You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

When I interviewed Joe Petricca on this podcast about his career and his short film A Meditation, I found out exactly why his film won awards.  Joe has spent 25 years in academia at the American Film Institute while working as a professional screenwriter on the side, always with an eye on filmmaking again.  It would have been shocking had A Meditation not turned out so well.

And it would be just as shocking if his DIF4Q didn’t impress.

What is DIF4Q?  It’s the Discover Indie Film Four Questions.

Joe is a lifelong lover of cinema, so I knew his answers were going to be great.  What were they?  (I list them now so that people can search this website for who mentioned which films.)

Comments are blocked on this website. To discuss Discover Indie Film episodes, visit the Facebook Group.

You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

Joe Petricca’s short film A Meditation took home the Audience Award at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2017.  Winning this award was no surprise, as A Meditation is one of those short films that completely engages its audience from start to finish.

Joe gave a great Q&A at the festival but, just like his film, it left me wanting more and that is exactly why I do this podcast.  Joe took the time to come by and we talked for a really, really long time.  But this podcast represents when we talked about Joe and his work.  It turns out I also recorded us talking about Los Angeles neighborhoods, home ownership, travel, favorite European cities, and everything else that concerns people in our age bracket.  Anyhow…

But BEFORE you listen to the interview, you should watch this terrific short film By Clicking Here.  That way you get the film festival experience of watching the film and then hearing bow the filmmaker got it to the screen.

Comments are blocked on this website. To discuss Discover Film episodes, visit the Facebook Group.

You can listen to the podcast using the media player below or on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.