IFP Reviews: Dam Short Film Festival | 150 Shorts, Six Days, and One Damn Good Festival

IFP Reviews: Dam Short Film Festival | 150 Shorts, Six Days, and One Damn Good Festival

In this IFP Review, we’re talking about our experience attending the 22nd annual Dam Short Film Festival in Boulder City, Nevada. We reviewed the festival from the perspective of indie filmmakers who submitted a short film, attended in person, and screened alongside filmmakers from around the world. In 2026, Dam Short Film Festival featured more than 150 short films across 32 blocks over six days, making it a packed and energetic festival experience. Dam Short Film Festival stood out for its strong films, full audiences, excellent networking opportunities, and a genuinely celebratory atmosphere for filmmakers. The awards ceremony especially went above and beyond, with classic cars, red carpet energy, cheering crowds, and a clear effort to make filmmakers feel seen and appreciated. We gave the festival a 9/10 overall, with especially high marks for the films, audience, networking and events, awards, and overall value. The only major caveat was theater and tech, since the festival was in a different venue the year we attended, which led to a few sound and playback issues. In this review, we break down what worked, what indie filmmakers should know before submitting, and why Dam Short Film Festival may be especially worth considering if you have a short film (especially those tricky longer shorts that can be hard to program elsewhere!) _____________________________________ Get More Indie Film Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiefilmpodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/indiefilmpodcast/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@indiefilmpodcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@indiefilmpodcast] Web: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com] Newsletter: https://indie-film-podcast.kit.com/68f74bc072 [https://indie-film-podcast.kit.com/68f74bc072]  Get Featured on the Pod: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit]

IFP Reviews: Sun Valley Film Festival | Big Industry Energy in a Small Idaho Town

In this IFP Review, we’re talking about our experience attending the 13th annual Sun Valley Film Festival in Sun Valley and Ketchum, Idaho. We reviewed the festival from the perspective of indie filmmakers who submitted a film and attended in person, looking at everything from communication and organization to the films, audiences, networking events, theater and tech, awards, location, and overall value. And yes, the Sun Valley Film Festival delivered. With excellent communication, polished films, strong audience turnout, great venues, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere, this festival stood out as one of the most filmmaker-friendly experiences we’ve had. It also offered something unique: a small-town Idaho setting with surprisingly serious industry access, including conversations with seasoned producers, directors, filmmakers, and entertainment professionals. In this review, we break down what worked, what indie filmmakers should know before submitting, and why Sun Valley Film Festival may be worth the trip. _____________________________________ Get More Indie Film Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiefilmpodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/indiefilmpodcast/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@indiefilmpodcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@indiefilmpodcast] Web: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com] Newsletter: https://indie-film-podcast.kit.com/68f74bc072 [https://indie-film-podcast.kit.com/68f74bc072]  Get Featured on the Pod: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit]

Filmmaker Burnout: Is the Indie Film Grind Worth It?

Is filmmaker burnout just part of the indie film grind, or is hustle culture quietly making us worse at the thing we love? In this episode of Indie Film Podcast, Victoria and Chuck talk about filmmaker hustle culture, creative burnout, and whether the pressure to constantly work, post, volunteer, network, and “keep grinding” is actually worth the cost. Using Curry Barker’s breakout success with Obsession as a jumping-off point, we look at what years of audience-building and creative output can do for an indie filmmaker’s career. But we also dig into the other side of the hustle: Working for free, setting boundaries on indie film sets, the business and marketing realities behind film success, and why creativity is not the same thing as productivity. If you’re an indie filmmaker, film student, creative freelancer, or recovering workaholic trying to build a sustainable career without losing your love of filmmaking, this one’s for you. Show Links:  Featured Filmmaker of the Week, Christian Schoeman: https://youtube.com/@frequentcollaborators?si=VxyyTYx5AOfhcTj3 [https://youtube.com/@frequentcollaborators?si=VxyyTYx5AOfhcTj3]  Be Our Next Featured Filmmaker: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit] Are you a workaholic? - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/career/workaholic-test [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/career/workaholic-test]  Misleading article - https://leaders.com/articles/company-culture/hustle-culture/ [https://leaders.com/articles/company-culture/hustle-culture/] Long Working Hours and Cognitive Function: The Whitehall II Study - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2727184/ [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2727184/]  Working less doesn’t affect productivity? - https://interwork.sdsu.edu/sites/default/files/2025-02/nrli-2024-Group2.pdf [https://interwork.sdsu.edu/sites/default/files/2025-02/nrli-2024-Group2.pdf]  _____________________________________ Follow Indie Film Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiefilmpodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/indiefilmpodcast/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@indiefilmpodcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@indiefilmpodcast] Web: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com] Newsletter: https://indie-film-podcast.kit.com/68f74bc072 [https://indie-film-podcast.kit.com/68f74bc072]  Get Featured on the Pod: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit]

AI Filmmaking: Should Indie Filmmakers Be Worried?

Can AI filmmaking actually make a good short film? We tested it. In this episode of Indie Film Podcast, we’re talking about AI in filmmaking after making our own AI-generated short film using AI tools for: The script, character design, voices, and video generation. Yup. All of it. And the end result? Is a little mixed…. We break down what worked, what failed spectacularly, and what indie filmmakers should actually be paying attention to when it comes to AI video generation. Is AI a useful filmmaking tool? A creative threat? A shortcut? A mess? Yes. Just…yes to all of that. This conversation gets into the practical side of AI tools for filmmakers, the ethical concerns around AI-generated images and voices, the rise of AI slop, the environmental cost of AI video, and whether indie filmmakers should be worried about the future of the film industry. (To save you any panic or heartache, probably not. Especially if you’re a creative individual, then you really don’t need to worry. If you’re a filmmaker, writer, editor, actor, video creator, or creative human trying to figure out where AI belongs in indie film, this episode is for you. _____________________________________ Show Links:  Featured Filmmaker of the Week, Parsa Ghaffari: https://parsaghaffari.com/ [https://parsaghaffari.com/]  Be Our Next Featured Filmmaker: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit] Forbes Top 50 AI companies: https://www.forbes.com/lists/ai50/ [https://www.forbes.com/lists/ai50/] Study about idle time and creatives: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10400419.2023.2227477 [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10400419.2023.2227477] The Guardian Articles: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/13/ai-music-spotify-billboard-charts [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/13/ai-music-spotify-billboard-charts] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/27/more-than-20-of-videos-shown-to-new-youtube-users-are-ai-slop-study-finds [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/27/more-than-20-of-videos-shown-to-new-youtube-users-are-ai-slop-study-finds] _____________________________________ Follow Indie Film Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiefilmpodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/indiefilmpodcast/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@indiefilmpodcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@indiefilmpodcast] Web: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com] Newsletter: https://indie-film-podcast.kit.com/68f74bc072 [https://indie-film-podcast.kit.com/68f74bc072]  Get Featured on the Pod: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit]

Quitting Your Job to Make Films: The Money, Fear, and Freedom

Can you actually make money as a filmmaker after quitting your job? In this episode of Indie Film Podcast, we’re talking about what really happens when you leave a steady corporate job for freelance filmmaking, creative work, and the unpredictable world of self-employment in the arts. Chuck and Victoria share their very different experiences quitting their jobs, building financial runways, surviving surprise expenses, finding freelance film work, tracking tax deductions, and figuring out how indie filmmakers can build multiple revenue streams without assuming their passion project will pay the bills. If you’ve ever dreamed about leaving your 9-to-5 to make films, this episode is a reality check on the money, fear, freedom, and chaos that come with taking the leap. _____________________________________ Show Links:  Featured Filmmaker of the Week, David C. Nelson: https://dcnfilm.com/ [https://dcnfilm.com/]  Be Our Next Featured Filmmaker: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit] Check Out Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/IndieFilmPodcast [https://www.patreon.com/cw/IndieFilmPodcast]  _____________________________________ Follow Indie Film Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiefilmpodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/indiefilmpodcast/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@indiefilmpodcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@indiefilmpodcast] Web: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com] Newsletter: https://indie-film-podcast.kit.com/68f74bc072 [https://indie-film-podcast.kit.com/68f74bc072]  Get Featured on the Pod: https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit [https://www.indiefilmpodcast.com/submit]