Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou: How to Make a Feature Film for $3000

This week award-winning filmmakers Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou join the podcast to discuss the making of their acclaimed feature film TAKE OUT, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2004. The film was shot in New York City on a DV camera for a budget of $3,000 with only a two-person crew. TAKE OUT has been restored and re-released through the Criterion Collection and is now available on Blu-Ray. Sean and Shih-Ching dive into their process of finding the story, casting actors off of craigslist, funding the film with their rent money, and having to let go of their only PA because there were too many people on set. Sean's latest film, ANORA, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and is nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing.

Links: 

TAKEOUT (2004) on Criterion Collection

ANORA (2024) on Neon

Slamdance First Film Podcast is produced and hosted by

Michael Gallagher and Jana Gallagher. Edited by Daniel Angarita. Music

by Kevin MacLeod. Special Thanks to Peter Baxter, Paul Rachman, and the

entire Slamdance Team. To learn more about Slamdance, please visit Slamdance.com. 

Email us at TheSlamdanceFirstFilmPodcast@gmail.com

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