Slamdance First Film Podcast

Today's guest is writer-director Wendy McColm, whose award-winning debut feature film BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival.Links: BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS (Tubi)FUZZY HEAD (Tubi) Sladance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. QC by Max Brown and Tara Blossom. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team. Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast: Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm) X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod) YouTube (/Slamdance) Please share, rate, and review! For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: TheSlamdanceFirstFilmPodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guest is writer-director Francis Lee, whose debut feature film GOD'S OWN COUNTRY premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival where it won the World Cinema Directing Award. Francis shares how he made his first feature film in his 40s, how he writes his screenplays in a word document, the importance of creating a soundscape, keeping your crew small, and how he convinced Kate Winslet to star in his second feature, AMMONITE. Francis Lee's short film, "Bradford Halifax London", screened at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2013. Links: God's Own Country (Tubi)Ammonite (Amazon) Slamdance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team. Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast: Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm) X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod) YouTube (/Slamdance) Please share, rate, and review! For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: TheSlamdanceFirstFilmPodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guest is writer-director Blake Robbins, talking about his debut feature film THE SUBLIME AND BEAUTIFUL which premiered at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival. It went on to win the Jury Prize for Best Feature, Best Actor and Best Director at the 2014 Newport Beach Film Festival. Having never directed before (not even a short film), Blake followed his passion, rolled up his sleeves, and crafted a truly beautiful piece of indie cinema on a $30,000 budget. Incredible insight on how to film in 12 days, why you should think like a businessman, the importance of treating your crew with love and respect, and how he parlayed his micro-budget indie on the festival circuit to get his next film— THE SCENT OF RAIN AND LIGHTING — a $2 million dollar feature starring Maika Monroe and Maggie Grace. You can support Blake's new feature, MICKEY BRASCH, which will be filming in the fall of 2025. Link: The Sublime and Beautiful (Tubi)The Scent of Rain and Lightning (Tubi) Slamdance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team. Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast: Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm) X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod) YouTube (/Slamdance) Please share, rate, and review! For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: TheSlamdanceFirstFilmPodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guest is director Seth Gordon, whose career is filled with Hollywood hits such as Four Christmases, Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief. He got his start making the hilarious indie documentary THE KING OF KONG: FISTFUL OF QUARTERS which premiered at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival. Hear how Seth found the hilarious story, worked with his larger than life subjects, how his film festival screener went viral (pre-YouTube) and how he parlayed his documentary into a huge career in Hollywood. Seth's most recent film, BACK IN ACTION with Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, is now streaming on Netflix. Link: The King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters (Rent/Buy) Slamdance First Film Podcast is created & hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. QC by Max Brown and Tara Blossom. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman and the entire Slamdance Team. Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast: Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm) X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod) YouTube (/Slamdance) Please share, rate, and review! For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: TheSlamdanceFirstFilmPodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guest is acclaimed filmmaker Lynne Sachs. Her debut documentary feature film, INVESTIGATION OF A FLAME, is about the nine Vietnam War protesters, who in 1968, walked into a Catonsville, Maryland draft board office, grabbed hundreds of selective service records and burned them with homemade napalm. Learn how she tracked down the subjects and won their trust, why it can be important to capture visuals and audio separately, how Final Cut Pro allowed her to edit while raising a family, and helpful tips to secure a film grant. This is a must-listen episode for documentary filmmakers and fans. Lynne Sachs' recent film, Film About A Father Who, was an official selection at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2020. Links: Investigation of a Flame (Rent/Buy) Film About a Father Who (Rent/Buy) Slamdance First Film Podcast is created and hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman, and the entire Slamdance Team Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast: Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm) X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod) YouTube (/Slamdance) Please share, rate, and review! For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: TheSlamdanceFirstFilmPodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guest is filmmaker Numa Perrier, the writer, director, and producer of JEZEBEL which premiered at the 2019 South by Southwest Film Festival. Learn how Numa created her own work in short form content that presented an opportunity to make a feature film during a two week hiatus. Mining her own life story, JEZEBEL captures a raw authenticity and vulnerability about two sisters grappling with grief while living as sex workers. After the world premiere at SXSW, JEZEBEL was acquired by Ava DuVernay's company ARRAY. Slamdance First Film Podcast is created and hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman, and the entire Slamdance Team. Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast: Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm) X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod) YouTube (/Slamdance) Please share, rate, and review! For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: TheSlamdanceFirstFilmPodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guest is award-winning filmmaker Andrew Patterson, the co-writer and director of the indie hit THE VAST OF NIGHT which won the audience award at the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival. Learn how the film was rejected by 18 film festivals in a row before Andrew submitted to Slamdance and launched his career. At the festival, THE VAST OF NIGHT was bought by Amazon and received a nomination for Best First Screenplay at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Made entirely outside of the Hollywood system, THE VAST OF NIGHT is a true indie success story. Links: THE VAST OF NIGHT (Amazon) Slamdance First Film Podcast is created and hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. QC by Max Brown & Tara Blossom. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman, and the entire Slamdance Team. Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast: Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm) X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod) YouTube (/Slamdance) Please share, rate, and review!! For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: TheSlamdanceFirstFilmPodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's guest is award-winning writer/director Azazel Jacobs. His short film, KIRK AND KERRY, won the best dramatic short award at the 1997 Slamdance Film Festival. Then his debut feature film, NOBODY NEEDS TO KNOW, was rejected from Slamdance. Azazel talks candidly about making his first feature in New York City over two summers, handling bad reviews, the freedom of "no expectations" that led to his acclaimed second feature, THE GOODTIMESKID and his subsequent films such as TERRI, THE LOVERS, and FRENCH EXIT. His most recent feature, HIS THREE DAUGHTERS, won the Robert Altman award at the 2025 Indie Spirit Awards and is now streaming on Netflix. Links: 'Kirk and Kerry' (1996) Short Film 'Nobody Needs to Know' (1997) Debut Feature 'The GoodTimesKid (2005) Second Feature 'His Three Daughters' (2024) Feature Slamdance First Film Podcast is created and hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. QC by Max Brown & Tara Blossom. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman, and the entire Slamdance Team. Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast: Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm) X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod) YouTube (/Slamdance) Please share, rate, and review! For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: TheSlamdanceFirstFilmPodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthony Russo and Joe Russo join the podcast this week to discuss the making of their feature film debut Pieces, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 1997. The film was shot in the brothers hometown of Cleveland, Ohio for a production budget of $30,000. During their press screening at Slamdance, a majority of the audience walked out of the divisive film except for one person who loved it: Steven Soderbergh. While Pieces never was released due to issues involving music rights, the brothers have gone on to direct four of the highest grossing Marvel films of all time, including Avengers: Endgame. Outside of James Cameron, Joe and Anthony are the only other filmmakers to have made two films that have earned over $2 billion dollars each. Their company AGBO is a great supporter of independent cinema, producing Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Since 2018, The Russo Brothers have set up an annual fellowship at Slamdance offering a $25,000 prize and mentorship to a filmmaker at the festival. Season 3 of the Russo Brothers "Pizza Film School" is out now on YouTube. Their latest feature film, The Electric State, will be streaming on Netflix starting on March 14th. Links: The Electric State | Netflix Pizza Film School | YouTube The Mastermind Principle Follow @Agbofilms on Instagram! Slamdance First Film Podcast is created and hosted by Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Produced by Peter Baxter. Edited by Daniel Angarita. QC by Max Brown & Tara Blossom. Music by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Paul Rachman, and the entire Slamdance Team. Follow the Slamdance First Film Podcast: Instagram (@SlamdanceFirstFilm) X (formerly known as Twitter) (@FirstFilmPod) YouTube (/Slamdance) Please share, rate, and review! For sponsorship, booking, and business inquiries, email us at: TheSlamdanceFirstFilmPodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Slamdance now offers a weekly podcast exploring how to make, premiere and distribute your first feature film. Each week, hear the origin stories of today's great filmmakers as they share their tips and tricks in these intimate interviews. With an aim to give back and support independent filmmakers, Slamdance's First Film Podcast demystifies process and the first feature film. Featuring Slamdance alumni Sean Baker & Shih-Ching Tsou ("Take Out"), The Russo Brothers ("Pieces"), Azazel Jacobs ("Nobody Needs to Know"), Dana Nachman ("Witch Hunt") and many more. Created and hosted by fellow Slamdance alumni filmmakers and festival programmers Michael Gallagher & Jana Gallagher ("Funny Story").” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices