Discover Indie Film

Jeff Howard

Meet tomorrow’s filmmakers today.

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20 episodes
Updated Yesterday
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Episodes20

Newest first

Yesterday · 22 min
725. 4Qs with Lauren & George Bott
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. Lauren & George Bott joined me to talk about their fantastic film “The Nine,” which was a 2025 Sherman Oaks Film Festival Official Selection and took home the Filmmakers Awards for Outstanding Director – Short Film – Comedy – Lauren W. Bott ANDOutstanding Film – Short Film – Comedy You can watch “The Nine” on YouTube After you watch you’ll prob need to hear what types of films inspired Lauren and George. Lucky for you we have the 4 Questions follow up to do just that! And all the Instagram Links You’ll Need: @geobott @Picky_Eater_Productions @LizzyBott _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
Friday · 54 min
724. Lauren & George Bott “The Nine”
I hope everyone is having a beautiful last day of July! Lauren & George Bott joined me to talk about their fantastic film “The Nine,” which was a 2025 Sherman Oaks Film Festival Official Selection and took home the Filmmakers Awards for Outstanding Director – Short Film – Comedy – Lauren W. Bott ANDOutstanding Film – Short Film – Comedy You can watch “The Nine” on YouTube And you can find more about it and these lovely humans on Instagram: @geobott @Picky_Eater_Productions @LizzyBott _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
Wednesday · 20 min
723. 4Qs with Jeff Moore & Nicole Madar
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. Indie filmmakers Jeff Moore (director) and Nicole Madar (producer) joined me to chat about their feature “Timings” and of course had to each sit in the hot seat and answer the 4 Questions! Timings IMDB IG: @timings_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
July 27 · 43 min
722. Jeff Moore & Nicole Madar “Timings”
Happy Monday, Friends! Indie filmmakers Jeff Moore (director) and Nicole Maydar (producer) joined me to chat about their feature “Timings,” which has been making its way through some festivals in NYC. We talked over Zoom which meant their adorable pup could join in the fun! Timings IMDB IG: @timings_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
July 24 · 33 min
721. 4Qs with Rani Naamani
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. Rani Namani the SOFF 2025 Official Selection: Music Video & Short Film – Animation “Born Ready” and earned the Grand Jury Award for Best Music Video. I’m guessing you already listened to our chat posted on Wednesday and you just had to return to hear Rani’s 4 Questions! Rani’s Instagram: @rani.naamani _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
July 22 · 50 min
720. Rani Naamani “Born Ready”
Welcome Back! Born Ready, directed by Rani Namani, is an exploration of the miracle of birth shown through the lens of a Synthwave music video. It’s also a SOFF 2025 Official Selection: Music Video & Short Film – Animation that took Grand Jury Award – Best Music Video. I hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did and then dig in deeper by following Rani’s Instagram: @rani.naamani _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
July 20 · 10 min
719. 4Qs with Naosheen Ahmed
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. Naosheen Ahmed wrote, produced and starred in the SOFF 2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama “Pandaal” that took home the Filmmakers Award – Outstanding Originality– Short Film – Drama. I learned so much about Naosheen during our interview, but as I say, you can never truly know anyone until you’ve grilled them with the Four Questions! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
July 17 · 42 min
718. Naosheen Ahmed “Pandaal”
Welcome back for another exciting Indie Filmmaker Chat! Naosheen Ahmed wrote, produced and starred in the SOFF 2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama “Pandaal” that took home the Filmmakers Award – Outstanding Originality– Short Film – Drama. “Pandaal” is a fantastic film I was thrilled to hear the story of how Nosheen and her team made it and overall just learn about her as a person and artist. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
July 15 · 14 min
717. 4Qs with Olivia Lige Wuri
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. Writer/Director Olivia Lige Wuri came on the podcast to chat about her film Cut All Trees that was a 2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama and left with the Grand Jury Award – Best Cinematography – Short Film – Red Jitar. As we talked about in our interview posted Monday, Olivia does hold back from challenging her audience and I was very eager to see what types of films may have challenged or inspired her with the 4 Questions! Follow more of Olivia’s life and work on IG: @urlig_olivia _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
July 13 · 53 min
716. Olivia Lige Wuri “Cut All Trees”
Happy Monday! Writer/Director Olivia Lige Wuri came on the podcast to chat about her film Cut All Trees that was a 2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Drama and left with the Grand Jury Award – Best Cinematography – Short Film – Red Jitar. I loved Cut All Trees- it was bold and challenging and I was so excited to have Olivia on to hear about her process of making it it and her experience sharing it with audiences. Follow more of Olivia’s life and work on IG: @urlig_olivia _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
July 10 · 28 min
715. 4Qs with Kelly Hooper, Kathryn Ross, & Jonny Diaz
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. The Mail Gaze made its LA Premiere as a Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Comedy and took home the Grand Jury Award – Best Performance by a Duo – Kelly Hooper & Kathryn Ross. We had a thrilling triple interview with the director, Jonny Diaz, and the producers and stars Kelly Hooper, Kathryn Ross (also the writer) that was posted Wednesday. The only thing more exciting than a triple interview is a triple 4 Questions. Maybe we call is the 12 Questions? Here’s all the Social Media Handles on Instagram so watch out for what these talented folks do next: @themailgazefilm @kelly.hooper @kathrynaross @jonny305diaz _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
July 8 · 1 hr 9 min
714. Kelly Hooper, Kathryn Ross, & Jonny Diaz “The Mail Gaze”
Welcome back! We have an exciting episode for you today! The Mail Gaze made its LA Premiere as a Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Comedy and took home the Grand Jury Award – Best Performance by a Duo – Kelly Hooper & Kathryn Ross. I loved this film and I was thrilled to see I got three of its major players of it to sign up for a joint interview- Kelly Hooper, Kathryn Ross, Jonny Diaz. Johnny directed, Kathryn wrote, Kathryn and Kelly produced as well as obviously acted so well in it they won an award. Here’s all the Social Media Handles on Instagram so watch out for what these talented folks do next: @themailgazefilm @kelly.hooper @kathrynaross @jonny305diaz _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
July 6 · 11 min
713. 4Qs with Danny Piñeros
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. “Don’t Watch This,” written and directed by Danny Pineros, was a Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Horror and earned the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Originality – Short Film – Horror AND Outstanding Screenplay – Short Film – Horror – Daniel Pineros. Danny and I had a fantastic talk (that was posted Friday) and that always gets me excited to follow up with essential my 4 Questions! Here’s the link for Don’t Watch This on Youtube (DO watch it!) And a link to his WEBSITE with all the short films he’s done. Danny’s IG @danny.pineros _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
July 3 · 51 min
712. Danny Piñeros “Don’t Watch This”
Happy Indie Film Friday! “Don’t Watch This,” written and directed by Danny Pineros, was a Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2025 Official Selection: Short Film – Horror and earned the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Originality – Short Film – Horror AND Outstanding Screenplay – Short Film – Horror – Daniel Pineros. Here’s the link for Don’t Watch This on Youtube (DO watch it!) And a link to his WEBSITE with all the short films he’s done. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
July 1 · 16 min
711. 4Qs with Benjamin Carlucci
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
June 29 · 1 hr 23 min
710. Benjamin Carlucci “Burying Baby” & “Lorica”
Hi Friends! I was very excited to have today’s guest, Benjamin Carlucci, come chat. He has directed two fantastic films that hit out festival circuit. “Burying Baby” was 2024 Sherman Oaks Film Festival Official Selection: Short Film – Drama and took home Programmer’s Prize – Exceptional Filmmaking and then in 2025 “Lorica” was an Film Invasion-LA Official Selection: Short Film – Drama that earned the Programmer’s Prize – Exceptional Filmmaking. Both films he also co-wrote with friend of the pod Jess Paul. 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
June 26 · 1 hr 41 min
709. Angelo Moore of Fishbone
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
June 24 · 20 min
708. 4Qs with Bryan Uvaldo
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. Bryan Uvaldo’s film Playin’ Around was a Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2025 Official Selection and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Film – Short Film – Action-Thriller AND Outstanding Originality – Short Film – Action- Thriller I really enjoyed talking to such a lovely, passionate guy and couldn’t wait to see what kinda films lit him up with the follow up 4 Questions! 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
June 22 · 1 hr 13 min
707. Bryan Uvaldo “Playin’ Around”
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
June 19 · 23 min
706. 4Qs with Nevada Grey
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.’ Nevada Grey came onto the podcast to talk about her wonderful web series “ROOMIES”, that was a Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2024 Official Selection and took home the Grand Jury Award – Best Series Episode/Pilot. Nothing wraps up a great conversion for me like a pressing 4 Questions! 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