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

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!

This week Alrik and Liz talk with writer director Derek Presley and producer Jason Starne about the making of their latest feature film Red Stone, starring Neal McDonough during the global pandemic back in June 2020. They tell us how they were the first SAG film to get greenlit during the pandemic and how they managed their set to keep everyone safe. They also talk about how Red Stone laid to their third feature which they went to shoot in Washington in the fall. Alrik and Liz also answer a listener question about when it’s the right time to send a script to a mentor.

This week Liz and Alrik welcome long time listener and documentary filmmaker Taylor Morden on the show to talk about his latest film The Last Blockbuster which is dropping on VOD and digital on Tuesday December 15th! We also talk to Taylor about his amazingly crazy and endearing film project, Project 88: Back to the Future Too in which he wrangled filmmakers and fans from all over the world to recreate Back to the Future 2 during the early days of the pandemic! We also have filmmaker Brittany Synman on the show to talk about her short film Goodbye which spurs a very constructive conversation!

On this week's episode Liz and Alrik chat with Director April Mullen about directing her latest film Wander starring Tommy Lee Jones and Aaron Eckhart! April talks about how she pulled the project together from nothing, how long it took her and her team to get the film made and after eight features and dozens of episodes of TV this was her hardest project yet! We also have filmmaker Paul Notice on the show to talk about his first feature film Willow, which he is currently raising funds for on Seed and Spark!

This week Liz and Alrik welcome writer/director and filmmaking Wunderkin, Emily Hagins on the show to talk about directing the segment ‘Cold Open’ for the new horror anthology Scare Package which is out now on Shudder! Emily, Liz and Alrik have a classic filmmakers conversation, covering how Emily got started, what it was like to have your third feature film accepted into SXSW at age 17 and how Emily is still dealing with ageism and sexism ten years later. This conversation is on the longer side so pull up a chair and join in on this open and honest filmmaking discussion! Filmmaker, writer, actor and director Rakefet Abergel also joins the show to talk about her short film, Boo!, another must see short film, which Alrik and Liz both loved discussing!

This week Liz and Alrik talk with indie filmmaker Aleem Hossain about the process of making his first feature film, After We Leave, which he shot across over eight years and made it on a budget under $50k. Aleem talks about his decision to make his film over a long period of time, not rush the process and make sure he got each frame just the way he wanted. This is a great episode just to show that there are more options to tackling your first feature than trying to get it shot in as little time as possible. They also have short filmmaker Kate McCoid on the show to talk about her film ‘It’s Not Custard’ which Liz is a big fan of.