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

The Mystery of The Disappearing Van

If you wonder why in the film, Lily Wong is inexplicably podcasting out of a van, there is a reason. Lily has long asserted that anyone can podcast from anywhere. To illustrate this point, the crew filmed Lily in the van, and that footage remains in the final edit, even though an exterior establishing shot of the van was cut because the editors thought it “looked creepy.”