Two Notable Shorts from Nashville Film Festival

11/25/19 • 55 min

My podcast coverage of Nashville Film Festival continues in this short-films episode where I interview the directors for two different short films that got my attention at the festival. One has more of a documentary feel while the other one is a more stylized film with elaborate production design, so I paired the two interviews to explore how shorts can come together and the creative possibilities they can offer.

The first interview is with Amanda Young, one of the directors behind Every Two Minutes, a compilation of stories relating to human trafficking. The short was done through StoryGive, which partners filmmakers in Nashville with non-profits that tackle various social issues. For Every Two Minutes, StoryGive connected local filmmakers with End Slavery Tennessee, a non-profit dedicated to caring for survivors of human trafficking and tactically addressing the issue.

The second interview is with Chilean director Vicente Manzano. His experimental short Bubble uses bubble framing in a novel, story-driven way. Virtually everything in the film was custom-designed for the film, which involved careful planning to pull off.

Some of the things we discuss include

Using film to address a social issue in an impactful way
How to collaborate with accomplished filmmakers and crew members on limited budget
How to make a short film that is driven by stylized production design

Sponsors for this Episode nsavides productions

I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people.

I shot this New Orleans wedding video for Cece & Andy last year. Even one year later, I'm still getting positive feedback about the video from the couple's friends and family.

Previous Episode

How to Make an Award-Winning Film with a Two Person Crew: The Planters

Hannah Leder has a variety of acting credits including Deep Impact, Pay it Forward, and Judd Apatow’s Love series. She also has a recurring role on Apple TV+'s The Morning Show.

On this podcast episode I interview Hannah about her work on The Planters, a quirky, character-driven comedy that won Best of the Fest, Best Cinematography, and Best Song at Nashville Film Festival. Along with Alexandra Kotcheff, Hannah co-wrote, co-directed, co-starred, and co-shot the film. The Planters ended up taking 127 days to shoot, and Hannah and Alexandra were the only crew members on set.

Some of the things we discuss include

How to shoot a high-quality film with a two-person crew
The camera and lighting setups they used for the film
How the stop-motion sequences in the film came together

At the end of the episode you can hear a preview of “You and Me Together,” the film's award-winning song from Phil Danyew.

Sponsor for this Episode

nsavides productions – I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people.

Up to Date is a short comedy about a blind date gone wrong. It's the first live-action short I directed a few years ago, and it was written by Stephen Hoover. His script Damage Control was a finalist in the Nashville Film Festival's screenwriting competition, and he helped to make possible my festival podcast coverage.

Next Episode

When a Comedy Documentary Turns Tragic

What's Eating Ralphie May won Best of the Fest at Nashville Film Festival and Documentary of the Year at Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival. The film was initially intended to be a weight-loss documentary that followed beloved comedian Ralphie May and his family, but it turned into a raw and intimate portrait of a family dealing with addiction during the last years of Ralphie’s troubled life.

At Nashville Film Festival I had the chance to interview comedian and wife of Ralphie, Lahna Turner, and director Cat Rhinehart.

Some of the things we discuss include

What to do when shooting a documentary that takes an unexpected turn
How to earn trust to explore the raw and intimate aspects of someone's story
What to do when loved ones are wrestling with addiction
If and when it is appropriate to stop filming
How comedy can help get past anguish

Sponsors for this Episode nsavides productions

I make friendly, engaging videos for earnest people. Some of my videos are here.

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