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PODCAST

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

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

01:03:53

Michael Kellman - Distributing Your First Feature in...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/06/08

This week we welcome writer/director/editor Michael Kellman on the show to talk about making his first feature Say Less, how he got the film made and how he went about the distribution of the 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz

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00:44:30

Lee Moss - BONUS Throwback Interview!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/06/04

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 438 from August 2023 featuring writer and director Lee Moss to talk about their first feature Birth/Rebirth, how they got the film made at such a high level and how they are dealing with not working during the strike. 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

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00:53:37

Madison Young - Writing and Directing a First Feature...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/06/01

This week we welcome writer/director/producer Madison Young on the show to talk about her first feature By the Roots, which she wrote based on her memoir that she wrote in 2016. Madison talks about how she developed the story into a script and raised the money to make the film. After that I talk a bit about re-writing my script Ricky and the Ooze, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts

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00:41:43

Julia Stiles - BONUS Throwback Interview!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/05/28

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 516 from February 2025 with actor turned feature writer/director Julia Stiles. Julia talks about going from acting in studio features and shows to making her first feature behind the camera and the challenges she faced to pull it off. I thought this was a good match for our episode with Katie Aselton (Ace-sol_tin) from Monday because they are both actors turned filmmakers, just Katie is further along in her filmmaker

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00:52:50

Katie Aselton - Making a Movie for Yourself!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/05/25

This week we welcome writer/director/actor Katie Aselton on the show to talk about her latest film Magic Hour which she co-wrote, directed and starred in alongside Daveed Diggs. Katie talks about why she decided to make this film and how she pulled it off. 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

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00:43:31

Nicholas Bruckman - BONUS Throwback Interview!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/05/21

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 333 from August 2021 featuring writer/director Nicholas Bruckman on the show to talk about making his Documentary on the late Ady Barkan, how he found his subject and what drove him to tell that story. Alrik thought Nicholas would be a good match for our chat with Loren on Monday because they are both documentary filmmakers who talk about how they made their features and connected with their subjects. After that we play

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00:48:03

Loren Goldfarb - Finding the Story that Matters for...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/05/18

This week we welcome producer/director Loren Goldfarb to talk about making his first feature documentary 96lbs of Dynamite, how he found his subject Chad “shorty” McDaniel and what drove him to make this documentary. 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 Hosted by

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00:49:29

AJ Bermudez - BONUS Throwback Interview!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/05/14

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 369 from May 2022 featuring writer AJ Bermudez who talks about getting started as a writer and how she goes about getting her projects out there and her move to driecting. I thought this was a good match for our episode with Melinda K. Bryce from Monday because they both started as writers who are branching into other roles.. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on

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01:10:05

Melinda Bryce - From Author to Set Mom to...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/05/11

This week we welcome producer/writer and long time listener Melinda K. Bryce on the show to talk about her latest feature Delirum, moving from being an author to a screen writer and getting her scripts produced. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an

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01:27:15

Rob Smat - BONUS Throwback Interview!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/05/07

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 217 from July 2019 featuring writer/director Rob Smat on the show to talk about directing his first feature The Last Whistle, Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode with Gille from Monday since they have both made two features and started on shorts and Alrik thought it would be fun hearing Rob talk about his first feature while Gille talks about his second. After that we play another round of You’re the

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01:05:37

Gille Klabin - Riding The Wave of the First Feature...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/05/04

This week we welcome writer/director Gille Klabin on the show to talk about his latest feature Weekend at the End of the World, how he got the movie made and we touch on his first feature The Wave as well (which I love). 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 Hosted by

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01:24:15

Marc Smolowitz - BONUS Throwback Interview!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/04/30

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 378 from July 2022 featuring producer Marc Smolowitz! I thought this was a good match for our live show from Monday because this is the last time we did a live podcast recording in front of an audience, so I thought it would be fun to put these shows together. 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

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01:10:47

Julia Coulter - Live at the Phoenix Film Festival!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/04/27

This week we have a very special episode of the show, it’s our live show from the Phoenix Film Festival! Producer Eric and Host Liz went there over the weekend and did a show in front of a live audience and interviewed Writer/Director and actor Julia Coulter who talks about making her first feature that she wrote, directed and starred in. We didn't play The Game since we played it at the live show but we talked a lot about the show, enjoy!Don’t forget to support us on Patreon

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00:58:03

Alicia J. Rose and Alicia Jo Rabins - BONUS Throwback...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/04/23

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 420 from April 2023 featuring filmmakers Alicia J. Rose and Alicia JO Rabins who talk about collaborating on their first feature together. While the Alicia’s collaboration is very different from Alex and Travis who we talked to on Monday, I thought they were a good compliment to hear how different filmmakers collaborate and get their projects off the ground.. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy

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01:07:33

Travis Wood and Alex Mallis - Collaborating to Shoot...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/04/20

This week we welcome writer/directors Alex Mallis and Travis Wood on the show to talk about their first feature Travel Companion, how they raised the money and how they found each other as collaborators. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz

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00:52:00

Mishna Wolff - BONUS Throwback Interview!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/04/16

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 325 from June 2021 featuring writer Mishna Wolff! Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode with Arwen Elys Dayton from Monday because while they are very different writers, they both talk about locking in deals to write their first features and while Mishna was on the other side of her project, there’s still a lot of parallels between the conversations. After that we play another round of You’re the expert

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00:58:52

Arwen Elys Dayton - Forming a Team and Writing Features!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/04/13

This week we welcome writer and Producer Arwen Elys Dayton on the show to talk about writing her latest feature Tilt which is currently in production. Arwen also talks about moving from being an author to a screenwriter and starting her production company and making her first movies with her two partner. 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

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00:57:13

Anthony DiBlasi - BONUS Throwback Interview!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/04/10

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 445 from October 2023 featuring writer/director Anthony DiBlasi on the show to talk about directing his latest feature Malum, which is his 9th feature as a director! Anthony talks about how the movie came together and how he finds his projects, I thought Anthony was a good match for Daniel and Isa from Monday because I feel like if Daniel and Isa keep making movies their careers could look like Anthony’s in a decade or

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00:55:10

Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei - From High School...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/04/06

This week we welcome writer/director Daniel Goldhaber and Writer/Producer Isa Mazzei on the show to talk about their latest feature Faces of Death, how they got the project and we talk a bit about how they got started in the industry with their first feature Cam. 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

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00:50:44

Mark Pellington - BONUS Throwback Interview!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2026/04/02

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 401 from December 2022 featuring writer/director Mark Pellington! Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode with John Gaspard from Monday because while they are very different filmmakers, they both talk about re-releasing an earlier project, Mark with his first feature and John with one of his earlier books. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon

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