Slamdance First Film Podcast

Today's guest is legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, director of THE GODFATHER, THE CONVERSATION, APOCALYPSE NOW, and MEGALOPOLIS. His debut feature film, DEMENTIA 13, was made for just $40,000, produced by Roger Corman, and launched one of the greatest filmmaking careers of all time. Listen to Francis share tips, tricks, and his iconic origin story.

Slamdance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman, Eddie Bernard, Taylor Miller, and the entire Slamdance Team.

Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast:

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Today's guest is writer-director Wendy McColm, whose award-winning debut feature film BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival.Links: BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS (Tubi)FUZZY HEAD (Tubi)

Sladance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. QC by Max Brown and Tara Blossom. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team.

Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast:

Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm)

X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod)

YouTube (/Slamdance)

Please share, rate, and review!

For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: [email protected]

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Today's guest is writer-director Todd Berger, whose debut feature film THE SCENESTERS premiered at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival. Learn how Todd got his start making viral videos for the internet, raising money for an indie comedy, how to play the small film festival circuit to gain traction, and getting a distribution deal with Showtime. Links: The Scenesters (Tubi)It's a Disaster (Tubi)

Slamdance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. QC by Max Brown and Tara Blossom. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team.

Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast:

Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm)

X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod)

YouTube (/Slamdance)

Please share, rate, and review!

For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: [email protected]

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Today's guest is writer-director Francis Lee, whose debut feature film GOD'S OWN COUNTRY premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival where it won the World Cinema Directing Award. Francis shares how he made his first feature film in his 40s, how he writes his screenplays in a word document, the importance of creating a soundscape, keeping your crew small, and how he convinced Kate Winslet to star in his second feature, AMMONITE. Francis Lee's short film, "Bradford Halifax London", screened at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2013.

Links: God's Own Country (Tubi)Ammonite (Amazon)

Slamdance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team.

Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast:

Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm)

X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod)

YouTube (/Slamdance)

Please share, rate, and review!

For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: [email protected]

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Today's guest is filmmaker Joe Penna, whose debut feature film ARCTIC premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. Joe got his start making videos on YouTube as MysteryGuitarMan, where Joe honed his skills behind the camera, earning commercial directing opportunities while attracting millions of subscribers and racking  up hundreds of millions of views. Joe's pivot to make his first feature film ARCTIC was filled with trial and error, experimentation, consulting with experts, and building a stellar team. Learn how Joe convinced Mads Mikkelsen to sign on, how to survive a punishing shoot in the arctic, and how getting something special in the "can" led him to premiere in Cannes! His second feature film, STOWAWAY, starring Anna Kendrick and Toni Collette, is now streaming on Netflix.Links: Arctic (Amazon)Stowaway (Netflix)

Slamdance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team.

Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast:

Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm)

X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod)

YouTube (/Slamdance)

Please share, rate, and review!

For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: [email protected]

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Today's guest is writer-director Blake Robbins, talking about his debut

Link: The Sublime and Beautiful (Tubi)The Scent of Rain and Lightning (Tubi)

Slamdance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher.

Produced by Peter Baxter.

Edited by Daniel Angarita.

Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team.

Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast:

Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm)

X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod)

YouTube (/Slamdance)

Please share, rate, and review!

For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guest is writer/director Clark Gregg talking about his debut feature film CHOKE (based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk) starring Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Clark Gregg got his start as an actor, joining the Atlantic Theater Company with David Mamet and William H. Macy. His acting credits include THE AVENGERS, 500 DAYS OF SUMMER and STATE AND MAIN. In addition to acting, Clark began writing screenplays and was hired to write WHAT LIES BENEATH for Robert Zemeckis. Listen to Clark as he provides tremendous insight in how to navigate the world of independent film financing, working with A-list actors, and how betting on yourself is the key to getting any film made. 

Slamdance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team.

Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast:

Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm)

X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod)

YouTube (/Slamdance)

Please share, rate, and review!

For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guest is director Seth Gordon, whose career is filled with Hollywood hits such as Four Christmases, Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief. He got his start making the hilarious indie documentary THE KING OF KONG: FISTFUL OF QUARTERS which premiered at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival. Hear how Seth found the hilarious story, worked with his larger than life subjects, how his film festival screener went viral (pre-YouTube) and how he parlayed his documentary into a huge career in Hollywood. Seth's most recent film, BACK IN ACTION with Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, is now streaming on Netflix.

Link: The King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters (Rent/Buy)

Slamdance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. QC by Max Brown and Tara Blossom. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team.

Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast:

Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm)

X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod)

YouTube (/Slamdance)

Please share, rate, and review!

For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guests are the directors behind the indie hit THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON-- Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson. Hear their inspiring story of making a scrappy proof of concept, the art of the cold email, how Shia LaBeouf signed on without even reading the script, becoming experts in your film, and the secrets to creating genuine word of mouth. Their most recent film, LOS FRIKIS, is now available to rent or buy.Links:The Peanut Butter Falcon (Rent/Buy)Los Frikis (Rent/Buy)

Slamdance First Film Podcast is created and hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Evan Silverberg, Paul Rachman, and the entire Slamdance Team.

Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast:

Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm)

X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod)

YouTube (/Slamdance)

Please share, rate, and review!

For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: [email protected]

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Today's guest is acclaimed filmmaker Lynne Sachs. Her debut documentary feature film, INVESTIGATION OF A FLAME, is about the nine Vietnam War protesters, who in 1968, walked into a Catonsville, Maryland draft board office, grabbed hundreds of selective service records and burned them with homemade napalm. Learn how she tracked down the subjects and won their trust, why it can be important to capture visuals and audio separately, how Final Cut Pro allowed her to edit while raising a family, and helpful tips to secure a film grant. This is a must-listen episode for documentary filmmakers and fans. Lynne Sachs' recent film, Film About A Father Who, was an official selection at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2020.

Links:

Investigation of a Flame (Rent/Buy)

Film About a Father Who (Rent/Buy)

Slamdance First Film Podcast is created and hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman, and the entire Slamdance Team

Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast:

Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm)

X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod)

YouTube (/Slamdance)

Please share, rate, and review!

For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices