Watch This Episode On YouTube I couldn't stop laughing during the funniest film of the year, directed by my guest, Elliot Connors. It's called FULL FRONTAL, or if you want to use the full title (and you should), it's I’M GOING FULL FRONTAL FOR MY NYU STUDENT SHORT FILM (2026), streaming today, August 4th, 2026 on NoBudge. I'd argue getting laughs is the hardest thing to do in independent film so that's why comedies are so relatively rare. And to do it in a short film -- that's a tough sell. But Elliot has the, um, goods: He is a 2026 Just for Laughs “New Face” for his adult animated series OMNI, about a dystopian virtual reality and the group of lovable curmudgeons trying to change it. BA from Yale, MFA from NYU, just one watch of FULL FRONTAL, you'll see what I mean. It's so, so fucking funny. But seriously: not safe for work. I'm in early on the Elliot Connors rocket ship and can't wait to get to the Moon. Hat tip to the absolute best friend of the pod, Hope Lawson, for making this conversation happen. In this episode, Elliot and I talk about: the insane reaction at NoBudge 50 for this film;how he describes the film and the reaction for people after watching it;how he got involved in filmmaking;the difficulty of making comedy work on screen;the importance of trusted people on what's funny;handling intimate filming and how he made the case and crew feel comfortable;why NoBudge?what NYU's writing program feels about streaming vs. festival rollouts;watching a lot of stuff versus a new perspective;what's next for him;the challenges of getting comedy shows produced nowadays.Elliot's Indie Film Highlights: PAJARITO (2026) dir. by Pilar Garcia-Fernandezsesma; JEFFREY, BAD DAY (2025) dir. by Theo Matza; COUPLES THEFTAPY (2026) dir. by Kiran Arain Memorable Quotes: " Kentucker was saying, "We probably got a good 20 seconds of penis there." And I was joking that I'd used a prosthetic, so it wasn't my real penis, but it was my real penis. And there's plenty of it in the film." " I grew up watching, like binging comedy sitcoms." " If the jokes are working for you on the page, chances are it'll translate." " So I'm always getting notes on my features of "this is not quite working." But when I write a half-hour comedy, I get a lot more positive feedback because I feel like I know the rhythm more." " The director of my program, when I said, "should I really be studying screenwriting at such a tough time for the industry?" He said, "It's always tough." Links: Follow Elliot On Instagram Elliot Connors Website
