13. Director of Finding Lucinda Joel Fendelman Discusses His Process

In this episode of the podcast, Ismay sits down with 'Finding Lucinda' director Joel Fendelman. They discuss how Joel approached the making of the documentary and concepts like developing the language of a film to build trust with the audience, the artist’s experience of not being where you thought you should be a certain age – including how to constructively confront that – and the idea of trusting others in collaborations. They also talk about how there is overlap in the craft of filmmaking and music-making, including ideas like contrasts and consistency. 


With roots in Miami, Austin, and New York City, Fendelman has written, produced, and directed a number of award-winning narrative and documentary films. An award-winning filmmaker, he is dedicated to telling stories that reveal the underlying connections between us all. His documentary 'Man on Fire' received an IDA Documentary Award and premiered nationally on PBS’s Independent Lens (2018–19 season). He went on to direct 'North Putnam,' which won the Indiana Spotlight Award at the Heartland International Film Festival. In 2016, his short film 'Game Night' premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won Best Super Short at the Savannah Film Festival. His second narrative feature, 'Remittance,' earned multiple festival awards, including Best Actress and Best Screenplay at the Brooklyn Film Festival, and is distributed worldwide. His debut feature, 'David' (2011), won the Ecumenical Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival. His most recent short film, 'The Spiritual Advisor,' is premiering at DOC NYC 2025 and is being distributed by Rolling Stone Films.






Soundtrack out 11/7/25


CD, Vinyl and Download: https://ismay.bandcamp.com/album/find...


Apple Music:   / ismay  


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77sFD...






Tickets to upcoming screenings in Boston, Brooklyn, Hudson NY, Providence RI and Chicago at www.findinglucinda.com (http://www.findinglucinda.com/)






Watch Finding Lucinda online: https://www.freestyledigitalmedia.tv/...






credits:


Finding Lucinda is Distributed by The Bluegrass Situation


Produced, recorded and mixed by Avery Hellman for Neanderthal Records LLC


Music by ISMAY


Special thanks to: Rose Bush, Liz McBee, Mick Hellman, Jonathan McHugh, Sydney Lane, Jacqueline Sabec, Rosemary Carroll, Lucinda Williams & Tom Overby