Meet the Filmmakers of the 2025 Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival
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The 15th annual Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival runs April 27 through May 6 with slate of independent feature-length and short films, both virtual and in-person around Chicagoland. Check out the festival website for a full rundown of the movies and their screenings.
As lovers and supporters of independent cinema, we wanted to get to know the festival’s films and filmmakers a little better, so we asked them to do this brief Q&A. Enjoy!
Vernon Davidson, Segal
1. What’s the elevator pitch for your movie? From a shy kid from Long Island to a leading man during Hollywood’s most prolific decades, legendary entertainer George Segal shares his life story.
2. What would make a great double feature with your movie? The Bridge at Remagen.
3. What’s one thing you learned making this movie? How indie film distribution actually works.
4. What’s your filmmaking superpower? I can visualize. I thought everyone could do it but they can’t.
5. Who’s your indie filmmaking hero? The Coen Brothers.
6. Fill in the blank: The state of independent cinema is… now in your hands.
Jared Isaac, An Autumn Summer
1. What’s the elevator pitch for your movie? A film that slows down time. A timeless coming of age love story which heals people like a warm, vibrant embrace of those they love.
2. What would make a great double feature with your movie? Anything by legendary filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu as 1960s transcendentalism was a major influence on the film.
3. What’s one thing you learned making this movie? ADR, recording actor’s lines in a booth months later, is the worst. Avoid at all costs!
4. What’s your filmmaking superpower? Vulnerability. Directing reveals weaknesses and deficiencies. It was important for me especially as a first time filmmaker not to shy away from that. It was hard to do, but thankfully that muscle was one I developed on the Chicago black box theater stages. Lean into the vulnerability. That’s where beautiful discovery can happen.
5. Who’s your indie filmmaking hero? Our cinematographer Brandon Somerhalder. He is a future legend.
6. Fill in the blank: The state of independent cinema is… Who the hell am I to say? I think it is bleak. Similar to other industries, tech comes in and disrupts, slashes prices, and then prices people out. Streaming has definitely not worked as a sustainable model for indie filmmakers. At the end of the day, I believe in indie film like I believe in our film. And it will likely take that wistful sliver of hope to keep indie film alive.
Seth McClellan, Shiners: Voices from Owsley County
1. What’s the elevator pitch for your movie? We follow a group of rural high schoolers as they put on a play about growing up in the poorest county in Appalachia.
2. What would make a great double feature with your movie? My other two movies about youth facing adversity: Little Wound’s Warriors: Voices from the Badlands and Others Before Self: Voices from Tibetan Children’s Village. Watch on Amazon!
3. What’s one thing you learned making this movie? The power of theater and art to create concrete change in struggling communities.
4. What’s your filmmaking superpower? I’m a good listener.
5. Who’s your indie filmmaking hero? Todd Solondz.
6. Fill in the blank: The state of independent cinema is… The only constant is change. Accept and continue to create.
T.J. Sandella, Battersea
1. What’s the elevator pitch for your movie? Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (or Before Midnight) for a new generation.
2. What would make a great double feature with your movie? Hitchcock’s Rope — a couple single-location talkies where the characters set philosophical traps for the others to fall into and the similarities pretty much stop right there! Fun!
3. What’s one thing you learned making this movie? 1A. Ask for what you need. 1B. If you ever work with our sound guy, Mike, slip that dude some fruit snacks. He loves fruit snacks! (But really, a well-fed crew is a happy crew.)
4. What’s your filmmaking superpower? Dogged determination bordering on stupidity.
5. Who’s your indie filmmaking hero? John Cassavetes.
6. Fill in the blank: The state of independent cinema is… thriving! The guy who shot a trans sex worker dramedy on an iPhone just took home a bunch of Oscars.
Hardeep Giani, Eugene O’Neill’s The First Man
1. What’s the elevator pitch for your movie? Consumed by grief over his daughters’ deaths, renowned anthropologist Curtis Jayson seeks solace in an expedition to uncover “The First Man” in Asia. But as family tensions erupt over suspicions of his wife’s infidelity, Curtis must confront the fragile line between discovery and destruction, both within himself and his relationships.
2. What would make a great double feature with your movie? The Great Gatsby.
3. What’s one thing you learned making this movie? The kindness of friends and filmmakers — microbudget filmmaking cannot be done without them. Also pick good actors. I was lucky I did.
4. What’s your filmmaking superpower? Patience.
5. Who’s your indie filmmaking hero? Ken Loach.
6. Fill in the blank: The state of independent cinema is… in a difficult place. There are more films being made than can be seen, and what a film really needs is an audience.
Jason & Blue, Dawn Dusk
1. What’s the elevator pitch for your movie? Chelli Look, an artist specializing in leather handbags, experiences overwhelming grief after the murder of her sister by her brother-in-law. In the years that follow, Chelli’s journey towards healing forces her to rediscover who she is as an artist, leading to an unexpected revelation that takes her in a new direction.
2. What would make a great double feature with your movie? Buck (2011), Wildcat (2022), or a Chef’s Table episode.
3. What’s one thing you learned making this movie? Making this movie over the course of 7 years helped us hone our creative voice in other projects, and taught us how to find the narrative in a story that’s unfolding in real time.
4. What’s your filmmaking superpower? There are no superpowers in filmmaking, only hard work, experience, and good problem-solving.
5. Who’s your indie filmmaking hero? Celine Song.
6. Fill in the blank: The state of independent cinema is… under-appreciated and under-funded.
Patrick Creadon, The Pantone Guy
1. What’s the elevator pitch for your movie? 95-year old Larry Herbert explains how he created the international language of color.
2. What would make a great double feature with your movie? Top Hat (1935), Larry’s favorite film.
3. What’s one thing you learned making this movie? What a split fountain press is, and how it works.
4. What’s your filmmaking superpower? I’m a great listener.
5. Who’s your indie filmmaking hero? At the moment I gotta say Sean Baker — good for him and his small but mighty team!
6. Fill in the blank: The state of independent cinema is… as important now as it ever has been.
John Klein and Steve Kniss, Never Not Yours
1. What’s the elevator pitch for your movie? Thirty-something siblings grapple with the aftermath of their parents’ sudden divorce. Also, it’s funny.
2. What would make a great double feature with your movie? The Big Chill or This Is Where I Leave You.
3. What’s one thing you learned making this movie? How important it is to own the story you’re trying to tell, and to put pieces of yourself into the world you’re creating.
4. What’s your filmmaking superpower? Building families, on-camera and off-camera.
5. Who’s your indie filmmaking hero? Richard Linklater.
6. Fill in the blank: The state of independent cinema is… turning in a positive direction. There seems to be a lot of excitement for original and home-grown stories and you’re starting to see that at the box office. It’s on us to find new ways to get our work seen!