Jeff Man

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Attend A Screening Of PAPER MARRIAGE in Washington, DC

To paraphrase Walt Whitman, Jeff Man is a man that contains multitudes. He often plays a character, like in PAPER MARRIAGE (2024) and SANTA CLAUS (2017), that is reserved and unsure of himself, and the stories, at least partially, revolve around how he -- and the outside world -- reacts to those personality traits. During our conversation, he talks about how he grapples with these questions in his own life and utilizes his art to get to a greater truth.

And yet.

In many of his short films and his debut feature, PAPER MARRIAGE, he writes, directs, and acts in a lead role. He is an extraordinarily talented, supremely unique filmmaker, which I'd argue makes for a great podcast guest. I think you'll agree.

In this episode, we talk about:

• how he got started in filmmaking and the story behind his debut feature, PAPER MARRIAGE -- he originally thought he'd be a film critic;
• why he wrote, directed, and starred in his first feature -- the Duplass brothers forced him to do it! (out of love, of course);
• how he handled the work flow of directing...himself...and other characters;
• his thoughts on the current political debate surrounding immigration, DEI, and his film, especially on the eve of its Valentine's Day screening;
• his relationship with the Duplass brothers and how supportive they are of his vision as executive producers;
• why he loves Washington, DC;
• keeping up an active Instagram for a debut feature film;
• how much we love SMOKING TIGERS and the work of So Young Shelly Yo;
• the real-to-life feeling of PAPER MARRIAGE and how Jeff emotionally and intellectually got there to create such a film;
• what's next for him.

Jeff's Indie Film Highlights: 9500 LIBERTY (2009) dir. by Annabel Park and Eric Byler; DEAD TALENT SOCIETY (2024) dir. by John Hsu; BECOMING WHO I WAS (2016) dir. by Moon Chang-young; Jeon Jim; SMOKING TIGERS (2023) dir. by So Young Shelly Yo

Trivia:

The quote "chance favors the prepared mind" is from Louis Pasteur, not Thomas Edison.

Links:

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Attend A Screening Of PAPER MARRIAGE in Washington, DC