Special Slamdance Coverage: Tanner Christensen

There's not a person alive who won't be moved by STANDOUT: THE BEN KJAR STORY (2025) -- it's a story of overcoming expectations and spreading kindness into the world. It's also an extraordinary achievement of documentary filmmaking. We get into that and more with director Tanner Christensen.

In this episode, Tanner and I discuss:

• the uplifting qualities of STANDOUT: THE BEN KJAR STORY (2025);
• what to expect when you watch the film (laughing, crying, feeling better about the state of humanity);
• the crazy scope of the film, with archival footage from over 25 years ago;
• the decision-making process of utilizing re-enactments and whether he'd use AI in future documentaries;
• how he developed the chronology of the film and why he made it the way he did;
• what did the process of making this film teach him about documentaries?;
• is it a particular Utahan story?;
• what's next for him?

Tanner's Indie Film Highlight: DISPOSABLE HUMANITY (2025) dir. by Cameron S. Mitchell; COMPLICATED (2025) dir. by Andrew Abrahams; STOLEN KINGDOM (2025) dir. by Joshua Bailey

Links:

Follow STANDOUT On Instagram

STANDOUT Website