566. Jon James Smith “Babushka”

This is a special podcast for me. Why? Jon James Smith wrote and directed “Last Orders,” a horror short that took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film – Horror at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2022.

As a London resident, Jon was not able to attend the festival but I made a point to tell him of how well-received the film had been. I invited Jon onto the podcast then and he held off for a great reason.              He did not want to Zoom in from London for the interview, he wanted to do it in person.

Thankfully Jon’s work returned to Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2025 with a new film, “Babushka,” and again he took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Featurette – Horror.                                                      But Jon was able to attend FI-LA’s 10th Anniversary Edition and, even though I prefer to do nothing the day after a festival wraps… how could I say no to having Jon over to the house to record a podcast?

I hope you all enjoy listening to our conversation as much as we enjoyed having it.                                                                                                                                                                                                        And a huge thank-you to Jon for being the kind of person who follows through on his intentions with actions!

Learn more about Jon and his work at:

JonJamesSmith.com

@jonjamessmith

@babushkamovie

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Discover Indie Film Podcast Links

DIF Podcast Website – DIF Instagram – DIF BlueSky

Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links

DIF Foundation – Sherman Oaks Film Festival – Film Invasion Los Angeles