Against the backdrop of industry upheaval and the rise of AI, Nicholas Lam joins hosts Ava Benjamin Shorr and David Kruta to explore what it means to future-proof creativity. Lam critiques performative diversity initiatives, warns against chasing trends, and makes a case for human, low-fi storytelling as the antidote to algorithmic content. Taking a personal turn, Lam recounts losing his home in the Los Angeles fires of January 2025, and shares how the filmmaking community rallied to support him, reshaping his priorities and reinforcing the importance of showing up for others. That experience reframes his view of work, stripping away the false urgency of the industry and grounding him in relationships over accolades.

Nicholas Lam’s Instagram | Website

Ava Benjamin Shorr’s Instagram | Website

David Kruta’s Instagram | Website

This episode is sponsored by Fujifilm, Sandisk and TCP Insurance.

Director Mike Pecci joins host David Kruta to dissect the chaos of post-COVID Hollywood, the false promises of AI disruption, and the suffocating gatekeeping of the studio system. Pecci lays bare the existential challenges of trying to create authentic work in an industry gripped by fear, algorithmic control, and vanishing opportunities. In a world where pitching feels like shouting into a void, Pecci finds power in simply continuing to create, and the filmmakers who will survive are the ones who know how to make something out of nothing—and do it with heart. For him, AI is not the enemy. Mediocrity is.

Mike Pecci’s Instagram | Website | Watch 12 Kilometers

David Kruta’s Instagram | Website

This episode is sponsored by Fujifilm, Sandisk and TCP Insurance.

As fears mount over AI’s impact on creative labor, cinematographer and technologist Jim Geduldick joins host David Kruta to dissect the frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence and its encroachment into the film industry. As AI-generated imagery floods social media and marketing departments chase cost-cutting automation, Geduldick challenges the doom-and-gloom narrative with a nuanced, insider perspective—arguing that while jobs may shift, human storytelling will remain irreplaceable. However, decades of tech disruption, from DVX100s to LED volumes, won’t change the fact that great filmmaking has always been—and still is—about the people behind the lens.

Jim Geduldick’s Instagram

David Kruta’s Instagram | Website

This episode is sponsored by Fujifilm, Sandisk and TCP Insurance.