639. 4Qs with Aaron Bennett

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.

Aaron Bennett brought his film “Jokers Wild” to the Sherman Oaks Film Festival in December, 2025 and took home the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Director of a Horror Short as well as the Grand Jury Award for Best Sound Design, Short Film for his sound designer Matt Broadfoot.

Aaron and I had a fantastic chat and I had a strong feeling I was going to really enjoy the follow up 4 Questions.

Follow Aaron on Instagram at @aaronwritesstuff
Follow Jokers Wild on Instagram at @jokerswildmovie
Follow Jokers Wild on TikTok at @jokerswildmovie

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Discover Indie Film Links
DIF Podcast WebsiteDIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky
Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Website
Sherman Oaks Film Festival
Film Invasion Los Angeles

Source: Discover Film

Yellowstone 88 – Song of Fire

2026 FI-Lima Official Selection:  Short Film – Animation

In the summer of 1988 dry lightning sparked a fire in the parched and drought ridden landscape of Yellowstone Park, igniting a blaze that would scorch over 1.5 million perimeter acres of the park.

Song of Fire, a narrative poem, guides the animation of YELLOWSTONE 88 telling the story of this conflagration that raged unabated for months until a snow of such intense severity extinguished the flames. That winter surviving Fauna, exhausted from fire and weakened by hunger, die in greater numbers than those claimed by the fire. The cosmos turns from one season to another and another and life in the park begins anew.

Director(s): Jerry van de Beek, Betsy De Fries
Writer(s): Betsy De Fries
Producer(s): Betsy De Fries
Key Cast: Peter Coyote

Country: United States
South American Premiere

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Source: FILA

We Meet Again

2026 FI-Lima Official Selection:  Short Film – Comedy

An aging spy and his longtime nemesis meet up to relive their glory days, but their dueling memories clash even more than they ever did.

Director(s): Matthew Lucas
Writer(s): Matthew Lucas
Producer(s): Sofia Snyder, Rick Adleson
Key Cast: Richard Riehle, Vernon Wells

Country: United States
South American Premiere

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Source: FILA

TV Man

2026 FI-Lima Official Selection: Comedy – Featurette

While getting ready for a date with the girl of his dreams, Marco is visited by a man in the TV who starts talking to him. And he has a request to make… Hallucination or reality? That’s what Marco will have to figure out in this absurd and slapstick comedy.

Director(s): Leonardo Valenti
Writer(s): Leonardo Valenti, Fabio Fieri, Marco Marianucci                       Producer(s): Leonardo Valenti
Key Cast: Fabio Fieri, Marco Marianucci, Silvia Niri, Giulia Romana Calvino

Country: Italy
South American Premiere

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Source: FILA

The White Shoes

2026 FI-Lima Official Selection:  Short Film – Horror

SUSIE has just moved into her new apartment. Upset and exhausted over her numerous attempts to get a hold of her “situationship” fling, MIA, on the phone, she goes about unpacking. As she is unpacking things in her closet, she comes across a mysterious black shoe box. Just as curiosity takes hold of her to see what’s inside, a jarring knock at her door snaps her attention. It’s Mia who finally shows up at her door, and to Susie’s ever-growing frustration, Mia pays special attention to the mysterious shoe box. And what they both find inside changes their relationship forever.

Director(s): Gina Marie Inverso
Writer(s): Gina Marie Inverso
Producer(s): Gina Marie Inverso, Dani Lasser
Key Cast: Danielle Titus, Sam Spoll

Country: United States

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Source: FILA