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

Mark Rapaport - Producing Features Before Directing One!

This week we welcome Mark Rapaport, director and writer of the new film Hippo on the show to talk about pulling together his first feature as a director and why it took him producing three features before he directed his own. 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

11-25
56:01

Jennifer Sorenson - Breathing Life into Your First Feature as Writer, Producer and Star!

This week we welcome Jennifer Sorenson, Writer, Producer and star of For When You Get Lost on the show to talk about how she pulled the film together and made it all happen. 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

11-18
56:14

Jay Cheel - BONUS Throwback Interview!

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 284 from September 2020 with director Jay Cheel who talks directing the documentary series Cursed Films for Shudder! Alrik thought this was a good match for Kitty Norton because they both went out and made documentaries they were passionate about, but in very different circumstances. 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

11-14
50:11

Kitty Norton - Turning Grief into Art Through Film!

This week we welcome filmmaker Kitty Norton on the show to talk about directing her first feature documentary, Wine Woman and Dementia. Kitty talks about how taking care of her mother lead her to making this movie.. 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

11-11
01:04:55

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

10-31
40:30

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

10-28
01:35:49

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

11-07
41:48

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

11-04
01:07:25

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

10-24
50:40

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

10-21
01:17:10

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

10-17
01:03:30

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

10-14
01:10:59

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

10-10
52:55

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

10-07
01:06:34

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

10-03
01:21:28

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

09-30
01:06:10

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

09-26
55:49

Brian Silverman - Putting the Money Down for Your First Feature!

This week we welcome producer, writer, director and star of his first feature, Two Lives in Pittsburg to talk about how he made his first feature, why this was the movie he decided to make and his process for pulling it off. After that Liz aks me why is it so expensive to make a movie, 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

09-23
01:03:19

Timothy Plain and Alrik Bursell - BONUS Throwback Interview!

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the first episode where my old co-host Timothy and I talked about fundraising, way back from episode 73 from October 2016 where we talk about what we know about fundraising, back when all I had done was raise $6k for my first short film Strange Thing. This is a great match for our solo episode because it just shows how far I have come in my knowledge of fundraising. 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

09-19
01:16:35

Liz Manashil and Alrik Bursell - Fundraising and Crowdfunding for Features!

This week we welcome our producer Eric Toms to interview Alrik and I all about fundraising for our films, including my successful crowdfunding campaign for Best Friends Forever 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

09-16
01:11:11

Nick Bell

this pod is a must for anyone interested in filmmaking weather it be feature or short or music video. the discussion of timothy and alrik are just pure real. the talk of struggling through making your fim pushed me to finish my first script over a year ago. and since then have finished 5 short film scripts and have shot 2 of them. thank you for doing this.

08-29 Reply

@MykAussie

Really enjoyed listening for the 1st time ! Was crazy that the 1st pod I listened to was about a football movie!

07-09 Reply

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