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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. Tommy O'Rourke and Josh Sathree had their theatrical premiere of the episode “Hairy Herb” of their comedy series, “Barney & Herb,” at Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2023.                                                                      Their screening and Q&A at the festival were extremely fun and it was well worth the two year wait to get them on the podcast for a longer interview and the follow up 4 Questions. Watch “Barney & Herb” on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@GrandpaBunny Review on Letterboxd at https://boxd.it/PFQe Follow these two at: @grandpabunnyproductions @thetommyorourke tiktok: @grandpabunnyproductions _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 for another exciting Filmmakers chat! I met Tommy O'Rourke and Josh Sathree when we held the theatrical premiere of the episode “Hairy Herb” of their series, “Barney & Herb,” at Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2023. Thanks to some pre-fest emails, I wasn’t too surprised when their presents, screening and Q&A at the festival were extremely fun. The comedy series they created is filled with humor, but also heart, intelligence and thoughtfulness. I sh*t you not... we emailed back and forth about recording this podcast more times than I can recall. But damn if Josh isn’t a film producer extraordinaire; he did not let this ball drop. It may have taken us two years, but we did it! One special favor. First, watch “Barney & Herb” on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@GrandpaBunny And you know what? Even if you don’t watch it, give it a great review on Letterboxd at https://boxd.it/PFQe Do the right thing, folks. Finally, follow these two at: @grandpabunnyproductions @thetommyorourke tiktok: @grandpabunnyproductions _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - 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. Filmmaker JB Singh Ghuman, Jr. provided the main attraction at our Film Invasion Los Angeles 2025 Opening Night Gala’s VR Pavillion by presenting, "paSSive poWer."                                                                     It was described as, “a sonic visual 8K 4D 360 VR collaborative experience” and I was very eager to interview him about the piece and what inspired him to make the type of work he does. Always grateful the Four Questions to help with that! Follow JB at @JBGhumanJR _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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, Listeners! Meeting filmmaker JB Singh Ghuman, Jr. was definitely one of the highlights of Film Invasion Los Angeles 2025.                                                                                                                                                        JB provided the main attraction at our Opening Night Gala’s VR Pavillion by presenting, "paSSive poWer," described as, “a sonic visual 8K 4D 360 VR collaborative experience.”                                                  As you can imagine I am super busy at the gala and never get a chance to actually watch the VR presentations. Well... JB wasn’t going to let me leave without seeing this 4D extravaganza.                                                                                                                                                                                                                And I was extremely grateful, because I loved it! For the record, the 8K image was a three dimensional space and that fourth dimension was the utilization of a fan to simulate wind at just the right moment.                                                                                      I’m not exaggerating when I say that I wish there had been a way for all 150+ in attendance that evening to have experienced “paSSive poWer.“ I was delighted to see JB’s name on my podcast recording calendar.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 I hope that you all enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. Follow JB at @JBGhumanJR _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - 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. Joel Benjamin created the Immersive Film “Max Q,” one of the highlights of the VR Pavilion at Film Invasion Los Angeles 2025, and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Immersive Short! Seeing the array of great film posters behind Joel during our chat got me very eager to get to our follow up 4 Questions! You can learn more about Joel at his website https://electricbeard.com/                                                                                                                                                                                                                         and you can follow the Max Q on Instagram at @maxqmovie And a Happy Halloween to all that celebrate!   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 Wonderful Wednesday to You All! Joel Benjamin created the Immersive Film “Max Q,” one of the highlights of the VR Pavilion at Film Invasion Los Angeles 2025.                                                                                                                                      In fact, Joel took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Immersive Short! I am always too busy at our festival’s Opening Night Gala to get a chance to watch the Immersive Films up in the VR Pavilion, but thankfully Joel created a “play through” video that gives a non-interactive representation of the work and... holy moly I’m impressed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              It’s a fun, captivating thrill-ride in a cutting edge cinematic format. You can learn more about Joel at his website https://electricbeard.com/                                                                                                                                                                                                                         and you can follow the Max Q on Instagram at @maxqmovie _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - 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. Johnny Galvan III has had several scripts in previous festivals and returned to Film Invasion Los Angeles in June, but this time with the animated short film “Franks In Hell.”                                                                                             Thanks to its creativity and originality, “Franks In Hell” won Johnny the Programmer’s Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking. Johnny and I have deep connection which I talk about more in Friday's post with his full interview, but I was excited to dig even digger with the 4 Questions. To learn more about Johnny and his work, visit https://thewriting-company.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 Friday, Film Friends! I’ve got a history with Johnny Galvan III. It started when Johnny’s screenplay “My Brother The Lion” was an Official Selection at Film Invasion Los Angeles in June, 2024. (More on that below.)                               In December, 2024, Johnny was an Official Selection at Sherman Oaks Film Festival with the screenplay, “For Misty.” When 2025 rolled around, Johnny was once again at Film Invasion Los Angeles in June, but this time with the animated short film “Franks In Hell.”                                                                                             Thanks to its creativity and originality, “Franks In Hell” won Johnny the Programmer’s Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking. To learn more about Johnny and his work, visit https://thewriting-company.com Before I complete this introduction, I have to honor Johnny’s wife Misty and mention something from the first time that we met.                                                                                                                                          I was moderating the FI-LA 2024 Screenplay Awards Ceremony, which is a very cool event where each nominated screenwriter gets to stand in front of the audience and pitch their script.                                     As Johnny was talking about his screenplay, a story about his brother who he lost, he began to cry.                                                                                                                                                                                I was sitting in the front row and, well, I lost a best friend of 40 years in 2020 to Covid and know what it’s like to lose someone that you expected to be with you until your golden years.                                            I stood up and offered Johnny a hug, and he accepted it, and we hugged.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        It was a moment that I will never forget. As North American men, we failed to bring up our weeping hug during the podcast, but after recording Johnny mentioned that Misty had mentioned it.                             So... the story will live forever in these show notes! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - 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. Drew Lewis Guerra wrote and directed the film “The Last Light” and we had the honor of hosting its World Premiere at Film Invasion Los Angeles 2025. Drew’s smart, touching and extremely powerful film took home two awards at FI-LA, the Filmmakers Awards For Outstanding Cast Performance, Drama and for Outstanding Cinematography, Drama. I was delighted to chat with Drew about his life and work and, as always, learn more about his inspirations with the follow up 4 Questions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Visit the website for Drew’s production company Black Canvas and watch the trailer at https://www.blackcanvas.com/the-last-light. Drew's IG: @directordlg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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

Drew Lewis Guerra wrote and directed the film “The Last Light” and we had the honor of hosting its World Premiere at Film Invasion Los Angeles 2025.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I have watched this film several times and I swear to you... it’s a masterpiece.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           I find myself crying throughout the credits. Drew’s smart, touching and extremely powerful film took home two awards at FI-LA, the Filmmakers Awards For Outstanding Cast Performance, Drama and for Outstanding Cinematography, Drama.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 I highly recommend you watch this film!  So... do this.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Visit the website for Drew’s production company Black Canvas and watch the trailer at https://www.blackcanvas.com/the-last-light. And keep your eyes out for festival screenings and its eventual online release! Drew's IG: @directordlg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - 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. Amy Whittenberger brought her film “As A Rake” to Film Invasion Los Angeles 2025 and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film, Horror! One of my favorite parts of interviewing such a smart, compelling, and entertaining person is asking them the follow up 4 Questions! Follow Amy on Instagram at @philia6   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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, Listeners! Amy Whittenberger brought her film “As A Rake” to Film Invasion Los Angeles 2025. This smart, creepy and rather timely film took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film, Horror! Unsurprisingly, the person who wrote and directed the smart, compelling, and entertaining “As A Rake” is a smart, compelling, and entertaining person.                                                                                                   I was fortunate to get a chance to meet and chat with Amy a little bit at Film Invasion L.A., but getting to have a long conversation without distractions was a lot better.                                                                Plus, I didn’t get to moderate the “As A Rake” festival Q&A, meaning that when you listen to this you get to hear me pay a whole lot of compliments to Amy that I did not get the chance to share at the screening. Follow Amy on Instagram at @philia6 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - 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. Filmmaker Jannik Ehret is part of a unique trio that brought the wonderful documentary “Paisano Overhang” to FIlm Invasion Los Angeles in June 2025 and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film, Documentary as well as for Outstanding Cinematography, Documentary that was presented to Catalina Guerra Hoffman. It was no surprise to me to learn how smart and interesting Jannik was during our chat, and it made me extra eager to get to the 4 Questions to see what films inspired him along his way. You can learn more by going to @inindieknot_films _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 Indie Film Friday! Filmmaker Jannik Ehret is part of a unique trio that brought the wonderful documentary “Paisano Overhang” to FIlm Invasion Los Angeles in June 2025.                                                                                      Among their collaboration “Indieknot Films,” the trio credited their film as, “Produced, Filmed & Edited by Dakota Kappen, Jannik Ehret, and Hayden Garratt.”                                                                              This is one of the more honorably egalitarian things I have seen on the festival circuit. The trio took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film, Documentary as well as for Outstanding Cinematography, Documentary that was presented to Catalina Guerra Hoffman.                              As you might imagine, Jannik and others were also operating cameras as “Paisano Overhang” essentially covered a live rock climbing event. Jannik volunteered to represent the Indieknot trio on this podcast and the others are certainly welcome to come on themselves someday. You can learn more by going to @indieknot_films _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - 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. Braeden and Nathan Lambert premiered their film “The Big Picture” to Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Music Video. These brothers not only make amazing work, they have incredible taste in other's work. Listen to see what I mean! INTERLINKED and you check out their work at https://www.interlinkedhq.com/ as well as follow them on Instagram at @interlinked.hq _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 had a great weekend and is ready to start the week with a great film chat! Braeden and Nathan Lambert brought their film “The Big Picture” to Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Music Video.                                                                     The story behind the film, and what led them to create it, is very engaging and I won’t give it away here.                                                                                                                                                                   You’ll just have to listen to the podcast find out! Nathan is a musician and composer who goes by the moniker New Monk.                                                                                                                                                                                                              Braeden, the filmmaker of the team, pitched the idea for this film that would be set to Nathan’s music and have more in common with a performance art film than a traditional music video.                                    It’s clear that Nathan loved the concept, and the two put together their team and made this extremely creative project happen. And I have to brag that I learned during this interview that FI-LA 2025 was The Big Picture’s world premiere... how cool is that?!?! Nathan and Braeden have insightfully named the company for their collaborations INTERLINKED and you check out their work at https://www.interlinkedhq.com/ as well as follow them on Instagram at @interlinked.hq _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - 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. Chris Fiore was one of my very first guests on the podcast and he returns to chat about his new documentary, “Broadway & Swan,” which was part of the 10th Anniversary edition of FI-LA and earned him the Grand Jury Award for Best Director, Featurette. I just love talking to Chris and was very eager to see what was brewing in his 4 Questions all these years later. You can check out Chris’s work at chrisfiore.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

Chris Fiore is back! This podcast holds a special place in my heart.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The journey that I have been on for a decade, running two film festivals per year and inviting those filmmakers onto this podcast, began with Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2016 when Chris Fiore submitted his documentary “Goodwoman” to this first-year festival and took home the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary! Imagine my delight when Chris submitted a new documentary, “Broadway & Swan,” to the 10th Anniversary edition of FI-LA!                                                                                                                                    Not only that, but Chris took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Director, Featurette this time. I had no idea until this podcast that this particular award for Directing meant the world to Chris, a professional editor. Call me crazy, but I could not have asked for a better Tenth Anniversary FI-LA story! You can check out Chris’s work at chrisfiore.com and I hope you enjoy our conversation! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - 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. Actor, writer and producer Eddie Alfano brought his short “Mondays At The Office” to Film Invasion Los Angeles and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film, Comedy. We had a terrific chat posted on Friday but you know I can't truly know someone until I've followed up with the 4 Questions. You can follow Eddie at @eddiealfano And here's where all his films live:What A Nightmare Productions - YouTube _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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, Friends! Actor, writer and producer Eddie Alfano brought his short “Mondays At The Office” to Film Invasion Los Angeles and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short Film, Comedy.                             This personal, well-crafted comedy manages to not just bring the laughs but to make a genuine emotional connection between the characters and the audience.                                                                               I also want to brag that FI-LA 2025 was the film’s Los Angeles Premiere! I had a quick chance to discuss the film with Eddie at the festival, amusingly praising him for something that didn’t even come up during the podcast; that among its other accomplishments “Mondays At The Office” also manages to be one of the best representations of running a small business that I’ve seen on film in ages. You can follow Eddie at @eddiealfano, where I hope you enjoy his #BadNeighbor videos! And here's where all his films live: What A Nightmare Productions - YouTube _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - Sherman Oaks Film Festival - Film Invasion Los Angeles