Film Festival Friends

The queer stories behind our queer stories! Film Festival Friends is an interview podcast hosted by filmmaker Brandon Nick, featuring conversations with indie filmmakers celebrating queer cinema, craft, and community. Brandon has intimate, process-driven conversations with filmmakers he's met during his festival circuit run and explores the work behind the work: the triumphs, the tragedies, the tricks, and everything in between. This isn’t press. It’s dialogue. Video Podcast available on YouTube and Spotify.

Film Festival Friends is a tv podcast hosted by Brandon R. Nicholas, with 10 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Brandon R. Nicholas hosts Film Festival Friends, a tv show with 10 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #9

  Be Shameless: Build Something That Lasts | Queer Voices NYC (Ronald Hinton) | Film Festival Friends

  May 26, 202641 minS1

  <p><b>In this episode of Film Festival Friends, Brandon Nick sits down with actor, filmmaker, and co-founder of Queer Voices NYC Film Festival, Ronald Hinton, for a conversation that is equal parts masterclass and therapy session. Ronald is the creator behind </b><b>Natives</b><b>, the digital series set in New York City public housing that audiences are convinced is already on season three. (It isn't. There are two episodes. The production value is just that good.)</b></p><p><b>They get into all of it: the $38K budget breakdown for episodes one and two, the “failure” of h...

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  Episode #9

  Be Shameless: Build Something That Lasts | Queer Voices NYC (Ronald Hinton) | Film Festival Friends

  May 26, 202641 minS1

  In this episode of Film Festival Friends, Brandon Nick sits down with actor, filmmaker, and co-founder of Queer Voices NYC Film Festival, Ronald Hinton, for a conversation that is equal parts masterclass and therapy session. Ronald is the creator behind Natives , the digital series set in New York City public housing that audiences are convinced is already on season three. (It isn't. There are two episodes. The production value is just that good.) They get into all of it: the $38K budget breakdown for episodes one and two, the “failure” of his 2025 crowdfunding campaign, why shamelessness is a transferable skill, and what he’s learned as a filmmaker who cofounded a film festival. Finally, Ronald pitches a rom-com starring Keke Palmer as an unlucky-in-love woman who gets a lucky bath from a street vendor played by Mike Epps — and yes, the cursed lace front is central to the plot. Film Festival Friends is a podcast about queer cinema, craft, and culture. Hosted by Brandon Nick. Full show notes and transcript available on our website: www.brandonnick.com/filmfestivalfriends FOLLOW + CONNECT Podcast IG: @filmfestivalfriends Host IG (Brandon R. Nicholas): @brand0nnick WATCH / LISTEN Watch the full episodes (video): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-N87lnMjPV2yRkXz5uO9eIdJSZfzRh83 Listen on Spotify (video): https://open.spotify.com/show/4QXQgQGdDoE627BJmW82l0?si=a1f3bb9c437645dc Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/film-festival-friends/id1875343325 SUPPORT THE SHOW If you want to help keep the cameras rolling and the conversations flowing: Patreon: www.patreon.com/cw/brand0nnick or make a one-time donation via CashApp/Venmo @brand0nnick Share Film Festival Friends with your friends! Take the conversation to social media using #FilmFestivalFriends CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Introduction & Describing Natives in Three Emojis 00:02:11 Breaking Down the $38K Budget 00:05:28 What Kept Ronald Committed to Natives for 10 Years 00:09:08 Why They Skipped the Festival Circuit & Premiered on YouTube 00:10:48 Support Film Festival Friends on Patreon 00:11:25 The 2025 Crowdfunding Campaign: What Went Wrong 00:16:28 Why Seed & Spark Is Ronald's Platform of Choice 00:19:38 How Queer Voices NYC Was Born 00:22:45 How Being a Filmmaker Shapes His Curation Process 00:30:32 Advice for Filmmakers & Programmers 00:33:42 The Vision for Queer Voices Year 8 00:35:05 Black Queer Film Is... 00:36:32 60-Second Pitch: Keke Palmer, Mike Epps & a Cursed Lace Front

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  Episode #8

  I'm a Struggling Filmmaker. But Also Lit. Both Things Can Be True. | Nyala Moon | Film Festival Friends

  Apr 29, 202656 minS1

  <p>In this episode of Film Festival Friends, Brandon Nick sits down with writer-director-actress and all-around creative force Nyala Moon for a wide-ranging conversation about her journey as an artist. Unlike most episodes, this one isn't about a single project — it's about the full picture: how Nyala developed her signature style at the intersection of comedy and education, why she refuses to separate her identity from her craft, and what it actually feels like to be a festival darling while still calling yourself a struggling filmmaker. Both things can be true.<br/><br/>They get into the making of her br...

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  Episode #7

  How a Cunt Necklace Got Cersei Lannister in a $90K Thriller | Long Pork | Film Festival Friends

  Apr 15, 202656 minS1

  <p><b>In this episode of Film Festival Friends, Brandon Nick sits down with writer-director Iris Dukatt to talk about her short film Long Pork — a $90K reproductive rights revenge thriller starring Lena Headey, aka Cersei Lannister. Iris breaks down every channel they used to raise that budget, the popular story about the necklace that led to Lena saying yes, creating an intentionally disruptive film where the audience roots for a murderous woman and the very real political urgency that shaped the story from the jump.</b></p><p><br/></p><p><b>Then, Iris steps up to the 60-second pi...

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  Episode #6

  How Community (and a Little Weed) Made This Dream Short Film Come True | City of Dreamz

  Mar 31, 202644 minS1

  <p>Description<br/>In this episode of Film Festival Friends, Brandon Nick sits down with filmmaker Imani Celeste to talk about her short film City of Dreamz and how community, resourcefulness, and a little weed helped bring her debut short to life. Imani shares how she made the film for $8,750 — casting friends, family, and a stranger off the sidewalk — and shot it in her parents' apartment while figuring out filmmaking on the fly. The conversation also digs into the collaborative magic behind the film's trippy visual and sound design, the ebbs and flows of the festival circuit from quiet stretches to P...

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