This one's a little different.

No guest this week - just me and my producer Jacob Cagle, flipping the mic and doing a proper debrief on the last six months. We're talking Sundance, South by Southwest, and Cannes. What worked, what didn't, and what I'd tell anyone who's scared to walk into a room full of people who seem like they belong there more than you do.

We also get into something I don't talk about enough — the real reason I started going to film festivals in the first place, what jealousy actually taught me about what I want, and why fear isn't a stop sign, it's a map.

Plus: a little state of the pod. It's almost been a year. I have feelings about it.

Topics covered:

• Fuck, Marry, Kill: Sundance, South by Southwest, and Cannes (yes we went there)
• Chicago International, Chicago Latino Film Festival, and Midwest Film Festival — where it all started
• How to go to Sundance without a badge and not miss a thing
• South by Southwest: the honest review — badge worth it or not?
• Cannes: why it tripled my contacts and why I'm completely biased
• How to sneak into parties at Cannes and why it's basically required
• International film festivals that will actually pay for you to go
• Jealousy as a compass — what it's really telling you
• "You belong in that room" — and what that actually means when you grew up broke
• The monopoly board theory for your life and career
• One year of Ilse Will Say: what I know now that I wish I knew then

Hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Say hi / follow along here: @ilsezacharias

Mentioned in this episode:

Thank you to our sponsor, Joel Maisonet Photography: maisonetphotography.com