LanguaTalk

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie Filmmaking

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

Mark Pellington - BONUS Throwback Interview!

50 mins; April 02, 2026

John Gaspard - Writing and Learning the Lessons from the Greatest Low-Budget Movies of All Time!

80 hours 25 mins; March 30, 2026

Hudson Phillips and Jordan Noel - BONUS Throwback Interview!

58 mins; March 26, 2026

Stephen Sanow - Transforming Real Life into Feature #1!

57 mins; March 23, 2026

Oz Krakowski - BONUS Throwback Interview!

53 mins; March 19, 2026

Heather Brittain - From Filmmaker to Programmer to Festival Fixr!

63 hours 41 mins; March 16, 2026

Jenn Page - BONUS Throwback Interview!

53 mins; March 12, 2026

Ben Hall - Crewing Up on Big Budget Features and Directing Feature #3!

75 hours 40 mins; March 09, 2026

Dana Kippel - BONUS Throwback Interview!

60 hours 49 mins; March 05, 2026

Tamika Miller - Attaching Wanda Sykes to Undercard and Making the Film 10 years later!

50 mins; March 02, 2026

Anna Elizabeth James - BONUS Throwback Interview!

61 hours 41 mins; February 26, 2026

Natasha Kermani - Sustainably Directing Budgeted Feature Films!

77 hours 20 mins; February 23, 2026

Brett and Drew Pierce - BONUS Throwback Interview!

62 hours 2 mins; February 19, 2026

Kevin and Matthew McManus - From Home Movies to Writers Rooms and Feature Films!

72 hours 25 mins; February 16, 2026

Leila Gorstein and Jesse Kendall - BONUS Throwback Interview!

51 mins; February 13, 2026

Marisa Guterman and Keith Gerchak - Discovering You're a Filmmaker While Making Your First Feature!

61 hours 11 mins; February 09, 2026

Dawn Jones Redstone - BONUS Throwback Interview!

51 mins; February 07, 2026

Dawn Jones Redstone - BONUS Throwback Interview!

79 hours 19 mins; February 05, 2026

Jesse Kuba - Putting It All On The Line for Your Feature!

58 mins; February 02, 2026

Listener Calls - BONUS Throwback Interview!

79 hours 19 mins; January 29, 2026

Cory Thibert - Weaving a Personal Story into Your First Feature!

70 hours 42 mins; January 26, 2026

Timothy Plain and Alrik Bursell Talk Directing - BONUS Throwback Interview!

72 hours 51 mins; January 23, 2026

David Zeiger - Talking Filmmaking in 2020!

68 hours 41 mins; January 19, 2026

Jhennifer Webberley - BONUS Throwback Interview!

52 mins; January 15, 2026

Robert Enriquez - Acting, Producing, Managing Talent and Directing Features!

66 hours 23 mins; January 12, 2026

Andrew Chesworth - BONUS Throwback Interview!

112 hours 7 mins; January 08, 2026

Caleb Walker and Miguel Rodrick - Making Movies in High School and Pushing to be Shortlisted!

69 hours 44 mins; January 05, 2026

Janeen Damian - BONUS Throwback Interview!

34 mins; January 01, 2026

Frank Merle - Sustainably Producing and Directing Indie Features!

72 hours 30 mins; December 29, 2025

Jennifer Sorenson - BONUS Throwback Interview!

48 mins; December 26, 2025

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

70 hours 35 mins; December 22, 2025

Garo Setian - BONUS Throwback Interview!

65 hours 15 mins; December 20, 2025

MAR - Writing, Producing and Directing an Indie Sci-Fi Feature!

53 mins; December 15, 2025

Jade Halley Bartlett - BONUS Throwback Interview!

55 mins; December 11, 2025

HIkari - Making High End TV to Indie Festival Darlings!

41 mins; December 08, 2025

Orsi Nagypal - BONUS Throwback Interview!

52 mins; December 04, 2025

Olivia Nash - Not Taking No for an Answer on Your First Feature!

64 hours 7 mins; December 01, 2025

Simon Cellan Jones - From Directing Low Budget TV to The Family Plan 2!

56 mins; November 24, 2025

Dan Mirvish - BONUS Throwback Interview!

73 hours 3 mins; November 20, 2025

Ted Geoghegan - Consistently Making Truly Indie Films!

67 hours 29 mins; November 17, 2025

Jenny Lester and Juliana Jurenas - BONUS Throwback Interview!

48 mins; November 13, 2025

Katie Prentiss and Cara Mitsuko - Finding a Producer for Your First Feature!

58 mins; November 10, 2025

Ian and Eshom Nelms - BONUS Throwback Interview!

55 mins; November 06, 2025

John-Michael Powell - Getting Funded and Casting Top Talent in Your Feature!

81 hours 16 mins; November 03, 2025

Jessica Ellis - BONUS Throwback Interview!

64 hours 5 mins; October 30, 2025

Nicola Rose - Getting Distribution on Feature #2!

50 mins; October 27, 2025

Jeff Kerr and Ray Spivey - BONUS Throwback Interview!

53 mins; October 23, 2025

Laurie Criego - Making Filmmaking Dreams Real in Retirement!

58 mins; October 20, 2025

Nyla Innuksuk - BONUS Throwback Interview!

40 mins; October 16, 2025

Alex Burunova - Taking the Time to Craft Your First Feature!

63 hours 26 mins; October 13, 2025

Hassan Said - Briana Walsh - Jordan Potch - BONUS Throwback Interview!

107 hours 43 mins; October 10, 2025

J. Davis and Andre Hyland - Making Feature #2 and the Actor/Director Relationship!

59 mins; October 06, 2025

Yoko Okumura - BONUS Throwback Interview!

55 mins; October 02, 2025

Mercedes Bryce Morgan - From Short Content to Paid Feature Work!

54 mins; September 29, 2025

Anne Hu - Geoffrey Prather - Bryan Poyser - BONUS Throwback Interview!

60 hours 58 mins; September 25, 2025

Brandon Shypkowski and Ted Hayden - Why Make a Short?

67 hours 7 mins; September 22, 2025

Asif Akbar - BONUS Throwback Interview!

43 mins; September 18, 2025

Kenny Beaumont - Producing Family Movies Full Time and Directing F+!

55 mins; September 15, 2025

Theo Brown - BONUS Throwback Interview!

56 mins; September 11, 2025

Lincoln Fenner - Turning a Profit on a Indie Sci-Fi Feature Before the Release!

47 mins; September 08, 2025

Michael Molina - BONUS Throwback Interview!

76 hours 59 mins; September 04, 2025

Toby Jones - Creating an Imaginative No Budget Indie Comedy!

67 hours 10 mins; September 01, 2025

Larry Fessenden - BONUS Throwback Interview!

49 mins; August 28, 2025

Macon Blair - Remaking the Cult Classic The Toxic Avenger!

69 hours 31 mins; August 25, 2025

Brian Helgeland - BONUS Throwback Interview!

48 mins; August 21, 2025

Chuck Russell - How to Approach Remaking a Horror Classic with Witchboard!

61 hours 29 mins; August 18, 2025

Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen - BONUS Throwback Interview!

57 mins; August 14, 2025

Julie Meyer - Filming Ballet Dancers in Ukraine During Wartime!

68 hours 18 mins; August 11, 2025

Jason Horton - BONUS Throwback Interview!

50 mins; August 07, 2025

Jason Park - Putting Your Filmmaking Success in Your Own Hands!

70 hours 3 mins; August 04, 2025

Jeff Ryan - BONUS Throwback Interview!

46 mins; August 01, 2025

Christopher Yates and Sabrina Zahir - Coming Together as Producer and Director to Make a First Feature!

59 mins; July 28, 2025

Adam Cooper - BONUS Throwback Interview!

46 mins; July 24, 2025

James DeMonaco and Sebastien Lemercier - Forming a Lasting Director Producer Partnership!

73 hours 20 mins; July 21, 2025

Ryan Spindell - BONUS Throwback Interview!

47 mins; July 17, 2025

Rick Bosner - From Serial Feature Producer to Feature Film Writer/Director!

66 hours 0 mins; July 14, 2025

Thom Harp - BONUS Throwback Interview!

57 mins; July 11, 2025

Kim Noonan - Getting Hired to Direct a Horror Feature!

58 mins; July 08, 2025

Ren: The Girl with The Mark - BONUS Throwback Interview!

49 mins; July 04, 2025

Nina Conti and Shenoah Allen - Turning a Live Stage Show into a Feature Film!

63 hours 9 mins; June 30, 2025

Emily Abt - BONUS Throwback Interview!

50 mins; June 26, 2025

Sarah Jefferson Carter and Justin Carter - Making a Completely Independent TV Show!

73 hours 4 mins; June 23, 2025

Kestrin Pantera - BONUS Throwback Interview!

55 mins; June 20, 2025

Hala Matar - From a Trip to Italy to Making a First Feature Film!

67 hours 55 mins; June 16, 2025

Abby Horton and Ryan Dickie - BONUS Throwback Interview!

57 mins; June 12, 2025

David Joseph Craig and Brain Crano - Directing a Dream Feature with Your Life Partner!

73 hours 51 mins; June 09, 2025

Natalie Erika James - BONUS Throwback Interview!

40 mins; June 05, 2025

Julia Max - Orchestrating Your Dream First Feature Film!

70 hours 1 min; June 02, 2025

J.J. Perry - BONUS Throwback Interview!

54 mins; May 30, 2025

Kirsten Foe - Navigating the World of Stunts, Directing an Indie Film and Finding the Right Collaborators!

67 hours 3 mins; May 26, 2025

Melissa Rundle - BONUS Throwback Interview!

54 mins; May 22, 2025

Leon Chills - Writing and Selling Your First Feature Script in Hollywood!

63 hours 54 mins; May 19, 2025

Braden Duemmler - BONUS Throwback Interview!

49 mins; May 15, 2025

Felipe Vargas - Short Films to USC to a First Feature!

66 hours 4 mins; May 12, 2025

Carter Smith - BONUS Throwback Interview!

50 mins; May 08, 2025

Timothy Scott Bogart - Writing and Directing Indie Musical Juliet and Romeo!

67 hours 40 mins; May 05, 2025

Mick Davis - BONUS Throwback Interview!

52 mins; May 01, 2025

Dito Montiel - Casting Jennifer Coolidge to Breath Life into Feature #8!

62 hours 9 mins; April 28, 2025

Marco Aguilar - BONUS Throwback Interview!

77 hours 26 mins; April 24, 2025

Meera Menon - BONUS Throwback Interview!

54 mins; April 22, 2025

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Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie Filmmaking

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