# The Best Film I've Watched All Year (Part 1): Director Adam Rioux of URCHINS (2026)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-time-go-6464248/the-best-film-i-ve-watched-all-year-part-1-director-adam-rioux-of-urchins-2026
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-time-go-6464248/the-best-film-i-ve-watched-all-year-part-1-director-adam-rioux-of-urchins-2026.md
Podcast: [First Time Go](https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-time-go-6464248)
Published: 2026-08-18T23:00:44+00:00
Episode link: https://redcircle.com/shows/9ddc691d-2273-47d5-a1b9-5a4acb0670f5/episodes/1bf3c78c-bb07-4fa3-a1c7-9a4d676da784
Audio file: https://audio4.redcircle.com/episodes/1bf3c78c-bb07-4fa3-a1c7-9a4d676da784/stream.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/first-time-go-6464248/episodes/the-best-film-i-ve-watched-all-year-part-1-director-adam-rioux-of-urchins-2026
Duration seconds: 2442

## Resource

The story behind URCHINS (2026), a coming of age tale set in the waterways of Florida, distills what is best and what is worst about the modern state of independent film. URCHINS is a dazzling display of cinematography and storytelling at its most compelling: it shows Florida like you've never seen before and the story is told in a very unconventional way without the tropes of the genre. But: it never made it into a festival. Distributors wondered why it didn't cost more. A Black List critic gave its script a 4. The film doesn't fit neatly into the boxes of what people think will sell. Those people are wrong. The film has premiered to sold-out shows around the country; has a substantial social media following versus competitors; and resonates with people who actually watch it. So what we have with URCHINS is a fantastic prism for the state of the industry and even if I didn't love the film so much, it would make for a great podcast. I'll be back on Friday with my conversation with cinematographer Tom Ford, and just letting you know in advance, there might be other URCHINS episodes. It's that good. In this episode, Adam and I talk about: why we both love the film -- Adam says it's "his love letter to Florida"; how he got involved in filmmaking; the ways in which his storytelling and resilience set him apart; breaking with screenwriting conventions for this film; the subtlety of the romance tropes in this film; the quick run time of 70 minutes; the insanely great lighting and cinematography of the film; his advice for filmmakers in developing a visual language like he did for Florida; casting for a coming-of-age story by himself; the financial aspects of making this film; the response from festivals for URCHINS; theaters v. streaming and whether you can do both; what's n…

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