Filmmaker Edson Oda lights up when he’s talking Magic. Not the Magical Realism of his award-winning first feature, Nine Days. Not the sleight-of-hand in a twelve-year-old’s parlor tricks. Instead, he’s discussing the addictively competitive trading card game, Magic: The Gathering.

Natalie Metzger, Spirit Award-nominated producer and Vanishing Angle’s VP of Development and Production, is a name to watch—that is, if you aren’t watching already. Known for producing festival favorites like Thunder Road (2018) and Greener Grass (2019), Metzger—and Vanishing Angle—are staples on the indie circuit, returning to major fests every year with exciting new projects.

In 2017, I had the privilege of spending time with the legendary 88-year old Belgian-born filmmaker Agnès Varda. She was in New York for the premiere of her latest opus, Visages Villages; I was covering NYFF (the 55th New York Film Festival) as a journalist. After our interview, I brashly asked if she’d allow a selfie. Varda agreed—but after observing my initial attempts, all hopelessly blown out by an overhead light fixture, she proclaimed “C’est nul!” (“That sucks!”) and led me firmly across the room. Suddenly, I was getting tutored in the Art of the Selfie by a New Wave Pioneer.

Back in 2008, YouTubers Dave McCary and Kyle Mooney caught the attention of Steven Spielberg. After his daughter showed him one of their videos—a parody of Spielberg’s own Hook—he sent them an encouraging note that Mooney kept in his wallet for years. They also sent a response to the filmmaker: “Steven, seems like you’re on the right track too. Keep making videos.” He took their advice.