The No Film School Podcast

49:12

How Microbudget ‘Sour Party’ Became a Steven...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/07/11

After an earlier feature project collapsed, filmmakers Amanda Drexton, Michael A. Drexton, and Samantha Westervelt decided to stop waiting for permission and make Sour Party with the people, locations, equipment, and lived experiences already available to them. They discuss financing and shooting the microbudget comedy, surviving festival rejection, finding a distributor, budgeting for post-production, and campaigning through Decentralized Pictures until Steven Soderbergh selected the film to

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53:03

Secrets to an Oscar Short Film Campaign with Julia...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/07/06

No Film School’s Jo Light records live from Aspen Shorts Fest with Julia Aks and Steve Pinder, the co-writers and co-directors of Jane Austen’s Period Drama. The conversation covers how the short grew from a period-drama pun into an Oscar-nominated comedy, what it took to produce an ambitious period piece on a limited budget, and how the filmmakers navigated festivals, awards qualification, campaign strategy, and the career momentum that followed.In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins, Jo

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54:40

The Assistant Route: Networking, Mentorship, and...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/06/26

In this episode, GG Hawkins talks with writer, director, producer, assistant, and Not Your Daddy’s Films co-founder Vika Stubblebine about building a sustainable film career through assistant work, mentorship, community, and creative self-advocacy. Vika traces her path from acting and theater at UCLA to working in TV production at Sony, becoming a writers’ assistant, writing episodes of S.W.A.T., and helping build Not Your Daddy’s Films into a Los Angeles community for women and non-binary

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47:47

How a $7K, 7-Day Movie Built Around One Extraordinary...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/06/25

Filmmaker Joe Burke and actor-writer-producer Oliver Cooper join No Film School to discuss the making and release of Burt, a black-and-white micro-budget feature inspired by real-life musician Burt Berger. The conversation covers how Burke and Cooper built a narrative film around a non-actor, shot the movie in seven days for $7,000, used a tiny crew to preserve authenticity, and pursued a self-distribution strategy through Filmhub after the film gained momentum on the festival circuit. In this

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42:59

Designing Indie Horror: The Production Design of...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/06/24

GG Hawkins speaks with production designer Vivian Gray about building the visual world of Obsession, from Southern Gothic references and texture-heavy interiors to practical blood gags and micro-budget problem-solving. They discuss what a production designer actually does, how Gray collaborated with the director, cinematographer, costume designer, and art team, and why color, texture, aging, and window treatments can make a major difference on an indie horror film. In this episode, No Film School's

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45:12

The Art of Curation: Inside Kanopy’s Approach to Film...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/06/19

No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with Kanopy’s Aaron Spears and Matt Lewis about curation, film discovery, and how independent films find audiences in a streaming landscape shaped by algorithms. The conversation covers Kanopy’s library- and university-based model, the importance of human-led programming, how poster art and social media influence discovery, and why theatrical and festival experiences still matter for the long-term life of a film.In this episode, No Film School'se GG Hawkins and

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47:21

The Logistics of Chaos: Directing Lord of the Flies...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/06/12

GG Hawkins speaks with BAFTA-winning director Marc Munden about directing the new Netflix adaptation of Lord of the Flies, written by Jack Thorne. Munden discusses revisiting William Golding’s novel, shaping the series’ visual language, filming on a remote island in Malaysia, working with 36 young actors, and how limitations around child actors’ schedules helped inspire the show’s hallucinatory nighttime look.In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Marc Munden discuss... Why

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46:13

Pete Ohs' 2026 Distribution Experiment #2: Erupcja...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/06/11

GG Hawkins continues No Film School’s 2026 distribution experiment with filmmaker Pete Ohs, focusing on the release of Erupcja, his Warsaw-shot microbudget feature starring Charli XCX, Lena Góra, Will Madden, and Jeremy O. Harris. Pete breaks down how the movie was made, how its TIFF premiere led to a deal with One Two Special, and what he learned from theatrical touring, Q&As, VOD timing, marketing assets, fan edits, and the emotional sustainability of releasing independent films.In this episode,

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43:31

They Started in the Red — Then Made a Movie: The...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/06/04

No Film School’s GG Hawkins talks with filmmaker Shane Brady and producer Emily Zercher-Brady about turning a devastating real-life hack into the revenge comedy-horror feature Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma. The conversation covers the couple’s filmmaking origin stories, how losing $20,000 sparked the movie’s premise, why they pushed forward after their budget was cut in half, what it took to shoot between Los Angeles and Florida during the SAG strike, and how they approached

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50:36

They Said This Movie Did Everything You’re Not...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/05/21

No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with writer-director Hasan Hadi and producer Leah Chen Baker about the development, financing, production, and release journey behind The President’s Cake. The conversation traces the film from NYU and COVID-era writing sessions through the Sundance Labs, the challenge of building an aggressively independent financing plan, shooting on location in Iraq with non-professional actors, and the impact of winning both the Caméra d’Or and the Audience Award at Cannes.In

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27:36

Insights Into Blackmagic Design's Latest Cameras and...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/05/15

Jourdan Aldredge speaks with Blackmagic Design’s Simon Westland at NAB 2026 about the company’s latest camera, live production, mobile filmmaking, DaVinci Resolve, Blackmagic Cloud, and AI workflow updates. They discuss how Blackmagic’s new products serve both high-end live production and independent filmmakers, why hands-on trade show demos matter, and how filmmakers can think about camera choices as they grow their craft.In this episode, No Film School's Jourdan Aldredge and guest Simon Westland

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41:00

How Specificity Makes Better Films: ‘Mile End Kicks’...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/05/14

GG Hawkins talks with writer-director Chandler Levack about making I Like Movies, Mile End Kicks, and Roommates, and how Levack protects a specific filmmaking voice while moving between indie features and studio comedy. They discuss the realities of Canadian film financing, directing with limited time and bigger resources, building cinematic worlds through research and memory, and why filmmakers have to keep making work instead of treating one movie as their only chance. In this episode, No Film

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44:15

Inside Premiere’s Color Mode: Adobe’s Biggest Color...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/05/08

No Film School’s Jourdan Aldridge sits down with Adobe’s Jason Druss at NAB 2026 to discuss Adobe Premiere’s new Color Mode, a three-year effort to rethink color grading for video editors. The conversation covers why Adobe rebuilt its color pipeline, how Color Mode differs from Lumetri and traditional pro-color tools, and what editors can expect from operations, styles, modules, film emulation, AI object masks, and upcoming beta features. Jason also shares his path from film school and color grading

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43:39

'Modern Whore': How a Creative Crush Turned Into a...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/05/07

Director Nicole Bazuin joins No Film School’s GG Hawkins to discuss the decade-long creative collaboration behind Modern Whore, a hybrid documentary based on Andrea Werhun’s memoir about her experiences in sex work. Bazuin explains how the project grew from a music video friendship into a book, short films, and a feature, while breaking down the film’s mix of interviews, stylized reenactments, storybook-inspired visuals, and post-production discoveries. The conversation also covers self-editing a

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30:31

How to Build Trust with Documentary Subjects Before...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/04/30

Jo Light interviews documentary and commercial director Brendan Young live from Aspen Shortsfest about his short documentary The Meloneers, which follows the Rocky Ford High School wrestling program in rural Colorado. They discuss how Brendan found the story through a newspaper article, why he spent extensive time in the community before filming, how he balanced planned interviews with vérité moments, and how commercial work helps fund and shape his documentary practice. The episode also covers

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44:51

Shooting in Real Time with “The Pitt” DP Johanna Coelho

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/04/23

In this episode of the No Film School Podcast, GG Hawkins speaks with cinematographer Johanna Coelho about building the immersive visual language behind The Pitt. Coelho breaks down how she approached the show’s real-time structure, 360-degree hospital set, handheld camera movement, lens choices, and complex multi-camera choreography to create an ER that feels immediate, intimate, and emotionally raw. She also reflects on her path from France to Los Angeles, becoming one of the youngest DPs to shoot

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70:07

A Path to Profitability in an Industry Built on Fear?

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/04/17

GG Hawkins speaks with Kino co-founders Brit MacRae and Daril Fannin about the broken handoff between post-production and release, and how insecure screeners, fragmented feedback workflows, and fear-based distribution norms undermine independent film. They break down Kino’s evolution from an interactive streaming idea into a secure post-to-delivery platform, explain how they built a film fund around de-risked sub-$2 million features, and use Undertone as a case study for aligning budgets, creative

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39:44

Reimagining Post: AI-Powered Rough Cuts Editing...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/04/14

In this sponsored episode, GG Hawkins speaks with Eddie AI co-founder and CEO Shamir Allibhai about Eddie AI’s latest release, Eddie v3, which launched on April 14, 2026 ahead of NAB Show 2026. Their conversation explores the new Night Shift workflow, designed to process footage overnight by sorting interviews from B-roll, syncing multicam interviews, logging media, and building a rough cut ready for Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or Final Cut Pro by morning. They also discuss Eddie’s

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52:21

From Evil Dead Rise to The Mummy: Lee Cronin on...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/04/11

Writer-director Lee Cronin joins No Film School to discuss how he approached reimagining The Mummy through the lens of family trauma, mystery, and body horror. In conversation with GG Hawkins, Cronin breaks down the emotional architecture behind effective horror, the challenge of staging fear in broad daylight, and the way Irish storytelling, personal experience, and practical effects continue to shape his work. He also reflects on building a long-term creative partnership, collaborating with horror

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37:38

How to Edit for a Screen Life Film: Insights from the...

The No Film School Podcast ·

2026/04/09

GG Hawkins speaks with editors Lam T. Nguyen and Austin Keeling about building the visual language of Mercy, a hybrid screen life thriller directed by Timur Bekmambetov. They break down how editorial shaped not just pacing and performance, but also the film’s digital camera moves, interface design, screen choreography, and collaboration with VFX. The conversation also expands into how texting, phones, and screen-based storytelling can work in contemporary filmmaking, and why the core principles of

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