WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT?

Timothy Cooper reached out to us leading up to last year's RiverRun International Film Festival. He was our first official interview. This past week he came back on the podcast to share how "Knead," the short film he wrote and directed and which played at RiverRun last year, has faired. He also talked about an upcoming short film for which he wrote the screenplay, "Rock, Paper, Destiny."

Watch "Knead" on the Omeleto Channel:

https://youtu.be/gkvTQzMRrIw?si=lWgn4G-Ar2GQAS7n

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WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT?

T.J. Sandella, the co-writer and co-director of the feature film "Battersea," which played at the 2025 RiverRun International Film Festival, came back on the podcast to share how the film has faired since we last spoke.

Learn More About Battersea:

https://www.tjsandella.com/battersea

Learn More About T.J.:

https://www.tjsandella.com/

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WHAT’S IN YOUR NERDHAT?

This past week Richard had the privilege of sitting down for a conversation with Michael Morin, the new Executive Director of the RiverRun International Film Festival.

Michael hails from California, where he grew up loving both music and movies, though music was his first love. After attending Junior college and film school in California, he began the first phase of his multi-faceted career which saw him touring with bands, filming concerts, and, eventually, working as an assistant to filmmaker David O. Russell, who directed The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle, among other films. After taking some time off from working in and around Hollywood, the film industry came calling Michael again, but this from a different place - the world of Film Festivals. Specifically, the Slamdance Film Festival, which was based in Park City, Utah at the time. Michael’s spent 7 years working there (2018-2025) which prepared him well for his current role, which he began back in December of 2025.

• Peruse the Offerings for the 2026 RiverRun Int'l Film Festival: https://riverrunfilm.com/2026-films-events/
• Read Michael's Interview with the Winston Salem Journal: https://journalnow.com/winstonsalemmonthly/article_4c9d42d2-e4f1-44b9-944c-50f9883d84d6.html?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnlBpQI4gNrRbhh1dvIcgAw8sumMs0cT5sL7cforqJ-ceQTiWut6kmuHYXF4U_aem_2pOK-5CNexmV51Y1P0DnzQ
• Read Michael's Interview with Moviemaker Magazine: https://www.moviemaker.com/michael-morin-riverrun/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnY38kQ2KiXfQ_9oZsESDQFoK165dSEQtL0fpUcrudn6nJAZo7HYhQOdpRiYc_aem_GNxBIVdKDaJvUPO0Mxapeg
• Learn More About the Slamdance Film Festival: https://slamdance.com/

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