World Premiere

The World Premiere of The Messengers: A Podcast Documentary was held at the historic Tampa Theatre on March 22, 2017.

Many of the podcasters featured in the film traveled to Tampa for the premiere, including Lily Wong, who flew in from an expedition in Japan. Danny Peña and his family drove up from South Florida. Dave Jackson flew in from Ohio, and graciously volunteered to MC the event. Seeing the countless podcasters they’d interviewed in such disparate locations around the world come together in such a glamourous setting made the filmmakers feel as though they’d truly come full circle.

As the credits rolled, the applause, whistles and cheers were deafening. The filmmakers had a hit movie! The screening was followed by an informative and often touching Q&A with the filmmmakers. One of the most heartfelt moments came when Niel Guilarte thanked his father for supporting Niel in his 25-year quest to create a feature length film.

Behind-The-Scenes Trivia

Podcasting v. Radio

Early in the production process, the filmmakers knew that no story about podcasting as an emerging medium could be complete without at least addressing the traditional radio side of the equation. Luckily, radio veteran (and podcaster, too) P. Desmond Adams was available to speak to radio’s role in the development of podcasting, and provided sharp contrast to Libsyn’s Rob Walch.