Chasing the Gold: SXSW Recap (2026)

On this episode, Shadan is joined by Sari Cohen to discuss this year's SXSW Film Festival and the movies that stood out to us the most! There were some great docs, some memorable horror films and a few notable films that could make its way into awards season by year's end.  Visit https://insessionfilm.com/store for merch and more! Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe! Become an ISF VIP today to get exclusive bonus content! Follow us on X/Twitter! @InSessionFilm | @ShadanLarki 

On this episode, JD and Brendan discuss BenDavid Grabinski's new time travel comedy MIKE & NICK & NICK & ALICE! It might not be reaching for genius comedic heights, but it's arguably quite effective at what it's trying to be. We do have a bit of debate on this one though.  Visit https://insessionfilm.com for merch and more! Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe! Become an ISF VIP today to get exclusive bonus content! Follow us on X/Twitter! @InSessionFilm | @RealJDDuran | @BrendanJCassidy

On this episode, JD and Brendan discuss the Matt Johnson / Jay McCarrol mockumentary time travel film NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOWO THE MOVIE! Talk about movie surprises, we absolutely loved this despite having no connection to the web series or the show. It takes guerilla filmmaking to a new level and is immensely successful in creating one of the year's funniest films.  Visit https://insessionfilm.com for merch and more! Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe! Become an ISF VIP today to get exclusive bonus content! Follow us on X/Twitter! @InSessionFilm | @RealJDDuran | @BrendanJCassidy

On this episode, inspired by THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE hitting theaters this weekend, we do a consensus ranking of animated sequels! There are have been plenty of animated sequels over the years, some tremendously great, others not so much, so this ended up being quite the conversation. We also talk more about PROJECT HAIL MARY, dig into the Stephen Colbert LORD OF THE RINGS SPIN-OFF and talk about the atrocity that is the MOANA live-action trailer. - Project Hail Mary (1:46) - Lord of the Rings Spin-Off (19:47) - Moana / The End of Oak Street Trailers (37:13) - Animated Sequel Ranking (1:05:33) Visit insessionfilm.dashery.com to support the show with InSession Film merch! Episode sponsor: koffeekult.com - Get 15% OFF with the code: ISF26 Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe! Become an ISF VIP today to get exclusive bonus content! Follow us on Twitter! @InSessionFilm | @RealJDDuran | @BrendanJCassidy

On this episode, we discuss our favorite(?) traumatic Disney films and the bold qualities that the studio use to employ in their work! We all remember the feeling of Dumbo and Bambi's mothers, the donkey's in Pinocchio and so many more memorable scenes in the Disney canon. We discuss why these sequences carry weight and what makes them special. Panel: Kristin Battestella, Megan Kearns Visit insessionfilm.com for merch and more! Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe on your podcast app of choice! insessionfilm.com/subscribe

On this episode, Shadan is joined by Brandon Lewis as we have a postmortem on this year's Oscar season! What are the lessons to take away from the season? What is the state of the industry following the Academy Awards? We have some questions to address as far how the season played out and why it might be a shifting of the tide as we move forward.  Visit https://insessionfilm.com/store for merch and more! Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe! Become an ISF VIP today to get exclusive bonus content! Follow us on X/Twitter! @InSessionFilm | @ShadanLarki

On this episode, JD and Brendan discuss the new film from the German filmmaker Christian Petzold MIROIRS NO. 3! We are huge fans of Petzold, and that alone intrigued us, but he's back once again with his latest muse Paula Beer. As you could probably guess, MIROIRS NO. 3 has all of the usual Petzold trademarks and great performances, so we had a lot of fun with this one.  Visit https://insessionfilm.com for merch and more! Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe! Become an ISF VIP today to get exclusive bonus content! Follow us on X/Twitter! @InSessionFilm | @RealJDDuran | @BrendanJCassidy

On this episode, JD and Megan are joined by Ben Miller to discuss Phil Lord and Chris Miller's latest film PROJECT HAIL MARY! The film has opened to incredible reviews and a stellar box office, and while we mostly indulge with high praise, we do offer a few thoughtful questions about the film. Ryan Gosling is incredible and how can you not love Rocky? Visit https://insessionfilm.com for merch and more! Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe! Become an ISF VIP today to get exclusive bonus content! Follow us on X/Twitter! @InSessionFilm | @RealJDDuran | @BrendanJCassidy

On this episode, inspired by Kevin Jacobsen's captivating series of prompts where he asked who you would vote for if the last five Oscar winners (in any particular category) were up against each other, we thought we would do the same but for our InSession Film Awards winners! So it turned into a fun retrospective on our awards winners over the last six years, many of which we still love, but as you may expect, some of our winners may have changed if we had a re-do.  We also talk about the incredible box office opening for PROJECT HAIL MARY and we talk about the new trailers for DUNE: PART 3 and SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY! Opening / JD's Approach To Horror (1:14) - Project Hail Mary Box Office (12:43) - Dune and Spider-Man Trailers (23:01) - ISF Awards (52:15) Visit insessionfilm.dashery.com to support the show with InSession Film merch! Episode sponsor: koffeekult.com - Get 15% OFF with the code: ISF26 Episode sponsor: NordVPN - Get 3 months FREE by clicking here: https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=114779 Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe! Become an ISF today to get exclusive bonus content! Follow us on Twitter! @InSessionFilm | @RealJDDuran | @BrendanJCassidy

On this episode, Shadan is joined by Christina Jeurling Birro to discuss the 98th Academy Awards and everything that this year's Oscars had to offer! It was quite an extraordinary awards season that was capped off with a pretty good ceremony (despite a few bumps) and some great winners. Visit https://insessionfilm.com/store for merch and more! Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe! Become a Member today to get exclusive bonus content! Follow us on X/Twitter! @InSessionFilm | @ShadanLarki