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PODCAST

First Time Go

Benjamin Duchek

A weekly podcast highlighting the creators of independent film and the business behind it. Hosted by Ben Duchek.

tv & film film interviews

All Episodes

40:01

Max Morgan

First Time Go ·

2025/06/20

Watch This Episode On YouTubeJoining me today is…he is going to hate that I write it this way, as you’ll hear in the conversation…but the director with the most nominated film at Raindance, Max Morgan, talking about his film BREAKWATER (2025).The ability to make your first feature, your first film, carry the weight of, and I’ll quote Max here, “people never mean what they say, and there is a lot of that in BREAKWATER” is simply breathtaking. I’ve posted the trailer in the YouTube conversation, go

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1:44

Indie Film Highlight: 29,000 WISHES. 1 REGRET

First Time Go ·

2025/06/15

Watch This Episode On YouTubeEvery Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: 29,000 WISHES. 1 REGRET (2012)Director: Oliver RobinsWriters: Oliver RobinsCast: Justus Zimmerman; Casey RuggieriSYNOPSISAfter losing their jobs, a husband (Justus Zimmerman) and wife (Casey Ruggieri) decide to max out their credit cards and have some fun, then commit suicide.Subscribe to our YouTube channelFollow us on LetterboxdFollow us on

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1:44

Indie Film Highlight: GOD'S POCKET (2014)

First Time Go ·

2025/06/08

Watch The Video On YouTubeEvery Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: GOD'S POCKET (2014)Director: John SlatteryWriters: Peter Dexter; Alex Metcalf; John SlatteryCast: Philip Seymour Hoffman; Richad Jenkins; Christina Hendricks; John TurturroSYNOPSISA boozy lowlife (Philip Seymour Hoffman) tries to bury the truth about his crazy stepson's suspicious death, but a nosy newspaper columnist (Richard Jenkins) and the

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22:05

Huiju Park

First Time Go ·

2025/06/06

Go See WELCOME HOME FRECKLES at DC/DOX on June 14th, 12pmWatch This Episode On YouTubeWhat do you do when people question your style of filmmaking? If you know that the story is in your heart, as my guest Huiju Park did with her film WELCOME HOME FRECKLES (2025), you make your film your way. In a deeply personal tale about her return home to Korea for the first time in four years, that's what she did. We talk about that and so much more with this UK-based filmmaker, whose authenticity will

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26:00

Laura Valera & Andrew James Gonzales

First Time Go ·

2025/05/23

Watch This Episode On YouTubeAs we move further away from the conventional wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, colloquially known as the Global War on Terror, the need for films like AMERICAN SONS (2025) is greater; it informs us, through powerful filmmaking, what we've lost.AMERICAN SONS follows a brotherhood of Marines a decade after their deployment to Afghanistan, as they struggle to overcome the trauma of combat and the loss of their best friend, Corporal JV Villarreal.I am joined today by

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1:41

Indie Film Highlight: TO DUST (2018)

First Time Go ·

2025/05/11

Watch This Episode On YouTubeEvery Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: TO DUST (2018).Director: Shawn SnyderWritten By: Shawn Snyder; Jason BegueCast: Matthew Broderick; Géza RöhrigSYNOPSISA Hasidic cantor in upstate New York, distraught by the untimely death of his wife, befriends a local community college biology professor and the two embark on an increasingly literal undertaking into the underworld.Watch This

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1:23

Indie Film Highlight: BROKEN FLOWERS (2005)

First Time Go ·

2025/05/04

Watch This Episode On YouTubeEvery Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: BROKEN FLOWERS (2005).Director: Jim JarmuschWritten By: Jim Jarmusch; Bill Raden; Sara DriverCast: Bill Murray; Jessica Lange; Sharon StoneSYNOPSISWhen his latest girlfriend (Julie Delpy) leaves him, retired computer magnate Don Johnston (Bill Murray) has no greater ambition than to sit around the house. When he receives an anonymous letter from a

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1:30

Indie Film Highlight: 5 YEARS APART (2019)

First Time Go ·

2025/04/06

Watch This Episode On YouTubeEvery Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: FIVE YEARS APART (2019).Director: Joe Angelo MenconiWritten By: Joe Angelo Menconi; Zac KrauseCast: Chloe Bennet; Scott Michael Foster; Ally MakiSYNOPSISTwo estranged brothers born on the same day five years apart run into each other at their family vacation home with wildly different expectations for how their birthday weekend will play out.Watch

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1:46

Indie Film Highlight: CASHBACK (2006)

First Time Go ·

2025/03/09

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: CASHBACK (2006).Director: Sean EllisWritten By: Sean EllisCast: Sean Biggerstaff; Emilia Fox; Michelle RyanSYNOPSISSophia's comfortable life turns upside down the day she meets Sylvain, and she leaves everything for a new, burning passion.Watch This Episode On YouTubeSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow us on LetterboxdFollow us on InstagramFollow us on XFollow us on

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24:25

Special Slamdance Coverage: Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine

First Time Go ·

2025/03/08

Watch This Episode On YouTubeNtare Guma Mbaho Mwine is an accomplished actor, director, and documentary filmmaker, and so it's no surprise that his film, MEMORIES OF LOVE RETURNED (2024), is a love letter to the arts. It's also a love letter about Uganda, and offers a deeply personal look at his experience in the country and that of photographer Kibaate Aloysius Ssalongo.In this episode, we discuss:how he got started in filmmaking and if he has a preference between acting and directing;how

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31:25

Matt McClung

First Time Go ·

2025/02/14

Watch This Episode On YouTubeStream INHABITANTS (2025) NowThere's no more fertile ground for indie filmmakers than horror, and for a few extremely talented directors like my guest Matt McClung, you can even exceed expectations of the genre with a film like INHABITANTS (2025). The film tells the tale of a young woman who moves in with her lapsed Catholic boyfriend, only to discover...uh oh.In this episode, we discuss:how he got started in filmmaking;the benefit of film school -- he says the

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34:57

Jeff Man

First Time Go ·

2025/02/11

Watch This Episode On YouTubeAttend A Screening Of PAPER MARRIAGE in Washington, DCTo paraphrase Walt Whitman, Jeff Man is a man that contains multitudes. He often plays a character, like in PAPER MARRIAGE (2024) and SANTA CLAUS (2017), that is reserved and unsure of himself, and the stories, at least partially, revolve around how he -- and the outside world -- reacts to those personality traits. During our conversation, he talks about how he grapples with these questions in his own life and

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27:52

Lauren Denemark

First Time Go ·

2025/02/04

Music is one of the most important parts of filmmaking and yet it's often left to the last minute or shortchanged; the dynamic Lauren Denemark and her company, Triple Threat Music Supervision, is aiming to change that for indie filmmakers.In this episode, we talk about:how she got her start in music supervision;the challenges of taking on "favors" when starting a company;when to call Triple Threat for work on a film;what the career path for composers looks like in indie film;her thoughts

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1:47

Indie Film Highlight: BABYSITTER (2022)

First Time Go ·

2025/02/02

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: BABYSITTER (2022).Director: Monia ChokrisdWritten By: Catherine LégerCast: Pierre-Marcel Blanchot; Fabrice Lambot; Catherine Leger; Martin Paul-HusSYNOPSISAfter a sexist joke goes viral, Cédric loses his job and embarks on a therapeutic journey. When he and his girlfriend hire a mysterious and liberated babysitter to help shake things up, everything seems too good to be

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17:42

Alison Tavel

First Time Go ·

2024/12/14

I'm joined by filmmaker and musician Alison Tavel to discuss her incredible documentary, RESYNATOR (2024), available for streaming on December 13, 2024. RESYNATOR premiered at SXSW 2024 and currently sports a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.The story spans a full decade with involvement of famous rock musicians and a search to understand her inventive father, whom she never got to know. She joined me on the anniversary of his passing, which is a prescient date in the film and in her life. You'll

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1:29

Indie Film Highlight: WINTER SLEEP (2014)

First Time Go ·

2024/12/08

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: WINTER SLEEP (2014).Director: Nuri Bilge CeylanScreenplay: Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Ebru CeylanCast: Melisa Sözen; Ayberg Pekcan; Nejat IslerSYNOPSISAydin, a former actor, runs a small hotel in central Anatolia with his young wife Nihal with whom he has a stormy relationship and his sister Necla who is suffering from her recent divorce.Watch This On YouTubeSubscribe to our YouTube

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32:05

Law Chen

First Time Go ·

2024/11/12

Happy Veterans Day! Sign up for a $1 membership to Film IndependentIf there's a more innovative, surprising, enjoyable, and fun documentary than STARRING JERRY AS HIMSELF (2023), I haven't seen it this year. It's no surprise all those attributes could be used to describe my conversation with its director, Law Chen.In this episode, we discuss:how he got involved in filmmaking as a combination of growing up in China and the United States;how life in China influenced him today;how the

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2:26

Indie Film Highlight: WEDDING PALACE (2013)

First Time Go ·

2024/11/11

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: WEDDING PALACE (2013).Director: Christine YooWritten By: Derek Draper; Robert Gardner; Christine YooCast: Brian Tee; Kang Hye-jeong; Bobby LeeSYNOPSISJason finds the woman of his dreams online and tries to make it work in person.Watch This On YouTubeSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow us on LetterboxdFollow us on InstagramFollow us on XFollow us on FacebookFollow us on

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72:39

Ward Kamel

First Time Go ·

2024/11/01

Watch This Episode On YouTubeThere's something so inspiring about a filmmaker who has a million different reasons for why he shouldn't be selected for this fellowship or that school, but goes forward boldly, anyway, and stays humble about it.And also a guy who would love the opportunity to teach at his film school -- NYU -- but I completely believe him when he says that he would quit if it got in the way of his feature filmmaking.That's the story of my guest, filmmaker Ward Kamel.Most

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4:46

Indie Film Highlight: SOY NERO (2016)

First Time Go ·

2024/10/27

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: SOY NERO (2016).Director: Rafi PittsWritten By: Rafi Pitts; Razvan RadulescuCast: Rory Cochrane; Khleo Thomas; Michael HarneySYNOPSISNero, a deported Mexican, eventually succeeds in making it back to Los Angeles. Unsatisfied with being an undocumented worker, Nero joins the U.S. Army to obtain citizenship.Watch the episode on YouTubeSubscribe to our YouTube channelFollow us on

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61 results

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