502. Gavin Gaitan “Down Town”

A beautiful March Monday to you all! What I am about to type is the absolute truth. The first time I watched “Down Town,” the crime-comedy-adventure feature film from writer director Gavin Gaitan,                                                                                I said out loud, alone in front of the TV, “Holy f***ing sh*t.” And I probably said it three to four times in a row, because Gavin’s film simply blew me away.                                                                                                                                                                     I wasn’t alone! The selection jury for the Sherman Oaks Film Festival gave “Down Town” the Best In Fest award! In fact, at SOFF 2024, Gavin’s film took home four awards: Best in Fest – Feature Film Grand Jury Award – Best Feature Film – Comedy Grand Jury Award – Best Director – Feature Film – Gavin Gaitan Grand Jury Award – Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Gavin Gaitan By the way, I was extra excited that Gavin was among the first of the SOFF 2024 alumni to jump onto the podcast.                                                                                                                                                         I was moderating the Q&A’s in theater 7 when “Down Town” was playing in theater 8, so that I was not able to moderate Gavin’s Q&A and tell him all of the things that I admire about his film. That’s what I love about the Discover Indie Film podcast; it gives me a second chance to have a conversation the filmmakers whose Q&A’s I did not get to moderate. If you want to follow Gavin’s feature film on Instagram, he’s @downtownmovie (https://www.instagram.com/downtownmovie/) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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