Iranian-American director and writer Saman Kesh has the most Vimeo staff picks, ever. He attributes this accolade to excessive consumption of rocket fuel and a knack for combining the human experience with a healthy dose of controlled chaos. Saman gained recognition with popular music videos like Cinnamon Chasers: Luv Deluxe (which won ‘Best Video’ at SXSW), Kygo: Stole The Show and Basement Jaxx: Never Say Never, along with videos for Calvin Harris, Ed Sheeran, and Placebo. He has also directed award-winning commercials for major brands like Zoom, Google, Uber, Toyota and Nintendo. Saman has written and directed industry-hailed short films, CONTROLLER and HIT TV, and is currently developing several feature films. On his off hours, he plays video games and trolls racists.


Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Yoshino and Saman catching up (00:02:14)
• Imbuing authenticity into commercial creations (00:05:54)
• Saman speaks about his experience shooting the “Azizam” music video for Ed Sheeran (00:20:38)
• Saman reflects on 15 years in the film and commercial industry (00:29:43)
• Saman discusses dealing with triggering moments on set, and how he has learned to comport himself appropriately in those situations (00:39:04)
• Yoshino asks about romantic relationships and finding a shared rhythm with a partner (00:43:44)
• Knowing how to make the most truthful decisions for our lives (00:49:56)
• Getting out of analysis paralysis (00:56:24)
• Saman reflects on how his past self might perceive who he is today (00:59:00)

samankesh.com
instagram.com/saman_kesh

Posted 4.18.2025

Tomas Watson (b.1971) is a British artist who has lived and worked in Greece since 1994. He studied at the Slade School of Art in London.

In 1998, he won the BP Portrait Award and was subsequently commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to paint the author John Fowles. This portrait is in their permanent collection.

He is represented by the Jill George Gallery in London (www.jillgeorgegallery.co.uk) and Accesso Galleria in Tuscany (www.accessogalleria.com)

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Tomas recounts where his artistic journey began (00:02:11) 
• The importance of mentorship (00:07:46) 
• Tomas's experiences at Slade University in London from 1990 - 1994 (00:09:28) 
• Discussing mark-making (00:14:42) 
• Having the courage to trust your artistic vision and perspective (00:26:22) 
• Tomas winning the BP Portrait Award in 1998 (00:35:33) 
• Cultivating a creative community and creating collective dialogue (00:43:35) 
• Tomas discusses his process of creating carborundum etchings and using various other mediums (00:54:01) 
• Tomas speaks about the Sigri Arts Retreat, the artist retreat he co-founded with his partner, Cindy Camatsos, in Lesvos, Greece (01:10:56)
• Living alternative lifestyles, staying patient, and allowing oneself to grow over time (01:18:36)

www.tomaswatson.com
www.sigriartsretreat.com

Posted 3.31.2025

Pasqual Gutierrez is a writer, director and actor. Sundance 2025 Comedy “Serious People” was his debut into feature filmmaking alongside veteran documentary filmmaker Ben Mullinkosson who co-wrote and directed. Gutierrez is also 1/2 of music video directing duo CLIQUA who has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry including The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Rosalia, Madonna, and more. Gutierrez is developing his second feature, a sequel to Serious People.

Ben Mullinkosson was raised in the suburbs of Chicago and trained in directing at Chapman University. After graduating Ben spent 15 years directing commercial work and documentary films between Los Angeles and Shanghai.

Ben's newest film, SERIOUS PEOPLE, directed with Pasqual Gutierrez premiered at Sundance 2025 Film Festival. The film is sold by 2AM.

He is most well known for his feature length film DON'T BE A DICK ABOUT IT which won the Audience Award at the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam in 2018 and is currently distributed in North America by Oscilloscope Laboratories.
en also recently premiered his five-year project, THE LAST YEAR OF DARKNESS, which won the Special Jury Mention prize at CPH:DOX in March 2023 and was sold to MUBI. The film was represented for sales by CAA and a is co-production between Kindred Spirit (Executive producer of THE FAREWELL and HONEY BOY) and /avelength (Executive producer of CUSP and WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR).

Among Ben's advertisements, SAMSUNG: VOICES OF LIFE with Agency Leo Burnett won a silver lion at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival in 2016. His UNESCO World Heritage Ad with agency TBWA, THE LEFT HAND, was nominated for the ADC awards in 2020. His other clients include Facebook, Beats, Vivo, Yelp, The Home Depot, VANS, Converse, Apple, Red Bull, VICE and Nowness.

His short film, GNARLY IN PINK, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2013 and premiered online as a NYT Op-Doc. A number of his other short films have received Vimeo Staff Picks and others have millions of views.

Ben is repped for commercials by Florence in Los Angeles. He also speaks Chinese fluently and is an X Games gold medalist for halfpipe skateboard competition in China.


Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• How the idea for Serious People came to Pasqual in a dream (00:03:15)
• Pasqual and Ben’s writing process for Serious People (00:08:26)
• Developing the film’s narrative and structure (00:11:38)
• Casting Miguel Huerta as the doppelgänger (00:16:17)
• Pasqual’s reflections on parenting (00:23:46)
• Friendship, the creative process, and working with friends (00:29:23)
• Being authentic and leaning into one’s childlike sensibilities (00:45:32)
• Shifting our perspective and opening ourselves up for magic to be observed (00:59:36)
• Final thoughts and future plans (01:09:26)

Ben’s Links:
benmullinkosson.com
instagram.com/benmullinkosson

Pasqual’s Links:
pasqualgutierrez.com
instagram.com/pasqualgutierrez
instagram.com/cliquamundo

Posted 2.28.2025

Shuchi Talati is a filmmaker from India whose work challenges dominant narratives around gender, sexuality, and South Asian identity.

Her feature film, Girls Will Be Girls, premiered at Sundance where it won an Audience Award and a Special Jury Award. Shuchi was a Gotham Awards Breakthrough Director nominee and a John Cassavetes Award nominee at the Spirit Awards. During development, Girls was supported by the Aide Aux Cinémas du Monde and Sørfond grants, Gotham Week, Berlinale Project Market and Script Station, and Cine Qua Non Script Lab.

Shuchi’s short film, A Period Piece, was selected for SXSW and her film Mae and Ash won numerous awards before becoming a Vimeo Staff Pick.

Shuchi’s documentary credits include story producing the Emmy-nominated film Being Mary Tyler Moore which premiered at SXSW. Shuchi also story produced the vérité series, We Are: The Brooklyn Saints, directed by Rudy Valdez for Netflix, and Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas for HBO, where one of her episodes was nominated for a GLAAD Award.

She is a graduate of the American Film Institute and an alum of Berlinale Talents. She lives in NYC and is a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, the Bitchitra Collective, and the Freelance Solidarity Project.


Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Shuchi shares her childhood love for books, her exposure to Bollywood and Hollywood films, and her introduction to cinema in university (00:03:45)
• Making her first documentary (00:11:40)
• The influence of observation in storytelling (00:14:55)
• Interrogating values to harness a unique point of view (00:20:49)
• Learning then unlearning techniques in film school and her project “Me and Ash” (00:25:29)
• Capitalism vs. creative expression (00:27:50)
• Shuchi’s writing/directing process for “Girls Will Be Girls,” and giving oneself space to mature with the process (00:30:43)
• Discussing alternative ways of living (00:38:47)
• A discussion on relationships, vulnerability, and the complexity of human behavior (00:55:06)
• Shuchi’s daily habits, teaching screenwriting, creative accountability, and the importance of a creative community (01:08:47)
• Shuchi’s decision to quit using social media (01:20:43)

shuchitalati.com

Posted 1.31.2025

Landon Van Soest is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, Fulbright Scholar, and two-time Sundance Fellow. His work presents social commentary through rich characters and immersive narratives. Landon recently directed the Hulu Original Documentary The Jewel Thief, which was the #1 most viewed movie on Hulu worldwide in the summer of 2023. His previous documentary, For Ahkeem, premiered at the 2017 Berlinale and Tribeca Film Festivals, won seven Best Documentary awards, opened theatrically in ten cities, and is being distributed by The Orchard and Amazon. His first documentary, Good Fortune, was broadcast on the award-winning PBS series POV, where it received an Emmy Award, the Witness Award for Human Rights and the Overseas Press Club’s Carl Spielvogel Award. Landon is a founder of the not-for-profit Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective and co-founder of Transient Pictures, where he has collaborated with non-profits and brands including Toyota, UNICEF, eBay, Facebook, 23andMe, Lincoln Center, ABC, National Geographic and PBS.


Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Landon’s introduction to filmmaking (00:02:06)
• Skateboarding’s influence on culture and creative expression (00:04:31) 
• Landon describes his mindset on approaching his creative projects (00:11:49) 
• Discussion about Landon’s film Light, Darkness, Light and its conceptual roots (00:13:30) 
• How Landon chooses which projects he wants to work on (00:38:30) 
• Yoshino and Landon speak about the process of letting go (00:46:48) 
• Landon recounts the making of The Jewel Thief on Hulu, the story of master criminal Gerald Blanchard (00:49:15) 
• Yoshino and Landon discuss the importance of starting projects, evolving through them, and staying authentic to one’s interests (01:00:51)
  

transientpictures.com/
instagram.com/landonvansoest

Posted 12.27.2024