Podcast: Indie Beat Talks To Filmmaker Vanessa McDonnell About Indie Filmmaking, Community & Keeping It Weird

The indie film world is a strange one. Anyone can pick up a camera, but getting that micro-budget movie seen and respected is a whole different ballgame. There’s only so many slots in those taste-maker film festivals and shining a light on truly indie cinema (like, not a movie that has been covered relentlessly throughout the year but one that could actually use even the tiniest exposure) won’t bring in the clicks to sustain a site. So, in an effort to actually do something as opposed to complaining about it and hoping that other people will heed the call, I’m creating a somewhat regular podcast called Indie Beat. I’ll be conversing with various people in this environment — not just directors but producers, actors, critics, programmers, and so on. Eagle eye readers/superfans may notice that a couple of months ago I interviewed filmmaker Zach Weintraub (which you can listen to here), which also coincided with a screening of his film “You Make Me Feel So Young.” That podcast & program combo will likely happen again in the future but I’d also like to make this show conversational — less tied to specific films and events; focusing more on why a person makes the films they do and how they continue to navigate/survive the field.

In our first proper episode I talk to Vanessa McDonnell, a New York artist who’s got quite a few notches in her belt. You may know her as co-conspirator of the upcoming experimental television show “The Eyeslicer,” made with “collective:unconscious” maestro Dan Schoenbrun, which is currently seeking funds on Kickstarter. She also produced the Factory 25 distributed Go Down Death,” a truly distinctive black-and-white dadaist film focusing on the trauma of a dilapidated, war-ravaged town. Vanessa herself directed a fantastic, spry observational documentary “Johns of 12th Street,”) focusing on a single work-day at the titular old-school New York restaurant. Last but certainly not least, McDonnell is part of the artist collective that programs at the Spectacle Theater, a micro-cinema focusing on overlooked and undervalued cinema.

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