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Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: GHOST TRAIL

Director: Jonathan Millet

Writers: Jonathan Millet; Florence Rochat; Sara Wikler

Cast: Adam Bessa; Tawfeek Barhom; Julia Franz Richter

SYNOPSIS

Hamid is a member of a secret organisation pursuing Syrian regime's fugitive leaders in Europe. He ends up in Strasbourg while searching for his former torturer. What happens when they finally meet?

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If your documentary films were entered into the Criterion Collection, you barely need an introduction, but let me give one to my guest, filmmaker Brett Story, by saying this: her films expand what's possible through visual styling and extensive preparation work. What I mean by that is if you take a look at her work, the story that she is telling can only be said through film. So Brett gives us both something to appreciate and something to strive for. What a thrill it was to talk with her for the podcast.

In this episode, Brett and I discuss:

the future documentary on the 2025 NYC Mayoral race (not by her, unfortunately);

how she came upon her unique style of documentary filmmaking;

does she watch a lot of documentaries?

her feelings towards her films entering the Criterion Collection and what that means about her art;

whether the honors has made pitching projects easier;

what about her work is particularly Canadian?

how does she start her documentaries and her process for making her films;

the visual attractiveness of her documentaries;

the festival and release strategy for her films;

how can someone with no name recognition make it into a big festival;

her film, UNION, and the tradeoffs doc filmmakers have to make to get their films made;

what’s next for her (such an incredible next project, combining art + film, called PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD;

Brett's Indie Film Highlights: THE IMAGE YOU MISSED (2018) dir. by Dónal Foreman; Deborah Stratman; Jem Cohen

Links:

The Criterion Channel - Brett Story

Happy Veterans Day! For this special episode, I talk with filmmaker Geoff Ryan about his 2012 film, FRAY. For me, FRAY is one of the more authentic "return from war" stories in a usually bad genre of overwrought films. I wanted to find out more about the making of the film, how the lead actor was cast, and what made Geoff the best person -- a non-veteran -- to tell this story.

I'm looking to support more veteran actors, producers, directors...filmmakers. And we need more filmmakers like Geoff telling these kinds of deeply researched stories.

In this episode, Geoff and I talk about:

• how he got started in filmmaking;
• what led him to make FRAY;
• the intense research from friends and veterans before he made his first feature;
• how he would describe the film, FRAY;
• the amazing subtlety in the film -- he doesn't show the characters as completely broken, as so many other veterans' films do;
• what the lead actor, Bryan Kaplan, brought to the role;
• whether his film is more sensitive and accurate to the veteran experience because he hasn't served and will concentrate more on getting the details right;
• has he watched the film lately and what would he change about it now;
• what's he working on now -- how he's getting back into short films;
• his advice for students graduating film school;
• the importance (or not) of having social media in indie filmmaking.

Geoff's Indie Film Highlight: OVATION (2025) dir. by Noam Kroll; Al Profit

Memorable Quotes:

"A few of them really let me just follow them. I stayed overnight under a bridge with one guy, walking through the woods where one of them would sleep at night."

"Another big motivator of it was so many of the vets that I did know and got to meet during that time would just trash talk the way that movies portrayed them." 

"I jokingly refer to it as a 94 minute montage of misery."

"One of the worst pieces of advice...and it's so ubiquitous, it's annoying, is write what you know, which isn't wrong, but it's mistaken all the time." 

"There's no music throughout the entire film other than location music."

"I honestly don't know how a lot of these things get funded other than like venture capital and money laundering. And unfortunately, I don't know any money launderers or VC investors."

"I'm fortunate FRAY still gets at least 10,000 views a month. Unfortunately, I get literally 2 cents every time somebody watches it."

"Can you cut out the the cursing,the drugs, the sex, and the violence? I'm like, that's the whole movie."

"If you're in USC, you're gonna have the connections. They're gonna place you in the industry."

"Trust your voice. Don't try to do what someone else is doing. Don't try to do what you think is popular."

Links:

Follow Geoff On Instagram

Watch FRAY Now

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: THE HOTTEST AUGUST (2019)

Director: Brett Story

SYNOPSIS

A complex portrait of a city and its inhabitants dealing with climate change, disguised as a portrait of collective anxiety.

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In so many films like WALUD (2025), which depicts the life of an ISIS fighter and his relationship with his two wives, the women are given very little agency. They have things happen to them and deal with the consequences rather than decide their own story. WALUD isn't that type of film.

It's the work of co-directors Louise Zenker and Daood Alabdulaa, film students who made a visually stunning and culturally relevant film about unexplored lives. If there's justice in the world, we'll see it nominated for an Academy Award. Streaming soon in Germany, the rest of us will have to wait to watch, but trust me, it's worth it. I'm looking forward to what Louise and Daood work on next.

In this episode, we discuss:

• what filmmaking is like in Syria now (WALUD was set there but filmed in Tunisia);
• how they got started in filmmaking;
• the challenges and benefits from co-directing;
• how they developed the story of WALUD;
• how they want the audience to feel while watching the film;
• the dilemma that the women depicted in the film wouldn't be able to watch the film in Syria;
• what stories are out there that need to be told from a Syrian perspective -- more comedy!;
• the role of new film festivals in the Middle East;
• documentary v. narrative filmmaking and how they choose what to do;
• what they would have differently for the film;
• when you could expect to watch WALUD (Germany -- you're in luck!);
• its chances at the Oscars and the unique qualities of the film;
• what's next for them and when you can expect to watch WALUD.

Louise's Indie Film Highlight: SHAHID (2024) dir. by Narges Kalhor

Daood's Indie Film Highlight: WHO DO I BELONG TO (2024) dir. by Meryam Joobeur

Memorable Quotes:

"There was this whole topic about fertility and having kids and what does it mean to be a woman in a patriarchal society?"

"These women have agency and they are strong characters that stand tall."

"A lot of the dramatic stories are more of a cry for visibility as well to just try and get the world to look at what is happening because the world needs to look at what is happening."

Links:

Follow WALUD On Instagram

What's it like being accepted into Mexican film school and later direct a film that the country chooses to represent its filmmaking at the Academy Awards? My guest, Pierre Saint-Martin, can speak to that as well as a love for sound design and film noir cinematography.

The podcast begins its highlighting of international films nominated for the 98th Academy Awards with WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED (2024), Mexico's selection. The film was directed by an artist who is by turns thoughtful and proud of his work.

It can be seen in November at the Portland Latin American Film Festival, among other venues. Follow Pierre on Instagram to keep up with where the film will be screening.

The synopsis: "Socorro is a headstrong lawyer obsessed with finding the soldier who killed her brother during the 1968 student massacre in Tlatelolco, Mexico City. This need for justice masks an old guilt that has alienated her sister Esperanza and her son Jorge."

In this episode, Pierre and I discuss:

• the story behind WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED;
• the stunning story of how he got started in filmmaking;
• what film school is like in Mexico and what he had to do to get in;
• his work between film school and WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED;
• why the film should be seen in theaters, especially because of the sound;
• what the film's theatrical run was like in Mexico City;
• Mexico's choice of his film to represent the country for the 2026 Oscars and what he feels about the marketing campaign;
• what's next for him.

Pierre's Indie Film Highlight: SUJO (2024) dir. by Astrid Rondero; Fernanda Valadez; A BRIGHT FUTURE (2025) dir. by Lucía Garibaldi

Links:

Follow Pierre On Instagram

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Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: JIMMY AND CAROLYN (2022)

Director: James Andrew Walsh

Writer: James Andrew Walsh

Cast: Alberto Bonilla; Mark H Dold; Gregory Harrison

SYNOPSIS

An emotional crisis threatens to destroy James and William's 20-year relationship.

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Is there a better titled film in the history of the medium than DID YOU REMEMBER THE CAT (2025)? I'd argue no. It gives you an idea of what it's about -- remembering a cat. The title suggests comedy (it's a mix of comedy, drama, and horror). And it's something you'll never forget as a film title. Perfection.

That's the kind of thought process my guest, filmmaker Daniel Foster, has put into all of his films, and he has such fantastic advice on filmmaking, festivals, crowdfunding, making short films, and more.

Happy Halloween. I can't think of a better person and film to spend it with than Daniel and that awesomely titled film, now streaming on Alter's YouTube channel.

In this episode, Daniel and I discuss:

• do we see the cat in DID YOU REMEMBER THE CAT? YES!;
• how he got started in filmmaking, including film school at Temple University;
• are filmmaking labs a good alternative to film school?;
• what constitutes a bad film?
• what he's learned from each of the films he's made;
• how did they come up with the beyond brilliant title: DID YOU REMEMBER THE CAT?
• horror's role as the ultimate big-tent genre;
• where he got his encyclopedic knowledge of indie films;
• how accurate his crowdfunding campaign was and what lessons he took away for it;
• why he was successful on his first day of crowdfunding;
• why the film was released on Alter and during spooky season;
• what's next for him;
• how he comes up with titles and his critiques for short films.

Daniel's Indie Film Highlight: feathers, not wings, currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter.

Memorable Quotes:

"Of course watching movies is the best way to learn, but specifically to watch bad movies. To learn and then analyze like, why is this bad?" 

"So it's always lure people in with comedy, keep them paying attention with the horror, and then hit them with the message whether it's a gut punch or a little heartfelt like we were going for with, DID YOU REMEMBER THE CAT?"

"I'm a fan of statement titles. I wanted it to be something that somebody would say in the theater."

"My goal and my co-writers goal to make this a film that you would turn on every Halloween and have a fun time with, we wanted it to be a crowd pleaser."

About reading the reviews: "I have a incredibly supportive fiance, so sometimes when they get to me, she turns on a spooky movie and makes us some chai tea and we just relax. But no, for the most part, I love like reading the reviews because I have to grow. I have to get better. Some of the critiques that I've gotten have been super helpful in what I'm hoping to do next."

"I definitely think if you are able to have your short be between like 10 to 12 minutes is the preferred."

"So I think for other shorts, if there's something else like it, there's comps that you can have and that's fine, but when the comps are so similar to what you're trying to do and there isn't anything, a new angle in it, I always think just go back to the drawing board."

Links:

Watch DID YOU REMEMBER THE CAT?

Follow Daniel On Instagram

Occasionally, I'll watch a film so stunning -- visually, musically -- and so important, in terms of cultural relevancy and the issues that it raises, I'll know within a few minutes that I'd love for the director to be on the podcast. It's a blessing that my guest today, filmmaker Contessa Gayles, is here to talk about her journey from CNN to making groundbreaking documentaries.

It's not to say that the topics are easy. Making a documentary visual album about an incarcerated musician is an unbelievably daunting task. But Contessa is more than up for it. Go watch SONGS FROM THE HOLE (2024), now streaming on Netflix, and come back and hear my conversation with Contessa Gayles.

In this episode, Contessa and I discuss:

• the artistry of her filmmaking of SONGS FROM THE HOLE;
• how she got started in documentary;
• whether you need to pick up the skillsets of writing, editing, directing, producing -- the whole toolbox -- to be a successful documentary filmmaker;
• which skillset she feels most drawn and the importance of editing in documentary;
• her film, FOUNDER GIRLS (2023) -- an ode to girlhood -- at a historically Black summer camp and how it resonates today;
• her timeline of releasing several films all at once last year, including THE DEBUTANTES (2024) and SONGS FROM THE HOLE;
• why news organizations trust her work;
• what she wants people to feel when watching SONGS FROM THE HOLE and how does she want them to feel afterwards;
• how the film flips the narrative of how prisoners are viewed and whether that was ever an issue for backers of the film;
• how was this film made -- the "creative solutions" to get this film made;
• how she successfully balanced the impact of the crime as part of the film;
• her recommendation for people just starting out in documentary;
• do we have to wait till 2030 for this incredible filmmaker's next project?

Contessa's Indie Film Highlights: AXEL (2025) dir. by Stefani Saintonge; THE IN BETWEEN (2024) dir. by Robie Flores

Memorable Quotes:

"We were really trying with this film to push the boundaries in terms of form and to really create something that folks hadn't experienced before. Not just for the sake of it, but because it felt like that was really the only way to tell this story and do both the story and the music justice."

"There was really an expectation of...it used to be called the Predator, but the producer, shooter, editor where you were really like one man banding," 

"Our stories are focused on our traumas and our struggles and the stories that are more centered around our joy and our freedom are less prioritized."

"I definitely don't go by the book."

"I hope that folks approaching the film are open to seeing something and experiencing something that they haven't before."

"Not wanting the project to stall out, to lose momentum or to just not happen, we had to come up with some creative solutions for how else we could tell the story outside of the kind of more obvious way of doing it."

"How we could possibly interweave 10 music video treatments that are also holding the narrative of the film. Not just like random music videos, but like, we need to build a story through that."

"I'm not super concerned with being prolific so much as I'm concerned with being impactful."

Links:

Follow Contessa On Instagram

Watch SONGS FROM THE HOLE On Netflix

Watch This Episode On YouTube

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: THE PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE (2023)

Director: Chris Cottam

Writer: Wally Marzano-Lesnevich

Cast: Paul Reiser; Colm Meaney; Jane Levy

SYNOPSIS

Things don't go as planned when two distant cousins -- one from New York City, the other from Ireland -- come together to finally put an end to a generations-long family feud.

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