A Marvelous Monday to You All!

A.J. Lising wrote and directed “Papa’s Corner,” a film that was an official selection at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Supporting Performer in a Short Film, for Val Victa’s performance as Papa. I was in the theater for this screening and even though I had already seen it as a member of the jury, after the film’s beautiful ending I wept for nearly all of the credits.

We did hold a Q&A at the theater with Erik Luminarias (producer & lead actor) and Patricia Esguerra (editor & script supervisor), but A.J. was not able to stay for the Q&A.
Once again the Discover Indie Film podcasts gives me a chance to more than make up for a missed Q&A opportunity.

It was a pleasure to talk to A.J. and I hope to see a lot more work from him in the future.

Follow A.J. and his work at:

Website: http://filmbyaj.com/
Instagram: @ajlising
Instagram: @papascornerfilm

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Discover Indie Film Podcast Links
DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky

Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links
DIF Foundation – Sherman Oaks Film Festival – Film Invasion Los Angeles

Source: Discover Film

Happy Friday!

Time for something different! The guest for this podcast is Jessie Sparrow, Executive Director of RE:IMAGINE ATL, a community-based nonprofit in Atlanta that’s reshaping access to film, media, and digital storytelling for the city’s youth. RE:IMAGINE ATL reached out to me about this and even though the main focus of this podcast is indie filmmakers and their work, in this case RE:IMAGINE ATL’s mission struck me as important enough for me to be a little more flexible than usual.

Because the closest I’ve come to visiting Atlanta is changing planes at their massive airport, I thought it would be a good idea to pull in frequent Discover Indie Film guest and Atlanta resident Fr3deR1cK Taylor as a co-host.

I think you’ll agree that RE:IMAGINE ATL is doing wonderful, necessary work.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Visit these links to learn more:

RE:IMAGINE Website: https://reimagineatl.comDreamfest Ticket Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1141075771349?aff=oddtdtcreator
Liktree: https://linktr.ee/reimagineatl

RE:IMAGINE Socials
IG –@reimagineatl

Facebook –https://m.facebook.com/reimagineatl/?
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/re-imagine-atl/?viewAsMember=true

TikTok- https://www.tiktok.com/@reimagine.atl?_t=ZT-8yz6RUvqvLZ&_r=1
Youtube – https://youtube.com/@reimagineatl?si=JTlGpiPxfgvnFQoF

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Discover Indie Film Podcast Links
DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky

Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links
DIF Foundation – Sherman Oaks Film Festival – Film Invasion Los Angeles

Source: Discover Film

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.

Sweden-based Henrik Larsson co-directed, co- wrote and co-produced “Pierre West” with Jakob Arevärn, a drama about hope & darkness spanning 17 years. This remarkable film took home two awards at Film Invasion Los Angeles in June, 2025 (Grand Jury Award – Best Lead Performer – Featurette – Tomas Hartwig and Best Screenplay – Featurette – Henrik Larsson & Jakob Arevärn)

Henrik was unable to make it to the festival in person so I was not able to do a Q & A. Which made this interview all follow up 4 Questions that much more exciting. His excellent taste did not disappoint!

You can catch “Pierre West” on the big screen at the Silicon Beach Film Festival on Friday, Sept 5 in Block H. https://www.siliconbeachfilmfestival.com/tickets

Or you could also follow Henka on Instagram to catch other festival screenings near you! @fotohanke

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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

Source: Discover Film

Happy Labor Day, Listeners!

I hope everyone is kicking back today, firing up the bbq and popping on your favorite indie film podcast while you flip burgers for your friends and family. It’s a good one too!

Sweden-based Henrik Larsson co-directed, co- wrote and co-produced the film “Pierre West” with Jakob Arevärn.                                                                                                                                                            A drama about hope & darkness spanning 17 years, this remarkable film took home two awards at Film Invasion Los Angeles in June, 2025 (Grand Jury Award – Best Lead Performer – Featurette – Tomas
Hartwig and Best Screenplay – Featurette – Henrik Larsson & Jakob Arevärn)                                                                                                                                                                                                          Henrik was not able to travel for the festival, but that’s when doing this podcast allows me a chance to learn more about filmmakers who cannot make it to the festivals.

Henke, his preferred name just as I prefer Jeff to Jeffrey, hopped onto Zoom for an extended chat about his career and “Pierre West.”                                                                                                                      The film is still on the festival circuit, so that you cannot catch it online yet, but as soon as it is we will provide links here.

But you CAN catch “Pierre West” on the big screen at the Silicon Beach Film Festival on Friday, Sept 5 in Block H. https://www.siliconbeachfilmfestival.com/tickets

You should also follow Henka on Instagram to catch other festival screenings near you! @fotohanke

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Discover Indie Film Podcast Links
DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky

Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links
DIF Foundation – Sherman Oaks Film Festival – Film Invasion Los Angeles

Source: Discover Film

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.

Jesseca Ynez Simmons had her film “Heaven in a Wild Flower” at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2024 and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Cinematography – Arthouse/Experimental.

I was thrilled for the chance to finally sit down (virtually) and have a chat with Jesseca since she was not able to attend the festival and, of course, that included the 4 Questions follow up.

Website: https://www.jessecaysimmons.com/
Parts Per Million: https://www.jessecaysimmons.com/#/parts-per-million/

Personal Instagram: @jessecaynezsimmons
Microscope Instagram: @micro_landscapes

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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

Source: Discover Film