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An upcoming wedding, a film that made it into Tribeca -- filmmaker Blake Jarvis is having himself a summer. 

IN JEFF WE TRUST (2025)'s logline is "two mentally ill girls regret joining a cult...but is it too late?" It is a hilarious short film produced and starring comedy duo Sydney Heller and Olivia DeLaurentis. 

Other than finding out if he has a band or a DJ, we go pretty deep into this guy's amazing summer for this episode.

Blake and I talk about:

• how did he find out his film made Tribeca?
• what should they expect to see IN JEFF WE TRUST and the relationship with Sydney and Olivia?
• the honor of making a film somebody else wrote;
• how did he started in filmmaking?
• his ability to edit (he's edited everything he's released) and how it's an important skill for indie filmmakers;
• his thoughts on filming on film as an accomplished editor;
• what's his thought process of creating shorts and what's their strategy going into Tribeca?
• why did he start a YouTube channel? It’s relatively rare in indie filmmaking; 
• what’s next for him — making little comedy shorts with friends, up on his YouTube channel

Memorable Quotes:

"I'm sure like a lot of people, you get stuck in the loop of [working on other projects] and you have to remember that you have to do your own stuff as well."

“You make three movies: what you write, what you shoot, and what you edit.” 

"if you're able to use film, freaking do it."

“ Maybe I'd have better luck on Vimeo, but I've never also understood the interface of Vimeo. I'm such a grandpa with that.”

Blake’s Indie Film Highlight: Michael Rees

Links:

Follow Blake On Instagram

Follow IN JEFF WE TRUST On Instagram

Follow CREATURE CAMP On YouTube

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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: HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES (2024)

Director: Pat Boonnitipat

Writers: Pat Boonnitipat; Thodsapon Thiptinnakorn

Cast: Putthipong Assaratanakul; Usha Seamkhum; Sanya Kunakorn

SYNOPSIS

A man, driven by his desire for a multi-million dollar inheritance, begins to care for his terminally ill grandmother. However, winning her favor will not be an easy task and he is not the only one with an eye on the money.

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Joining me today is…he is going to hate that I write it this way, as you’ll hear in the conversation…but the director with the most nominated film at Raindance, Max Morgan, talking about his film BREAKWATER (2025).

The ability to make your first feature, your first film, carry the weight of, and I’ll quote Max here, “people never mean what they say, and there is a lot of that in BREAKWATER” is simply breathtaking. I’ve posted the trailer in the YouTube conversation, go watch it and you see what you mean. And the trailer is hardly encompassing of the beauty of the film.

The film has its premiere at Raindance on June 23rd, 2025 — sold out — but tickets are still available for the 24th. Go watch it if you can. There’s a reason it’s the most nominated film, the first feature out of the University of Oxford since 1982, and that’s Max Morgan and his team. 

In this episode, Max and I talk about:

• What people should expect to see when they watch BREAKWATER, such a wide ranging and expansive film — “it’s a psychological drama about connection between two characters, Otto and an older retired angler on the East Coast of England…and it’s about how their lives come together, collide through happenstance and fuse irreversibly and thematically”;

• How he decided to make such an ambitious film, the first film he ever shot! — “so it really was like a massive learning curve for me”; “and then when I went to university, I did lots of theater”;

• Was screenwriting a safety net for him? “ I find that thinking about myself as a writer is almost more important to me as thinking myself as a director in some ways”

• His advice for someone who is not gifted at writing and how to develop that skill without decades of education — “I don’t think that being able to write a good play or screenplay is necessarily a gift. I think it’s important to think about writing and directing in all kind of creative capacities as more of a craft.”

• His issues with the term debut film and filmmaker as “quite misleading”, as there’s so much that goes into a creative’s life;

• How mentors gave him advice on what he termed “bad plays, bad screenplays” — “ if anyone tells you as a piece of feedback that something is straight up bad, then they're really awful at giving notes”; 

• How you have to trust your instincts as well — you have to challenge incredibly bad and incredibly good feedback equally;

• The realistic dialogue in BREAKWATER — was it from life experience? “It was from the theater”; “people never mean what they say, and there is a lot of that in BREAKWATER”

• BREAKWATER has its world premiere at Raindance — has he seen it on a cinema screen and does he see a theatrical run for the film?

• An interlude about the amazingness of Tom Cruise and his stunts;

• What does being a British filmmaker mean to him and how he thinks people think of that identity? “ the way I think about it is so massively influenced by British art and the sense of British independent filmmaking, which has historically produced so many amazing filmmakers”;

• How he is planning for the world premiere at Raindance;

Max’s Indie Filmmaker Highlights: Mark Jenkin, famously of BAIT (2019) and other films; Sarah Brocklehurst

Links:

Buy Tickets To BREAKWATER

Follow BREAKWATER On Instagram

Follow BREAKWATER's Website

Max Morgan's Website

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If you watch IN THE SHADOW OF BEIRUT (2023), you might get an idea about the director, and guess he has a cinematographer's eye for visuals and a humanist's approach to connecting with people. This episode proves that assessment right about director Stephen Gerard Kelly.

IN THE SHADOW OF BEIRUT is described as "a portrait of modern-day Lebanon as seen through the eyes of four families living in the backdrop of an infamous massacre in 1982." It's visually stunning and Stephen calls it a "bit of an emotional juggernaut."

It doesn't hold back, and neither does Stephen. If you haven’t seen the film, go rent it, come back, and let’s talk about one of the best films of 2023. 

In this episode, Stephen and I talk about:

• how he successfully utilized the cinematography of IN THE SHADOW OF BEIRUT to take his documentary to an extraordinary level of craftsmanship -- "I had been in New York for five years very much inspired by many great photojournalist and documentary photographers who would be in and around New York and I learned a lot";
•  his fluency in five (more?) different languages and does he see filmmaking as another way of communicating with the world? "How do you connect with the humanity in all of us? It's completely a language in its own right";
• what should people expect to see when they watch IN THE SHADOW OF BEIRUT? "It's a quality documentary that is a bit of an emotional juggernaut";
• his advice for moving from cinematography to directing -- "Open up. Trust people. It's a lonely road when you're walking alone for years";
• how did he blend in -- or not -- in a film about Lebanon? "Look at me, a red bearded, giant leprechaun" "It's about connection and being genuine with people and learning their language, which isn't easy";
• his feelings about the Oscars and the awards process in indie filmmaking -- he doesn't mince words! "Fuck the Oscars"; "As soon as I went into it and I saw the publicists turning their nose about the very meager budget comparatively that Screen Ireland offered up";
• the challenges of streaming and diluting independent filmmaking;
• what is he working on now and his process for filmmaking;
• fatherhood, the documentary film world, and how it influences his world and changed his perspective, especially on female filmmakers.

Links:

Watch IN THE SHADOW OF BEIRUT (2023) Now

Follow Stephen On Instagram

Stephen Gerard Kelly's Website

Watch This Episode On YouTube 

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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: 29,000 WISHES. 1 REGRET (2012)

Director: Oliver Robins

Writers: Oliver Robins

Cast: Justus Zimmerman; Casey Ruggieri

SYNOPSIS

After losing their jobs, a husband (Justus Zimmerman) and wife (Casey Ruggieri) decide to max out their credit cards and have some fun, then commit suicide.

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The film, SPECTRUM (2024), directed by my guest, Rick Stanton, is a true triumph for art and sticking to one's own vision. As he said, “it’s a very honest take on what life is like as an adult with autism.” 

Rick's path into filmmaking is unconventional and instead of paying endless amount of festival fees, he's forging a different path.

In this episode, Rick and I talk about:

• what you should expect to see when you watch SPECTRUM -- "very honest take on what life is like as an adult with autism" -- it is an aural and visual experience;
• his wildly original way of filmmaking, casting his brother as the lead in the film;
• how he got his start in filmmaking, completely self-taught and through music;
• his desire to "show people that I could take on an episode for a series or even a feature film because I feel like I know how to tell a story";
• the decisions he made to make the viewer feel more uncomfortable than usual for a short film -- his insights here are extraordinary;
• what has been the festival reaction to the film and how he feels about the labeling of films -- he posted just on YouTube because "I just wanted to find an audience";
• why he is choosing to go off the beaten path in his career as an indie filmmaker and how other people feel about his decision;
• is he expanding SPECTRUM into a feature and his vision for expanding the scope of disabilities shown;
• how he is going to stay true to his vision for the film in making the feature -- "I don't wanna hear your opinion on it. I just wanna know whether you're gonna gimme the money"

Rick's Indie Film Highlight: LIFT (2001) dir. by Marc Isaacs

Links:

Watch SPECTRUM Now

Follow Rick Stanton On Instagram

Rick Stanton's Website

DC/DOX is about to celebrate its third year, and I chat with co-founder Sky Sitney about its origin story, celebrity documentary, AI in docs, the financial plight of doc filmmakers, and more.

Befitting a powerhouse in the doc filmmaking world, Sky took on the most challenging questions and gave thought-provoking answers. It's no surprise with her leadership DC/DOX has become an international stop in the world of documentary in three quick years.

In this episode, Sky and I discuss:

• the origin story of DC/DOX and how it become a staple of documentary filmmaking nationally after just three years;
• how she got involved in filmmaking -- "the question all my life was not so much would it be film, but what my specific passion within film would be" -- and why she loves curation;
• the necessity of experience in running film festivals to make DC/DOX work at the level it does and against an amazingly competitive landscape in Washington, DC;
• how does she balance celebrity documentaries versus emerging filmmakers;
• the financial plight of documentary filmmakers and her thoughts on second jobs (if you haven't heard Daniel Lombroso's take on this, you really should check it out);
• AI at DC/DOX;
• what does DC/DOX look like in five years?
• the amazing IT department at DC/DOX -- look at how easy it is to buy tickets!

Links:

Buy Tickets Now For DC/DOX June 12 - 15, 2025

Listen to Huiju Park, director of WELCOME HOME FRECKLES at DC/DOX

Listen to Sasha Wortzel, director of RIVER OF GRASS at DC/DOX

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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: GOD'S POCKET (2014)

Director: John Slattery

Writers: Peter Dexter; Alex Metcalf; John Slattery

Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman; Richad Jenkins; Christina Hendricks; John Turturro

SYNOPSIS

A boozy lowlife (Philip Seymour Hoffman) tries to bury the truth about his crazy stepson's suspicious death, but a nosy newspaper columnist (Richard Jenkins) and the young man's mother complicate matters.

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Go See WELCOME HOME FRECKLES at DC/DOX on June 14th, 12pm

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What do you do when people question your style of filmmaking? If you know that the story is in your heart, as my guest Huiju Park did with her film WELCOME HOME FRECKLES (2025), you make your film your way. In a deeply personal tale about her return home to Korea for the first time in four years, that's what she did. We talk about that and so much more with this UK-based filmmaker, whose authenticity will astound you.

In this episode, we talk about:

• how she got started in filmmaking and going home to Korea with a camera;
• why she decided to take on a personal documentary -- "self-expression"; "I tend to use my film as a therapy";
• what did her teachers think of her style of documentary -- "definitely, it's not really common...and I was using me as a character...to deliver the story"; "the whole film, the story, is universal; I see myself as a medium";
• does she introduce herself as a Korean filmmaker? what's her relationship with that label? -- "I'm trying to bring Korean cinema into the documentary world";
• her trip to Cannes (she attended a program called Focus COPRO') and why she attends film festivals;
• do programs like Focus COPRO help documentary filmmakers -- "I don't make films for making money because I know there's no money";
• what's it like working as a doc filmmaker in London? -- "I'm Korean Korean, I moved to the UK just for the school"; "after Brexit, the difference between European market and the UK market is really big, as much as American and European"; "in the UK, it's really tough";
• what's next for her -- "it's not about moving away from personal documentary, I've said enough";

Huiju's Indie Film Highlight: THE ECHO (2023) dir. by Tatiana Huezo

Links:

Follow Huiju Park On Instagram

See WELCOME HOME FRECKLES at DC/DOX

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With the baritones of Bono and U2 as the soundtrack, the globe-trotting world of Mary Robinson requires an epic film to depict her life, and thankfully, they found the director that can deliver just that in Irish filmmaker Aoife Kelleher.

Aoife gave us the brilliant film MRS ROBINSON (2024), still on its festival run. MRS ROBINSON tells the inspirational life story of change-maker Mary Robinson: Ireland’s first female President, a pioneering UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the successor of Nelson Mandela as Chair of The Elders.

And if all that wasn't enough, check out her film, TESTIMONY (2025), also on the festival circuit. Not sure when Aoife has time to sleep but she found time to talk with me for the podcast, and I'm delighted to share that conversation with you.

In this episode, Aoife and I discuss:

• her biographical statement that she seeks in her work to "tell hidden truths about Ireland and Irishness" -- what does that mean? what is an Irish film?;
• how did she get involved in filmmaking? "my parents were primary school principals and my dad was a politician so it was like, there were a lot of debates around these kind of themes at the dinner table";
• her switch from law to filmmaking -- "I'd had this work experience in a legal firm that had put me off the idea of pursuing law";
• what did she learn from her first documentary ONE MILLION DUBLINERS (2014) that she takes away for her current film?
• how did she get the opportunity to make MRS ROBINSON (2024), even with pitching against many other companies -- "you really can't stress [enough] how large Mary Robinson looms in Irish society";
• how she made it clear they weren't creating a puff piece documentary -- "from the earliest points in the pitching process, we made it clear that we would not be doing that, and that was what she wanted, too";
• how she was able to license U2 and other prominent musicians as part of this film (they were going to play "Fortunate Son" by CCR in a Vietnam scene...I think it worked out better with Bono!);
• the climate activism portion of the film and how it resonates now versus 30 years ago;
• how has documentary changed in the last ten years?;
• what's next for her? TESTIMONY (2025) is also on the festival circuit, which means she has TWO feature films on the circuit right now

Aoife's Indie Film Highlight: BLUE ROAD: THE EDNA O'BRIEN STORY (2024) dir. by Sinead O'Shea; A WANT IN HER (2024) dir. by Myrid Carten

Links:

MRS ROBINSON (2024) Website

Follow Screen Ireland on Instagram For More Info On Irish Filmmakers

Watch This Episode On YouTube