First Time Go

The Independent Spirit John Cassevetes Award is, for me, the best film award an indie film can get. It's for independent feature films made under $1 million dollars. And we can discuss, as I do with my guest Corey Sherman on the show, whether that's 1 mill is a great arbiter, but it's the best one we have. And here we are, with one of the nominees, ultra-talented filmmaker Corey Sherman.

He's here to talk BIG BOYS, his debut feature, and so much more.

In this episode, we discuss:

• the almost universal praise for BIG BOYS and whether that was expected;
• the thought process behind his debut feature and if it ever was conceived as a short film;
• short v. features as a way of starting out;
• what Hammer To Nail called "sympathetic cringe" and the director's ability to toy with the audiences' emotions;
• how he views that as "too glossy" and smoothing over real life -- it's a great answer to making films that can relate to people like BIG BOYS;
• how that mindset influences the future of his filmmaking;
• the progress in making LGBTQ films;
• the film's nomination for the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1m;
• what he would do differently looking back at the experience of making the film;
• what's next for Corey -- probably not an action film, although I'd love to see it -- and how he could absolutely take on a script even if he didn't write it himself, as long as it is "performance focused."

Corey's Indie Film Highlight: INHABITANTS (unreleased) dir. by Matt McClung

Links:

Follow Corey On Instagram

Stream BIG BOYS Now

Corey Sherman Films

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

Director: Alexander Payne

Screenplay: David Hemingson

Cast: Paul Giamatti; Dominic Sessa; Carrie Preston; Brady Hepner

SYNOPSIS

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go. He soon forms an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker, and with the school's head cook, a woman who just lost a son in the Vietnam War.

Watch This On YouTube

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Follow us on Letterboxd

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on X

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on TikTok

Follow us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Watch This Episode On YouTube

Season three opens with a powerful return to the show of Ibrahim Nash'at, the multi-award-winning Egyptian documentary filmmaker whose film, HOLLYWOODGATE, is shortlisted for the 2025 Oscars in best documentary feature.

In this episode, we talk about:

• his confidence that this is where his film would wind up and how that belief helped him during filming with the Taliban in Afghanistan;
• the story behind the amazing tale of HOLLYWOODGATE;
• the meaning behind how he powerfully closes the film and his limited narration;
• where people can watch HOLLYWOODGATE, now streaming through the end of January on Jolt;
• the documentary genre of bringing unique experiences to viewers and his view on how directors can bring about positive change in the world;
• his favorite review of HOLLYWOODGATE;
• if the Taliban has reached out to him;
• what's next for this vibrant, stunning, Berlin-based filmmaker.

Ibrahim's Indie Film Highlight: YINTAH (2024) dir. by Jennifer Wickham, Michael Toledano, Brenda Michell

Links:

Watch HOLLYWOODGATE Now On Jolt

Follow HOLLYWOODGATE on Instagram

Happy holidays! We wrap up season two with Lisa Trifone, a multitalented woman who founded Bright Iris Film Co. No matter what angle you come at indie films, Lisa has it covered. Several of the films highlighted on the pod came from work Lisa did, and as I mention in the episode, I knew that they'd be good because an email came from Lisa Trifone and Bright Iris. I thought she'd be reluctant to share her secrets -- she's not! Here they all are.

In this episode, we talk about:

• how an indie film marketing company works to be "invisible";
• how the multitalented film critic, festival-runner, and marketer got started in filmmaking;
• her start: did she take on projects she always believed in or things that would keep a roof over her head?;
• when should filmmakers start thinking about hiring a publicity firm?;
• does she plan the festival strategy along with marketing the film -- and is it a viable way forward for indie films?;
• what kind of films and what level of distribution does she work on?
• what has she seen work for indie films in terms of marketing? she gives examples of what works in terms of film marketing;
• her thoughts on film festivals as a viable launch strategy for an indie film;
• what kind of clients she's looking for at Bright Iris and her fantastic work creating a module to help independent filmmakers.

Lisa's Indie Filmmaker Highlight: Ryan Balas

Links:

Publicity Essentials For Independent Films

Bright Iris Film Co

Follow Lisa Trifone

Special year-end thanks to my wife, Elizabeth Duchek, who listens to every episode, offers constructive feedback, and always offers encouragement. The pod wouldn't exist without her.

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

Director: Thomas Torrey

Writer: Thomas Torrey

Cast: Stephen Williams; Emily Althaus; Charley Koontz

SYNOPSIS

Nearing the end of another financially difficult year and feeling pressured to finally give up on his dreams, struggling musician Gabe Lovell wonders if his break is just around the corner when his rock star cousin offers him a spot in the final show of his tour.

Watch This On YouTube

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Follow us on Letterboxd

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on X

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on TikTok

Follow us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

I am so pleased to be joined by groundbreaking filmmaker Mira Shaib, director of Arzé, a brilliant first feature comedy-drama about the relationship of a family in Lebanon. (In North America, it should be released early next year.)

Mira Shaib is an alumnus of prestigious film development labs and residencies, including Robert Bosch Stiftung, where she attended the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Film Independent's Global Media Makers LA Residency, the Red Sea Lodge, and the Torino Film Lab. Her first feature film was among the first recipients of the Red Sea Film Festival Foundation Production Fund. Mira is the cofounder of Cinema For All, an arts initiative with a mission to make cinema accessible in rural Lebanon. The initiative was launched in 2019 in Ain Ebel with film-making workshops and outdoor screenings of Sophie Boutros' Mahbas and Cyril Aris's documentary feature The Swing.

In this episode, we talk about:

• how she got started and the amazing sense of place for this film -- did she ever feel pressure to downplay the Lebanese aspect?
• what they should expect to see when they watch the film;
• how she made a first feature without writing the script and the importance of making it as team with the writers;
• what it's like being a female director with a Lebanese film and the inspiration of other female directors like Nadine Labaki being nominated for the Oscars;
• the strength of her female characters in the film;
• the importance of the sense of place in Arzé and how she showed the colors of Lebanon;
• how she wouldn't feel comfortable making a film in a place she didn't know intimately;
• her thoughts on production grants, Arab film, and the Red Sea Film Festival;
• what the process was like for Arzé to be Lebanon's selection to the Oscars;
• how she feels about where she lives -- Montreal -- and its role in independent film;
• and what her next film will be -- "set in Lebanon...about sisters fighting over a house"

Mira's Indie Film Highlight: TO A LAND UNKNOWN (2024) dir. by Mahdi Fleifel

Links:

Follow Mira On Instagram

Follow Arzé On Instagram

Arzé On Letterboxd

Arzé On Wikipedia

Gratitude is the operative word with filmmaker Adam Kinyon, founder of Best Dressed Films and producing two independent features in 2024. How do you get your short made? What's the state of play for producers in independent film? If you're an indie director looking for a producer or a producer looking for a director, this episode is for you.

In this episode, we talk about:

• how Adam got started and the importance of mentorship;
• the importance of "relentless positivity". how he takes that attitude into his work, and it keeps him working constantly;
• what he's working on now, producing films with a lot of moving parts without having a lot of money;
• how he sees the disconnect between money and creators;
• crowdfunding's place in indie filmmaking;
• what kind of films, genres, and directors he's looking for.

And he's "Delta till he dies." So are we, Adam. (Check out on the indie films on your next Delta flight.)

Adam's Indie Film Highlights: THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (2021) dir. by Joachim Trier; PAST LIVES (2023) dir. by Celine Song

Links:

Best Dressed Films

Follow Adam Kinyon

Happy Veterans Day! Sign up for a $1 membership to Film Independent

If there's a more innovative, surprising, enjoyable, and fun documentary than STARRING JERRY AS HIMSELF (2023), I haven't seen it this year. It's no surprise all those attributes could be used to describe my conversation with its director, Law Chen.

In this episode, we discuss:

• how he got involved in filmmaking as a combination of growing up in China and the United States;
• how life in China influenced him today;
• how the intersection of filmmaking and advertising provides him a "cheat code" for making films people want to watch;
• how he takes a sledgehammer to normal documentary with STARRING JERRY AS HIMSELF (2023), a "genre-bending, docu-fiction about an ordinary immigrant dad retired in Florida who becomes a spy for the Chinese police";
• if there were people who didn't get the concept -- he finds that it is especially loved by "filmmakers and actors";
• if hybrid documentary and docu-fiction is the future of documentary;
• his thoughts on international film and when we get to global cinema rather than categorized filmmaking;
• what Chinese indie filmmaking is like and whether he feels a responsibility to tell these unique unheard stories;
• and how the immigrant experiences speaks to what he wants to accomplish in film. We conclude by discussing how he determines a feature versus a short ("if it's scenario-based, it's more of a short") and what's next for this groundbreaking filmmaker.

Law's Indie Film Highlight: RAGING GRACE (2023) dir. by Paris Zarcilla

Links:

Stream Now On Apple TV

Stream Now On Amazon Prime

Stream Everywhere You Rent Movies

Law Chen's Website

Watch This Episode On YouTube

There's something so inspiring about a filmmaker who has a million different reasons for why he shouldn't be selected for this fellowship or that school, but goes forward boldly, anyway, and stays humble about it.

And also a guy who would love the opportunity to teach at his film school -- NYU -- but I completely believe him when he says that he would quit if it got in the way of his feature filmmaking.

That's the story of my guest, filmmaker Ward Kamel.

Most recently, Ward was selected as one of four individuals and one writing team for the 2024 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, but that's barely scratching the surface about the wild journey of this unique filmmaker.

In this episode, we discuss:

• how he got started in filmmaking; originally, he thought he was studying science;
• his thoughts on the importance of attending film school -- he attended NYU -- and being a team player;
• whether film school's admissions department did their job, in his mind;
• his film, IF I DIE IN AMERICA, now available as a Vimeo Staff Pick;
• if that film is a template for filmmakers -- can you make a truly fantastic short film and get rewarded for it?;
• how filmmaking is unique in art as it involves more than just the artist's vision -- it's an art with a side of management;
• the story behind how he won a 2024 Academy Nicholl Fellowship and what the process is applying for it (it's a lot easier than other fellowships);
• the surreptitious way in which he was notified by the Academy;
• how he "doubled down" on screenwriting after graduating;
• the left-brain, right-brain-related importance of directing and screenwriting;
• the importance, as Vlad Nikolich noted, of subtlety in screenwriting and how he accomplished that in IF I DIE IN AMERICA;
• treating your audience "like they are geniuses; you can tell when the director thinks you're dumb";
• how "it's very impossible to make something for someone else" in the sense of creating a film you don't believe in;
• how best to capitalize on the moment of a viral video or a prestigious fellowship -- celebration isn't enough, it's "an invitation to share" and you should be ready with whatever's next when that moment comes;
• whether emerging filmmakers feel like they can make films about tough topics -- "I'm Muslim. I was raised Muslim. This is a queer Muslim film. I'm a queer Muslim filmmaker" -- and he concludes that filmmakers should go for it;
• why there is a noticeable lack of Arab and Muslim voices in independent film;
• where he goes to watch films from the area;
• what he would teach at NYU and if there were professors he felt he could relate to
• what's next for this extraordinarily talented, fellowship winning, Brookyln-living, would quit his theoretical job at NYU for his feature film, filmmaker.

Ward's Indie Film/Filmmaker Highlight: JOYLAND (2022) dir. by Saim Sadiq; MY FIRST FILM (2024) dir. by Zia Anger; Brit Marling

Links:

Ward Kamel's Website

IF I DIE IN AMERICA Vimeo Staff Pick

There is no other filmmaker working today that personifies being the "man in the arena", as Theodore Roosevelt so eloquently put it, than Matthew Heineman. His films have ranged from the frontlines of wars to the sweet and touching portrayal of Jon Batiste in AMERICAN SYMPHONY (2023). Just making one such film could be a career pinnacle -- Matthew has directed 14 wholly original, extraordinary special artistic contributions to the medium -- and he's here to share the details.

In this episode, we discuss:

• you don't just walk onto the stage of Radio City Music Hall, in a special operations team room, or in a emergency room during COVID -- these are remarkably unique places. How did he manage that?
• how he is comfortable in such a wide array of different topics;
• whether he would recommend his path (he says it's important to have a "curiosity about the world");
• how his first film, OUR TIME (2009) was in a way his film school;
• how he sees the difference between journalism and documentary;
• his process regarding trust between filmmaker and subject ("trust is everything"), and he talks about how he earned the trust for the closeups in AMERICAN SYMPHONY;
• the story behind the creation of AMERICAN SYMPHONY;
• his reaction to the whiplash of the media regarding its chances at the Oscars and how he views awards as a filmmaker; Matt talks movingly about his relationship with awards as his career has evolved;
• "why do we make art and who do we make art for are questions that we constantly need to be asking";
• his relationship with the art of filmmaking, his friendship with Roger Deakins, and the importance of sound;
• what's next for one of the most talented filmmakers we have in both the narrative and documentary world and how he is able to toggle between both successfully.

Matt's Indie Film Highlight: MURDERBALL (2005) dir. by Dana Adam Shapiro; Henry-Alex Rubin; SHERMAN'S MARCH (1986) dir. by Ross McElwee

Links:

Our Time Projects

Follow Matthew on Instagram