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Welcome Back, Listeners! R. Scott McHenry wrote and directed the short film, “Sentient,” that had its World Premiere at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025.                                                                                                                                         Scott took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film – Thriller as well as the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Director – Thriller!                                                                                                                             And… spoiler alert… I’ve already seen Scott’s follow-up film and it’s fantastic! Follow Scott on Instagram at @rsmchenry Watch Sentient HERE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out. Nick Zweig created the animated masterpiece “I am Duck,” an official selection at FIlm Invasion Los Angeles 2025 that took home three awards including the Filmmakers Awards for Outstanding Short Film – Animation and Outstanding Originality – Animation, as well as the Grand Jury Award for Best Lead Performer – Animation to Marianna Hersko for her amazing voice performance of Duck. You can watch “I am Duck” right now at this link! As you can tell if you listened to our full chat on Friday, Nick is a truly visionary filmmaker and all around cool guy.  I couldn’t wait to get to the 4 Questions to see what types of films inspired him! Visit & subscribe to Nick’s YouTube Channel @nickzweig9248 Follow Nick on Instagram at @nickzweig _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

Happy Friday Film Folks! Nick Zweig created the animated masterpiece “I am Duck,” an official selection at FIlm Invasion Los Angeles 2025 that took home three awards! Specifically, the Filmmakers Awards for Outstanding Short Film – Animation and Outstanding Originality – Animation, as well as the Grand Jury Award for Best Lead Performer – Animation to Marianna Hersko for her amazing voice performance of Duck. The great news is that you can watch “I am Duck” right now at this link! I sincerely cannot heap enough praise onto Nick’s writing, animation, and vision. And guess what? Nick is a cool a person as his work is great. We had a fantastically memorable Q&A at FI-LA 2025 and the fun resumed on this podcast. Enjoy! Visit & subscribe to Nick’s YouTube Channel @nickzweig9248 Follow Nick on Instagram at @nickzweig _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out. Daniel Padulo wrote, produced, directed, and co-starred in the hilarious short film “A Haunt in Bushwick,” an Official Selection at Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 that won Daniel the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Screenplay, Short Film – Comedy. I had to know what films inspired him to wear so many hats by digging deeper in the 4 Questions! In the meantime, you can follow Daniel on Instagram at @the_padulo _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

Happy Monday and welcome back to reality for any Coachella-goers. Daniel Padulo wrote, produced, and directed the hilarious short film “A Haunt in Bushwick,” an Official Selection at Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 that won Daniel the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Screenplay, Short Film – Comedy. Daniel also co-stars along with lead actor Sophia Drapeau, whose character Daniella has what you might call a complicated relationship with Daniel’s character Vincent. We held the Los Angeles premiere for “A Haunt in Bushwick” at SOFF 2025 and it remains on the festival circuit, but as soon as Daniel’s ready to release it online we’ll have a link for you here. In the meantime, you can follow Daniel on Instagram at @the_padulo _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out. Olivia Haller and Anna Long wrote the feature length screenplay “The Experience” that was an Official Selection at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025.                                                                                                            , Anna Long ALSO brought the short film “Death in The Desert” to FI-LA 2025, taking home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Writing – Drama.                                                                                                             Anna came in for a podcast in December 2025 to talk about “Death in The Desert” and mentioned that it would be great to have Olivia on as well.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Who could say no? And that means a double 4 Questions follow up- do we call it the 8Qs? Follow Olivia on Instagram at @olivia_haller Follow Anna on Instagram at @thisisannalong _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

We have a terrific mid-week episode for you fine folks! Olivia Haller and Anna Long wrote the feature length screenplay “The Experience” that was an Official Selection at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025.                                                                                                            In other words, the screenplay jury placed “The Experience” in the Top 5 out of over one hundred screenplays! Coincidentally, Anna Long also brought the short film “Death in The Desert” to FI-LA 2025, taking home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Writing – Drama. Anna came in for a podcast in December 2025 to talk about “Death in The Desert” and mentioned that it would be great to have Olivia on as well.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Who could say no? Follow Olivia on Instagram at @olivia_haller Follow Anna on Instagram at @thisisannalong _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out. JT Doran brought the film “More Dead Than Living” to Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025 for its L.A. Premiere and happened to take home the Programmer’s Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking AND THEN  went on to be an official selection at Sherman Oaks Film Festival later that year and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film, Comedy and well as Outstanding Screenplay, Comedy. We had a fantastic chat and, in my opinion, a pretty great follow up 4 Questions. You can watch “More Dead Than Living” right now at https://www.youtube.com/@twohander. Follow JT’s work on Instagram at @twohanderfilms _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

Happy Friday, Listeners! JT Doran brought the film “More Dead Than Living” to Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025 for its L.A. Premiere and happened to take home the Programmer’s Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking.                                              “More Dead Than Living” went on to also be an official selection at Sherman Oaks Film Festival later that year and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film, Comedy and well as Outstanding Screenplay, Comedy. We met at FI-LA’s Opening Night Gala and odds are I thanked him for flying out to L.A. from NYC.                                                                                                                                                                                                  Our only disagreement is who is the cooler person; I say it’s JT and since I’m typing this I won’t even acknowledge his point of view here. The great news is that you can watch “More Dead Than Living” right now at https://www.youtube.com/@twohander. Follow JT’s work on Instagram at @twohanderfilms or their Official Website: www.two-hander.com Enjoy! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

We have a very special THURSDAY episode to gift you this week! Sevan Najarian directed and produced the recently released animated feature film, “The Whitest Kids U’Know’s MARS.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Sevan is an experienced animator and FX artist as well as a director; his credits include “Mystery Science Theater,” Adult Swim’s “Children’s Hospital” and an extensive array of animated projects from Channel 101 fame. “MARS” was conceived during the production of the original “The Whitest Kids U’Know” sketch series.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Thanks to a booming fanbase on Twitch, the troupe was able to crowdfund the animated film’s budget and commence production. Guess what that means? Sevan and the troupe – Trevor Moore, Zach Cregger, Sam Brown, Darren Trumeter, and Timmy Williams – got to make the exact film they wanted without interference or censorship. Go to wkukmars.com  to find out where and when you can catch the film as it works its way around theaters. Go to sevannajarian.com to learn more about Sevan and his work or follow him on IG @sevannajarian _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out. Alyson Croft wrote, produced and starred in “Jesus Loves Me,” a fantastic film that had its World Premiere at Film Invasion Los Angeles 2025, taking home the Programmer’s Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking AND THEN returned later that year to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival with “Tweens,” a thrilling dramatic short that she co-wrote and performs in and took home the Programmer’s Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking. I obviously had to get deep with such an impressive and ambitious filmmaker and follow up with the 4 Questions. Follow Alyson’s Actors Cartel Academy on Instagram at @actors_cartel_academy Follow Alyson on Instagram at @croftalyson Check out Alyson’s book “Speaking Actor: A Guide to Speaking The Language of Actors” at Amazon.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

Happy Monday! When introducing Alyson Croft on this podcast, it sounds like I am joking when I say, “2025 was the year of Alyson Croft.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   It’s not a joke! Alyson wrote, produced and starred in “Jesus Loves Me,” a fantastic film that had its World Premiere at Film Invasion Los Angeles 2025, taking home the Programmer’s Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking. Alyson returned later that year to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival with “Tweens,” a thrilling dramatic short that she co-wrote and performs in.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   No surprise that “Tweens” also took home the Programmer’s Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking. On top of that, we did a little additional screening between the two festivals that included “Jesus Loves Me,” officially the last in-theater Q&A’s that I may ever personally moderate.                                                                                                                                                                     Hey, this is a big deal for me! I moderated every Q&A at two festivals for nearly a decade, but now that the festivals have grown to multiple screens I am needed elsewhere. I’ve still got the podcast to interview filmmakers, but Alyson will always be one of my last in-theater Q&A’s. Follow Alyson’s Actors Cartel Academy on Instagram at @actors_cartel_academy Follow Alyson on Instagram at @croftalyson Check out Alyson’s book “Speaking Actor: A Guide to Speaking The Language of Actors” at Amazon.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

What are the 4Qs? (1) Three favorite films. (2) An underrated film. (3) An overrated film. (4) A lesser-known film people should seek out. Sam Gasch’s fantastic screenplay “My Dog Loves Broccoli”  was an Official Selection at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025. On top of being a very talented writer, he is an all around lovely person so I was thrilled to dig deeper after our chat and get some of his inspos with the 4 Questions. Follow Sam at @samgasch on BlueSky Follow Sam’s podcast Ideal Remake at @idealremake on Instagram _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

A have a great interview for you Lovely Listeners today! I first met Sam Gasch at FIlm Invasion Los Angeles in 2023, when his feature length screenplay “The Blanket” was an Official Selection.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Both Film Invasion L.A. and Sherman Oaks Film Festival have categories for unproduced screenplays and they get a LOT of submissions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         In other words, when a screenplay is an Official Selection that means it is very, very good.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 This makes it all the more impressive that last year Sam returned, this time with the Official Selection screenplay “My Dog Loves Broccoli” at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025. Smart, humorous and personable, Sam is one the people I end up chatting with the most at a festival event.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           I was delighted to see his name pop up on my calendar for a podcast recording. I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed being a part of it! Follow Sam at @samgasch on BlueSky Follow Sam’s podcast Ideal Remake at @idealremake on Instagram _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles

I hope everyone is having a great start to their week! I know I am because Nickolas Gilbert has returned! Nick was on the Discover Indie Film podcast to discuss his film “Nailed” back in March 2022 on episodes 239. Nick is back to talk about his follow-up project, “La Petite Mortimer,” an Official Selection at Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 where it took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Originality, Short Film – Comedy. We’ve only had these two conversations, but I can sincerely say that Nick is one my favorites. His films are always a breath of fresh air and he’s always been a welcome presence when he comes to a film festival party or screening. You can learn more about Nick’s work both at Distortion Field  and on Instagram at @nickolasgilbert Although, like yours truly Nick generally shuns social media! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Links DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website Sherman Oaks Film Festival Film Invasion Los Angeles