AFTER THE SILENCE Filmmaker Michael Marantz In Conversation With Robert Aaron Mitchell

I spoke with filmmaker Michael Marantz about his feature length debut film After The Silence. We talked about his longtime cinematographer Tim Sessler and what they wanted to achieve in the look of the movie. How the Western Massachusetts locations aided the story of the film. Where the idea for the story came from as well as the score and sound design of the movie. We also talked about the great cast that was assembled for the movie. Here is that conversation:

 

Ethan Walker made his name telling other people's true-crime stories, then walked away from the spotlight after it nearly destroyed him. When his sister Emily vanishes, he follows her trail to a quiet corner of rural New England, where suspicion falls on Richard Ashwood, a wealthy and enigmatic art patron with ties to Emily. Ethan's only ally is Brooke Sawyer, a guarded widow fighting to keep her farm, and as their search deepens, so does the grief each of them has been outrunning.

 

 
Michael Marantz's father-in-law, Mark, built a phone on a hill connected to nothing after his own father died, inspired by a This American Life story about a disconnected "wind phone" in Japan, where people went to talk to the loved ones they lost in the 2011 tsunami. Marantz, a commercial director and cancer survivor whose short films had premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, couldn't stop thinking about that phone. It became the emotional center of his first feature, After the Silence: a crime thriller about two grieving people, one who goes searching for someone to blame, and one who picks up the receiver and keeps talking. Marantz brought that story home. 

Michael Marantz is a director, writer and composer based in Western Massachusetts. After the Silence, which he wrote, directed, produced and scored, is his feature debut. His narrative short films The White Rabbit and We Do This Once both premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Alongside his narrative work, Marantz is an active commercial director with more than 15 years in the field. Represented by m ss ng p eces, his commercial work includes Super Bowl spots, a Young Director Award at Cannes, ten Vimeo Staff Picks and more than 50 million views online. He runs the production company Already Alive. A cancer survivor, he is drawn to stories about grief, resilience and the connections that carry people through them.

LOVE LOADED a film by Jan Miller Corran Actors Thomas Hobson & Erin Chambers in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 I recently spoke with actors Thomas Hobson & Erin Chambers about their roles in Love Loaded the new movie from Jan Miller Corran.Here is that conversation: 

With its blend of music, romance, and suspense, LOVE LOADED delivers a modern noir experience while paying homage to the cinematic style of the 1950s. Filming took take place on location across Los Angeles, using period-inspired sets and cinematography designed to evoke the look and atmosphere of classic noir thrillers. Set against the smoky nightlife and shadowy streets of 1958 Los Angeles, the film promises a suspenseful journey into a world where glamour, ambition, and danger collide—and where nearly everyone carries a secret… and a pistol.

The illustrious LOVE LOADED cast is led by Adam Huss (“General Hospital,” “Power,” “The Bay,” “Sleeping With the President”), Erin Chambers (“Scandal,” “Shameless,” “General Hospital,” “Finding Carter”), Monica Young (“Days of Our Lives,” Modern Family,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Criminal Minds,” “High Potential,” “The Baxters”), Max Adler (“Glee,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Sully”), Rich Rich Ceraulo Ko (“The Walking Dead,” “Tenet,” “S.W.A.T.,” “On Call”), Emily Goss (“Snapshots,” Criminal Minds,” “The House on Pine Street,” “Moonrise”), Adam Bucci (“Eastsiders,” “Halt and Catch Fire,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “The 10 Year Plan”), Constance Brenneman (“Batgirl Rises,” “The Toy Soldiers,” “Love & Other Drugs,” “Alias”), Bruce Clifford (“A Grunt’s Life,” “Wild West Chronicles,” “Dirty Laundry”), Carly Zelner (“Game of Power,” “LiT,” “The Devils Train”), Thomas Hobson (“That Girl Lay Lay,” “Ghosts of the Ozarks,” “Sherman’s Showcase”), Tim Heurlin (“Electric Dreams, “ “Master of Inventions”), Tom Katsis (“Dignity, “ “Lincoln vs Bush”), Chase Bennett (“Monty,” “Soft Influence,” “Fortune Cookie”), and Scott Thomas Reynolds (“Margo Has Money Troubles,” “Matlock,” “The Mick,” “Monster”), among others.

LOVE LOADED is helmed by Writer, Director, Producer Jan Miller Corran (“Snapshots,” Concerto for Abigail,” “The Last Word,” “Along Came Wanda”), who leads an innovative filmmaking team including fellow producer Monica Young (“Days of Our Lives,” Modern Family,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Criminal Minds,” “High Potential,” “The Baxters”), Composer Kanoa Wolfe-Doblin (“MacGyver,” “The Withering,” “A Lion’s Game,” “He Loves Me Not”), Cinematographer Cameron Schmucker (“Bumbled,” “The 60 Yard Line,” “Along Came Wanda,” “The Adventures of Slim & Thicc”), and Editor Josh Rifkin (“Veronica Mars,” “Paradise Lost,” “Black Sails,” “Jack Ryan”).

CAMERON Starring Patrcik Fabian, Tracie Thoms & Aaron Woodard Filmmaker Sam Freedman in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

I was able to speak with filmmaker Sam Freedman about his film Cameron which is available rent or buy through Apple on November 24, 2026. We spoke about where he came up with the idea for the movie, mise-en-scene, how short films are finding more and more ways to be seen as well as the special makeup effects that are prominently featured in the story. Here is that conversation:

 

Declan and Aisha O’Brien have just received the worst news imaginable. Their son Cameron has been killed in action. 

Aisha can scarcely look at her husband. Were it not for the lifelong encouragement of his father, a 30-year veteran himself, Cameron never would’ve enlisted — and she can’t help but blame him for the loss of her child. As their marriage curdles, consumed by grief and unspoken resentment…

There’s a knock at the door. It’s Cameron.

Except — different. Once a free-spirited young man, openly gay and brimming with joie de vivre, he’s now reticent. Inscrutable. Hulking in stature. And strangest of all: seemingly impervious to pain.

He tells his parents to keep his presence there a secret.

Desperate to figure out what exactly happened to their sweet baby boy — and what, if anything, they can do about it — Declan and Aisha are hit with the sinking realization that their time is running out. And as they race against the clock, long-simmering tensions return, culminating in a scorching, bloody coda where old scars become new.

LOVE LOADED a film by Jan Miller Corran Stars Thomas Hobson & Rich Ceraulo Ko in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

I had the opportunity to speak with actors Thomas Hobson and Rich Ceraulo Ko about their new movie Love Loaded which is written and directed by Jan Miller Corran. Love Loaded is set to release across all TVOD/Digital platforms throughout North America beginning on November 13th, 2026. Here is our conversation:

 

Love Loaded had its west coast premiere at Cinema Diverse Palm Springs and will be screened on November 14th at the St. Louis International Film Festival. LOVE LOADED has won multiple awards including best feature film, best film noir, best actor/actress, best original song, best ensemble cast. 

Jan Miller's Corran's latest film unfolds in the sultry atmosphere of Club Fiagaro a late-night haven for musicians, dreamers and drifters. At the center of the story is torch singer Didi Scanlon (Monica Young) whose velvet voice and magnetic presence draw admirers and enemies alike. When a shocking crime shatter's the club's carefully crafted illusion of elegance, a tangled web of suspects emerges - lovers, rivals, detectives and desperate souls whose loyalties shift as quickly as the music changes.

 

LOVE LOADED a film by Jan Miller Corran Stars Adam Huss & Monica Young in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

 

I had the opportunity to speak with actors Adam Huss and Monica Young about their new movie Love Loaded which is written and directed by Jan Miller Corran. Love Loaded is set to release across all TVOD/Digital platforms throughout North America beginning on November 13th, 2026. Here is our conversation:

   

Love Loaded had its west coast premiere at Cinema Diverse Palm Springs and will be screened on November 14th at the St. Louis International Film Festival. LOVE LOADED has won multiple awards including best feature film, best film noir, best actor/actress, best original song, best ensemble cast. 

Jan Miller's Corran's latest film unfolds in the sultry atmosphere of Club Fiagaro a late-night haven for musicians, dreamers and drifters. At the center of the story is torch singer Didi Scanlon (Monica Young) whose velvet voice and magnetic presence draw admirers and enemies alike. When a shocking crime shatter's the club's carefully crafted illusion of elegance, a tangled web of suspects emerges - lovers, rivals, detectives and desperate souls whose loyalties shift as quickly as the music changes.
 

 

LITTERMATES (Drafthouse Exclusives) Interviews with Kaylee McGregor, Joey Bader and Oliver Woolf with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

I was able to have a conversation with actors Kaylee McGregor, Joey Bader and Oliver Woolf about their new film LITTERMATES. We spoke about what they connected with when they read Scott Tinkham's screenplay. How they each prepared to portray their characters. This being a film partially about a post-apocalyptic world - showcasing the perils and dangerous of such a setting - one of the actors disappeared from zoom....hopefully they make it back.

Award-winning absurdist horror film LITTERMATES (Drafthouse Exclusives) will release theatrically NEXT WEEK in Alamo theaters in major cities on November 6, 2026. This award-winning film was a recent selection of Fantastic Fest 2026.

Alamo theaters/ cities theatrically releasing the film for a full one week run include: New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Omaha, Raleigh, San Antonio, San Francisco, Twin Cities and more.

Set against the backdrop of a mysterious war, LITTERMATES follows two disoriented survivors who take refuge at an isolated cottage in the English countryside. After Liam (Joey Bader) and Mel (Kaylee McGregor)  arrive bloodied, speechless, and unable to fully understand what has happened to them, they are taken in by Chester (Oliver Woolf), an enigmatic caretaker who bathes, feeds, and teaches them how to speak again.

As sirens, smoke, and distant threats press closer, Liam and Mel go about their days relearning the simplest tasks inside Chester’s carefully controlled world, while earning “nifties” for good behavior that can be traded for small comforts like karaoke, hot tub time, dance parties, and favorite meals. However, unlike Liam, Mel is far less willing to accept the boundaries of the cottage, growing increasingly drawn to the woods, the locked gate, and the larger world Chester insists is too dangerous to enter.

When Mel's curiosity pushes past Chester’s rules, the fragile order of the cottage is tested; exposing the fear, loyalty, and unanswered questions holding their makeshift family together.

Here is our conversation:

PAIKAR an award-winning documentary by Dawood Hilmandi in Convesation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

In the documentary Paikar, Dutch-Afghan filmmaker Dawood Hilmandi returns to confront his estranged father, a former mujahideen fighter turned imam, writer, and poet, in a poetic and deeply human search for love, forgiveness, and understanding. Paikar moves between Afghanistan, Iran, and the Netherlands, exploring the invisible inheritance of war and silence that shapes generations. Through this intimate father-son encounter, Hilmandi invites us to look beyond politics and history, and to rediscover the tenderness that endures within even the most hardened souls. I was able to have a great conversation with Dawood about his documentary. Here is the conversation: