

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie Filmmaking
Liz Manashil & Alrik Bursell
Liz Manashil and Alrik Bursell discuss independent filmmaking, everything from writing, producing and directing to working as crew. But this is not just a podcast about "making it," it's also about struggling with rejection, self-doubt and everything else that comes with pursuing a career in film. Follow along as we forge our own way through the industry and talk to guests who are also making it happen.
Episodes 238-299 are available at our patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Episodes 238-299 are available at our patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 7, 2025 • 50min
Jason Horton - BONUS Throwback Interview!

Aug 5, 2025 • 1h 10min
Jason Park - Putting Your Filmmaking Success in Your Own Hands!
This week we welcome writer/director/editor/colorist and actor Jason Park on the show to talk about how he has made his 8 features on his own, while raising a family and having a day job. He also breaks down how he manages to shoot his movies primarily on the weekends. After that we play another round of THE GAME and talk about the current statuses of our projects., enjoy!
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952

Aug 2, 2025 • 46min
Jeff Ryan - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 439 from August 2023 featuring filmmaker Jeff Ryan who talks about making his feature Mean Spirited, he thought this was a good match for our episode from Monday because Liz thought this was a good match because both of their movies have Spirit in the title. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy!
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952

Jul 28, 2025 • 60min
Christopher Yates and Sabrina Zahir - Coming Together as Producer and Director to Make a First Feature!
This week we welcome writer/director Christopher Yates and producer Sabrina Zahir on the show to talk about the making of American Spirit which premiered at the Austin Film Festival last fall. Our producer extraordinaire Eric Toms conducted this interview from the Omni Hotel in Austin so it’s sure to be a good one. After that we play another round of THE GAME, enjoy!
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952

Jul 24, 2025 • 46min
Adam Cooper - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 468 from March 2024 featuring writer and director Adam Cooper who talks about making his first feature starring Russell Crowe after a career writing studio features. I thought it would be fun to pair it with James and Sebastian from Monday because James also started his career writing studio features before becoming a director. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy!
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952

Jul 21, 2025 • 1h 13min
James DeMonaco and Sebastien Lemercier - Forming a Lasting Director Producer Partnership!
This week we welcome Writer, director James DeMonaco and Producer Sebastien Lemercier on the show to talk about making their latest feature The Home starring Pete Davidson and they also talk about how they connected as a team and how they brought The Purge into existence. After that we play another round of THE GAME, enjoy!
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952

Jul 17, 2025 • 48min
Ryan Spindell - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 413 from February 2023 with filmmaker Ryan Spindell who talks about making his first feature which was an anthology, horror film that he made with the help of the success of one of the shorts that make up the feature. We felt that Ryan was a good match for Rick because they both used a short to fundraise their features in different ways. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy!
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952

Jul 14, 2025 • 1h 6min
Rick Bosner - From Serial Feature Producer to Feature Film Writer/Director!
This week we welcome long-time producer Rick Bosner back on the show to talk about directing his first feature Devoted, which is currently in post production After that we play another round of THE GAME and Liz is back, hooray!!!
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952

Jul 11, 2025 • 57min
Thom Harp - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this throwback episode, we revisit the interview with writer and director Thom Harp where he talks about making his move to LA, getting reps, making connections and then after many many years, making his two first features back to back during the pandemic with a focus on The Donor Party starring Malin Ackerman --- After that we play another round of You’re the Expert, enjoy!
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952

Jul 8, 2025 • 58min
Kim Noonan - Getting Hired to Direct a Horror Feature!
This week we welcome director Kim Noonan on the show to talk about making his latest feature film Are You There?, how he got attached to the project and how Kim ended up having two features come out the same year! After that we play another round of THE GAME, enjoy!
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast
Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952