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. Benjamin Carlucci’s came to chat about life, art and his two films, “Burying Baby,” that was a 2024 Sherman Oaks Film Festival Official Selection: Short Film – Drama and took home Programmer’s Prize – Exceptional Filmmaking and “Lorica” that was a 2025 Film Invasion-LA Official Selection: Short Film – Drama that earned the Programmer’s Prize – Exceptional Filmmaking. I’m clearly a fan of his work and needed to know what films he was a fan of. That’s where the follow up 4 Questions comes in handy! To follow Benjamin’s impressive career, you can check out his website https://bennty.com/about Or follow him on the gram: @benjamintothet _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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

How do I introduce Angelo Moore to the uninitiated? Here is what Angelo has on his YouTube Page (www.youtube.com/@DrMaddVibeOfficial): Hello Ladies and Gental mentals and welcome to the AngeloShow. This Maddvibe Vision Channel is an intimate look inside the world of Dr.Maddvibe. This is Where you can view the latest inventions that have germinated from within the laboratories of Dr.Maddvibe. AKA Angelo Moore, Front Man of Fishbone. There you have it, Angelo Moore is the Front Man of Fishbone And if you never listened to Fishbone then your musical exposure in life has been sadly limited. Their music crossed so many genres and styles that radio rarely embraced them; my recommendations that you go back to the beginning and give their catalog a listen. Angelo has also done his fair share of acting (IMDB) and he has also made a fantastic short film Optimistic Yes, directed by Jeff Pliskin and featuring Angelo with HR of Bad Brains, another band that you should know. Finally, a huge thank you to Alyson Croft (https://discoverindiefilm.com/670-alyson-croft-jesus-loves-me-tweens/) for making this interview happen! IG: @drmaddvibe @fishbonesoldier _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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! Bryan Uvaldo’s flashy action film Playin’ Around was a Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2025 Official Selection and snagged the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Film – Short Film – Action-Thriller AND Outstanding Originality – Short Film – Action- Thriller Great news! You can watch Playin’ Around here on YouTube! You can also find out more about Bryan with these links: https://www.bryanuvaldo.com/ @buvaldo218 @playinaround_film _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 to the Discover Indie Film Podcast! The wonderfully talented and interesting filmmaker Nevada Grey joined me to discuss “ROOMIES”, her Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2024 Official Selection: Web Series / TV Pilot that earned her the Grand Jury Award – Best Series Episode/Pilot. If you’d like to find out even more, here are Nevada’s Links! Instagram @nevgrey Facebook @nevada.grey Nevada on IMDB YouTube @nevgrey _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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’ve made it to another Discover Indie Film Friday! Josiah Polhemus came on the pod to chat about his film The Falling, which was a SOFF 2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Horror and took home the Filmmakers Award – Outstanding Originality – Short Film – Horror I loved getting to know Josiah better and you can continue to dig deeper with these links! Instagram: @JosiahPolhemus Josiah’s YouTube Superpowerless on 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 Monday! Dojin Kim’s animated short film “Where the Rain Stops” was an Official Selection at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival on 2025 and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Originality – Short Film – Animation. This is unusual, but I think it is appropriate to share Dojin’s post-podcast recording with everyone. He wanted to express himself more clearly after our struggles with live translation. Here are Dojin’s own words: Thank you very much for your kindness and patience during the podcast recording. I know the language barrier must have made things less smooth at times, and I truly appreciate how thoughtful and generous you were throughout the conversation. In particular, when I did not fully understand the nuance of a short question and asked again, you kindly took the time to explain it in more detail, which made it much easier for me to understand. I am very grateful for that. It is always a wonderful thing to share something I have made with other people. Because of my full-time job and financial limitations, I was not able to visit Los Angeles in person, but having my film screened at SOFF was still a very meaningful experience for me. It was something truly special, and I would like to thank you again for making that opportunity possible. As with the themes in Where the Rain Stops, I feel that our world is living under dark clouds. From the climate crisis to the existential questions about humanity raised by AI, this is a dark and turbulent time. And yet, in the middle of that, the fact that human beings can communicate through creative work, and that people across the ocean, from different countries and different backgrounds, can share the emotions of the age with one another, reminds me of the value of art. More than that, it seems to offer us an answer, even if not a perfectly clear one, to the question of what it means to be human. I want to express my respect for the work and dedication it takes to run a film festival and create a space where this kind of communication can happen. Through today’s podcast conversation, I was reminded once again of the value of art and communication. Thank you again for making that possible. Link for Dojin’s favorite animated feature: The Boy and the World _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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 Discovery of Indie Film! Zeshaan Younus came on the podcast to speak about his film “I’ve Seen All I Need To See,” which was a SOFF 2025 Official Selection: Feature Film – Drama. I’m clearly not the only one who saw what they needed to see to know this was a terrific film because it took home the Grand Jury Award – Best Feature Film –Drama, Grand Jury Award – Best Director – Feature Film – Zeshaan Younus, Grand Jury Award – Best Score – Feature Film – Benjamin Doherty, Grand Jury Award – Best Sound Design – Feature Film – Aidan Neuner AND the Audience Award – Best Feature Film. You probably want to watch this film right now and you can! Click here to see where to watch Zeshaan’s feature film I’VE SEEN ALL I NEED TO SEE Click here to watch Zeshaan’s previous feature film THE BUILDOUT on Tubi for free. Click here to watch Zeshaan’s short film PREFIGURED on Youtube/Dust. You can also find out more on IG @isaintsfilm _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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.’ Jesse Cook III came on the podcast to chat about his SOFF 2025 Official Selection LOOM that took home the Filmmakers Award – Outstanding Film – Short Film – SciFi. Jesse and I hit it off immediately when we met, but can I ever really feel close to someone unless I’ve asked them the 4 Questions? Follow Jesse on Instagram @jc3.mov _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Lesley Hoyt-Croft wrote an internationally award-winning comedy/drama sports screenplay called Princess Di and the Lesbians (2026) and also known for her documentary films for the Arizona Justice Project called LIFE: The Bill Macumber Story (2010); The Ballad of Louis Taylor (2017); This Damn Town (2019, the latter two about Louis Taylor who was unjustly convicted of the Pioneer Hotel Fire in Tucson, Arizona, that killed 29 people and resulted in Taylor spending 42 years in prison). I was excited to chat with someone with such an eclectic range of interests and was very curious to see what else I’d find out from the 4 Questions! Find more here: X https://x.com/CroftHoyt54589 IG @Lesleyhc IMDB   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Vidhya Iyer wrote and directed the short film, “Giving Mom the Talk,” which was a SOFF 2025 Official Selection and earned the Grand Jury Award – Best Short Film – Comedy AND the Filmmakers Award – Outstanding Director – Short Film – Comedy. I hope you enjoyed getting know know Vidhya as much as I did and you’re back for a little more with the 4 Questions! If you want to know even more, please follow her at @heyiyer or @tingifilms _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Chad Andrews is the writer, director, and lead actor of “The Butchers”, a fantastic SOFF 2025 Official Selection that took home the Filmmakers Award – Outstanding Cast Performance – Short Film – Action-Thriller. Meeting someone at the festival is never enough so I was so glad Chad could zoom from Toronto so we could have a long chat and this follow up 4 Questions! Follow Chad on IG @thisischadandrews and @heybaphouse _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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. Ahmed Zayani wrote and directed “Hope,” a horror short that was an Official Selection at both Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2025 (where he took home the Programmers Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking) and Film Invasion Lima 2026 (where he snagged the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short – Horror at FI-Lima 2026)! Ahmed was not able to travel to either festival from his home in Bahrain but that’s one reason to be thankful for modern technology- we were able to have our chat and this follow up 4 Questions over Zoom. Follow Ahmed on Instagram at @theahmedzayani _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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