In this episode, I'm joined by filmmaker Joe Burke, back on the show to talk about his micro-budget feature Burt.Over the past year, Burt won Best Comedy Feature at Cinequest, Best Picture and Best Ensemble at Phoenix, was the opening night film at Anchorage, and landed a slot at Palm Springs International.
It also got a full feature in the LA Times, was taken on a year-long theatrical tour, and is now being self distributed.
Burt was shot in seven days for $7,000 with a three person crew, in black and white, no stars, built around a real street musician with Parkinson's. It was finished at the end of 2023 and then rejected by 28 festivals over roughly 14 months, including places where David Gordon Green, the film's executive producer, personally emailed on its behalf and got nothing back.
Throughout the episode, Joe is candid about how close he came to leaving LA, and about the moment he stopped waiting on gatekeepers and went around them - ultimately finding success on his own terms.
Topics covered include:
Making a black and white feature in seven days for $7,000 with a three person crew
28 rejections in 14 months, and what that does to you
Why an executive producer like David Gordon Green still guarantees nothing
Renting a 400-seat theater instead of taking a festival slot
How the LA Times story came together, and what it unlocked
Cold emailing theaters for 50/50 rev share with zero upfront cost
Custom trailers, posters, and flyers cut for each individual venue
50 waiver emails, 25 yeses, and why follow-up is the whole game
What the run actually returned: audience and credibility, not reps
Getting into the DGA, then leaving his agent and manager at 30
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