BTL Radio Show – 06/22/2026 with MICHAEL GLOVER SMITH talking HEKLA and DOUGLAS BREMNER talking THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG

 

 

 

It’s another week of BEHIND THE LENS shining a spotlight on DANCES WITH FILMS and a couple of the wonderful films and filmmakers in this year’s festival, namely HEKLA and w/d MICHAEL GLOVER SMITH and THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG and w/d DOUGLAS BREMNER. Dances With Films runs through June 28th at the TCL Chinese Theatre complex in Hollywood.

First up – MICHAEL GLOVER SMITH and HEKLA!  HEKLA is a comedy/drama about the emotional cost of pursuing a creative life. Set over one hectic day in Chicago, it explores how ambition, identity, and vulnerability collide when you’re chasing something as personal – and uncertain – as an acting career. Hekla Gudmunsdottir (Elizabeth Stam), a determined actress, races through auditions, breakups, and self-doubt, risking her heart and career to claim her voice and step fully into the artist and woman she’s meant to be: Hekla goes on four auditions, gets new headshots, and plays Lady Macbeth in a dive bar, all while attempting to keep intrusive thoughts of a recently ended relationship at bay. Beneath the humor and dramatic momentum lies a story about the importance of showing up for yourself, even when the world isn’t clapping for you yet.

Written and directed by MICHAEL GLOVER SMITH and co-written by Elizabeth Stam, HEKLA stars Elizabeth Stam, Wendy Robie,  Mary Tilden, Brookelyn Hebert, and Sadieh Rifai.  And let me put these folks on your artisans’ radar right now because their work in HEKLA is beyond outstanding – cinematographer Jose Perez, editor Eric Marsh, production designer Heather Kuhlmann, and composer Trev Gibb.  These magicians give HEKLA the visual textures and excitement that it has.

In this exclusive interview, Michael and I break down HEKLA and all of its production elements.  There’s much to see and much to unpack with this film, starting with its unique structure of five acts, each with distinct titles and styles, inspired by both classic cinema and personal experiences with casting. The film follows a day in the life of HEKLA, an actress navigating multiple auditions, with each act able to stand alone as a short film. Michael collaborated closely with lead actress Elizabeth Stam, who co-wrote the script, and credits the film’s visual impact to cinematographer Jose Perez and production designer Heather Kuhlmann. The movie uses mostly black-and-white visuals with bursts of vibrant color to reflect HEKLA’s inner world, drawing inspiration from classic Hollywood and the French New Wave. Editing by Eric Marsh and a pre-recorded, dreamlike score by Trev Gibb further enhance the film’s tone. The interview also touches on the film’s open, ambiguous ending and the collaborative, fast-paced production process.

HEKLA makes its West Coast Premiere at Dances With Films on June 23, 2026, at 6:30pm PT.

 

Shifting gears, and I do mean shifting, we move into a medical legal tale told from a very unique perspective – that of the medical expert.  THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG is inspired by a true story involving writer/director DOUG BREMNER.  In addition to being a filmmaker, Doug is also a professor of psychiatry and a medical researcher. He did brain imaging research on the effects of an acne medication, isotretinoin (Accutane), on the brain, and as a result became an expert witness in multi-district litigation related to depression and suicide in teenagers who had taken the drug. The research was funded by private donations from affected families.

THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG is a fictionalized story with elements of truth. In reality, the plaintiffs settled with the drug manufacturer, and part of the settlement was a confidentiality clause that precluded them from talking about the settlement.

In the film, we meet Amanda Bellaconda, a mother grieving the death of her son as the result of suicide, who seeks the help of Dr Jack Forteo to understand why teenagers are suddenly taking their own lives after taking a medication for acne.  Carinaderm (the fictional drug in the film) is the goose that keeps laying golden eggs, an acne medication bringing in a billion dollars a year for the Renzon Pharmaceutical Company. When Dr. Forteo sees a potentially lethal side effect of their blockbuster acne pill, Renzon doesn’t hesitate to pull out the stops with personal attacks and accusations of fraud, bringing Forteo’s marriage and career to the brink of destruction.  With nothing left to lose, Forteo goes on a journey to revisit a tragedy from his own past. When he unearths painful secrets and deceptions that parallel those he has discovered in the pharmaceutical company, his voyage of self-discovery gives him the strength to resume his struggle, leading to the ultimate conclusion.

THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG is written and directed by DOUG BREMNER and stars Andy Evans as expert witness Dr. Jack Forteo, David de Vries, Hannah Fierman,  Shaan Sharma, Caroline Avery Granger, and Nisey Woods.

In this exclusive conversation with writer/director DOUG BREMNER discussing THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG, we start with the film’s very unique perspective – that of an expert witness in a medical legal case. The conversation covers the importance of legal accuracy, especially regarding the cases of Daubert and Frye standards. It was also important to Doug to create strong, multidimensional female characters.  Doug gives us great detail about the casting process, location challenges, and the collaborative work with his cinematographer Jim McKinney and editor Kristina Kromer to achieve authentic visuals, not to mention some behind-the-scenes anecdotes. He explained how real-life experiences as an expert witness informed the script and character development, and described the editing, scoring, and sound design process.  The film stands out for its realistic portrayal of courtroom dynamics and the pressures faced by expert witnesses, offering a fresh take compared to typical legal or medical dramas.

THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG screens at Dances With Films on June 27, 2026, at 3:45pm PT.

 

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