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There's something especially New York about the sentiment of my guest, Anthony Argento, saying, "we're only going to give you what you give us" about film promotion.

And in the best possible sense, that kind of New Yorker attitude is at the heart of the Greenpoint Film Festival, now celebrating its 15th year and 7th under the leadership of Mr. Argento, who started officially in 2020 but worked with the festival for a few years beforehand.

The Greenpoint Film Festival first came on my radar last year when they accepted the literal second guest of the pod's film, SUNSET SOMEWHERE (2026), directed by Christopher Jarvis, and my interest only grew when I looked at their international, diverse lineup.

With the organizing principle "unbound", Greenpoint is making its name as a festival for filmmakers by filmmakers, and I'm excited for it continuing under Anthony's leadership.

Make your way to Greenpoint August 5th through the 9th; after listening to this episode, I think you'll realize why it's worth it.

Anthony and I talk about:

• why should audience members and filmmakers attend the Greenpoint Film Festival;
• the theme of "unbound" and the lineup for the festival;
• what he's learned directing the festival for six (plus) years;
• how filmmakers should approach the film festival experience;
• the festival's place in NYC and nationally;
• social media's role in accepting films (do you check follower counts?) and what do you ask of filmmakers after accepting their film;
• what he's learned as a filmmaker running the festival and why he thinks it's important as a way to stay current;
• the future plans for the festival and what's next for him.

Memorable Quotes:

About running the festival during the pandemic: " I came up with the drive-in because we were able to be consolidated in their own cars, in their own bubbles, and everyone was safe and enjoying the the artworks, and we really made it happen, and I feel like that was a revolutionary step for us."

" If you check on our socials, we're, posting individually for every project."

"We're only going to give you what you give us."

" I see this a lot...people...hold on to their film and always taking advice and always changing things up and trying to re-edit and that's the hole that you don't want to fall into."

Links:

Buy Tickets For the Greenpoint Film Festival

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I imagine there's not a lot of debate out there but here's what I believe: there's nothing worse in the human experience than losing a son or daughter. It violates our understanding of the cycle of life and it forces a unyielding loss amongst the living that can never be taken away.

Any experience so intense can, in the right hands, be channeled to create great art, so I am drawn to stories like STILL LIFE (2026), which is an official selection this year of the HollyShorts Film Festival.

And let me tell you: in the hands of writer/producer Kate Radcliffe and director Sophie King, they deal with the topic of stillbirth with empathy, humor, and understanding. I think this film will forge important new conversations and result in so many people suffering the worst pain that we could all experience to feel a little bit more heard. Bravo, STILL LIFE team, you made brilliant art.

In this conversation, Kate and I talk about:

• what she tells people about STILL LIFE and how to talk about the film afterwards;
• does a writer need firsthand knowledge of the kind of grief in this film to write about it?
• how she got involved in filmmaking and why she decided to make this film;
• why give away so much in the title and the description?;
• the decision to make the audience rethink STILL LIFE in the middle of the film;
• what makes a film great and not so great on this topic;
• why is comedy so hard to write?
• what's next for her.

Memorable Quotes:

" That was the actual reason we made the film was to start that conversation about baby loss."

" We lost Dexter, and we went into lockdown, and so that was incredibly tough, but it meant I had to sit with my grief."

" When I first started writing it, my parents were-- I was like, "Oh, I'm doing a dark comedy about stillbirth." And they were like, "It doesn't sound very funny." 

Links:

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The Straight 8 Super 8 Experience That Sophie King Won An Audience Award in 2022

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: SHOT CALLER (2017)

Director: Ric Roman Waugh

Written By: Ric Roman Waugh

Stars: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau; Omari Hardwick; Lake Bell; Jon Bernthal

SYNOPSIS

A California stockbroker is arrested and charged for a fatal DUI accident, and on his lawyer's advice, takes a plea deal which sees him sentenced to 16 months in prison. While incarcerated, he becomes involved with a violent white supremacist gang.

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Director Zoe Zhou's film, WE ARE HAPPY FISH (2025), is described as "a nihilistic girl escapes from her family with a robot boy to revive a dead fish", which by itself is interesting and accurate. But it only nibbles at how wild, zany, carefree the film is.

Zoe also pushes back at the idea that film school would ever take the edges off her work. In this film, she does an amazing job blending "surrealism, dark humor, and social commentary", as she states for her goal, and I'll be the first person in line to watch whatever is next.

In this episode, Zoe and I talk about:

• was this the same basic story of when it started?
• why the Toronto Metropolitan University?
• were the interests of " blending surrealism, body horror, dark humor, and social commentary" shaped by film school?
• her philosophy on casting;
• why the Future of Film Showcase and why Toronto?;
• what's next for her and what draws her to bloody and horror.

Zoe's Indie Film Highlight: WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES (2019) dir. by Makoto Nagahisa; AND SO WE PUT GOLDFISH IN THE POOL (2017)

Memorable Quotes:

" For my style, I usually make like very bloody or like Japanese cult kind of stuffs before this short film."

" I think school always trying to protect the students from doing dangerous stuff, so I'm always kinda pushing the boundaries from the classes. 

Links:

Follow Zoe On Instagram

IMA Film student wins Best Film at MDFF Selects Student Showcase 2025

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Director Will Niava's film, JAZZ INFERNAL (2025), is showing on July 23rd at the Future of Film Showcase in Toronto. If you're reading this before the date and can go, what are you waiting for? Buy tickets!

It's that incredible, one of the best films I've seen all year. It won a Short Film Jury Award at Sundance last year and very deservedly so. Will is an Ivorian-Ghanaian film director and screenwriter based in Montreal, Quebec. And think about that sentence for a moment: there's few like it in the English language that conjures up that many cultural influences in 13 words. And the best way to describe Will's films is that he brings all of those together into pure artistry.

If the interview feels short, blame me. The Future of Film press person asked, will 20 minutes be fine, and I stupidly said yes and regretted the decision fifteen seconds into the interview.

On your next film, Will, I won't make that mistake again, trust me.

In this episode, Will and I talk about:

• how he describes his award-winning Sundance film;
• its evolution from a lighthearted comedy to a love letter for his father;
• if the prestigious awards it earned changes his mind about making a short;
• how he got started in filmmaking;
• the concept of taste versus talent;
• what's next for him.

Will's Indie Film/Filmmaker Highlight: PARADISE (2025) dir. by Jérémy Comte; MY FATHER'S SHADOW (2025) dir. by Akinola Davies Jr; Harley Francis; Zion Saffer; Samuel Caron

Memorable Quotes:

"[My wife told me] you have to talk about your grief. And my grief felt personal."

" This is what a short film has done for me, so I can never recommend against it."

Links:

Follow Will On Instagram

Buy Tickets For JAZZ INFERNAL at The Future Of Film Showcase

My guest, Hazel McKibbin, directs films that make top festivals. She edits films that make top festivals. And she makes commercials for brands at the Met Gala. And yet:

Here's Hazel taking on a project about masculinity called LAST MAN UP (2026). Last episode, I praised writer and actor Robert R. Palmer for offering Hazel the opportunity to direct his project, so she deserves equal credit for taking it on. I could see a lesser director -- a lesser person -- saying no, but as she talks about in the episode, she saw it as an opportunity to expand her skillset.

To say I wish there were more directors like Hazel is a bit of a non-descriptive statement: of course. What I mean by that is let's celebrate risk takers who leave their comfort zone of the material they are used to and take on somebody's project, or do something different.

And if you're as talented as Hazel is, it'll work out beautifully.

Hazel and I talk about:

• how she describes the film;
• why she decided to take on a story like this with a background in films "with a feminist lens";
• the reaction of other people when she took on this project;
• her entry into filmmaking and if starting out as an editor helps;
• the conversations she has with a director as an editor and vice versa now that she's directed several films;
• the increase in projects she's directed that were written by actors;
• what her wishes are for short films;
• why film school and why Columbia?
• her amazing Sundance experience;
• what's next for her.

Hazel's Indie Film/Filmmaker Highlight: AU HASARD BALTHAZAR (1966) dir. by Robert Bresson; Joanna Hogg

Memorable Quotes:

"It's a story about what it means to be the man of the house."

" If you just leave it to an editor, and they fix it before they give it to you, I feel like you're missing an opportunity to to learn as a director."

"I think actors as writers, they are so good at dialogue."

" One of the things that especially I tell my students, [short films are] unity of time, place, and action."

" Between commercials and narrative, there's not a lot of crossover."

" I submitted it because you submit your first film to Sundance, you just do."

Links:

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Watch DOUBLESPEAK (2021)

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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: LEFT-HANDED GIRL (2025)

Director: Shih-Ching Tsou

Writers: Shih-Ching Tsou; Sean Baker

Stars: Janel Tsai; Shih-Yuan Ma; Nina Ye

SYNOPSIS

After a single mother and her two daughters return to Taipei to start anew, their fragile family dynamic is tested by debt and a dying patriarch. But when the traditional grandfather strictly forbids the youngest, left-handed granddaughter from using her 'devil hand,' generations of deep-seated family secrets begin to unravel.

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This is a director's podcast, but the truth is I don't talk with enough actors on here about the struggle they face in indie film. It offers a different lens on how difficult it is to get things made. That's why I'm so happy to be joined by Robert R. Palmer, actor/writer in the film LAST MAN UP (2026), which premiered at the Palm Springs International ShortFest.

When we talked about the plight of actors, and I went through the ways especially an LA-based person had to get ahead -- influencing; writing your own script for a great role; other social media activities -- the difficult challenge for actors right now is getting ahead....by actually acting!

So Robert did something creative: he wrote a project that he could star in and then reached out to an ultra-talented director named Hazel McKibbin. (I'll talk to Hazel next episode.) It's both a show of humility and genius, and I cannot wait for you to hear his story.

Robert and I talk about:

• how he describes the film;
• what it's like writing a role that you know -- as an actor -- you'll play;
• taking a story about masculinity and pitching it to a director who sees things through a feminist lens;
• how he got involved in filmmaking and how he wrote this project to get to the level of work he wanted to be at;
• what life is like as a young actor in LA;
• working with the director for the film and what he wishes directors knew about the acting life;
• what's next for him and why you should hire him for your next project.

Memorable Quotes:

"It's a tragedy, but a fun tragedy."

On masculinity and feminism: " they're two sides of the same coin";

"I'm an actor, first and foremost."

" Being a young actor in LA, it's a grind. It's a hustle."

"Actors want to be left alone."

Links:

Follow Robert On Instagram

Director Daniel Bogran made a film that could be spoiled with just a few words and it would change the entire dynamic of how you watch it. So I'm not going to do that. But the "how" behind him filming THE KILLING MOON ("A wealthy couple's lake vacation takes a sinister, seductive turn when an attractive stranger shows up wounded at their door") is definitely worth a conversation. It had its international premiere at Raindance in London this year.

So is his short film LOW (2019), now streaming on YouTube. You'll see a few familiar actors on LOW, and how he was able to keep his crew together for over 6 years is certainly something we talk about.

New Orleans, tropes in films like this, we talk about it all with Daniel for the pod.

In this episode, Daniel and I discuss:

• how to prevent spoilers for a film with a big twist and the process of writing it;
• how he got into filmmaking through editing -- and New Orleans;
• what was the best way to stay in touch with a team as he moved from different projects seven years apart;
• how he stuck with this film even when producers wanted to put in other directors;
• are producers that blunt about taking a writer off their project?
• why Raindance and the social media plan for the film;
• thoughts on release strategy after a viral YouTube hit;
• the stereotypes of New Orleans;
• turning tropes on their head in a film and using misdirection;
• what the reaction to his film has been.

Daniel's Indie Film Highlight: FALCON LAKE (2022) dir. by Charlotte Le Bon

Memorable Quotes:

"[Editing] is something that's ... completely unique to filmmaking. Every other part of filmmaking comes from something else."

" I think a lot of it is just developing almost like a secondhand language."

" I personally like cliches and tropes because they are very potent. They have a lot of power in them and a lot of expectation that's built into them."

Links:

Follow THE KILLING MOON On Instagram

How many Gen Z filmmakers say, nah, the story I'm feeling is a middle aged undocumented Chinese immigrant cook worried about survival in America. And it's 23 minutes long. You'll hear in almost every professional film course or, ahem, podcast, short films are hard to make or make your film shorter for festivals. And that advice is right, of course.

It's great advice. But it doesn't even begin to speak to what makes art and a singular vision special, and for my guest today, Taiwanese-American filmmaker Benny Chen, his vision is HAND (2026), which premiered at the Cleveland International Film Festival this year, and I'm here for it.

Here for what's great about filmmakers like Benny. Understand the advice, and then if your vision calls for it, break it. It's the only way we got somewhere closer to the Holy Grail of independent filmmaking: authenticity. And that alone is the advice that can never be sacrificed.

In this episode, Benny and I discuss:

• what it was like seeing HAND in a theater -- props to the Cleveland International Film Festival;
• his journey from Taiwan to filmmaking;
• what he means by finding the balance between Eastern and Western cinema;
• if he feels HAND connects the two and how he describes the film;
• the run time of 23 minutes;
• casting middle aged people as a young filmmaker;
• the benefits of making a short film for his team;
• what's next for him and what does being a Taiwanese-American filmmaker mean to him.

Benny's Indie Film Highlight: WE WERE HERE (2026) dir. by Pranav Bhasin

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