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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

01:11:45

Frank Merle - Sustainably Producing and Directing...

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

2025/12/29

This week we welcome writer/director/producer Frank Merle on the show to talk about his latest film Namaka and how he juggles producing movies and directing his own. After that we play another round of THE GAME and Alrik reads a listener email on the show, 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

en

00:48:05

Jennifer Sorenson - BONUS Throwback Interview!

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

2025/12/26

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 503 from November 2024 featuring producer, writer, actor and director Jennifer Sorenson who talked about making her first feature For When You're Lost. I thought this was a good match for our episode with Kerry Carlock from Monday because they both talk about pulling their features together and Jennifer was involved with Kerry’s latest feature Suffer. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy!Don’t

en

01:10:35

Kerry Carlock - Embracing a Lower Budget for Feature #2!

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

2025/12/22

This week we welcome writer/director Kerry Carlock to the show to talk about her second feature Suffer which she co-wrote and directed with her husband. Kerry talks about going from a $200k budget to a sub 50k budget and how that changed her process as a filmmaker. 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

en

01:05:15

Garo Setian - BONUS Throwback Interview!

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

2025/12/20

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 425 from January 2022 featuring producer, director, writer, editor, Garo Setian who talked about making his feature Space Wars: The Quest for the Deepstar. Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode with MAR because they both wore multiple hats in making their sci-fi features. 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

en

00:53:10

MAR - Writing, Producing and Directing an Indie...

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

2025/12/15

This week we welcome writer/director/producer MAR on the show to talk about how he got his next feature Dresden Sun made starring Chrisitina Ricci, MAR also talks about why he likes taking on multiple roles as a filmmaker. After that we read a apple podcast review and talk about the current statuses of our projects, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts

en

00:55:13

Jade Halley Bartlett - BONUS Throwback Interview!

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

2025/12/11

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 462 from Feburary 2024 featuring writer and director Jade Halley Bartlett who talks about making her feature Millers Girl starring Martin Freeman and Jeana Ortega. I thought this was a good match for Hikari since they are both successful directors with movies starring movie stars! 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

en

00:41:42

HIkari - Making High End TV to Indie Festival Darlings!

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

2025/12/08

This week we welcome writer/director Hikari on the show to talk her latest film Rental Family, starring Branden Fraser, how she came up with the story for the film and the process to get it made. We also talked about her earlier career, making her first feature and directing episodes of Tokyo Vice and BEEF. 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

en

00:52:40

Orsi Nagypal - BONUS Throwback Interview!

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

2025/12/04

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 399 from November 2022 with director Orsi Nagypal who talks about leveling up her directing career, getting hired to direct The Outpost then getting the opportunity to pitch Dean Devlin to direct her first feature The Deal with a very healthy budget. I thought Orsi was a good match for our episode with Simon Cellan Jones because they both talk about the circumstances of how they leveled up as a director. After that Liz

en

01:04:07

Olivia Nash - Not Taking No for an Answer on Your...

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

2025/12/01

This week we welcome actor, writer and director Olivia Nash on the show to talk about writing and directing and starring in her first feature film, Hi! Olivia talks about how she got the film made, the proof of concept films she made beforehand and how she got the funds together for the feature! 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

en

00:56:47

Simon Cellan Jones - From Directing Low Budget TV to...

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

2025/11/24

This week we welcome director Simon Keth-len Jones on the show to talk about the making of his mega sequel The Family Plan 2, how he landed the directing job on the original The Family Plan and how he has managed to level up as a director throughout his career. 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

en

01:13:03

Dan Mirvish - BONUS Throwback Interview!

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

2025/11/20

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 313 from April 2021 featuring producer, writer and director Dan Mirvish. I thought this was a good match for our episode with Ted Geoghegan from Monday because they are both prolific indie filmmakers with deep roots in the festival scene. 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

en

01:07:29

Ted Geoghegan - Consistently Making Truly Indie Films!

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

2025/11/17

This week we welcome writer/director/producer Ted Geoghegan for our big five hundred and fifty fifth episode of the show to talk about how he leveled up his films, how his projects have come about and what makes him thrive as a successful indie filmmaker. After that we play another round of THE GAME and talk about the current statuses of our projects.Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts

en

00:48:25

Jenny Lester and Juliana Jurenas - BONUS Throwback...

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

2025/11/13

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 340 from October 2021 with writer and star Jenny Lester and producer editor Juliana Jurenas. Alrik thought this was a good match for our talk with Katie Prentiss and Cara Mitsuko from Monday because they also had to figure out how to will their film into existence and over come a number obstacles. After that we play another round of THE GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast

en

00:58:07

Katie Prentiss and Cara Mitsuko - Finding a Producer...

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

2025/11/10

This week we welcome writer Director and Actor Katie Prentiss and Producer Cara Mitsuko to the show to talk about their feature Wake Up Maggie which Katie wrote based on her experiences taking care of her mother. Katie and Cara talk about the challenges they faced making the movie and how they pulled it off together! 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

en

00:55:27

Ian and Eshom Nelms - BONUS Throwback Interview!

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

2025/11/06

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 465 from Februry 2024 featuring writer/director brothers Ian and Eshom Nelms. I thought this was a good match for our episode with John Michael Powell from Monday because they both talk about getting top talent attached to their movies, but in very different contexts.. 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

en

01:21:16

John-Michael Powell - Getting Funded and Casting Top...

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

2025/11/03

This week we welcome writer/director John-Michael Powell on the show to talk about how he got his 2nd feature Violent Ends made starring Billy Magnussen and how he got Billy attached. After that we play another round of THE GAME and talk about the current statuses of our projects, 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

en

01:04:05

Jessica Ellis - BONUS Throwback Interview!

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

2025/10/30

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 287 from October 2020 featuring writer director Jessica Ellis. Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode with Nicola Rose from Monday because they are both female feature filmmakers, although Nicola talks to us about her 2nd feature, rather than her first.. 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

en

00:50:52

Nicola Rose - Getting Distribution on Feature #2!

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

2025/10/28

This week we welcome writer/director Nicola Rose on the show to talk about the making of her second feature Magneto Sphere which came out this summer. 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 company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information

en

00:53:23

Jeff Kerr and Ray Spivey - BONUS Throwback Interview!

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

2025/10/23

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 315 from April 2021 with writers and directors Jeff Kerr and Ray Spivey to talk about the making of their brand new feature film, Writers Block and reconnecting after thirty years since they knew each other in high school to write, direct and produce their first feature later in life. Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode on Monday with Laurie Creigo because they both made their feature films after they were

en

00:58:24

Laurie Criego - Making Filmmaking Dreams Real in...

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

2025/10/20

This week we welcome writer and executive producer Lauire Criego on the show to talk about making her first feature Mother Nature and the Doomsday Prepper which she made 100% independently after she started writing films in her retirement. 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

en

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