Director Edward Drake Interview | Guns Up+ SXSW Documentary “The Ascent” 🎬🔥

This week we’re joined by writer/director Edward Drake to talk about the making of Detective Knight: Redemption and his journey from Australia to directing feature films in Hollywood.Edward shares what it was like stepping behind the camera for an action franchise entry, navigating indie filmmaking realities, and collaborating with major talent — all while carving out his own voice as a storyteller.We get into everything, including:🎬 Directing Detective Knight: Redemption and building tension within a contained action thriller🎥 His path from Australia to directing music videos and breaking into feature filmmaking💥 Transitioning from indie horror roots to larger-scale action projects🎞️ Working with Bruce Willis across multiple films and what he learned from the experience📝 Wearing both the writer and director hat — balancing story with production realities🎬 His new documentary “The Ascent” is premiering at SXSW in March 2026👉 SXSW Profile: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2026/contributors/2246390🌍 The difference between narrative features and documentary storytelling🎯 Advice for aspiring filmmakers trying to make the leap from shorts/music videos to featuresEdward gives an honest look at modern indie filmmaking — the hustle, the pivots, and the lessons learned along the way.🎬 Learn more about Edward Drake:IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4864836/SXSW (“The Ascent”): https://schedule.sxsw.com/2026/contributors/2246390📲 Follow us everywhere: @sequelsonly🌐 More episodes, interviews & sequel reviews: sequelsonly.com👍 Like, comment, and subscribe for weekly sequel deep dives and interviews with the filmmakers who made them.And come back next week as we continue our sequel coverage with more action, more deep dives, and more behind-the-scenes stories.