Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie Filmmaking

 On our big 300th episode, Liz and Alrik are very excited to welcome Sev Ohanian to the show - producer of films such as Fruitvale Station, Searching, Run, Judas and the Black Messiah and the upcoming Space Jam: A New Legacy! Sev talks to us about how he got started as a producer and what he learned producing a dozen features that lead to him writing/producing Searching which premiered at Sundance. This was a very deep and enlightening conversation that really goes to show what you can pull off with dedication and a lot of hard work! We also have filmmakers Larry Lavarety and Isaac Pingree on the show to talk about their latest film, Where Buffalo Roam, a short documentary about the endangered Yellowstone Buffalo. Lastly, Alrik and Liz finally answer the final five questions for themselves and talk about why they are filmmakers!

This week on the show Liz and Alrik talk to writer/producer/director Camille Brown about how she did just about everything you could do to go from being an assistant, to a producer and to directing her first feature film, which indirectly lead to the opportunity of directing her second feature for Lifetime. Camille talks about how she thought there would be a clear path to directing and when she got into the industry, she saw you have to just do it yourself. We also have old editor and long time listener of the show Cameron Caves on to talk about his film Hyperthermia which Liz and Alrik thoroughly dissect! 

This week Liz and Alrik invite director Kevin Lewis on the show to talk about directing his latest feature Willy’s Wonderland, starring the legendary Nicolas Cage fighting a fun house filled of demonic animatronic creatures! Kevin talks about how the movie came about, how they got Nic Cage on board and his road of directing seven features which lead to his eighth feature with an over 12 year gap in between features. It’s a very engaging conversation about the highs and lows of filmmaking plus we get to hear what it’s like to work with Nicolas Cage, which is awesome. We also have another installment of You’ve Got Mail and we have filmmaker Nicole de Meneses on the show to talk about the first episode of her web series, Dating in the Zombie Apocalypse!

This week Liz and Alrik have an EPIC conversation with writer/directing duo Ian and Eshom Nelms about their rise from shooting their first feature for $1500 all the way to writing and directing Fatman, a high concept action/christmas movie starring Mel Gibson and Walton Goggins. This conversation is one of our longests but Ian and Eshom drop a ton of amazing knowledge and teachable experiences into the episode. We hear about working with reps, securing feature jobs and the intense grind it takes to write and direct six feature films across a span of over fifteen years. After the main interview is done stick around for a wonderful Get Shorty with writer/Director Kyle Kenyon about his short film Dad Pals and another installment of You’ve Got Mail!

This week Liz and Alrik welcome Writer/Director Anna Biller on the show to talk about making and releasing her feature The Love Witch and what her life has been like since the release of the film. Anna talks about the struggles of raising money for her next film, the crazy amount of time and energy that went into The Love Witch and how she brought the very vintage look and feeling to the film. We also read two new listener emails and Alrik gives an update on his film The Alternate!

This week Liz and Alrik welcome producer/director Avril Speaks on the show to talk about her road from filmmaker to educator and back to filmmaking again! Avril talks about how she landed the job producing the feature film Jinn and how she fell in love with producing and how that three features later it's her main focus in filmmaking. Avril also talks about her directing work and opens up about how directing will be something she turns back to in the future. This is a fantastic conversation about how the path of a filmmaker is rarely a straight line and how saying yes to an opportunity you aren't sure about can sometimes lead to a full career. We also have Australian filmmaker Adrian Powers on the show to talk about his latest short Brolga which sparks a great conversation between Alrik and Liz!

This week Liz and Alrik welcome producer, director, writer, programmer for Provincetown International Film Festival and Executive Director of FilmNorth, Andrew Peterson to the show! Andrew talks to us about getting started in the locations department in the 90s, working his way up to producing feature films and then pivoting over to be the executive director of FilmNorth. There are simply too many amazing things that Andrew says in this episode to try and jam it all into this blurb, but we cover topics ranging from trying to finance your feature, how to re-write your film for the budget you have and what not to do when you get into a film festival! We also have filmmakers and fans of the show Travis White and Madison Phillips on the show to talk about making their dark thriller 'Why Haven't They Fixed The Cameras Yet'! 

This week Liz and Alrik connect with Writer/Director SJ Chiro to talk about her filmmaking career and how after turning down her acceptance in USC in the early 90s, came back to film 20 years later and has forged a successful indie film career for herself. SJ talks about what it took to get her first feature made, Lane 1974 and how it led to her second feature, East of the Mountains, which she just wrapped up during the pandemic. SJ is very open and honest about her filmmaking journey and this conversation is a good reminder that if things don’t work out as you planned, that doesn’t have to stop you from making your films.

Happy New Year! This week Liz and Alrik welcome back previous guests Sean Lynch and Gavin Murray to talk about their new film Red Snow which they shot along with Alrik as producer back in February of 2020 right before the pandemic hit. We recorded this conversation back in April of 2020 so some of our comments on COVID19 are pretty dated but this is a really fun conversation about shooting a horror film in the show, roughly over a month after we wrapped production. Liz and Alrik also have filmmaker Debi Bradshaw on the show to talk about her excellent short film Hotcake, which is a coming of age, 80s period piece short film, which is I think the first of its kind that we’ve had on the show, so check it out!

This week on MMIH Liz and Alrik sit down with writer/director Amber Sealey to talk about her life as a director, how she's been surviving through the pandemic and directing her latest film, No Man of God, starring Elijah Wood! We also have filmmaker Courtney Therond on to talk about her exceptional short film, Rehearsal, which is a must watch for all aspiring filmmakers and filmmakers alike!