

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

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

Oct 3, 2024 • 1h 21min
Dominic Mercurio - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 238 from November 2019 with filmmaker Dominic Mercurio who talks about making his first short film after 8 years. While Dominic and Darieus have very different stories they both talk about going back to filmmaking after taking a break, so I felt they were a good match. 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

Sep 30, 2024 • 1h 6min
Darieus Legg - Leaving Hollywood to Make Stoker Machine!
This week we welcome director Darieus Legg on the show to talk about directing his short film Stoker Machine and deciding to leave hollywood and focus on making films 100% independently. 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

Sep 26, 2024 • 54min
Nitzan Mager - BONUS Throwback Interview!
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 318 from May 2021 with actor turned director Nitzan Mager who talks about taking the leap from acting to directing during the pandemic and how they made their pandemic webseries. Alrik thought Nitzan was a good match for Brian because they are both actors who then switched to writing and directing, although they took very different paths. 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