Dan Schwalm

Dan Schwalm’s name pops up in some pretty wild corners of the movie world, honestly. If you’ve seen “My Octopus Teacher” (2020), you probably remember that hauntingly beautiful underwater journey—yeah, the one that made everyone weirdly emotional about sea creatures. Schwalm was tied to that, which, okay, is a pretty legit flex. The documentary drags you into the kelp forests off South Africa, following this guy Craig who kinda falls in love with an octopus (not in a creepy way, relax). The whole thing is part nature doc, part meditation on, like, life itself. You end up rooting for the octopus more than most movie characters, which is wild. Then there’s “The 15-Story Parody Movie” from 2008—total gear shift. This one’s a chaotic mashup, poking fun at every blockbuster and genre trope you can think of. Think rapid-fire sketches, some slapstick, plenty of eye-rolls, and that feeling like the writers just tossed all their pop culture references in a blender. It’s not subtle, but honestly, that’s kinda the point. Not everybody’s cup of tea, but it knows its audience. And don’t sleep on “România neîmblânzitã” (2018), either. Translation: Untamed Romania. It’s basically a love letter to the wilds of Eastern Europe—bears, wolves, ancient forests, all that majestic nature stuff. Gorgeous visuals, sweeping music, and this deep sense of wonder like, “Wow, nature really doesn’t care about your petty problems.” If you ever wanted to just escape into the woods for a bit (minus the bugs), this documentary totally scratches that itch. Schwalm’s work swings from funny to profound, but it always pulls you in.