shots Unsigned: David Kobzantsev

David Kobzantsev is a US based director, writer, and indie filmmaker focused on fun, edgy, unexpected, and heart-filled storytelling across narrative shorts, independent film, and commercial work.

His latest project Gold Hearts of Hot Rod County, is a 20-minute character-led short filmed in Iowa and Kansas that blends teenage rural romance with pop-culture nostalgia and strong visual craft. 

With a background spanning directing, creative direction, producing, and screenwriting, Kobzantsev brings a hands-on, collaborative approach from development through delivery to create work that feels real and thrilling.

We took the chance to chat to Kobzantsev about his filmmaking experiences.

What was the inspiration behind your short film?

Gold Hearts of Hot Rod County was born from my desire to capture a feeling that’s both deeply nostalgic and alive, the restless energy of youth in a place that feels frozen in time, yet bursting with rebellion beneath the surface.

Growing up, I was captivated by the visceral thrill and emotional intoxication of 80's and 90's coming-of-age classics like Footloose, Dirty Dancing, and Days of Thunder (just to name a few and are also a part of the short film's visual inspiration).

Growing up, I was captivated by the visceral thrill and emotional intoxication of 80's and 90's coming-of-age classics

These films weren’t just entertainment; they were cultural touchstones that taught me about unbound feelings, identity, and the power of youthful defiance.

With Gold Hearts, I wanted to bring that spirit back, but filtered through a contemporary lens, while staying true to nostalgic "feel-good" cinema by embracing the irony, superficial teenage emotion (that was acceptable in its original genre), and a kind of farcical love for iconic cinematic tropes from that time.

Above: The promo poster for Gold Hearts of Hot Rod County.

The film is also designed to feel like a summer blockbuster distilled into a short form, a compact yet explosive experience that combines the heart-pounding excitement of a big race scene with the tender complexity of a small-town coming-of-age story.

It’s a film made for theatrical audiences craving something bold and thrilling

It’s a film made for theatrical audiences craving something bold and thrilling, yet warmly familiar, and well, just really fun, energetic, and entertaining, all packed into under 20 minutes.

Casting was crucial because the actors needed to embody the rawness and nuance this story demands, whilst understanding the archetypal surface-level writing purposely devised for actors to lift off of the page and make their own. The performances needed to bring both authenticity and electricity, making the characters feel like real people caught between adolescence, adventure, dangerous romance, and the yearning to break free. I had to tell this story about these characters who are stuck inside of tractor commercial land, each dreaming of something more.

Above all, Gold Hearts is a 'throwback' letter to rebellious juvenile love, and to those timeless moments when you decide to push back against the life you’ve been given and chase something bigger, faster, more outstanding than what you can imagine. It’s a story about identity, and the beautiful chaos that comes with growing up in a world that feels at once confining and ultimately, full of possibility.

What have you learned during the process of making the film?

I'd like to start with a prologue: On the first day as a freshman BFA acting major at The Theatre School DePaul University, our Professor, Patrick Murphy, handed all of the students a print out of a black and white picture that shows a crowd of children; some of them in awestruck, others screaming their heads off with pure happiness and exhilaration, and a few in tears, not knowing what’s going to happen next… the underneath caption reads: “These kids are watching a puppet show. The dragon is about to be slain. Keep it magical.”

I still have that print out hanging in my home office and I look at every day. It’s my life mantra and not only have I carried it with me as an everlasting storyteller, but it defines my voice and path as an artist.

This endeavour of directing, writing, and producing Gold Hearts, has proven most importantly to myself, that imagination is boundless and unstoppable.

This endeavour of directing, writing, and producing Gold Hearts, has proven most importantly to myself, that imagination is boundless and unstoppable. I did find the magic within the world that I created. Through my phenomenal actors, the months and months of preparation and research, and incredibly serendipitous events leading up to and through principal photography, the project did end up being magical. I wanted to showcase as a filmmaker that though my ambitions may have seemed sky-high, and perhaps even "impossible", I would prevail and do whatever it takes to tell a great story. 

I learned in the process of making this film that I can re-engineer a farm tractor into a turbocharged racing tractor that's able to hit speeds of 65mph practically (and revved up even more in post). I can create a stunning and sexually-charged choreographed dance number with two non-dancer actors, lighting up the screen with burning desire. There's so much more that I accomplished just in this one short film. I wanted to make a showstopper - a piece that reflects no holds barred directing skills that refuse to be compartmentalised. 

People will either hate it or love it, but I what I learned the most from all of it is that in order to continue growing as a director, and truly keep it magical, you've gotta have faith in yourself and your vision. And last but definitely not least: there are no rules. Slay that dragon with everything you've got.