Discover Indie Film

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. Kristina Sullivan wrote, produced, and starred inthe short film “What If … You Had The Perfect Person,” a SciFi short that was an official selection at Sherman Oaks FIlm Festival in 2025 and took home the Filmmakers Awards for Outstanding Cast Performance – Short Film – SciFi and Outstanding Screenplay – Short Film – SciFi for screenwriter Kristina Sullivan! I already knew Kristina was an avid film lover before we chatted because she the way she attended and supported so many screenings at the festival, so I was extra excited to follow up with her 4 Questions! You can follow Kristina on Instagram at @misskristina617 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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, Listeners! Kristina Sullivan wrote, produced, and starred inthe short film “What If … You Had The Perfect Person,” a SciFi short that was an official selection at Sherman Oaks FIlm Festival in 2025 and took home the Filmmakers Awards for Outstanding Cast Performance – Short Film – SciFi and Outstanding Screenplay – Short Film – SciFi for screenwriter Kristina Sullivan! Not only did Kristina bring this excellent film to SOFF 2025, but she and her team were a wonderful presence at the festival.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             You know I love filmmakers who come to the festival, meet their peers and then hit screenings to see as many films as possible.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Kristina was there throughout the festival, as was her co-stars Clifton J. Williams, Don Daniels Jr., Ivonnah Erskine, and director Brandon Fobbs. You can follow Kristina on Instagram at @misskristina617 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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

Time for another first on the Discover Indie Film podcast! We have a SECOND episode for you today and instead of having a filmmaker whose work was at Sherman Oaks FIlm Festival or Film Invasion Los Angeles on, the guest for this podcast is Halfdan “H” Hussey.             H, as he prefers to be called, is the CEO and CO-Founder of Cinequest (http://www.cinequest.org/). Set in the Silicon Valley, Cinequest is one of the highest regarded film festivals in the USA. Conquest fuses innovation with the filmed arts to empower great creations and to engage audiences, youth, artists, and innovators with these creations and with each other. People should attend Cinequest! The festival launches on March 10 and runs through March 22 in two locations across Silicon Valley. When I was asked to interview H for this podcast I had no doubt that two film festival founders would have lots to talk about, and we did!                                                                                                                                  H is a fantastic guest and someone whom any indie filmmaker, or fan of independent film, should know about. IG- @cinequestorg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Charlie Paulin wrote and directed the short film “Outed” that came to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Originality, Short Film – Comedy. I loved chatting with Charlie and was equally impressed with his 4 Questions answers! You can watch “Outed” right now on Shortframe at this link: https://youtu.be/aNmlDXc2cAE Follow Charlie on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@CharliePaulin96 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 Wednesday, Folks! Charlie Paulin wrote and directed the short film “Outed” that came to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Originality, Short Film – Comedy.                          “Outed” is one of those comedies that is hilarious the first time you watch it, but then each time you see it again it becomes even funnier.                                                                                                                           Why? It is mostly Charlie’s dialog, as he wrote rapid-fire yet subtle jokes within every single line that were delivered perfectly by his cast Jason Grobstich & Jaymes Mansfield. You can watch “Outed” right now on Shortframe at this link: https://youtu.be/aNmlDXc2cAE Follow Charlie on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@CharliePaulin96 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. We had a fun double interview that was posted Friday with filmmakers Andrew Klaus-Vineyard and Daniel Talbott. In 2025,  Andrew’s screenplay “Parking” was a Finalist for Grand Jury Award for Best Screenplay at Film Invasion Los Angeles, and Daniel’s short film “My Age Now” took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Cast Performance, Short Film, Arthouse- Experimental in Sherman Oaks Film Festival. I love that these sometimes collaborators wanted to do their chat with me together which made for an extra interesting 4 Questions follow up! Follow Andrew on Instagram at @andrewklausvineyard Follow Daniel on Instagram at @danielcamerontalbott _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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

You made it Friday and we have a great chat for you to start you weekend out right with! Andrew Klaus-Vineyard and Daniel Talbott stopped by to record a podcast together. Introducing these two is not simple for me because they both do so much that, really, I want to say this; Andrew and Daniel create. They often collaborate, defintely not always, but the unifying thread is that both are always creating. At Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025, Andrew’s screenplay “Parking” was a Finalist for Grand Jury Award for Best Screenplay.                                                                                                                                      Meanwhile, at Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025, Daniel’s short film “My Age Now” took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Cast Performance, Short Film, Arthouse- Experimental. Follow Andrew on Instagram at @andrewklausvineyard Follow Daniel on Instagram at @danielcamerontalbott _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Agnès Shinozaki directed and produced, as well as co-wrote, the short film “Lollie,” a beautifully touching film that she made in Brazil that premiered at FIlm Invasion Los Angeles in June 2025 and took home both the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film – Drama and for Outstanding Director – Drama for Agnès! Agnès was not able to travel to the festival, so I was very grateful for our chat and this follow up 4 Questions to get the chance to know more about her and her work. Follow Agnès on Instagram at @mov.agnes _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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! Agnès Shinozaki directed and produced, as well as co-wrote, the short film “Lollie,” a beautifully touching film that she made in Brazil.                                                                                                                                   The FIlm Invasion Los Angeles Team was proud to host its Los Angeles premiere in June 2025.                                                                                                                                                                                                  In fact, “Lollie” took home both the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film – Drama and for Outstanding Director – Drama for Agnès! Agnès was not able to travel to the festival, understandable considering the distance. That’s one of the things that makes this podcast special to me; when a filmmaker cannot make it to the festival the podcast gives me a chance to get to know more about them and their work. I don’t believe that you can catch “Lollie” online yet, but when it happens we will throw the link right here! Follow Agnès on Instagram at @mov.agnes _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Emma Steiger brought her short film “Wait To Tell Mother” to Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Screenplay – Short Film, as well as the Filmmakers Awards for Outstanding Short Film – Drama and Outstanding Director- Short Film – Drama. I hope you enjoyed listening to the interview as much as I did participating in it. Now for the follow up 4 Questions! Visit Emma’s website at https://www.emmasteiger.com Follow Emma on Instagram at @emma.steiger _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 Wednesday! Emma Steiger brought her short film “Wait To Tell Mother” to Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Screenplay – Short Film, as well as the Filmmakers Awards for Outstanding Short Film – Drama and Outstanding Director- Short Film – Drama. Considering Emma was the director, writer, co-lead actor and one of the producers on the film, and it is no surprise that their name appears on two of those awards! Emma was a delightful presence at the festival and even tolerated my overly paternal response to the film. If you cannot guess, “Wait To Tell Mother,” deals with family dynamics and someone like myself had to personally thank Emma at the festival for making such a wonderful film about a father’s role. I do love all the mother-daughter stories at the festivals, but give me a lovingly portrayed father- daughter story and I melt. I hope you enjoy the interview! Visit Emma’s website at https://www.emmasteiger.com Follow Emma on Instagram at @emma.steiger _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. MK wrote, directed and co-produced the short film “The Re- Education of Jane Brown” to Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film- Horror!                                            Every correspondence with MK has been so lovely and positive that it was no surprise to me that we had a had fantastic Four Questions follow up! Follow MK on Instagram at @mk.mcg Follow The Re-Education of Jane Brown on Instagram at @treojbfilm _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. I hope everyone is celebrating love this Valentine’s weekend, whether that be romantic love, love for a pet, or love for your favorite independent film podcast! MK McGee brought the short film “The Re- Education of Jane Brown” to Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film- Horror!                                                                  MK wrote, directed and co-produced this engaging, genre twisting film that subtly makes a brilliant statement about bodily autonomy. MK hopped onto Zoom for our chat and we had a wonderful conversation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                This was no surprise to me, as MK was once of my favorite people to exchange emails with leading up to the festival. Enjoy! Follow MK on Instagram at @mk.mcg Follow The Re-Education of Jane Brown on Instagram at @treojbfilm _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Benjamin Deutscher and Lauren Taggart premiered their incredible film animated “The Storm”  at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and  took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Film – Animation and the Audience Award for Best Featurette,  the Grand Jury Award for Best Sound Design (Richard Larimore ) AND the Grand Jury Award for Best Score (Sylvain Kauffman). I truly hope you already enjoyed the interview with these lovely and amazing folks and are back for more with these 4 Questions! Follow The Storm at: Instagram: @the_storm_movie Website: https://www.thestormmovie.com/ Follow Lauren on Instagram at @thetaggartshow _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 have a great new chat to start your week off right! Benjamin Deutscher and Lauren Taggart jumped onto Zoom to record this podcast just one month after their film “The Storm” had its World Premiere at Sherman Oaks Film Festival!                                                                 I could go on and on and on about how amazing The Storm is, but instead I will just share this.                                                                                                                                                                                               This animated film took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Film – Animation and the Audience Award for Best Featurette. But we do’t stop there. Individually The Storm also won Richard Larimore the Grand Jury Award for Best Sound Design and Sylvain Kauffman the Grand Jury Award for Best Score. In other words, this 60 minute animated film is amazing in every way; visually, sonically, and narratively.                                                                                                                                                                                   You cannot watch it yet, but when it becomes available we will do our best to give you a link here. In the meantime, I should also mention that Ben and Lauren were delightful attendees at Sherman Oaks Film Festival. I enjoyed every opportunity to talk with either of them at the festival. Please enjoy the interview and… Follow The Storm at: Instagram: @the_storm_movie Website: https://www.thestormmovie.com/ Follow Lauren on Instagram at @thetaggartshow _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Michael May brought his feature horror film “Where Darkness Dwells” to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in December 2025 and took home two Grand Jury Awards! Michael and his co-writer Alexandra Grunberg took home the award for Best Screenplay – Feature Film while Jordan Wayne Long took home the award for Best Production Design – Feature Film. I was extremely inspired by our chat (posted Wednesday) and couldn’t wait to see what inspired Michael when we moved on to the 4 Questions. You can learn more about Michael at @Michael_May_official And, finally… check out Michael’s Podcasts! A Study of Strange Fuel for the Future – Americas Automotive Trust _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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

Welcome Back, Indie Film Friends! Michael May brought his feature film “Where Darkness Dwells” to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in December 2025 and took home two Grand Jury Awards! Michael and his co-writer Alexandra Grunberg took home the award for Best Screenplay – Feature Film while Jordan Wayne Long took home the award for Best Production Design – Feature Film. “Where Darkness Dwells” is an innovative and entertaining horror feature, made with attention to detail and care for story.                                                                                                                                                          It also features a superb cast!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        This interview will be very eye opening for many, as Michael and his team prove that a dedicated group of collaborators, and it doesn’t hurt if they’re all friends, can outperform far more expensive productions with creativity and grit! You can learn more about Michael at @Michael_May_official And, finally… check out Michael’s Podcasts! A Study of Strange Fuel for the Future – Americas Automotive Trust _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Renée Veronica Freeman is the actor, writer and producer behind the film “Chromatography” that held its World Premiere at Film Invasion Los Angeles in June, 2025! We had a fantastic chat and I knew her 4 Questions would be a good one. RENÉE’S IG: @reneevfreeman _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 FILM FRIDAY! Renée Veronica Freeman is the actor, writer and producer behind the film “Chromatography” that held its World Premiere at Film Invasion Los Angeles in June, 2025!                                                                                     I was fortunate to moderate the in-theater Q&A for Renée’s film and was delighted to see her appear on the podcast schedule. “Chromatography” is still on the festival circuit and you will have to wait for a link to check it out online. In the meantime, use these helpful links to learn even more about Renée! RENÉE’S IG: @reneevfreeman RENÉE VERONICA FREEMAN IMDB See Renée in Disney+ & Hulu’s #1 crime drama “Murdaugh: Death in the Family”, starring Patricia Arquette + Jason Clarke, now streaming. @murdaughonhulu Hear Renée narrate the upcoming “Rise, Girl, Rise: Our Sister-Friend Journey. Together for All” (Scholastic Audio Books). A children’s picture book by American Activist icon Gloria Steinem and Liberian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee, releasing everywhere on Feb 3, 2026. ~UPCOMING: Official Selection in the 51st Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival – Shorts Program – Feb 12, 2026 – “America’s Longest Running Genre Fest” ~Official Selection in the Brooklyn Sci-Fi Film Festival 2025 – People’s Choice Voted Top 5 Film of 180! ~Semi-Finalist from the Academy Award qualifying 2025 Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival – Vortex. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Hao Yan & Mandy Chen collaborated to make the short film “Winter Psalm,” a wonderfully touching film that they brought to Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025 and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Writing, Drama. They make a great team and I was so delighted to have them on together for a chat (posted Monday) and this follow up 4 Questions! When the film releases online we will add a link here, but in the meantime you can follow both of these filmmakers at: @hao_yan3  and @mmandy.cc _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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