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PODCAST

The Art of Film Funding

The Art of Film Funding

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

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

62:28

The Future of Film Funding: Predicting Audiences...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/04/30

Send us Fan Mail Imagine being able to understand your audience before you even shoot your first scene… to test your story, evaluate casting choices, and anticipate market performance—all from your script. That’s no longer science fiction. It’s happening now. Benjamin Schnau is a multilingual actor, producer, host, book author and public speaker native in English and German plus conversational French who also built a successful career as a business development and account executive in the tec...

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46:39

The End of the Old Budget — How Two Veteran Producers...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/04/22

Send us Fan Mail This is a revolution to budget making. If you want to learn how to budget your film with the newest program that will save you hours and be accurate, listen to these two brilliant, intelligent line producers Stephen Marinaccio & Matthew Cuny, Co-Founders of Cinematic Apps who took years to create and share this new way to budget your film. Learn More! Line Budgeter: linebudgeter.com LinePM: line.pm Art of Film Funding listeners can use code filmfunding10...

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53:47

Owning Your Film’s Future: Lessons in Independence...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/04/15

Send us Fan Mail From PBS broadcasts to grassroots theatrical screenings, Mike has built a career defined by independence, impact, and a deep belief in cinema as a communal experience. He has worked across productions that have been screened at major festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, Cannes, and Toronto, and has been a driving force behind the independent film movement in upstate New York. What makes Mike’s journey so powerful is not just what he’s created—but how he’s done it: with cour...

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39:58

Is Texas the New Hollywood? How Smart Producers Are...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/04/09

Danielle Guilbot is an Austin-based actress and film-tech entrepreneur. She is the founder of TexasFilmScene.com: the Texas Movie Operating System. TFS is a clearinghouse connecting producers, crews, and talent with everything they need to bring productions to Texas — from firsthand producer insights and crew resources to a full breakdown of the state's film incentive programs.

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48:07

The New Filmmaker’s Reality: AI, Ethics, and the...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/04/03

AI is no longer something on the horizon. It’s already here, quietly reshaping how films are developed, produced, edited, and even distributed. But with that power comes critical questions—about ethics, authorship, and the future of creative work itself. In this episode, we’re not just talking about what AI can do—we’re exploring what it should do, and how filmmakers can stay aligned with their creative voice while navigating a rapidly evolving industry.

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30:49

From Film to Brand: How Filmmakers Can Finance and...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/03/26

In this episode, we’re diving into one of the most powerful opportunities emerging right now—branded content. What if your film could be funded not by waiting for a studio or investor… but by aligning your story with a brand that shares your message and your audience? What if branding wasn’t a compromise—but a creative partnership? Our guest, Johann Garcia, founder of BrandedStreams, is at the forefront of this movement. He works with filmmakers and creators to help them understand how to pos...

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43:42

Surviving the New Film Industry: AI, Studios, and the...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/03/18

Jonathon Smith is a writer, director, and producer whose work spans independent film development and forward-looking conversations about the evolving film industry. Known for his thoughtful approach to storytelling and production, Jonathon has been actively exploring how emerging technologies, shifting studio structures, and new distribution models are reshaping opportunities for filmmakers. As both a creative and a strategist, he brings a valuable perspective on how filmmakers can adapt to i...

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41:45

Ethos Film Festival & The Power of Purpose-Driven Cinema

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/03/12

Anabelle Munro is an award-winning writer, producer, director, and singer and owner of Blue Boots Productions whose creative work spans film and music with a deep commitment to socially conscious storytelling. She is the creator and manager of the Ethos Film Festival, a festival designed to celebrate films that embody integrity, purpose, and artistic excellence. Through Ethos, Anabelle has built a space where independent filmmakers can showcase their work in an environment that values meaning...

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49:53

From Set to Software: How Smart Producers Are...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/03/04

We’re joined by two experienced producers who have worked at the highest levels of film and television — from major studio features to award-winning streaming series — and who are now building tools to help filmmakers work smarter. Stephen Marinaccio is a veteran producer with over 35 years of experience across global feature films and television, and co-founder of Cinematic Apps. He has worked in over 30 countries and served in key production roles on projects including Ghosts of the Abyss w...

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44:47

The New Frontier of Film Distribution with Rish...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/02/25

Kinema is a technology-driven global screening and streaming platform designed to democratize film distribution and empower independent filmmakers. Before launching Kinema, Rish was a Principal at Human Ventures, where he supported and invested in early-stage startups across a range of industries. Prior to that, he worked in fintech, leading strategic projects at Transactis ahead of its 2019 acquisition by Mastercard. At Kinema, he champions community-led screenings, virtual events, direct au...

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43:07

Beyond Kickstarter: Using WeFunder to Build...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/02/11

Mark Elias is a Los Angeles-based writer, actor, and independent filmmaker focused on grounded, commercial indie films with bold concepts and strong character work. He is the producer of We Could Be Heroes, a comedy-crime heist rooted in gaming culture. Mark is currently raising the film through WeFunder, allowing the public to invest and follow the project’s real-time journey from campaign to production. His work blends entrepreneurial execution with story-driven filmmaking, with a mission t...

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36:11

Format Is Power: How Scripts Get Taken Seriously in...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/02/04

Christopher Riley is a screenwriter, director, and author with a career spanning award-winning international cinema and major studio assignments. His groundbreaking 1999 German-language courtroom thriller After the Truth earned multiple awards, and his screenwriting work includes projects for Disney’s Touchstone Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sean Connery’s Fountainbridge Films, Mandalay Television Pictures, and the Fox television network. Chris is also the author of The Hollywood Standard, th...

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40:11

Film Funding Mastery: How THE CROWDFUNDING QUEEN™...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/01/28

THE CROWDFUNDING QUEEN™ is a multi-award-winning Hungarian-American film and theater director, producer, and storytelling innovator. She has garnered over 37 awards and accolades and was once an Oscar contender in the “Best Documentary” category for her acclaimed film Torn from the Flag Kovács is also known for her Cannes-award-winning short Brown Paper Bag and is recognized worldwide as a crowdfunding expert, often referred to as “The Crowdfunding Queen.” She engineered major fundraising cam...

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41:18

Helen Hall shares how to use MIPCOM for funding your...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/01/22

Helen Hall is an award-winning producer, director, and composer whose work explores the intersection of art, science, and energy. With more than 30 years of experience, she creates films that combine original research with cinematic storytelling to explore complex and unusual subjects She is currently completing the feature documentary Pictures of Infinity, based on more than two decades of research into Nikola Tesla’s long-hidden blueprint for a sustainable energy future. The film has receiv...

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55:19

Christine LaMonte — Craft, Collaboration & Creative...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2026/01/08

Christine La Monte, producer/director/writer and former film marketing executive at Universal, Disney, and Orion is the founder/president of La Monte Productions where current projects include VIVA VERDI! the feature documentary Shortlisted for Best Song, where she serves as producer, writer and executive producer. Also on the awards circuit, AI WEIWEI’S TURANDOT, a co-production with Italy’s Incipit Film and La Monte Productions

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49:44

Post-Cinema: Scott Billups on AI and the Future of...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2025/12/11

Scott Billups is an award-winning cinematographer and visual effects creator who has worked on over fifty motion pictures. As a world leader in the creation of virtual characters for movies and games, Scott went back to school in his forties to study AI as a way to breathe life into his inanimate creations. Armed with an entirely new tool set, Scott was Apple’s first evangelist to Hollywood, co-founder of the AFI Media Lab, CTO of the game industry’s leading supplier of AI (Rival Theory, whic...

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54:43

ALL THE WALLS CAME: Ondi Timoner on Creating...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2025/12/03

Our special guest this week is the award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner. Timoner founded Interloper Films and is known for movies about visionaries challenging the status quo and personal documentaries that reveal the bittersweet side of facing seemingly impossible challenges. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures and the Television Academy and chairs the Nonfiction Subcommittee for Special Projects at the DGA. Timoner is the only director to win Sundance's Grand Jury Prize twice—...

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57:35

From Script to Screen to Strategy: Spade Robinson on...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2025/11/26

Spade Robinson is an award- winning screenwriter and director, with experience that spans feature film, documentary, television, commercial and theater. Spade is the owner of full service production company, Spade Ink Media, producing and developing a slate of film, television and podcast projects. Spade is also the owner of Atlanta Film Project, a screenplay and documentary consulting firm, helping storytellers and companies to tell the most compelling version of their stories.

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59:54

What Everyone Gets Wrong About Crowdfunding — with...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2025/11/19

Description: We’re joined by Bri Castellini, one of the top crowdfunding experts in the indie film world. While at Seed&Spark, Bri helped filmmakers raise over $25 million—achieving an incredible 85% success rate. Bri is an independent film and screenwriting consultant and a subject matter expert in arts crowdfunding, indie filmmaking, film festivals, podcasting, romance novels, and the USA television show Burn Notice. As a filmmaker herself she's known for her short film Ace and An...

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45:56

From Twilight Zone to Today: Paul Chitlik on the Art...

The Art of Film Funding ·

2025/11/12

A master storyteller shares decades of lessons and his newest book. Description - : Paul Chitlik has written for all the major networks and studios in English and in Spanish. He was story editor for MGM/UA'S "The New Twilight Zone," and staff writer for Showtime's sitcom "Brothers." He directed episodes and was coordinating producer for “Real Stories of the Highway Patrol” and “U.S. Customs Classified.” He wrote and produced “Alien Abduction” for UPN. He wrote, produce...

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