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Discover the secrets to funding and creating successful indie films with The Art of Film Funding Podcast. Join Carole Dean, President of From the Heart Productions and author of The Art of Film Funding, and Heather Lenz, director of the award-winning documentary Kusama-Infinity, as they chat with top film industry pros. Get practical insider tips on crowdfunding, pitching, saving on budgets, marketing, hybrid distribution, and the latest in A.I. filmmaking. Whether you’re funding your first project or navigating new trends, this podcast has everything you need to succeed. Subscribe and let’s get your film funded!
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“Inside Ukraine’s war zone, a filmmaker captures courage, chaos, and the cost of truth.” Xackery is a New York–based director and producer, drawn to stories that unfold in times of crisis, where resilience and identity intersect. His debut documentary, American Chain Gang, exposed controversial forced-labor prison programs in the U.S. His follow-up, Nothing Without You, explored memory, loss, and obsession. And now, with his latest film, Brace for Oblivion, he brings us an immersive chronicle...
Our special guest today is documentary filmmaker Jonathan Berman, who began his career as a stock footage researcher and assistant editor. He is director and producer of The Shvitz, a film about the last traditional steambaths in New York. His film My Friend Paul, about his relationship to his bipolar best friend, was produced for public television. Calling All Earthlings is an exploration of Joshua Tree and the area’s UFO-inspired dome, The Integratron. Berman co-wrote the story for On The R...
1Our special guest this week is Lisa D’Apolito, an Emmy nominated producer and director who is also a dual citizen of the United States and Italy. She started as an actress in film, theater and television, and her roles included a part in “Goodfellas.” She went on to producing and directing in advertising. Lisa’s documentary, “Love, Gilda,” was nominated for 2 creative Emmys. Lisa was named one of Variety’s 10 Documentarians to Watch in 2018 and SHOOT Magazines New Directors’ Showcase 20...
Emily Best is the founder and CEO of Seed&Spark, a platform that makes entertainment more diverse, inclusive, connected and essential. Seed&Spark’s platform and national education program have helped thousands of bold storytellers raise millions to bring to life entirely new stories, and Seed&Spark delivers those stories into workplaces for employee training, engagement, and intelligence through an enterprise SaaS platform Film Forward. In 2023, CNBC named Seed&Spark one...
Jeff Annison is the co-founder and President of Legion M, the world's first fan-owned media company that is using new equity crowdfunding laws enabled by the JOBS Act to create a film and television company built from the ground up to be owned by fans. He was also the co-founder and CEO of Underground Labs, a product development studio that built mobile apps, websites, and enterprise products for clients including AT&T, Sprint, NFL, SEC, ACC, Universal Music, Warner Music, Sony Music, Die...
Our special guest today is the award-winning documentary filmmaker, Philip Shane. A few of his career highlights include co-directing, writing, and editing BEING ELMO, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. For his editing work on DANCING IN JAFFA, which had its World Premiere at the TriBeCa Film Festival, Shane won the Best Editing Award at Israel's DocAviv Film Festival. He worked at ABC News for nearly a decade and edited many distinguished long form programs ...
Jilann Spitzmiller is a veteran filmmaker with over 20 awards for her documentary and multi-media work. For more than three decades, she has honed a mastery in long-range, character-driven, cinema verité storytelling, supported multiple times by funders such as Sundance Institute, ITVS and George Soros’ Open Society Institute. She has been a Sundance Documentary fellow and was selected for the Stowe Narrative Lab in 2024. Jilann’s most notable films include MEOW WOLF: ORIGIN STORY...
Today’s episode is especially important because I’m sharing the opening chapters of my new book, Creating your Future: The Difference between normal and genius is your connection to the field. I’ve written to empower filmmakers—not just with funding tools—but with access to the quantum field. I want to hear what resonates with you. Your feedback will help shape the rest of this book. So please email me at Info@fromtheheartproductions.com with your thoughts, ideas, or stories of how you connec...
Chance McClain is a creative powerhouse, blending a rich background in filmmaking, radio, and theater with a passion for storytelling. As the founder of Heritage Films, Chance has created more than 800 feature-length documentaries, celebrating family stories and life legacies. His work has connected generations, preserving the essence of individuals and families through visually stunning films. A proud Army veteran and a pioneer in narrative innovation, Chance’s career spans sports radio, Bro...
Our special guests today are the award-winning filmmakers Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum. Sabine and Zeva co-directed the NEH supported documentary Letters from Baghdad, which was edited by Sabine and produced by Zeva. Letters from Baghdad screened in the US in over 70 venues and was broadcast on PBS, ARTE and the BBC. Sabine’s numerous editing credits also include the Oscar and Independent Spirit Award nominated My Architect, for which she received an American Cinema Editor’s Eddie Award...
With Guest Erik Gordon from FilmHedge FILM & TV FINANCING, DONE BETTER Streamlined financing platform that provides filmmakers with the funds they need to bring their creative visions to life—quickly and reliably. At FilmHedge, we're revolutionizing the way stories are brought to life by reshaping the film and television financing landscape. As a trusted partner, we provide senior debt financing for productions with budgets ranging from $3 million to $50 million. Our proprietary database,...
Our special guest today is Nicholas Tabarrok. Nicholas is a prolific film and television producer whose company, Darius Films, has offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. His company has produced over 40 feature films which have premiered at the top film festivals and sold around the world. Nicholas is also active in television and has sold his productions to companies such as ABC, BBC America, and Hulu. He has worked with many notable actors such as Ethan Hawke, Kurt Russell, Snoop Dogg, Susan S...
Marc Iserlis is the Head of Film at Republic, an investment platform that lets everyone –both accredited and non-accredited investors–invest in private market opportunities like startups, films, sports, gaming, real estate, and beyond, and share in the financial upside. Republic boasts a community of nearly 3 million members, and has deployed over $2.6 billion through its investment platforms, funds, and firms. Marc leads Republic's newly-launched film financing vertical, Republic Film,...
Our special guest today is Jason Perlman. Named #4 in LA Weekly's "Top 10 Entertainment Professionals to Watch in 2023," Jason is an accomplished screenwriter, director, producer and editor. He has worked with major television outlets and studios like Warner Bros, Sony, and Lionsgate. His material has screened at prestigious festivals such as Sundance and SXSW. As a WGA screenwriter, Jason's work in both features and TV is always high-concept and about superheroes, but not in the way you thin...
Breianne Pryse has been a coach, writer, inventor, healer, investor, spiritual advisor and guide in the physical and spiritual healing arts for 23+ years. She has recently moved into business coaching and leadership roles in her job as a startup investor. She has had training in energetic modalities including Theta Healing, Pyranic Healing, energy psychology, animal healing, holistic allergy removal, and others even becoming a teacher in Divine Intervention, Light Language and other pra...
Beth Basa Pielert is a Producer, Director, and writer of television and documentary films. She co-produced and co-directed Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life with Darrell Hillaire, Executive Director of the Lummi media company Children of the Setting Sun Productions and Vision Maker Media. The film is now airing on PBS through WORLD Local U.S.A. Pielert formed Good Film Works in 2001 while writing and directing Out of the Poison Tree, a documentary that explor...
Irina Chernikina is a filmmaker with over two decades of experience in producing, directing, writing, and editing. She has led multiple projects from development through post-production, focusing on narrative filmmaking. Her recent work includes directing and producing the comedy series Being Bossy (2021) and an ongoing anthology series Bedtime Stories (2020-), where she also served as writer and editor. In 2024 Irina produced two feature films - a thriller Smile Maker and a horror Legado. Sh...
Rachel Antell has worked in documentary film production for over two decades but found her true passion in archival producing. In 2014 she co-founded Sub-Basement Archival, where she’s had the honor of being archival producer on dozens of documentaries that have screened worldwide, and garnered FOCAL Awards and an Emmy nomination for research and use of archival footage. In 2023, Rachel co-founded the Archival Producers Alliance (APA) with Jen Petrucelli and Steph Jenkins. The APA was c...
Tony Panaccio is a 36-year media veteran, having started his career in the 1980s as a newspaper journalist for The Clearwater Sun, The Tampa Tribune and others. He later shifted his career into public relations with video game producer Capstone, where he also scripted many of their games, including William Shatner’s TekWar. During that period, he was also Shatner’s publicist for his various video game projects. Today, he is the CEO of Victory Comics, a startup in the contract publishing space...
Sarah Moshman is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and TEDx speaker whose work has been featured on Netflix, PBS, Upworthy, Marie Claire, CNN, and Good Morning America. Sarah has directed and produced 3 feature-length documentaries: The Empowerment Project: Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things (2014), Losing Sight of Shore (2017) and NEVERTHELESS (2020) Sarah is an inspiring public speaker, author, and a teacher in documentary film, passionate about empowering the next ge...
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