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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

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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25:09

Matt Cascella & Jen Cordery

First Time Go ·

2024/10/22

Let's throw it back to how things used to be -- date night movies, romcoms, leaving the theater feeling good about what you just watched.I don't want to get too nostalgic about the past because right now we have access to so many great films from so many new creators than we ever had before, but we can all agree (I hope) that we need more films like HANGDOG (2023) in theaters. And thanks to filmmakers Matt Cascella (director + writer) and Jen Cordery (writer), we can.I would go see HANGDOG

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32:02

Matthew Heineman

First Time Go ·

2024/10/15

There is no other filmmaker working today that personifies being the "man in the arena", as Theodore Roosevelt so eloquently put it, than Matthew Heineman. His films have ranged from the frontlines of wars to the sweet and touching portrayal of Jon Batiste in AMERICAN SYMPHONY (2023). Just making one such film could be a career pinnacle -- Matthew has directed 14 wholly original, extraordinary special artistic contributions to the medium -- and he's here to share the details.In this

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1:33

Indie Film Highlight: SOMEWHERE (2010)

First Time Go ·

2024/10/13

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: SOMEWHERE (2010).Director: Sofia CoppolaScreenplay By: Sofia CoppolaCast: Stephen Dorff; Elle FanningSYNOPSISWhile recuperating from an injury at Beverly Hills' famed Chateau Marmont, bad-boy actor Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) receives a visit from his young daughter, Cleo (Elle Fanning). Though his mind is not on parenting, she has a way of inserting herself into her

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38:25

Sian Astor-Lewis

First Time Go ·

2024/10/08

The debut feature, TO NOWHERE (2020), of Sian Astor-Lewis is one of the best films I've seen this year, and she's here to talk about it. It's available now for streaming on Amazon, Tubi, and Apple.The story of how she directed such a moody, original, character-driven film is an extraordinary one. The sets and vision are big, bold, and she's here to talk about it.In this episode, we discuss:how she got a start in filmmaking;what it's like when the distance between what you dreamed

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30:56

Angel Fernandez

First Time Go ·

2024/09/06

Practically lives in a film theater? Develops films based around sex workers? Who does this sound like? It sounds like the brilliant Angel Fernandez, who wowed me with a tour-de-force discussion about the history of filmmaking and his current film, THE TIMES OF MELANCHOLY.In this episode, we talk about how he got his start in filmmaking; his decision making process about whether to go to film school; how his Mexican-American heritage influences his work; how THE TIMES OF MELANCHOLY came about and

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41:13

Christian Kamaal

First Time Go ·

2024/09/03

You can see the artistic talent of Christian Kamaal in the vivid way he describes his life -- he borrowed a camera from his father, who used it to film funerals for his community ("unfortunately, in the city I come from, a lot of funerals"); his power of observation earned him a spot at USC's film school; and he utilized his power of observation, of visual artistry, to make BLACKIFIER, a powerful short that hits you with more thoughts about our world than most features. And that's

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2:18

Indie Film Highlight: NANNY (2022)

First Time Go ·

2024/09/01

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: NANNY (2022).Director: Nikyatu JusuWritten By: Nikyatu JasuCast: Anna Diop; Michelle Monaghan; Sinqua Walls; Morgan SpectorSYNOPSISAn African woman hopes her new job as a nanny will help bring her young son to the United States. However, when a violent presence begins to invade both her dreams and reality, it threatens to destroy everything she's fought for.Watch The

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29:17

Ava Bounds

First Time Go ·

2024/08/30

"It's not about me, it's about my films." When you get awards for your filmmaking at 15, you can either become arrogant about it or you can become reflective, humble, and brilliant, and from listening to this episode, I think you can tell which path filmmaker Ava Bounds chose.In this episode, we talk about:how the "natural successor to David Lynch" got started;watching a lot of films on her iPad at 11 and 12 and what that meant for her filmmaking;how that kind of passion for

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45:13

Aleks Dimitrijevic

First Time Go ·

2024/08/27

It's a full-on British Week on the podcast. In this episode, I talk with Aleks Dimitrijevic, and on Friday, you'll hear from filmmaker Ava Bounds. What an exciting week to discover the future of filmmaking.The British Film Institute's Future Film Festival is accepting late submissions until September 13th. As you hear from program director Aleks Dimitrijevic, the program is unique globally and if you qualify within the age range -- 16-25 -- you should certainly want to participate. Aleks

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72 results

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