Author: Jeff

652. Emma Elizabeth Steiger “Wait To Tell Mother”

Posted on by Jeff

Happy Wednesday!

Emma Steiger brought her short film “Wait To Tell Mother” to Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Screenplay – Short Film, as well as the Filmmakers Awards for Outstanding Short Film – Drama and Outstanding Director- Short Film – Drama. Considering Emma was the director, writer, co-lead actor and one of the producers on the film, and it is no surprise that their name appears on two of those awards!

Emma was a delightful presence at the festival and even tolerated my overly paternal response to the film.

If you cannot guess, “Wait To Tell Mother,” deals with family dynamics and someone like myself had to personally thank Emma at the festival for making such a wonderful film about a father’s role. I do love all the mother-daughter stories at the festivals, but give me a lovingly portrayed father- daughter story and I melt.

I hope you enjoy the interview!

Visit Emma’s website at https://www.emmasteiger.com
Follow Emma on Instagram at @emma.steiger
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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

651. 4Qs with MK McGehee

Posted on by Jeff

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.

MK wrote, directed and co-produced the short film “The Re- Education of Jane Brown” to Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film- Horror!                                            Every correspondence with MK has been so lovely and positive that it was no surprise to me that we had a had fantastic Four Questions follow up!

Follow MK on Instagram at @mk.mcg
Follow The Re-Education of Jane Brown on Instagram at @treojbfilm

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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

650. MK McGehee “The Re- Education of Jane Brown”

Posted on by Jeff

Happy Friday. I hope everyone is celebrating love this Valentine’s weekend, whether that be romantic love, love for a pet, or love for your favorite independent film podcast!

MK McGee brought the short film “The Re- Education of Jane Brown” to Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film- Horror!                                                                  MK wrote, directed and co-produced this engaging, genre twisting film that subtly makes a brilliant statement about bodily autonomy.

MK hopped onto Zoom for our chat and we had a wonderful conversation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                This was no surprise to me, as MK was once of my favorite people to exchange emails with leading up to the festival.
Enjoy!

Follow MK on Instagram at @mk.mcg
Follow The Re-Education of Jane Brown on Instagram at @treojbfilm
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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

649. 4Qs with Benjamin Deutscher & Lauren Taggart “The Storm”

Posted on by Jeff

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.

Benjamin Deutscher and Lauren Taggart premiered their incredible film animated “The Storm”  at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in 2025 and  took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Film – Animation and the Audience Award for Best Featurette,  the Grand Jury Award for Best Sound Design (Richard Larimore ) AND the Grand Jury Award for Best Score (Sylvain Kauffman).

I truly hope you already enjoyed the interview with these lovely and amazing folks and are back for more with these 4 Questions!

Follow The Storm at:
Instagram: @the_storm_movie
Website: https://www.thestormmovie.com/

Follow Lauren on Instagram at @thetaggartshow

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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

2025 Festival Panels

Posted on by Jeff

Sherman Oaks Film Festival is proud to present expert panels on subjects that matter most to our indie film community.  For the 2025 festival, we held two panels, Indie Film Distribution and Music In Indie Film.

Indie Film Distribution

If you want your film to reach audiences then you need to know as much about distribution as you do about filmmaking.

Panelists – Glen Reynolds, Marc Clebanoff & Danielle Schoenecker

Glen Reynolds
With 25 years in the indie film biz, he has produced, executive produced and co-produced 20 films and sold over 500 films. He founded Circus Road Films in 2006. (circusroadfilms.com)

Marc Clebanoff
As a Sales Agent, Marc Clebanoff has sold films to clients including Lionsgate, Sony, Fox, Showtime, Shudder, Netflix, Starz, Tubi TV, Peacock, Vertical Entertainment, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Well Go USA, and distribution clients in 100+ countries worldwide. (odysseymotionpictures.com)

Danielle Schoenecker
Danielle is with YOW.tv, Hollywood is consolidating, legacy studios are being swallowed whole, and streaming giants are gutting their indie divisions. To combat these shifts, a group of filmmakers and industry professionals have joined forces to launch YOW.tv, a new streaming platform where independent film finally gets the spotlight it deserves. (YOW.tv)

Music in Indie Film

“What is the one thing you would like filmmakers to know about music in film before they start their next project?”  That’s the question we are asking these movie music professionals.

Panelists: Catherine Joy, Robinton Hobbs, Tim Slowikowski & Aaron Hagele, Merchandise Music

Catherine Joy & Robinton Hobbs, Joy Music House. A next-generation score production company redefining the craft of music for film, television, games and other media. Founded and led by women, we provide the expertise, resources and collaboration needed to bring musical visions to life.

Tim Slowikowski & Aaron Hagele, Merchandise Music .  Our love of storytelling + sound inspired us to launch Merchandise Music—a music supervision and consulting company pairing original, underused music.

“Aaron Hagele and Tim Slowikowski delivered one of our most engaging panels at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival. Their ‘Music in Indie Film’ discussion was packed with actionable advice and insider perspective that filmmakers could use immediately. Merchandise Music continues to be an invaluable resource for the indie film world.”
— Jeff Howard, SOFF Festival Runner

Source: SOFF