Three films. One letter. One weirdly consistent theme: boys trying to dodge adulthood. And some are more successful than others...

We’re back with our Gimme Three: A to Z series with THE LETTER D, and the lineup swings from a classic hangout movie to a full-on stoner comedy to a cult sci-fi coming-of-age spiral.

First up, Barry Levinson’s DINER drops us into 1959 Baltimore for a weekend of late-night diner runs. We talk character vignettes, dialogue, and the star-studded cast of the early 80s.

Then we jump to DUDE WHERE'S MY CAR?, a 2000s time capsule that moves like a patchwork of skits. Sonja dives into why this is one of her favorites of all time and, perhaps, manages to change Bella's opinion on the film.

To close, we revisit Richard Kelly’s DONNIE DARKO, the Jake Gyllenhaal cult classic that just gets better and better with age. We dig into the time travel theories, fear culture & the socio-political relevance, and one of the best soundtracks in movie history.

Subscribe for more movie recommendations, share this with a cinephile friend, and leave a review with your Letter D recommendation!

*Spoilers for all films in this episode*

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Shout out to contributor and producer Sonja Mereu. A special thanks to Anselm Kennedy for creating Gimme Three's theme music. And another special thanks to Zoe Baumann for creating our exceptional cover art.

This week, co-host Bella Efstratis is joined by writer/filmmaker Will King for a deep dive into found footage horror! From forest dread to a possessed girlfriend to a Craigslist nightmare with a smile... you're in for a very spooky, funny, and exciting episode!

We start in the woods with The Blair Witch Project, a film that truly taps into the power of atmospheric horror. Will talks about the scarring experience of watching this movie too young, we get into the classic "showing vs. not-showing" the monster debate, and even dig into the legendary & groundbreaking marketing campaign for the film.

Then we move into the next classic with Paranormal Activity. We talk about the film's brilliant sound design, the effect of still framing and timestamps, and the way it taps into the universal fear of being awake at 3 a.m. with creepy sounds throughout the house.

Finally, we close with Creep, a cult favorite that flips between laugh-out-loud awkwardness and something genuinely sinister. We get into character breakdowns, the funniest and scariest moments, and whether this kind of horror-comedy discomfort ultimately worked for us.

Listen now to find out which of the three was our favorite and scariest!

If you’ve got found footage recommendations or other horror movies you want us to cover on the show, let us know!

Subscribe, share the show with a fellow horror fan, and leave a review so more cinephiles can find us!

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Shout out to contributor and producer Sonja Mereu. A special thanks to Anselm Kennedy for creating Gimme Three's theme music. And another special thanks to Zoe Baumann for creating our exceptional cover art.

A cursed videotape. A cursed button. A cursed house.

Spooky Season begins with three iconic horror films built around a deadly curse.

Co-host Bella Efstratis is joined by writer, filmmaker, and horror expert Jessica McLaughlin to discuss an iconic triple feature: Gore Verbinski’s The Ring, Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Hausu (House).

We get into why The Ring still hits even if you’ve never used a VHS, the origin of the adaptation, and the various themes of its “viral curse." We also talk score, color palette, and the simple, yet satisfying structure that makes every reveal land.

Then we pivot into Drag Me to Hell as a moral fable where one bad decision turns into three days of escalating punishment. We debate the film’s tonal swings, what makes Christine such a tough protagonist to sit with, and why Raimi’s loud, gross, crowd-pleasing set pieces play completely differently in a theater versus at home.

Finally, Hausu blows the doors off logic entirely. We dig into Obayashi’s DIY magic, his daughter’s nightmares on screen, and the deeper grief underneath the candy-colored chaos, where a place can hold pain long enough to become a living curse.

If you love horror movies (especially those with cursed objects) and spooky season watchlist ideas, hit play, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review. Which curse would you least want to face?

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You can keep up with Bella on Instagram @portraitofacinephile or Letterboxd
You can keep up with Nick: on Instagram @nicholasybarra, on Twitter (X) @nicholaspybarra, or on Letterboxd

Shout out to contributor and producer Sonja Mereu. A special thanks to Anselm Kennedy for creating Gimme Three's theme music. And another special thanks to Zoe Baumann for creating our exceptional cover art.

We're back with our alphabet extravaganza series with THE LETTER C!

Three movies start with C, but the real question is: Can Sonja & Bella find another connection between the three? We go from the tranquil beauty of Cmon Cmon to the complex moral maze of Captain Fantastic, and land on the forever-quotable joy of Clueless. Challenge accepted!

We break down why Mike Mills’ black and white filmmaking in Cmon Cmon isn’t a “style choice” so much as the emotional language of the story. Plus some good ole Joaquin Phoenix praise for yet another incredible performance, and the other extraordinary cast in the film!

Next, Captain Fantastic blows Bella's mind. We discuss Viggo Mortensen’s off-the-grid father character and the pure “shades of gray” of this film that makes it such a unique and impactful watch.

Finally, Clueless proves that a truly great teen comedy can stand the tests of time: razor-sharp dialogue, perfect casting, iconic costume design, and a soundtrack that lives in our hearts forever.

If you love movie recommendations, film analysis, and conversations that treat laughter and heartbreak with equal respect, press play! Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, share the episode with a cinephile friend, and leave us a review so more cinephiles can find the show!

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Follow the podcast on Instagram @gimmethreepodcast

You can keep up with Bella on Instagram @portraitofacinephile or Letterboxd
You can keep up with Nick: on Instagram @nicholasybarra, on Twitter (X) @nicholaspybarra, or on Letterboxd

Shout out to contributor and producer Sonja Mereu. A special thanks to Anselm Kennedy for creating Gimme Three's theme music. And another special thanks to Zoe Baumann for creating our exceptional cover art.

Happy Birthday Yorgos!

Celebrate Yorgos Lanthimos' birthday today with a re-release of our spotlight on the filmmaker. In this episode, co-host Bella Efstratis is joined by special guest, Michel Eljaiek, to review three films from his extraordinary filmography:

• The Killing of a Sacred Deer
• Alps
• Dogtooth

What is your favorite Yorgos Lanthimos film?

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You can keep up with Nick: on Instagram @nicholasybarra, on Twitter (X) @nicholaspybarra, or on Letterboxd

Shout out to contributor and producer Sonja Mereu. A special thanks to Anselm Kennedy for creating Gimme Three's theme music. And another special thanks to Zoe Baumann for creating our exceptional cover art.

Grief manifests and appears in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes as a question you can’t stop asking, or a dream you can’t shake. We’re joined by award-winning filmmaker Gerardo Maravilla to talk about how a deeply personal loss became a bold short film concept: a grieving woman becomes fascinated with discovering what it feels like to die. The result is a story that’s emotionally honest, culturally specific, and fearless in its visual style and genre.

We talk craft from the inside out: breaking into filmmaking without industry connections, surviving the brutal hours of production work, and returning to screenwriting when life forces you to get clear about what matters. Gerardo shares a refreshingly practical writing process built on messy first notes, dream fragments, and relentless revision, plus what grants, rejections, and creative programs can teach you if you keep showing up. If you’ve ever tried turning grief, trauma, or regret into art, you’ll hear real advice on staying open, staying kind to yourself, and letting the project tell you what it wants.

Then we get nerdy in the best way, digging into directing choices like grounded magical realism, strip-mall world-building, color-inspired ideas around death and remembrance, and why stop-motion texture can trigger a visceral reaction. We also talk casting and performance, including how Gina Diaz anchors the film’s emotional arc across multiple “worlds,” and we close with three film recommendations that reveal Gerardo’s creative DNA.

If you like independent film, short films, screenwriting, directing, and storytelling about grief and healing, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a filmmaker friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show!

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You can keep up with Nick: on Instagram @nicholasybarra, on Twitter (X) @nicholaspybarra, or on Letterboxd

Shout out to contributor and producer Sonja Mereu. A special thanks to Anselm Kennedy for creating Gimme Three's theme music. And another special thanks to Zoe Baumann for creating our exceptional cover art.

In this episode, Nick sits down with 3 outstanding filmmakers who depict real life through a truly creative and beautiful cinematic lens.

We sit down with producer and star Deborah Lee Smith and writer-director Brian Leahy to unpack Glitterbomb, their short film screening at LADFF this week. We get into the meaning behind the glitter, the thematic color choices, and the filmmakers' insight into performing trauma with control, catharsis, and care on set.

Next, we pivot to writer-director Kirby Marshall Collins and her directorial debut Ways to Fly, a coming-of-age short film following a hyperactive young Black girl on her first day of ballet, shaped by Kirby’s lived experience with ADHD and sensory processing. We talk about the importance of outlines, what a perfect writing day looks like, and advice on casting a young lead and directing kids with patience and clarity.

Across both conversations, we touch on: how multi-hyphenate filmmakers survive, how to communicate your vision, why your DP and first AD can make or break a shoot, and how to build a team you actually trust.

If you’re heading to a film festival, making a short film, or writing your next script, you’ll leave with tools you can use right away. Subscribe, share the show with a filmmaker friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us!

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Follow the podcast on Instagram @gimmethreepodcast

You can keep up with Bella on Instagram @portraitofacinephile or Letterboxd
You can keep up with Nick: on Instagram @nicholasybarra, on Twitter (X) @nicholaspybarra, or on Letterboxd

Shout out to contributor and producer Sonja Mereu. A special thanks to Anselm Kennedy for creating Gimme Three's theme music. And another special thanks to Zoe Baumann for creating our exceptional cover art.

Somebody experiments with queerness for a night and calls it “fun.” Somebody else is left holding the confusion, the shame, and the fallout. We sit down with filmmaker Louisa Connolly Burnham to talk about Full Fat, a razor-sharp short screening opening night at the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival, and we get honest about the emotional consequences that can land on queer people when attraction gets treated like a party story instead of a real connection.

Louisa also walks us through the nuts and bolts of independent filmmaking without the traditional path: coming from acting, writing and directing her first short during a career dry patch, raising money through Kickstarter, and committing to the discipline of making a film a year. Plus so much more!

Then we shift to documentary and legacy with Terry Franklin and Jeffrey Moline, whose Love Will Set You Free screens at LADFF as part of Block 2: The Way Through. Terry shares the true family documents that sparked the project: a will contest where enslaved ancestors were treated as property, and a fight over whether a dying man had the right to set them free. We talk about turning that history into a musical, a book, and a documentary performance piece, why art can be an act of resistance, and how building an artistic family through the Turbine Arts Collective keeps the work alive.

Stick around for our Gimme 3 movie picks from each guest! Subscribe, share with a cinephile friend, and leave a review!

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Support the show

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive Bonus Content.

Follow the podcast on Instagram @gimmethreepodcast

You can keep up with Bella on Instagram @portraitofacinephile or Letterboxd
You can keep up with Nick: on Instagram @nicholasybarra, on Twitter (X) @nicholaspybarra, or on Letterboxd

Shout out to contributor and producer Sonja Mereu. A special thanks to Anselm Kennedy for creating Gimme Three's theme music. And another special thanks to Zoe Baumann for creating our exceptional cover art.