Filmmakers Peter Hall and Paul Gandersman join No Film School's GG Hawkins to discuss their chilling feature debut Man Finds Tape, premiering in the “Escape from Tribeca” section at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. The Texas-based writer-director duo explores their found-footage horror hybrid, rooted in documentary realism and intimate character drama. They dive deep into the film’s decade-long evolution, DIY production tactics, narrative experimentation, and the collaborative scrappiness that made their micro-budget creature feature resonate on a grand scale.
In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guests discuss:
How a shelved podcast idea evolved into a Tribeca-premiering feature film
Using documentary experience to inform a found-footage horror aesthetic
Why keeping a tight creative circle allowed for fast, agile production decisions
Shooting scenes with GoPros and iPhones for final edits—and why it works
Casting actors willing to dive into a highly iterative, experimental process
Crafting practical and VFX-driven creature moments that elevate low-budget horror
Editing techniques that treat the narrative as a real documentary-in-progress
How found footage can stay emotionally grounded and narratively justified
Memorable Quotes:
"There cannot be a point at which the audience says, why are they still filming?"
"We were willing to let it sound like shit in parts, and it ended up not having to."
"We threw out a lot of the lavs and just used on-camera MiniDV audio. It felt 10 times more real."
"What we make is not Peter’s voice or my voice—it’s a third voice."
Guests:
Peter S. Hall
Paul Gandersman
Resources:
Man Finds Tape at Tribeca
XYZ Films Boards Tribeca Horror Feature Man Finds Tape
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