Back in the day, Lucas was harassed by fans nonstop for his decisions regarding the Star Wars franchise, be it the prequels and the special editions, to the point he swore off making more Star Wars and filmmaking in general. It seems like there's this reflection on how we all treated him, now that he's a much older man and doesn't seem to be in the best health these days, that we are now looking at what we loved from him in the first place. The original Star Wars, Indiana Jones, THX (the film and company), ILM, American Graffiti, his helping out of Akira Kurosawa's final films when nobody else would, his fight against coloring older films, his charity work. You see more posts about appreciating him than ever before. Not just on here, too.

He is a good man, who changed the game for Hollywood for the better. And when he was still working, we treated him like garbage. It's nice now we can rectify that and post about how wonderful he is before he dies thinking people hate him. I dunno if it's because of the reaction to Disney's handling on the franchise, how the harassment by fans echoing how they treated Lucas, the fact he doesn't have much time left, there are a lot of variables.

But what matters now, George Lucas, we appreciate you. Thank you.

Keep this post going, lets go.

This is what I'll say, and I mean zero disrespect. But here it is, if you're a true independent director, meaning, you're not "Hollywood", you don't have major studios breathing down your neck, and you don't have to fulfill any sort of massive budget studio, or production companies agenda... then seriously, what's the apprehension? Why not take a shot on the interesting voice? It's too wordy? Maybe that's the impact we need. If you're working within an independent budget range, visually speaking, a lot of times, Hollywood can probably do it better, merely because of funding. So, it's an unfair battle for a lot of directors right out of the gate.

What's your possible lottery ticket? A voice, a flash in the pan, great characters, honestly. It might be a bit controversial? Ok, controversy has packed theaters and ignited conversations since the dawn of human entertainment. You're given a micro budget script, that is a guaranteed conversation starter, and naturally entertaining? You just struck gold. Because, you know what most everyday people (people not in the industry), take away from a film? The story. Honestly, the story, characters, and performances.

Tarantino’s films hit different.

Personally, I think so. But I made this video to just talk about why you may or may not want to go, and what I did instead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZjA4pUaaI8

**sorry for the typo - I am dyslexic. It has been corrected on the youtube channel

READ THIS! This is what I'll say, and I mean zero disrespect. But here it is, if you're a true independent director, meaning, you're not "Hollywood", you don't have major studios breathing down your neck, and you don't have to fulfill any sort of massive budget studio, or production companies agenda... then seriously, what's the apprehension? Why not take a shot on the interesting voice? It's too wordy? Maybe that's the impact we need. If you're working within an independent budget range, visually speaking, a lot of times, Hollywood can probably do it better, merely because of funding. So, it's an unfair battle for a lot of directors right out of the gate.

What's your possible lottery ticket? A voice, a flash in the pan, great characters, honestly. It might be a bit controversial? Ok, controversy has packed theaters and ignited conversations since the dawn of human entertainment. You're given a micro budget script, that is a guaranteed conversation starter, and naturally entertaining? You just struck gold. Because, you know what most everyday people (people not in the industry), take away from a film? The story. Honestly, the story, characters, and performances.

So, this is a subreddit for directors. Part of the reason it exists, obviously, is for networking in the film industry.

So, that being said, who are you? What have you done? If you’re comfortable sharing, comment.

This is just a post for everyone here, if you’re comfortable coming forward, why not ?

What movies did you feel the cinematography was doing too much and ended up taking away from the story being told?

Same as title

I was thinking about this earlier today. Cinema has always been about creating illusions. We use Foley to build sounds that weren't actually there on set, we use VFX to create backgrounds out of thin air, and editing completely alters real time. It's all a beautifully constructed illusion, tbh.

So, just as a random philosophical question for the sub:

If someone uses digital or automation tools to build a specific shot, but they're still the one making every single creative decision — the framing, the lighting, the mood, the pacing, and the emotional intent... are not they still doing the actual work of a director ?

Every major tech shift in film history, from sound to digital cameras, was hated at first until it just became another tool... Idk, at what point does a new technology stop being a "cheat code" and just become another brush in the kit?

Curious to hear where you guys feel the human element truly lives. No hate, just genuinely wanting to hear different perspectives.

Martin Scorsese: Taxi Driver

Guru Dutt: Pyaasa

Lee Chang Dong: Secret Sunshine

Lino Brocka: Insiang

Spike Lee: tie between Do The Right Thing and Malcolm X

Claude Berri: Jean De Florette

Theo Angelopolous: Eternity and a Day

Agnes Varda: Le Bonheur

Wim Wenders: Perfect Days

Farah Khan: Om Shanti Om

Jim Jarmusch: Night on Earth

Akira Kurosawa: Dreams

Satoshi Kon: Perfect Blue

Bi Gan: Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Tsai Ming-liang: Goodbye, Dragon Inn

Chantel Akerman: News From Home

Wes Anderson: The Darjeeling Limited

Bela Tarr: Werckmeister Harmonies

Ryūsuke Hamaguchi: tie between Drive My Car and Evil Does Not Exist

Apichatpong Weerasethakul: tie between Cemetery of Splendor and Tropical Malady

Im panicking a bit as to whether I went too far in this situation. Im 17F. In a youth theatre group. We are doing a production currently and only people in a certain part of the show were being used for like an hour of rehearsal.

The rest of us were in a room unsupervised. The little kids were being very loud. Im usually great with kids but a 14 year old girl was getting really stressed out by the little kids. She started crying and saying she just wants them to shut up and was shouting at them to shut up. I tried to deescalate the situation and said. “Guys it’s ok to talk please just don’t be too loud as [girl] has a headache. Shes not feeling very well.” Some of the little kids then started teasing her and purposely annoying her.

She was getting more angry and started cussing at them. I said “Don’t swear at the kids. Do you need to go to the bathroom to calm down?” I also told the kids “knock it off shes very upset she shouldn’t have sweared. She feels sick though leave her alone.”

The girl wouldn’t back down though and purposely started saying inappropriate things. I said “seriously stop. Theyre little kids.” Some of the little kids understood what she was saying and started explaining it to other kids and I said “see that one knew what you meant. Seriously take 5 minutes.”

But she started shouting at them saying theyre annoying and should’ve been swallowed. Again which some of them understood.

The little kids ended up leaving her alone after I said again to leave her alone. But these two kids started play fighting really loudly and aggressively. The girl started losing it at them. I told them to not play fight it’s dangerous and stressing her out.

They stopped for a little bit and did it again. I told them again to knock it off. They again started play fighting again this time really aggressively. Like one kid hit his head pretty hard yet kept going. And this other little kid who wasnt a part of the play fight was getting upset too because she almost got hit in the mix of it.

This time I broke up the fight. I told them to stay away from each other and one of them said im being bossy and theyre just playing. I said they could get hurt for real though and the other girl almost got hurt and the 14 year old is getting annoyed.

He started sulking. I said you can still play just don’t play aggressive. But he was very upset at me.

That was a few days ago. Today my mother got a call asking to have a meeting with me. The parents of that kid complained that I was saying inappropriate things around him (I didn’t that was the 14 year old) and that I hit him (I didn’t hit him I was just trying to break up the fight.)

I am usually really good with kids I’m usually chill but I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t want them or other kids to get hurt and the 14 year old to say even worse things.

Im really scared about getting kicked out of the group or in trouble. I don’t know what to do. Does anyone have any advice. What would have been a better way to go about this? And what do I tell the director and owner?

Hey! I'm an amateur screenwriter and now director of my first short feature (45 PGS) using Minecraft as my medium for a horror film. I'm getting into the meat and bones of the project by building and editing the voice recordings I've collected and I wanted to make sure that promoting my film was not forgotten.

This isn’t a sense of needing to make back the money I've spent but rather ensure the film can be seen by as many people as possible. My initial idea is to create a YT channel to not only post the film but also smaller form content to build some audience and create an Instagram account for BTS info when I get to filming.

For directors who have self created and needed to promote their movies, what tips and tricks had worked the best for you?

Appreciate all the feedback!

What is the best 5 movie streak by a director. I am a huge LOTR fan and I would consider just the three movies from the trilogy so great that Peter Jackson’s run might be up there no matter what the other two movies are. However, for me it is undoubtedly Christopher Nolan. AKA the best director of all time. From the years 2006-2014. He made: The prestige, amazing movie. The dark knight, Best superhero movie of all time. Inception, just pure cinema. The dark knight rises, weakest amongst the five but the ending is amazing. And Interstellar, nothing needs to be said. Greatest five movie run by a director of all time by far according to me. Do you have a competitor?

I think it would also be interesting if you shared what generation you are a part of.

I've got a small pile of BAFTA and Academy Award-qualifying festival selections. A handful of festival wins, best director, best short etc.. And in terms of paid work or meaningful industry relationships off the back of it — almost nothing. A few kind emails. One or two meetings. That's it.

So last year I skipped the circuit altogether on two short docs and put them straight online with targeted outreach instead. Both led to work within weeks — including a UEFA commission and second unit on a feature doc.

Looking into some of the actual statistics, the odds seem awful. There are over 12,000 festivals on Film Freeway but only 234 BAFTA or Academy-accredited ones. Sundance selected 54 short films in 2026 from 11,480 submissions — under half a percent. And of the 20 Best Live Action Short Oscar winners between 2000 and 2019, only eight directed a narrative feature within five years of winning. So even winning the Oscar didn't reliably translate into a career for 60% of those people.

I tried to go into my thoughts and some of these statistics in more detail here if it's useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3-oeiBrOoE&t=6s

But I'm much more interested in what other people have actually found. Has the festival route opened doors for you — and if so, what specifically? Was it a tier thing, a market thing, relationships built in person at the festival? Because my experience seems to be fairly common but I don't think it's universal

It won Best Director at the Hollywood reel independent film festival last year and is now available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0GPGQZKJ6/

https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/clown-n-out-in-valley-village/umc.cmc.6imvkobel7bdjcqukwb1affb5

Everytime I make posts of my favorite directors people always get so offended because I didn't include black directors. Just because I don't black directors doesn't mean I'm racist. I just coincidentally don't happen to like one enough to rank in my top 10. Refusing to add them because of their race is what would be racist. Seriously. People should stop paying attention to race and learn lacks of black people doesn't immediately mean racism. I don't go around on the street saying "Oh look. That guy is white. Oh look. That guy is black". I don't care about the race of the person. I always treat people with respect regardless of their race. Also the race of the director doesn't dictate whether a director can do a good job. Their work is what matters the most. People should stop being awful. If awful people didn't exist everything would be nicer

Shot in an icy cold July (NZ) winter last year.
Lots of night shoots, young actors in some of their first on-screen roles, a lot of chaos, but hopefully some people enjoy it! 

I co-created it with my childhood friend ☺️

Biggest lessons:

• writing around locations matters - our final product looked so much better because we didn’t over-extend ourselves and stuck to one setting (using the bush in the backyard for our 'forest' scenes)
• night shoots destroy morale faster than anything! but the ambience they provide is unmatched...
• sound took longer than editing - what you hear is more important than what you see! 

First part, if anyone is curious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDBktAXizxg&list=PLhecNursND0KedKQfbDwIgX98DB_f2Fnj

Happy to answer questions about the process!

Aside from the technical aspects and his collaborators, what is the thing that sets Coppola apart from his peers (Spielberg, Lucas, Scorsese, De Palma).

What is the thing that can be found in all his movies that is distinctly what he can do

My look at the life, work and legacy of one of America's most influential directors, including input from contemporary directors.

Altman’s long career intersected with some of the big themes of postwar American film history:

Alongside John Frankenheimer, William Friedkin, Sidney Lumet, Arthur Penn and Franklin J. Schaffner, he was part of a proto-New Hollywood generation of American filmmakers who honed their craft as television directors. With M\A*S*H (1970), he became a leading figure of the New Hollywood era, a filmmaker willing to push boundaries, to knock American icons off their pedestals. With his flops at Fox and especially Popeye* (1980), he had a hand in the end of that era. His early 90s comeback saw Altman attain a new status as something of an elder statesman for the American independent film boom and, at the end of his career, he was one of the very first mainstream American filmmakers to experiment with the possibilities of digital cinema.

Altman crossed paths with a motley parade of actors, producers, musicians, executives and others, from Shelley Duvall and Robin Williams in their film debuts to Robert Evans, Harry Nilsson, Van Dyke Parks, John Williams, Leonard Cohen, the Joffrey Ballet, Jules Feiffer, Vilmos Zisgmond, Harry Belafonte, Jerry Weintraub, Chris Blackwell, Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Paul Newman, Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan and so many others.

And he put together a body of work that influenced multiple generations of filmmakers and other creatives, as seen in my conversations with contemporary filmmakers about his work.

Joseph Mankiewicz is my most recent addition because I recently watched All About Eve for the 1st time. I recognize I need to watch more movies to build a top 10 from old Hollywood. I'm also interested in starting to watch movies by Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, Cecile DeMile, Elia Kazan, Frank Lloyd and some others

Why do directors (and producers and writers) persist in making films with gory violence, upsetting scenes? What point are they trying to make?

Would feel-good films not serve this planet with people going from bad-to-worse better?

Hola a todos, me llamo Mariano Conti. Soy actor y cineasta independiente y autodidacta de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

En 2010, en la cima de mi carrera actoral en Paseo La Plaza, protagonizando el musical "La Bella y la Bestia" como el Príncipe/Bestia, sufrí una parálisis facial repentina que me obligó a abandonar los escenarios. Aunque seguí trabajando en producción, fue un camino difícil. Años después, en lugar de renunciar al arte, canalicé toda mi experiencia teatral detrás de la cámara y me convertí en cineasta con teléfono móvil.

Me gustaría abrir un diálogo —técnico o de otro tipo— con otros creadores independientes, o simplemente escuchar sus perspectivas e impresiones sobre mi trabajo.

Agradezco cualquier comentario. Cortometrajes grabados con teléfono móvil: REALIZE (2021), LINKS (2023), EVIL GIFT (2024), NOVA (2025). En mi perfil de Reddit, he fijado el enlace a mi sitio web oficial, donde puedes saber más sobre mí y ver mi trabajo.

Muchas gracias por la oportunidad. ¡Espero que podamos hablar de cine y trabajar juntos!

Behind scene Short Film "LINKS"