Hello, Hello! In this episode, we have a conversation with Filmmaker and Executive Director of the Bend Film Festival, Todd Looby. We talk about the advantages of submitting and attending the Bend Film Festival, why Bend, Oregon is America’s best-kept secret, Improv as a catalyst to the creative life, the cross-section of engineering and artistry, and his feature films ‘Lefty,’ ‘Son of None,’ and ‘Be Good.’  We also cover the power of acceptance and why festival acknowledgment is so critical to filmmakers and the conflation of innovation and integration. Enjoy! Listen+Subscribe+Rate = Love Questions or Comments? Reach out to us at contact@bonsai.film or on social and the web at https://linktr.ee/BonsaiCreative Love Indie Film? Love the MAKE IT Podcast? Become a True Fan! www.bonsai.film/truefans www.makeit.libsyn.com/podcast #MAKEIT   More on Todd Looby   Todd has led the BendFilm organization since 2014. In that time BendFilm's budget tripled, the festival became Academy qualified and was named one of “Top 25 Coolest Festivals in the World”, and the organization acquired a daily-operating cinema, the Tin Pan Theater. Prior to working at BendFilm, Todd was a business manager for Chicago’s largest general construction firm and the director of a non-profit that runs a boarding school in Liberia, West Africa. Todd is also a self-taught filmmaker—his films screened at festivals across the country, winning awards at Slamdance and receiving rave reviews from the likes of Chicago Tribune and Variety.    bendfilm.org www.tinpantheater.com/ www.obrigadoproduction.com www.facebook.com/BendFilm www.facebook.com/toddlooby www.instagram.com/bendfilmfestival/   Alfred Hitchcock (director) Daughters of the Dust (film) Meshes of the Afternoon (short) Apocalypse Now (film) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (film) Second City improv Jason Sudeikis (actor) Will Ferrell (actor) Amy Poehler (actress) Tina Fey (writer) Primer (film) Iowa Independent Film Festival By Any Means Necessary: Making of Malcom X by Spike Lee Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan by John Sayles Steve McQueen (actor) The Hunger (film)