LITTERMATES (Drafthouse Exclusives) Co-Director Cinematographer Michael Woloson in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

 

I was able to have a conversation with Michael Woloson who Co-Directed and was the cinematographer on the film Littermates which opens November 6th. The movie was a selection at Fantastic Fest 2026. Here is that interview: 

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.

 

 

Michael Woloson is a writer, director, cinematographer, and producer from Las Vegas, based in Los Angeles. His work combines precise visual storytelling with intimate, character-driven narratives, often exploring the complexity of memory and time. A SXSW alum, he served as cinematographer and producer on Scott Tinkham’s "24 Hours After Reading Tuesdays with Morrie," which premiered at SXSW in 2025. His latest directorial work, "Broken Branches," was produced under Haley Nicole Johnson’s Under The Shell banner, and is set to begin its festival run in 2027. He will serve as a producer on Tinkham’s upcoming feature "Good Life," also under Under The Shell.

BLOOD MONEY: A Film Featuring Dolores Huerta Direceted by Ellen Gavin in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

Blood Money is a short narrative video exposing the money and greed that fuels “the largest mass deportation in U.S. history”.  Congress has appropriated hundreds of billions of dollars to sustain a private prison network indefinitely. The companies receiving billions are rewarded for filling beds with as many immigrants ICE can grab, while spending as little as possible to run the facilities. These companies are also building new revenue streams in surveillance, monitoring, and incarceration — infrastructure that will outlast this moment and could be turned on Americans for decades to come. Here is the film:

 

I recently was able to have a conversation with activist, filmmaker and writer Ellen Gavin about her latest movie Blood Money, her friendship with Dolores Huerta as well as a far-ranging  conversation about the state of the United States of America, ICE, detention centers, the upcoming midterm elections and paths forward for justice, immigration, labor reform, pressuring the people we elect to have the political will to indeed do the right thing moving forward. Here is that conversation:

SHEEPWELL Producers Danielle DeMatteo Lauren Elizabeth Harris Actor Mark Ryan Anderson in Conversation w Robert Aaron Mitchell Austin Film Festival

Prior to the film Sheepwell premiere at the Austin Film Festival I was able to sit down over zoom and have a conversation with Producer Co-Writer  Danielle DeMatteo Producer and Actor Lauren Elizabeth Harris Actor Mark Ryan Anderson.

We spoke about the complexity of the characters who inhabit the story of Sheepwell as well as how the film came to made. Sheepwell marks the first feature film form SheNYC and produced with Pathway Pictures. 

Our conversation also talked about the challenges that faced production such as the two tornadoes that happened during filming in Alabama and the exquisite cinematography and costume design that enhanced the story.

Here is our conversation:

THE DARKEST LIGHT (documentary) Director Simon Mendes in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell DOC NYC 2026

 

Prior to The Darkest Light premiering at DOC NYC on November 15, 2026 I was able to sit down over zoom and have a conversation with Director Simon Mendes about his first feature documentary that chronicles Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach's legacy. His music that transformed and celebrated Jewish faith and the allegations of sexual abuse that surfaced after Lilith magazine in the Spring issue in 1998 published allegations of sexual assault. Resounding silence followed. With the rise of the #metoo movement so too did the allegations resurface about Shlomo Carlebach. Here is our conversation:

BEHIND THE LINES Director John B. Benitz Historian Andrew Carroll in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

In two decades of conducting interviews with filmmakers last week I did something I had never done before. I partnered with U.S. History teacher Dr, Sarah Mitchell and we had her Junior classes pose questions to filmmaker John B. Beritz and historian Andrew Carroll about their documentary. As we had a conversation about the film I asked the questions students had written. I also conducted the interview from the classroom. Behind The Lines follows Carroll who has spent over three decades collecting war correspondence.
 

SICK Director Agata Trzebuchowska in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell (Sitges 2026 Fantastic Fest 2026)

 

Sick is the debut feature film from writer and director Agata Trzebuchowska. It was a much talked about movie after it's world premiere last month at Fantastic Fest. The movie is rooted in some dark themes seldom talked about in cinema. The film is anchored by the strong performances of it's two young lead actors, Konrad Kakol and Katarzyna Lubik. I was able to speak with Agata about the film, their writing process as well as the performances and the cinematography of the film as well as what the current film scene is like in Poland.

FANTASTIC FEST 2026: The Complete Robert Aaron Mitchell Interviews with Quarxx, Jorge Thielen Armand, Luka Marčetić,Lara Wolf,Brad Abrahams,Simon Ennis, Markus Lehmusruusu

 The dust, blood, guts from Fantastic Fest 2026 has settled. I spent the week watching movies, exchanging emails with publicists, conducting zoom interviews with filmmakers. When it was all said and done I conducted over two hours of conversations with filmmakers over seven interviews. I spoke with people in Slovenia, Italy, France, Canada and the United States. That is one of the greatest things about a film festival, it gathers cinema from all over the world. Here are the Fantastic Fest 2026 conversations: