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.

Ahmed Zayani wrote and directed “Hope,” a horror short that was an Official Selection at both Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2025 (where he took home the Programmers Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking) and Film Invasion Lima 2026 (where he snagged the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short – Horror at FI-Lima 2026)!

Ahmed was not able to travel to either festival from his home in Bahrain but that’s one reason to be thankful for modern technology- we were able to have our chat and this follow up 4 Questions over Zoom.

Follow Ahmed on Instagram at @theahmedzayani

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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 Friday, Film Folks!

Ahmed Zayani wrote and directed “Hope,” a horror short that was an Official Selection at both Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2025 and Film Invasion Lima 2026! In fact, Ahmed took home the Programmers Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking at SOFF 2025 and the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Short – Horror at FI-Lima 2026!                                                                                                                                                                    As I type this, I realize that even Ahmed’s title gives away the depth of his film. Yes, it is a horror film, but the title “Hope” certainly does suggest there is more to to this film than jump scares.

Ahmed was not able to travel to either festival from his home in Bahrain.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          I was delighted that the DIF podcast gave me the opportunity to have a quality conversation with this talented filmmaker!

Follow Ahmed on Instagram at @theahmedzayani

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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

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.

Leo Berkeley wrote, directed, produced and is the sole performer in the film “Dark Matter,” a brilliant film that will forever be the first to film to ever win awards at Film Invasion Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks Film Festival, and Film Invasion Lima in succession.

I was thrilled to chat with Leo, who was zooming in all the way from Australia, and follow up with the 4 Questions!

You can see much of Leo’s work by visiting LeoBerkeley.com
I highly recommend ALL OF IT!

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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

May the 4th be with you, Listeners!

Leo Berkeley wrote, directed, produced and is the sole performer in the film “Dark Matter,” a brilliant film that will forever be the first to film to ever win awards at Film Invasion Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks Film Festival, and Film Invasion Lima in succession. (I don’t get to say, “During a single calendar year,” because SOFF was held in December 2025 and FI-Lima was held in January, 2026.)                                                            Needless to say, Leo’s film has won more awards than I have time to list here!

Leo is a filmmaker and a retired academic, who has looked at interesting ways to combine these two roles.                                                                                                                                                                               He has had a 40- year career as an independent filmmaker and, before retiring in 2018, he taught and researched in film, television and video production at RMIT University in Melbourne for 20 years.

You can see much of Leo’s work by visiting LeoBerkeley.com
I highly recommend ALL OF IT!

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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

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.

Cassie Keet directed the feature film, “Abigail Before Beatrice,” that was in Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2025 and took home the Best In Fest award, the Grand Jury award for Best Lead Performer – Feature Film (Olivia Taylor Dudley, the Grand Jury award for Best Supporting Performer – Feature Film (Shayn Herndon), AND the Grand Jury award for Best Cinematography – Feature Film (William Tanner Sampson).

Clearly this film inspired a lot of people in our festival and I had to know what types of films inspire her! To the 4 Questions!

Follow the film on Instagram at @abigailbeforebeatrice

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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