Here’s our latest interview with Brian Russell.
Backstory and why I got into filmmaking AND why Breckenridge
Growing up, I was a creative kid and always loved comic books, the movies, and TV, especially sci-fi. I drew, painted, and took photos. There were no artists anywhere in the family, so the marching orders were to go to college, get a business degree, and get a job that could make money. So that’s what I did. And I hated every working minute of the next twenty years.
But in 2009, I finally left the business my brother and I had sold, and on a whim, bought a DSLR camera. Through some cosmic fortune, began getting calls to make corporate videos. For the next 10 years, I shot weddings, bar and bat mitzvah, produced corporate videos, non-profit fundraising videos, and whatever else I needed to do to pay the mortgage and send my kids to college. Thanks to the aforementioned business experience, my video production company surprised everyone (especially my mother!)
In 2018, something unexpected happened. I visited Breckenridge for the first time. Breck Film Fest was happening; I bought a Peak 10 pass (again on a whim) and saw a ton of independent movies that weekend. The festival had a profound impact, and when I left Breck, I said out loud to my wife and friends, “I have to come back here. As a filmmaker.”
After a few false starts, I finally made a movie in 2021. Breck didn’t take it, but a bunch of other, smaller festivals did. It was a start. I went to Breck again as a film viewer, and the festival was still great. I met Pat Battastini at that festival, and then met him again in 2022. By then I had made three shorts, and was having more success getting into film festivals. Pat gave me a ton of good advice and was super supportive, and in early 2023 we started crossing paths at festivals around the country. Breck remained an important goal, and I kept making movies. And I’d like to think becoming a better filmmaker.
In 2024, Breck rewarded my efforts by accepting my film Not the Same Clarence (co-written and directed with my son Sam). And then again in 2025, when they programmed my film Sit with Me While I Die! I was not disappointed. This festival nurtured my soul, inviting me to be with other amazing artists and get to know the Breckenridge community. Achieving this goal was so much better than I could have ever imagined!
What films have been the most inspiring or influential to you and why?
So many films have influenced me, but in the interest of not turning filmmaker of the month into filmmaker novel of the month, I’ll give you just a couple.
- PERFECT DAYS (2023): Writer/Director Wim Wenders ode to a simple life, well lived, vibrantly fills the screen, inviting us all to consider service and, and the banality of materialism. Hirayama spends his days cleaning elite Tokyo public toilets while listening to classic American music of the 60s and 70s on cassette tapes. Wenders gives us only hints of his back story, but Perfect Days spends its time in the present, imperfect beauty and contentment are everywhere. So simple, yet so full of life, and narratively rich.
- BLINDSPOTTING (2018): Very few pieces of art have pushed me so hard to dig deep and understand what it might be like to walk in another person’s shoes. Or in this case, to live in another man’s skin. Blindspotting takes away our easy excuses and the tendency to point to others and say they are the problem. Not me. We are forced to look at ourselves. This film transformed my psyche, and moved me to tears.
- BEFORE MIDNIGHT (2013): I’m just a couple years older than Jesse and Celine, and this trilogy connected deeply. This final installment is a rare movie that tells the complete truth about relationships. Knockout performances by stars Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke bring director Richard Linklater’s trilogy to a close, while leaving us yearning for more. I hope this is not the end of this beautiful franchise.
- COLUMBUS 2017): Meticulous composition of every frame connects the stunning modernist architecture of Columbus, Indiana to the confused and messy lives of two people from different worlds. In many ways a hang-out movie, “Columbus” takes us on a journey with 19 year old Casey (a note perfect Haley Lu Richardson) and 40-something Jin (John Cho giving a nuanced, internal performance.) Visually stunning, emotionally compelling and true, plus somehow avoids the creep factor in a story about a 19 year old girl and 45 year old man. They treat each other nicely and demonstrate a real friendship. The friendship feels real, not at all forced and as with the best stories, gives each character an opportunity for introspection with the ability to grow. I was afraid it might take these characters to a place of sexual ickiness, but while it doesn’t completely ignore that possibility, instead it presents the rarest of on-film male-female connections … a young woman and middle-aged man who form a friendship based on equality and understanding, and it totally avoids the usual cliches. He’s not schooling her, and she’s not trying to get something out of him, and neither is trying to seduce the other. They do what friends do … spend time together, support each other, fight occasionally, give encouragement and love. If you like quiet, beautiful, introspective movies, this one is for you.
- CHILDREN OF MEN (2008): Chilling depiction of a future that feels like it might already be here. Brilliant cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki captures stellar cast and immersive production design of this near future dystopia, while fully energizing Director Alfonso Cuarón’s masterpiece from note one. As depressing as this picture often feels, it maintains an undeniable humor and perhaps most importantly, hope for the future. One of my top ten films of all time.
- PRIDE & PREJUDICE (2005): Beautiful in every way, featuring magnetic performances and the best sexual tension ever. My favorite romance film of all time.
- BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945): Director David Lean crafts a perfect romance, imperfect affair, and questions our loyalty to fidelity vs abandoning all reason to true & passionate love. Up there with Casablanca as the best of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
- DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944): Every frame a painting, every line a seduction, every beat a story. Film Noir at it’s very best.
- SPEED RACER (2008): Thick in plot, heavy on drama, and style that won’t stop, Speed Racer pushes and enhances the language of cinema and just may be the Wachowskis ’ pièce de résistance. This picture is F’ing amazing, and only gets better on repeat viewings.
How do you know when your story’s finished, when to walk away?
It’s never finished. For me, I either abandoned it, or made it imperfectly. I usually work with a co-writer, and it often takes many months and 30 to 50 drafts of a short film before I am ready to actually make it. I am a fan of live readings, and a fan of sharing my work with trusted confidants. I have learned to take the note, and sometimes take the solution. But also, that my co-writer and I are the only ones who can make final decisions for the story.
I have made at least one movie that needed some serious rewriting. But the issue was I couldn’t see where it had to be rewritten until AFTER the film was finished. This was an expensive lesson. I’m also not sure it was avoidable. I can be hard on myself, but as I get older I try and remember that I’m lucky to get to tell stories, and every story is a new learning opportunity.
I’m not sure I’ve figured out exactly when it’s time to call it finished and ready to shoot, but it is somehow tied to some real basics: Is there believable conflict? Does the dialogue sound real? Or stylized in a way that audiences will believe? Will the audience be clear on who wants what from whom? And what happens if they do or do not get their want? Does it have a beginning, middle, and end? Does the end work? Am I fooling myself about “ambiguity,” which often just means unfinished? If I can answer all these questions to my own internal satisfaction, then it’s probably finished.
Can you describe the business behind independent filmmaking and how you are trying to get your film seen? What are the hurdles you have had to overcome in order to recoup the costs of producing the film?
I’m lumping these two together because while I respect those looking for distribution, or to recoup investment, or to find new investors, those aren’t my goals. My view is both pessimistic and completely liberating. I don’t believe there really is much of a “business” behind independent filmmaking. I make movies (all shorts to date) for the same reason people scrapbook or knit. I just want to create, and then have something to give away. If you want to be in business, then go into contracting, or sales, or finance, or pretty much anything OTHER than film.
There are a lot of ways to raise money to make art. In my case, I choose to take additional projects for my day job, and set aside that money to make my films. Don’t get me wrong … if someone wants to invest, or back the money truck up for me to make my first feature, I’m all in! But that’s not the goal. The goal is simply to make things. And then travel around and show those things to other people.
How many films have you completed? What is your favorite project you have worked on and why?
I’ve made ten films since June of 2021. Asking about my favorite is kind of like asking which kid I love the most. A big goal of mine has been to try different genres, different styles. I’ve made a romance, several comedies, a couple of heavy dramas, and a film noir spoof. Rather than pick my favorite project, I’d rather highlight a few moments on this journey.
In early 2022, I had written the film Past Prologue (which would ultimately become my third short film) Through a very brief past interaction, I had two-time Tony-award winner James Naughton’s email, and I sent him the script. Shockingly, he read it right away, and that led to a six month back-and-fourth about the story, and ultimately making the movie together. I had no way of knowing how profoundly this relationship would change my creative life. I often tell people it took him six months to say yes to the first script, and six hours to say yes to the second (Not the Same Clarence, which played at Breck in 2024.) I have now made four films starring Naughton. The power of collaboration and another artist taking a genuine interest in me and my work has had a transformative effect on my life and how I make movies.
This past summer I had another opportunity to really stretch. June 2, 2025 I attended the Iron Mule Short Comedy Film Screening series in NYC. They asked me to direct their short of the month, which would be due to screen July 7 … just over 30 days to write a script based on a provided title, and work with an actress I only met at the festival on 6/2. Dana DiTrani … the actress … and I got on the phone, hammered out some ideas to go with the title, began writing, and a week later we had a film noir spoof script ready to go. Absolutely exhilarating. Two weeks later we filmed the movie in one very long day, and screened the finished movie on time. If I do say so myself, it has a very fun and clever script, and looks freaking amazing (thanks in no small part to my awesome DP Christopher S. Lind.) A massive departure from anything I had created before, this film allowed me to learn and grow in ways I could not have even imagined. The big lesson here? Be open.
Next projects and the future
At the moment, I’m on the road with four films, so I’m trying to enjoy that a bit. I also have about half a dozen scripts in development. My approach is to work on a bunch of things, and inevitably one or two will bubble to the surface and reveal itself as my next project to make. I’m also seeking work by others to direct. Much of my work so far has been projects I have shepherded from the ground up, but I would love to direct more work written by others and produced in collaboration. I LOVE creating with a team, and want to actively grow my network and expand my creative diversity.
Hope to see you at a festival soon!
About Brian Russell
Brian Russell is an award-winning filmmaker whose work often explores deeply human stories centered on faith, mortality, and ethical questions at life’s most vulnerable moments. His films are known for their emotional honesty and their ability to spark meaningful conversation beyond the screen.
Brian has worked with the likes of Edwards Burns, Zoe Kravitz, Arianna Huffington, and has even profiled the entire cast of Saturday Night Live. He was the cinematographer of the Tribeca Film Festival selection The Counterfeiter, which was later broadcast on ESPN. In recent years, his writing and directing has garnered dozens of film festival awards. In addition to his narrative film-making, Russell is also a sought-after writer and director for Fortune 500 companies and non-profit fundraising.
Brian Russell’s Recent Work + Social Media:
- Red Shoe Film
- Sit with Me While I Die Trailer
- SilverSizzle Trailer
- Past Prologue Trailer
- Cascades Trailer
