First Time Go

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: I LIKE MOVIES (2022) [https://boxd.it/B3u2]. Director: Chandler Levack Screenplay: Chandler Levack Cast: Isaiah Lehtinen; Percy Hynes White; Veronika Slowikowska SYNOPSIS Socially awkward 17-year-old cinephile Lawrence Kweller takes a part-time job at Sequels video store, where he forms a complicated friendship with his older store manager, Alana. Lawrence hopes to earn enough money to achieve his dream of attending film school at NYU. Subscribe to our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@firstgopod] Follow us on Letterboxd [https://boxd.it/9BMgH] Follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/firstgopod/] Follow us on X [https://twitter.com/firstgopod] Follow us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/firstgopod] Follow us on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@firstgopod] Follow us on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/98995039/admin/feed/posts/] Subscribe to our YouTube channel [https://youtube.com/@firstgopod] Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content [https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content]

Bottle films, films made predominately in one location, are like playing with fire. There’s not a lot of room to make a good film if you don’t cast well, for instance, or if the location of your bottle isn’t fantastic. My guest, director Nicolai Schumann, understood all this….because he watched a bunch of the previous bottle films…and went ahead with THE LONELY MUSKETEER (2024) [https://boxd.it/Qi0m] anyway. And I’m so glad that he did.  The film tells the story of “the psychological downfall of a man who is highly traumatized by life.” Along the way, it’s earned numerous awards, including cinematography at the 2025 Raindance Film Festival. And Nico is here to talk about it with me today.  In this episode, Nico and I discuss: * The clausterphobic nature of his film and what people should expect to see when they watch THE LONELY MUSKETEER? * The pairing of investment bankers and hooligans in London that made this film; * The secret to success for the feature film that won best cinematography at Raindance 2025; * Why they cast Edward Hogg for a film that centers around a man locked in a box; * How he feels about bottle films; * Utilizing color throughout the film as well as putting important scenes in the credits; * Whether he can trace awards won to tangible benefits for the film; * London as an indie filmmaking location; * What he’s working on now” — “three teenagers who decide on a suicide pact in the backdrop of Thatcherism”; Nico’s Indie Film Highlight: JAMES (2024) dir. by Max Train [https://boxd.it/QfJ4] Memorable Quotes: “The next decision I made, stylistically or creatively, is that there is not a single camera movement in the whole movie. So our big role model for that was a shower scene in PSYCHO; “ If there's not a hundred percent certainty that the actor can put it off, we wouldn't have done it.” “ The other thing which was really important for us is that we got the visuals right…that we started with wide lenses and then we went to long lenses over the movie so that the walls were literally closing in on the actor.”  “The credit sequence is there to keep the audience guessing.” Links: Follow Nicolai On Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/alicespig/] Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content [https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content]

Watch This Episode On YouTube [https://youtu.be/Tbe4RVN5qOs] This is way easier said than done but when you’re making a short film, you need a couple things to exceptionally stand out. Whether it’s the writing, cinematography, subject…something. Otherwise, you’re lost in a sea of submissions. The money is almost irrelevant if you don’t have the goods.  For my guest Jennie Butler and her film, GEORGIE (2024), it’s piecing out a theme of his life from an interview and then making an extraordinary film from that thread.  Jennie calls GEORGIE a “melancholic but humorous profile of an older man who has had a very hard life and now is living with his decisions.” In this episode, Jenny and I discuss: * What it’s like to be in Palm Springs in June — it’s hot; * GEORGIE is such a fantastic, layered film — are there better short films out there?; * How she got her start — what I do now “is not that different”; * The difficulty in starting off just freelancing; * Does brandwork help with her filmmaking? “That comes from journalism”; * Why she never sees herself going into narrative; * What people should expect to see when they watch GEORGIE; * How she decided on the motif of loneliness; * How she balanced making GEORGIE a true documentary and not simply a marketing campaign for her subject; * The challenge of how gotcha moments sell in documentary and how she makes a “nod to the audience this is a slightly unreliable narrator of his own story”; * Her festival experience with GEORGIE and her advice for hitting the festival circuit; * FilmFreeway — come on the show! — and the scam coupons for festivals you’ve never heard of; * Her recommendations for someone starting off in documentary; * What she’s working on next. Jennie’s Indie Film Highlight: QUEEN OF VERSAILLES (2012) dir. by Lauren Greenfield [https://boxd.it/2Y4A]; THIN (2006) dir. by Lauren Greenfield [https://boxd.it/QsU]; Omer Sami [https://www.instagram.com/_omersami/?hl=en] Memorable Quotes: * “ Some of the films they looked like they cost a million dollars to make, they were insanely high budget. A lot of those def came from Europe because they have the money for that there, because their governments support that, and ours doesn't, but that's another topic.” * “ Yes, the films are quote unquote higher quality, but it's really just all about the storytelling.” * “ I just remember the first time I edited a video. You get into that flow state. I'd never really felt that before with writing. Writing always felt like a struggle.” * “Once you make more and more films, you wanna control more and more aspects of the film. And then in documentary, of course, you have to let go of a lot of control because you're working with real people.” * “Making subjects comfortable with this process is literally the hardest part of making a documentary. There is nothing harder.“ * “Submit to the festivals that make sense for your film.” * “ I didn't submit to Venice. I didn't submit to Berlin because if you look, they let in half a percent of films. That's throwing away $50.” * “ I've met a bunch of programmers, so of course the first thing I would do on my next run is email those programmers who I've met.” * “ Shorts are a really great way to hone your craft and also show your work.” * “ Figure out something where the scope is literally so small, but you can show what you can do.”  Links: Follow Jennie Butler On Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jen_but/?hl=en] Visit Jennie Butler's Website [https://www.jennie-butler.com/)] Follow The Rough Cut Pod (Jennie's old pod) [https://videoconsortium.org/rough-cut] Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content [https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content]

Watch This Episode On YouTube [https://youtu.be/Tbe4RVN5qOs] Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: NIGHT OWLS (2015) [https://boxd.it/axlU]. Director: Charles Hood Screenplay: Charles Hood; Seth Goldsmith Cast: Rosa Salazar; Adam Pally; Peter Krause SYNOPSIS Kevin goes home with Madeline for a drunken one-night stand and is horrified to learn she is his boss's ex-mistress. After he catches her taking a box of sleeping pills, they slowly start to fall in love as he keeps her awake all night. Subscribe to our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@firstgopod] Follow us on Letterboxd [https://boxd.it/9BMgH] Follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/firstgopod/] Follow us on X [https://twitter.com/firstgopod] Follow us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/firstgopod] Follow us on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@firstgopod] Follow us on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/98995039/admin/feed/posts/] Subscribe to our YouTube channel [https://youtube.com/@firstgopod] Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content [https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content]

Watch This Episode On YouTube [https://youtu.be/j7GvTC1MxSY] Watch SOVEREIGN Now [https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/sovereign/umc.cmc.2f353484gvq4cxnnvqvnpbs7r] SOVEREIGN (2025) [https://boxd.it/GIP6] is a filmmakers’ thriller and the story behind its director, my guest, Christian Swegal, is one of the best in independent film this year. The reason that so many investors are reluctant to back a new director for their first feature is one of skepticism — they think the director won’t be able to handle the responsibility. And when you add in powerhouse actors like Nick Offerman and Dennis Quaid, it’s fair to expect a watered-down mush of a film which critics and audiences would chalk up to, well, it was a first time feature director. That’s not the fate for Christian. Critics are talking about how it is perhaps Nick Offerman’s best career performance, a sublime take on a man lost in the Sovereign citizen movement, and we are here today talking about how the hell did he pull it off…and with such swagger.  In this episode, Christian and I discuss: * Should you Google the story behind SOVEREIGN? * What should people expect to see when they watch the film? “It’s a character study of this man and his relationship with his son”; * How he was able to make such an accomplished film for his debut feature? * What he owes the real-life characters and the viewers when writing an “inspired by true events” story? * How the film is a filmmaker’s thriller with the little motifs in the film, and he’ll explain the baby motif in the film; * The brilliant casting of Nick Offerman in this film; * Not getting hung up on casting -- a fantastic script will attract talented people to your film; * The process of funding the film, including the use of Slated ad tax rebates; * How it went from Tribeca to distribution within a few months; * Advice he’d give somebody directing their first feature? * “When in charge, be in charge” and how he implemented his vision no matter what; * What he’s working on next — “I’m drawn to true stories” Christian's Indie Film Highlight: SUNDOWN (2021) dir. by Michel Franco [https://letterboxd.com/film/sundown-2022-1/]; MEMORY (2023) dir. by Michel Franco [https://boxd.it/AZ9O] Memorable Quotes: * “ If people engage with the movie to the degree that they're interested to go and Google the real events I think that's a good sign.” * “ The movie will be for some people and not for other people. And that's fine. It's better to be polarizing in that way. I think for a movie our size than it is to try to please every audience and to a degree.” * “Or how you relate to a baby. It shows how you relate to something that's innocent and pure and really it's a stand in for empathy.” * “ My advice to filmmakers that I wish I had earlier was just don't wait. Focus on your material and on the story and then just go.” * “ Every single person we talk to along the way, in pre-production through production, through the end of it, had their spin on how they would fix the thing and make it different. And that's what's great. And when they direct their movie, then they can do their version of it.” Links: Follow Christian On Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/cswegal/?hl=en] Follow SOVEREIGN On Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/sovereignmovie/] Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content [https://redcircle.com/first-time-go/exclusive-content]