Happy Monday, Film Friends!

Ren Olivieri brought his film “The Trade” to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2024, coming down from Canada to represent the film he wrote, produced, and starred in.

I also have to mention that Ren is one of those most excellent people who makes the most of the festival, coming to the Gala and closing night mixer, as well as catching many screenings.                               But that’s not why I like this dude… the truth is that we started bonding via email when I confessed to him my involvement in fantasy sports and sealed the deal upon meeting in person.

But even cooler than becoming friendly with me, Ren met filmmaker Enrique Mendoza at the SOFF Opening Night Gala and the two kit it off, watched each other’s films at the fest, and then… collaborated on a film! For all I know it is in post at this point or even done!

Ren is my kinda person!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Follow him on Instagram at @reno91

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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.

Tal Anderson is a talented actor, writer, director and producer, whose short film “Breaking Normal” took home a Programmer’s Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2024.

I was so glad for the chance to interview Tal and extremely curious to hear what she had in store for her 4 Questions.

Tal’s Personal Links:

Website: www.theTALanderson.com

Tal’s Work Links:

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Welcome back, Listeners!

Tal Anderson is a talented actor, writer, director and producer, whose short film “Breaking Normal” took home a Programmer’s Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2024.         Tal acted in and produced the film, but a quick look at Tal’s IMDb page will show you what a genuine multi- hyphenate she is.

Actually… I did this math before the interview and might as well share it. Tal has 30 actor credits, 19 editor credits, 9 producer credits, 8 writer credits, 6 director credits, and some other departments as well!

It was a pleasure to get to interview Tal and get to know her better! And now… links! Tal got the following links to us… please enjoy her work!

Tal’s Personal Links:

Tal’s Work Links:

Links just for interest and follow up since Tal mentioned them:

LINK to article I wrote where I interviewed 3 producer/filmmakers responsible ultimately for the Smithsonian exhibit: https://joysauce.com/how-these-three-women-are-preserving-the-legacies-of-japanese-war-brides/

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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.

Ethan Shaftel brought his Immersive film “Ajax All Powerful” to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2024 and took one the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Immersive Short.

If you listened to Friday’s full interview with Ethan its no secret that “Ajax All Powerful” simply blew my mind and I was very eager to hear about the type of films Ethan was drawn to with his 4 Questions!

Learn more about Ethan at his website EthanShaftel.com

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Happy Independence Day, Everyone. And what better way to celebrate independence thank listened to a podcast about Independent film!

Ethan Shaftel brought his Immersive film “Ajax All Powerful” to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2024 and took one the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Immersive Short.                                                      Do I need to explain what an immersive short is? You watch it on the Meta Quest virtual reality headset and become immersed in the amazing world that Ethan created. “Ajax All Powerful” simply blew my mind and I think every person looking at these words right now should find a way to get their hands on one and watch Ethan’s film.

What else needs to be said in this intro?

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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.

Rob Neilson’s film “The Word” was an official selection at both Film Invasion Los Angeles as well as Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2024, which you might know is a rare feat. I should also mention that at FI- LA “The Word” took home the Grand Jury Awards for Best Short Film, Comedy and Best Cast Performance, while at SOFF it took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film – Comedy.

Clearly I’m a fan of Rob’s work and I couldn’t wait to see what type of films inspired him.

Here’s the link to watch The Word yourself: https://youtu.be/ZPQA-gmSS6g?si=D-W4Jxs9LQrN1g-N

If you want to learn more about Rob and his work, check out www.savagehenryfilms.com or www.robmneilson.com.

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Welcome back and thank you for starting your week with a new installment of Discover Indie Film!

Rob Neilson’s film “The Word” was an official selection at both Film Invasion Los Angeles as well as Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2024, which you might know is a rare feat.                                                        I should also mention that at FI- LA “The Word” took home the Grand Jury Awards for Best Short Film, Comedy and Best Cast Performance, while at SOFF it took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film – Comedy.

You should watch this wickedly funny and cuttingly smart film right now!

Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/ZPQA-gmSS6g?si=D-W4Jxs9LQrN1g-N

If you want to learn more about Rob and his work, check out www.savagehenryfilms.com or www.robmneilson.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.

Nicholas Burns wrote and directed the short film “Intertitle” that took home both the Grand Jury Award for Best Sound Design and the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Originality – Drama at Film Invasion Los Angeles 2024. He ALSO brought it to Sherman Oaks Film Festival later that year and took home- Filmmakers Award – Outstanding Writing – Arthouse/Experimental – Nicholas Burns

Nicholas is not on social media so you’ll just have to go to his website nicholasburns.net or listen to our chat released on Wednesday or his 4 Questions here to find more about him!

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Welcome back listeners and a special thank you to anyone who came out to Film Invasion Los Angeles this past weekend! There are many things I love and adore about the two festivals I run, but one of them is having an exciting new crop of filmmakers to invite onto the podcast.

Nicholas Burns wrote and directed the short film “Intertitle” that took home both the Grand Jury Award for Best Sound Design and the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Originality – Drama at Film Invasion Los Angeles 2024. He ALSO brought it to Sherman Oaks Film Festival later that year and took home- Filmmakers Award – Outstanding Writing – Arthouse/Experimental – Nicholas Burns

This uniquely original film brings a lot more to the table than simply its use of silent film era intertitles.                                                                                                                                                                              In fact, it tells one of the most compelling, personal and authentic stories that I have seen in my decade of festival programming.

Nick hopped onto Zoom for this interview and I hope that you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed chatting with him.

Nick is NOT on social media, but you can visit his website nicholasburns.net

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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.

Vernon Davidson brought the feature length documentary “SEGAL” for a World Premiere at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2024 and took home the Grand Jury Award – Best Feature Film – Documentary.

Apparently I’m not the first to find Vernon an absolute blast and I was happy for the excuse to keep the party going with the 4 Questions.

SEGAL-DOC.COM

@SEGALMOVIE

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