To be in the same room as all of these talented, kind people was so incredible it made me nauseous. Martin McDonagh, I’ve loved since I first saw his short film “Six Shooter” in college which is probably where I get some of my appreciation of gallows humor from. I told him that I loved Seven Psychopaths and he was surprised because he thought no one liked that movie (including himself haha) Incredibly kind and playful, he even jokingly held my hands before the discussion began because we were all nervous. It was an absolute joy meeting Chinonye Chukwu. Her film Till, devastated me several times, often in unexpected ways, yet still left room for joy and hope. As a father it hit extra close to home and I was left in a daze for the next week. In our insightful conversation she was lively, hilarious, and mostly wanted to talk about good food spots (someone after my own heart). Before I decided to go to film school, Rian Johnson’s film Brick was one of the first films I saw that made me think I could one day become a filmmaker and I obsessed over the making of. I listened to the commentary, read the original novella, and watched repeatedly. Rian was one of the first filmmakers to reach out after he saw EEAAO, and it’s been such a joy getting to know him. A soulful, witty human who I could talk to about history, philosophy, and film forever. It was incredibly intimidating to meet a veteran like Tony Kushner. Lincoln is one of my favorite depictions of nuance and compromise (something I think about often) in a film I’ve seen. Yet he was humble, funny, and self deprecating, told us great stories about what it was like transitioning from theater to film (confirming that Hollywood is bizarre) and even shared some tips for surviving the awards season. I (like the rest of the world) was obsessed with Key and Peele. It took a lot of willlpower on my part not to say “Drax them Sklounts” to Jordan. Get Out was a paradigm shift that laid the groundwork for films like EEAAO, inspiring filmmakers of color like myself to think bigger/bolder. Jordan has been so gracious, even agreeing to take time out of his busy schedule to meet with us the morning after NOPE premiered.