Two New York writer-directors discuss their work, gender inequality in film, bad actors, "director jail," finding your voice, and much more.

Daniel Schechter (Life of Crime) Talks with Desiree Akhavan (Appropriate Behavior) for The Talkhouse Film Podcast

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Nick Dawson talks with filmmakers, musicians and comedians whose work he loves, avoiding the mundane, predictable questions they&#8217;ve heard numerous times and instead asking substantive, thoughtful questions that get to the heart of who they are.

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That

Podcast

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That: Juliette Binoche

Alexander Payne grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. He studied History and Spanish Literature at Stanford before earning an MFA in Film Directing at UCLA. His nine feature films include Election, Sideways, The Descendants, About Schmidt, Nebraska, and The Holdovers. His movies have been nominated for a total of 24 Oscars, including four times for Best Picture and three for Best Director. He has won two Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, and two of his movies have won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. Five of his movies were filmed at least partially in Nebraska, where he continues to live, dividing his time among Omaha, Los Angeles and Athens. His newest movie, Et Sted Derude (Somewhere Out There), shot in Denmark and in Danish language, will be released in fall of 2027.

Alexander Payne

Film

Three Great Things: Alexander Payne

Sophia Dunn-Walker is a French-American director and co-founder of Emmy-winning ENKIDU International Productions. Her feature documentary on the autism spectrum is currently in post-production, following a 2026 screening of its short version at the American Pavilion at Cannes. She has collaborated with Pussy Riot on several projects, and her visual approach is rooted in fine art and fashion photography, including early work assisting Annie Leibovitz and legally blind photographer Kurt Weston. Dunn-Walker has cone dystrophy, which affects color perception and visual acuity and has become an integral part of how she approaches image-making. She is also an advocate for disability representation in the arts. (Photo by BK Studios.)

Sophia Dunn-Walker

Is It Protest or Is It Entertainment?

Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians) is a filmmaker and artist whose work explores Indigenous homeland, language, and cultural continuity through experimental and nonfiction media. His latest film, <a href="https://www.skyhopinka.com/powwow-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Powwow People</a>, is out now. His films have screened at Sundance, Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival, among others. Hopinka’s work has been featured in the Whitney Biennial and the Centre Pompidou. He is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow and a past recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Radcliffe Institute and Sundance Institute.

Sky Hopinka

A Love Letter to Powwows

Devin Smock is an independent filmmaker, writer, and small business owner based in Jacksonville, Illinois. He is the writer-director of the feature film <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hollerfilm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Holler</a>, co-founder of Subterranean Sound &amp; Vision, and co-owner of both Street Trash and Pizza Records. He also contributes film writing and reviews to MoreHorror.com and Critical Screening. His work is rooted in independent film, regional filmmaking, and creating art and businesses outside the traditional industry system.

Devin Smock

The Record Store That Accidentally Became My Film School

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That: Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer

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Talkhouse

863: Little Fish’s Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle on Fundraising, Firing 50,000 Fish Sandwiches, and That $20,000 Fridge

1017. – Yotam Ottolenghi

Transmissions :: Derrick Bang on Vince Guaraldi

Fenne Lily is a singer-songwriter based in New York. Her latest record, Win Win, is out now on Nettwerk.

Fenne Lily

Whitmer Thomas is a comedian, actor, and filmmaker from Gulf Shores, Alabama. His new comedy film, <a href="https://thecivildead.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Civil Dead</a>, which he co-wrote, co-produced and co-stars in with his writing partner/best friend Clay Tatum (who also directed), is now in theaters. His special Whitmer Thomas: The Golden One was released on HBO in 2020, produced by Bo Burnham, Chris Storer, and A24, and was directed by Thomas and Clay Tatum. Thomas and Tatum developed their filmmaking skills making shorts for their long-running monthly residency at the Satellite in Silverlake called PowerViolence, which has now been taken over by Whitmer Thomas &amp; Pals at Largo, featuring some of the biggest names in comedy performing today. Thomas and Tatum co-produced, voiced, and wrote the ADHD animated series Stone Quackers on FXX (now available on Hulu), featuring John C. Reilly. Following the premiere of his special on HBO, SubPop Records released its original music, Songs from The Golden One, on their imprint label Hardly Art in stores April 2020. The show has been performed to sold out venues in NYC, LA, Philly, Chicago, Seattle, and Portland. Thomas&#8217; sophomore album The Older I Get the Funnier I Was was released by Hardly Art Records in fall 2022.

Whitmer Thomas

Music

Fenne Lily and Whitmer Thomas Talk Showbiz

862: Ryan Bartlow of Ernesto’s and Bartolo, Formerly of Alinea, Momofuku, Akelarre, Is Kind of a Living Legend

Daniel Schechter is an indie filmmaker living in New York City. His micro-budget feature Supporting Characters is now available on iTunes and Netflix and his latest film, Life of Crime starring Jennifer Aniston, will be released on August 29th, 2014.

Daniel Schechter

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Cara Jade Myers is currently starring in the Native period drama How We Stand, which she also produced. She had her breakthrough role acting opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert DeNiro in Martin Scorsese&#8217;s Oscar-nominated Killers of the Flower Moon in 2023. A member of the Wichita and Kiowa tribes, she also starred in the 2025 action thriller Ice Fall, opposite Joel Kinnaman. Myers is also a writer, documentarian, and passionate about showing the next generation of Native kids that they too can get a foot into film and television; she teaches workshops on reservations and also created CRASH Cares to create care packages for the unhoused. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their two pups. Follow her on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cara.jade.myers/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. (Photo by Darklisted Photography.)

Cara Jade Myers

Stories of Beauty and Strength