Derry Shillitto: There is something living in the caves

Derry Shillitto: There is something living in the caves

Derry Shillitto is a writer, director, and producer from Nottingham, England — the rebel city, as he'll tell you, birthplace of Robin Hood, D.H. Lawrence, Lord Byron, and the Luddite movement. He's the founder of Foyle River Films and the director of The Correction Unit, a dystopian sci-fi thriller about young offenders in a prison run by AI, featuring Bella Ramsey as the disembodied AI voice. Vision Films picked it up. It's on Amazon Prime right now. He did not go to film school. He did go to Cannes. He did get fired from Pizza Express. All of this is connected. Ilse met Derry at Le Petit Majestic at Cannes and immediately understood she had found one of her people. In this episode: how getting fired from a pizza chain launched a filmmaking career, what it actually takes to go to Cannes with a film in the market, the difference between charlatans and collaborators, why Derry cast real excluded kids in his film, AI and institutional power and the bottom of a cereal box, the Illuminati (but make it Homer Simpson), the Telepathy Tapes, Nottingham caves, a mythical creature Derry made up on the spot, and a ghost story involving a murderer, a Pizza Express chef, and a chain hanging in a basement that we did not need to hear but are absolutely better for. He showed up hungover from birthday karaoke. He stayed for the whole conversation. That's the kind of guy he is. Watch The Correction Unit: Amazon Prime (US & Canada), Apple TV, Vudu, Rakuten — rent or stream with Prime. Drop a Letterboxd review while you're at it. Follow Derry: Instagram @FoyleRiverFilms Hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera [https://ilsezachariasrivera.com/]. Say hi / follow along here: @ilsezacharias [https://www.instagram.com/ilsezacharias/] Mentioned in this episode: Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com

Sundance, SXSW and Cannes: Film festival strategy for independent filmmakers

This one's a little different. No guest this week - just me and my producer Jacob Cagle, flipping the mic and doing a proper debrief on the last six months. We're talking Sundance, South by Southwest, and Cannes. What worked, what didn't, and what I'd tell anyone who's scared to walk into a room full of people who seem like they belong there more than you do. We also get into something I don't talk about enough — the real reason I started going to film festivals in the first place, what jealousy actually taught me about what I want, and why fear isn't a stop sign, it's a map. Plus: a little state of the pod. It's almost been a year. I have feelings about it. Topics covered: * Fuck, Marry, Kill: Sundance, South by Southwest, and Cannes (yes we went there) * Chicago International, Chicago Latino Film Festival, and Midwest Film Festival — where it all started * How to go to Sundance without a badge and not miss a thing * South by Southwest: the honest review — badge worth it or not? * Cannes: why it tripled my contacts and why I'm completely biased * How to sneak into parties at Cannes and why it's basically required * International film festivals that will actually pay for you to go * Jealousy as a compass — what it's really telling you * "You belong in that room" — and what that actually means when you grew up broke * The monopoly board theory for your life and career * One year of Ilse Will Say: what I know now that I wish I knew then Hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera [https://ilsezachariasrivera.com/]. Say hi / follow along here: @ilsezacharias [https://www.instagram.com/ilsezacharias/] Mentioned in this episode: Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com

Lorena Lourenço: Showing Up Unapologetically On Set, At Festivals, and In Life

Lauren Lourenço has been backed by Film Independent, Series Fest, and the Orchid Project. She's directed festival-winning shorts, an MTV music video for Anitta, and she's currently developing her first feature, Whatever Happened to Rosa Elena? — a queer horror comedy set in Palm Springs. She's also, somehow, terrified of horror films. We met at Sundance, had lunch, and I immediately understood why people find me intimidating. In this episode, we get into endometriosis (the real version, not the "heavy period" version), why Lorena started writing comedy, her hot take on where Sundance is heading, the small festivals actually worth paying attention to, candles as a gateway drug to full woo-woo, and what it means to make work that's specific without feeling like homework. Also: aliens. Probably among us. Probably fine. Follow Lorena on Instagram at @lorenaMML [https://www.instagram.com/lorenamml/] Topics covered: * Warby Parker and the big head problem * Endometriosis, emergency surgery, and writing a pilot on morphine * La Chupacabra and Whatever Happened to Rosa Elena — yes, we're on the same wavelength * Sundance: what it is now vs. what it was, and the smaller festivals doing it better * Inside Out (Canada), Cascadia, Julien Dubuque, La Leff, River Run * Hot Cakes: the 60-second rapid fire round * Aliens: living among us, and Lauren's friend who might actually be one * House of Intuition candles: cute or too much? * Therapy as an oil change, but for your brain Hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera [https://ilsezachariasrivera.com/]. Say hi / follow along here: @ilsezacharias [https://www.instagram.com/ilsezacharias/] Mentioned in this episode: Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com

Jake Ferree: Life is too short to be one thing

This week on Ilse Will Say, Ilse sits down with actor, musician, wine guy, and casual full-calendar haver Jake Ferree. You’ve seen Jake on The Baxters, True Detective, and more, but this episode gets into the stuff that does not fit neatly on an IMDb page: touring with his Irish punk band Hounds of Belfast, turning pandemic drinking into actual wine knowledge, why grocery store wine might be personally attacking you, and what happens when Jude Law gently asks to pass by you on Broadway. They also get into the weirdness of being a working actor when your footage is stuck in release limbo, the joy of refusing to be just one thing, and a truly terrifying haunted stay at the Lemp Mansion that may ruin bathrooms for everyone. Follow Jake on Instagram @jakeferree [https://www.instagram.com/jakeferree/], check out his band Hounds of Belfast at @houndsofbelfast [https://www.instagram.com/houndsofbelfast/], and go watch their music video “Bar Maid” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkve50b62R8]. If you’re in LA, you can also catch Hounds of Belfast live on June 19th at The Mint. Mentioned in this episode: Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com

Sonya and Wendy Madrigal: Just say yes first

This week on Ilse Will Say, Ilse is joined by sisters Sonya and Wendy Madrigal, two Chicago artists who somehow make multi-hyphenating look genetic. Sonya is an actor, director, choreographer, and educator, while Wendy is a multidisciplinary artist, producer, puppeteer, and voiceover agent, which is exactly the kind of résumé that makes you ask, “Wait, so what exactly do you do?” in the best way. They get into growing up as the Madrigal sisters before Disney caught up, ugly crying during Coco and Encanto, folklórico as a family love language, community college theater magic, saying yes to unexpected career pivots, and why Wendy may or may not have manifested both her boyfriend and a dinosaur puppet. Plus, Hot Cakes brings tacos, Rocky, stinky breath, and a truly unwell Subway answer. Go see Sonya’s choreography in Goodnight Moon at Chicago Children’s Theatre through June 7, and follow Wendy @itswendymadrigal [https://www.instagram.com/itswendymadrigal/] and Sonya @soniamadrigal. [https://www.instagram.com/sonyamadrigal/] Hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera [https://ilsezachariasrivera.com/]. Say hi / follow along here: @ilsezacharias [https://www.instagram.com/ilsezacharias/] Mentioned in this episode: Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com