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

Nov 7, 2024 • 42min
Christopher Cantwell - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 355 from January 2022 with show runner and writer Christopher Cantwell who talks about landing his first creator/showrunner job for his own show Halt and Catch Fire. I felt like this was a good match for Francesco because they both created their own shows but went very different routes to make that happen. 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

Nov 4, 2024 • 1h 6min
Francesco Loschiavo - Packaging and Producing an Indie TV Series!
This week we welcome Francesco Loschiavo, the creator, director and writer of the new show Tales from The Void on the show to talk about how they managed to package, fund, sell and shoot their own anthology series. After that Alrik and I talk budgeting for indie features, 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

Oct 31, 2024 • 41min
Justin Kurzel - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 264 from May 2020 with director Justin Kurzel who talks about his feature the True History of the Kelly Gang and how he parlayed a successful indie feature into directing studio features. Alrik thought this was a good match for Stephen Chbosky because they are both writer/directors working at at the studio level. 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

Oct 28, 2024 • 1h 35min
Stephen Chbosky - Writing Your Way to Directing Studio Features!
This week on our very special 500th episode we welcome writer and director Stephen Chbosky on the show to talk about starting his career by directing an indie feature that got into Sundance and getting management based on response to the feature and how he parlayed that to writing and directing studio features. After that we play another round of THE GAME and talk about what 500 episodes means to us, 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

Oct 24, 2024 • 51min
Michelle Boyaner - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 322 from June 2021 with director Michelle Boyaner who talks about her life as a documentary filmmaker, how she gets her films made and how she has made it her full time job. I felt like this was a good match for Penny because they are both full time documentary filmmakers making their films on their own terms. 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

Oct 21, 2024 • 1h 13min
Penny Lane - Putting Yourself and Your Life in Your Movie!
This week we welcome director Penny Lane on the show to talk about directing her latest feature, Confession of a Good Samaritan, why she decided to make a film starring herself and how she has so successfully navigated the festival circuit with her previous films. 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

Oct 17, 2024 • 1h 4min
Andrew Schrader - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 20 from October 20 with writer/director Andrew Schrader who talks about sustainable filmmaking ideas and talks to Alrik and old co-host Timothy about the making of his two feature films. Alrik thought this was a great episode to play with Andrew’s latest episode because this was Andrews very first appearance on the show and he was our first ever guest! 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

Oct 14, 2024 • 1h 9min
Andrew Schrader - Writing Screenplays to Writing Novels!
This week we welcome writer, director and novelist Andrew Schrader on the show to talk about his latest book Unnamable which is currently available for pre-order on Kindle and Amazon. Andrew also talks about the difference between screenwriting and writing a book and a little bit about his latest short film 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

Oct 10, 2024 • 53min
Neasa Hardiman - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 260 from April 2020 with director Neasa Hardiman who talks about making her first feature Sea Fever, which she coordinated across 4 countries and many different grants to do so, and what it was like to work in other environments. We thought Neasa was a good match for Nora because they both came from different countries to work in Hollywood and are both navigating that world.
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

Oct 7, 2024 • 1h 6min
Nora Fingscheidt - Making the Jump to Hollywood Features!
This week we welcome writer and director Nora Fingscheidt on the show to talk about directing her latest feature The Outrun starring Saoirse Ronan and how she went from directing her first feature System Crasher which led her to a career in Hollywood, 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