Creative

Footer Legal

Main

NavBar

Sections

Topics

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Register to continue

Talkhouse

James Ward Byrkit is writer and director from Flagstaff, Arizona, known for his work on Rango, Coherence, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. His new series, <a href="https://www.shatterbelt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shatter Belt</a>, is available on Amazon and AppleTV.

James Ward Byrkit

Film

The Knowing and the Victory of Magical Thinking

Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger’s latest film, <a href="https://www.bluefoxentertainment.com/films/lost-on-a-mountain-in-maine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lost on a Mountain in Maine</a>, is out now in theaters. Kightlinger was born and raised in Madagascar, and later lived in South Dakota, and his multicultural origins have fueled a prolific genre-fluid approach to storytelling. In addition to Lost on a Mountain in Maine, Kightlinger has directed the prairie-bound drama Tater Tot &amp; Patton starring Jessica Rothe and the award-winning short film Destroyer, with Alan Ruck. He’s also winner of the Screenwriting Grand Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival and recently directed the short dance film Becoming, a collaboration between the Getty Center and Sony.

Andrew Boodhoo Kightlinger

Who Am I? Or, Finding My Identity in Cinema

The 25th anniversary 4K restoration of Alan Rudolph’s <a href="https://www.filmswelike.com/films/breakfast-of-champions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Breakfast of Champions</a>, an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s cult novel starring Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, Nick Nolte, Barbara Hershey, Glenne Headly and Lukas Haas, is out now in theaters. A pioneer in the American independent film movement, Rudolph began his professional career as an assistant director before being hired by Robert Altman to work on The Long Goodbye and later his masterpiece, Nashville. The two remained lifelong friends and collaborators as Altman served as producer on many of Rudolph’s future projects. His films are noted for their fluid style, unpredictable humor, and glowing performances, often peculiar ensemble-based stories exploring the paradoxical complexities of being human, and he’s perhaps best known for Welcome to L.A., Remember My Name, Choose Me, Trouble In Mind, The Moderns Mrs. Parker, The Vicious Circle, Afterglow and Breakfast of Champions, nominated for the Berlin Golden Bear in 1999. (Photo by Joyce Rudolph.)

Alan Rudolph

Three Great Things: Alan Rudolph

Your favorite musicians, filmmakers, and other creative minds one-on-one. No moderator, no script, no typical questions. The Talkhouse Podcast offers unique insights into creative work from all genres and generations. <a href="https://pod.link/Talkhouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Subscribe now</a>, and explore more illuminating shows on the <a href="https://talkhouse.com/category/podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Talkhouse Podcast Network.</a>

Talkhouse Podcast

Podcast

Revisited: Lake Bell Talks with Santigold for the Talkhouse Podcast

Michael Felker is the director, writer, producer and editor of the new sci-fi thriller <a href="https://www.magnetreleasing.com/thingswillbedifferent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Things Will Be Different</a>, which is out now through Magnet Releasing. Michael is known for editing feature films The Endless, Synchronic, Spring, Sunset on the River Styx, Get the Girl and, most recently Something in the Dirt. Michael has directed and produced several dozen short films over the last 15 years including most recently Would You Like to Try Again? and Save and Continue. He is from Huntsville, Alabama, and is a graduate of Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts. (Photo by Jori Lynn Felker.)

Michael Felker

“Where Else Can I Go?” Or, How I Reckoned With My Movie Almost Completely Falling Apart On Day One

Born in Texas and raised in New Mexico, Sheridan O’Donnell is a Korean-American filmmaker based in Los Angeles. His directorial debut, <a href="http://www.sheridanodonnell.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Little Brother</a>, which stars JK Simmons, Daniel Diemer (The Half of It) and Philip Ettinger (First Reformed) and took home the Audience Award at the 2023 Atlanta Film Festival, is out now in theaters through Gravitas Ventures. O’Donnell is currently directing a feature-length documentary as a follow-up to the Emmy Award-winning film Rising Phoenix. The new film, working titled Rising Phoenix: A New Revolution, will chronicle his own story as a disabled filmmaker and profile an international cast of entertainers, athletes, activists, and world leaders—in hopes of igniting a global conversation surrounding the disability movement. (Photo by Ryan Booth.)

Sheridan O’Donnell

My First (and Last) Film

Northern Ireland-born filmmaker Rodger Griffiths&#8216; new film, the taut family thriller Betrayal, is now available on VOD Saban Films. His short film directing credits include Peter’s Room, Wiped and Drinkypoos,and his proof-of-concept short Take the Shot screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Having finished his first feature film, Griffiths is seeking collaborators and investment in his next feature, Skimmer, a crime thriller in the vein of Uncut Gems and Animal Kingdom.

Rodger Griffiths

Storyboarding Stick Men to the Finished Product

Emily Packer is the director/producer of the new documentary, <a href="https://www.holdingbackthetidefilm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Holding Back the Tide</a>, opens September 6 at DCTV&#8217;s Firehouse Cinema in New York City and October 4 at Laemmle Theatres in Los Angeles, via Grasshopper Film. Emily’s directorial work has been screened at film festivals and theaters across the country, including at Anthology Film Archives, BlackStar, DOCNYC, and others. Emily’s short most recent film By Way of Canarsie, which she co-directed with Lesley Steele, is streaming on the Criterion Channel and was a part of POV Shorts Season 6. As an editor, Emily’s work has been featured in the New Yorker, PBS, and on Vimeo Staff Picks. Emily also serves on programming committees for film festivals in New York City, was a fellow in the 2018 Collaborative Studio at UnionDocs in Brooklyn, and is a proud alumna of the anomalous Hampshire College. Emily collects voicemails for future use; consider yourself notified.

Emily Packer

My Serendipitous Stint as Fishmonger-Filmmaker

Zia Anger is a filmmaker and music video director. Her debut feature, <a href="https://mubi.com/en/us/films/my-first-film" target="_blank" rel="noopener">My First Film</a>, is streaming globally on MUBI from September 6. In 2018 she began touring a new solo performance that traces the last ten years of her lost and abandoned work, titled My First Film. The performance was named by The New Yorker as one of the “Sixty-two Films That Shaped the Art of Documentary Filmmaking.” Her most recent short, My Last Film, premiered at the 53rd New York Film Festival. She has made music videos for various independent artists, including Angel Olsen, Mitski, Julianna Barwick, Maggie Rogers, and Jenny Hval; the latter of whom she also tours with as a performer. In 2016, Zia participated in the Sundance Institute&#8217;s Screenwriter&#8217;s Intensive, and in 2015 she was included in Filmmaker magazine&#8217;s &#8220;25 New Faces of Independent Film.&#8221; Find out more at her <a href="http://www.ziaanger.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">official site</a>. (Picture by Theo Anthony.)

Zia Anger

The Process

Nicole Riegel’s latest feature, <a href="https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/dandelion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dandelion</a>, starring KiKi Layne and Thomas Doherty, is out now in theaters and on VOD. Her debut feature, Holler starring Jessica Barden, was a Film Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best First Feature and was named one of the Top 10 Independent Films of 2021 by National Board of Review. She was named one of Variety&#8216;s 10 Directors to Watch in 2020. She served in the military prior to filmmaking and graduated from UCLA’s MFA writing program. She was named one of Filmmaker magazine’s 25 Faces of Independent Film. In addition to her work as a filmmaker, Nicole served as a co-writer on many of Dandelion’s songs in collaboration with Aaron and Bryce Dessner, including “The Ghost of Cincinnati,” an original song for Dandelion, which was released as a single from Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver’s Big Red Machine album on August 27, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Ana Lucia Espinosa.)

Nicole Riegel

Inside the Sound of Dandelion

Bradley Rust Gray (born 1971) is an American independent filmmaker. His feature Salt (2003), shot in Iceland, won the Calgary Film Prize at Berlin. The Exploding Girl (2009) won the Best Actress prize at the Tribeca Film Festival for Zoe Kazan’s performance and was released by Oscilloscope Laboratories. Jack &amp; Diane (2012) was released by Magnolia Pictures. <a href="https://strandreleasing.com/films/ill-be-your-mirror/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I’ll Be Your Mirror</a> (aka Blood), his most recent feature, was awarded an award for Uncompromising Artistic Vision in 2022 at The Sundance Film Festival and opens at the <a href="https://www.ifccenter.com/films/ill-be-your-mirror/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IFC Center</a> on August 23 and the <a href="https://www.laemmle.com/film/ill-be-your-mirror" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Laemmle Glendale</a> on August 30. Additionally, Gray has produced four films by So Yong Kim: In Between Days (2006), Treeless Mountain (2008), For Ellen (2012) and Lovesong (2016). He is a Fulbright scholar who has received graduate degrees from both USC and the British Film Institute in London.

Bradley Rust Gray

Plywood and Filmmaking

Corey Sherman is a 30 year-old filmmaker living in Los Angeles whose new feature, the LGBTQ coming-of-age dramedy<a href="https://www.bigboysfilm.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Big Boys</a>, is now available on demand. Born and raised in the Bronx, Corey started making comedy short films when he was eight years old, and continues making them to this day. A long-time lover of animation, Corey branched out from live action when he studied film at USC and created the acclaimed animated web series titled Billiams with Matt Maiellaro, the creator of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Corey achieved a life-long dream when he wrote, directed, edited, and voiced a character on several episodes of Matt Maiellaro&#8217;s animated Adult Swim show, 12 Oz. Mouse. Corey is also passionate about nonfiction filmmaking, and edited Lawrence Kasdan’s 2019 documentary short Last Week at Ed’s. (Photo courtesy Perfect Dog Pictures.)

Directing