x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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

38:45

Lauren Melinda

First Time Go ·

2025/09/26

In the atmosphere we live in in the United States, putting up a title card for your film's first shot that says "in solidarity with Planned Parenthood" and then screening it in red states is brave. That's just the reality. But when you hear from my guest, Lauren Melinda, about her film BEFORE YOU (2025), she tells you this was not her intent. She was not trying to make a political film or send a message on the issue of abortion. In some ways, that would be the easier thing to

en

45:43

Irving Franco

First Time Go ·

2025/09/23

“Criminally underrated” is what one Letterboxd critic called Irving Franco’s second feature, ADAM THE FIRST (2024). The film stunned me. The logline: “after finding a list of names and addresses, 14-year-old Adam sets out across the country to meet a series of men who could be his father.” It’s a hero’s journey, well-acted, and the last few scenes will crush you. Irving also scored the film, which you don’t see very often. So why is it misunderstood? We talk about it in this episode with this two

en

1:17

Indie Film Highlight: BACK TO BURGUNDY (2017)

First Time Go ·

2025/09/21

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: BACK TO BURGUNDY (2017).Director: Cédric KlapischWriters: Cédric Klapisch; Santiago Amigorena; Jean-Marc RoulotCast: Pio Marmaï; Ana Girardot; François CivilSYNOPSISAfter a ten year absence, Jean returns to his hometown when his father falls ill. Reuniting with his sister Juliette and his brother Jérémie, they have to rebuild their relationship and

en

39:27

Hope Lawson

First Time Go ·

2025/09/16

This conversation could have gone on for another few hours. I felt so blessed to chat with a kindred spirit about raising the profile of independent filmmakers, Hope Lawson. Hope founded Takeout LA after finding herself in the filmmaking business. She also works for Gersh so this episode opens up discussions I’ve been dying to have on the podcast. Takeout LA is a film screening series and it’s also a party, which come to think of it, is what this episode is like. In this episode, Hope and I

en

35:30

Lee Knight

First Time Go ·

2025/09/12

My guest, Lee Knight, won Best Director at 2025's HollyShorts for his stunning film, A FRIEND OF DOROTHY (2025), but you wouldn't know it because as you just heard, his thoughts are with the indie filmmakers still out there struggling. That sounds exactly like my type of filmmaker to host on the podcast.A FRIEND OF DOROTHY could be described as "a lonely widow's quiet life is upended when a teenage boy accidentally kicks his football into her garden", but that doesn't do

en

63:09

Charles Frank

First Time Go ·

2025/09/09

His feature film, SOMEWHERE WITH NO BRIDGES (2020)? Too short, he was told. His award winning short film, SHANTI RIDES SHOTGUN (2025)? Also -- too short! What the world is telling my guest, filmmaker Charles Frank, is that we need to see more of his lyrical vision of the world in the documentary space. His awards and credits in the indie space -- an incredible 10 Vimeo Staff picks, New York Times and New Yorker films, he runs his own production company called Voyager -- only serve to cement this

en

1:21

Indie Film Highlight: GOODBYE, HELLO (2024)

First Time Go ·

2025/09/07

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: GOODBYE, HELLO (2024).Director: Jack Cooper StimpsonWriters: Jeremy Ford; Bec PittardCast: Steve Guttenberg; Nancy Linari; Hollie BaharSYNOPSISNate Ryan returns home to Bundy Canyon to visit his dying father; Nate opens old wounds in an attempt to make peace with his incredibly unpeaceful father.Subscribe to our YouTube channelFollow us on

en

45:52

Alex Salam

First Time Go ·

2025/09/05

Watch This Episode On YouTubeThat’s my guest, Alex Salam, with one of the most riveting reasons to become a filmmaker I’ve ever heard. Given their significant training, it’s practically impossible to do, but I wish we had more doctor/filmmakers in the world. From those that I’ve seen, they’ve produced work that is equal parts precision and creativity, the perfect combination of soul and mind. Alex’s film, TWENTY TWENTY (2025) certainly does that — it’s “set over one brutal night shift at the height

en

32:24

Elliott Hasler

First Time Go ·

2025/09/03

The tagline of the podcast is “the future of filmmaking.” I don’t think you can earn that without hosting my guest, Elliott Hasler, who began his filmmaking journey at the age of 10.Fifteen years later, he’s two features in, the latest being VINDICATION SWIM (2022), a biopic around Mercedes Gleitze and her attempt to become the first British woman to swim the English Channel. Big period pieces aren’t what you’d expect him to take on, but that boldness is partially, he acknowledges, why he’s been

en

1:29

Indie Film Highlight: THE GRAND SEDUCTION (2013)

First Time Go ·

2025/08/31

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: THE GRAND SEDUCTION (2013).Director: Daniel AndreScreenplay: Daniel AndreCast: Brendan Gleeson; Taylor Kitsch; Liane BalabanSYNOPSISResidents of a small fishing community in Newfoundland charm a doctor into becoming the town's full-time physician, in order to secure a vital factory contract.Subscribe to our YouTube channelFollow us on

en

37:23

Jeffrey Scotti Schroeder

First Time Go ·

2025/08/29

I haven’t done a how much I love New York City episode in a couple weeks, so the indie smash, OR SOMETHING (2024), and the film’s director, Jeffrey Scotti Schroeder, makes for the absolute perfect guest. Why is the film being extended at Quad Cinemas? What does it say for indie filmmakers that the Substack crowd got so behind this film? Is it repeatable? Let’s hope so. And if you haven’t seen it at the time this airs, go see it through September 4th. Or later, if we keep talking about it.In this

en

17:24

Floriane Andersen

First Time Go ·

2025/08/27

Brilliant in acting. Brilliant in producing. Brilliant in executive producing. Brilliant in...directing? Let's hope so. Given her extraordinarily body of work, most recently in front of the camera in Gil Henry's PAS VRAIMENT ORDINAIRE (2025), we can only hope my guest, Floriane Andersen, will be in the director's chair soon. She certainly has made the opportunity for herself; the production company she co-founded, Artak Pictures, has six projects in the works, two of which she is slated

en

25:13

Jordan Murphy Doidge

First Time Go ·

2025/08/22

When you prepare, special filmmaking tends to happen. That’s the case with my guest, Jordan Murphy Doidge, and his new film, CLOUT, which premiered at HollyShorts. It tells the story of a lonely teenage boy who risks everything to prove himself in a bid for online fame. In the wake of Netflix’s hit ADOLESCENCE (2025), CLOUT has resonated with nonprofits and theaters in the United Kingdom. And as the reviews have shown after its world premiere, that’s likely to spread. It’s phenomenal filmmaking that

en

33:05

Kristen Gerweck Diaz

First Time Go ·

2025/08/19

Most people choose (relatively) comfortable and safe topics for their first films. A bank robbery over here, a meet cute over there. My guest, Kristen Gerweck Diaz has chosen Ramadi, Iraq, a phone booth on an ocean cliffside, and her newest, MILK BABY (2025), about a woman’s entry into a maternity home and the sheer enormity of breastfeeding. These are not what you’d call easy topics. But for this lawyer turned filmmaker, she’d never sign up for the easy path, anyway. In this episode, Kristen and I

en

40:42

Brook Linder

First Time Go ·

2025/08/12

Let’s put it down right now: Brook Linder has the branded content hit of the year, with his weekly promos for Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney. Vimeo put it out as its own thing, and once you turn on the compilation of promos, you can’t turn it off. It’ll be running on repeat in your head. I warned you.We go deep in this episode in getting banned from Springfield, Missouri high schools, not just for his film crew but every film crew afterwards, early Kickstarter, what it’s like making branded

en

3:28

Indie Film Highlight: KAJAKI (2014)

First Time Go ·

2025/08/10

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: KAJAKI (2014).Director: Paul KatisWriter: Tom WilliamsCast: David Elliot; Mark Stanley; Scott Kyle; Ali CookSYNOPSISHelmand Province in Afghanistan, 2006. A company of young British soldiers encounter an unexpected, terrifying enemy: a dried-out river bed, and with every step the possibility of an anti-personnel mine that could kill.Subscribe to our

en

33:52

Ali Cook

First Time Go ·

2025/08/08

You’d expect comedy out of a comedian turned actor and then director, right? Think again. My guest, filmmaker Ali Cook, turns what you’d expect upside down. So far, he’s written two short films, directed one, and is working now on his first few features. He acted in a truly phenomenal Afghanistan war film, KAJAKI (2014), sometimes known as Kilo Two Bravo, and he’s got more insight than we could possibly cover in 30 minutes. I tried to keep my laughter to a minimum, but come on. Go watch his films

en

40:29

Charles Hood

First Time Go ·

2025/08/05

Watch This Episode On YouTubeI feel like this would be a good plotline for a gonzo Mission Impossible movie: make romcoms and comedy dramas relevant again. In one sentence, my guest, director and podcaster Charles Hood, declared “comedies and comedy dramas are dead, sadly” but also came back in the next few sentences with the announcement, I’m releasing a romcom feature later this year. This sounds exactly like a challenge, if you choose to accept it, for one of the co-hosts of the official Mission

en

1:08

Indie Film Highlight: PEOPLE PLACES THINGS (2015)

First Time Go ·

2025/08/03

Every Sunday, I'll post a quick video -- and podcast -- about an indie film from at least a year ago. Today's film: PEOPLE PLACES THINGS (2015). Director: James C. StrouseScreenplay: James C. StrouseCast: Jermaine Clement; Regina Hall; Stephanie AllynneSYNOPSISA graphic novelist /professor (Jemaine Clement) tries to navigate the unfamiliar waters of single fatherhood and dating.Subscribe to our YouTube channelFollow us on LetterboxdFollow us on InstagramFollow us on XFollow us on

en

22:58

Ebs Burnough

First Time Go ·

2025/08/01

This is still an indie film podcast, don’t misunderstand, but if I had to do one conversation with somebody who made a studio film, it would be with my guest Ebs Burnough. I’d argue no other person understands the indie film market like he does, especially now with the release of KEROUAC’S ROAD: THE BEAT OF A NATION (2025). The film examines how Jack Kerouac’s iconic novel “On the Road” resonates in contemporary America. Ebs has a career that hardly seems repeatable — working for the White House to

en

195 results

Similar Podcasts

Scoop Viewfinder

Gene Viewfinder

IGN Movie Reviews

IGN

The Adam Friedland Show Podcast

The Adam Friedland Show

BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE

David Yontef

Love Island: The Morning After

Lifted Entertainment part of ITV Studios