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
Episodes
December 11, 2025 • 55 mins
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!
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December 8, 2025 • 41 mins
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!
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December 4, 2025 • 52 mins
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 ...
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December 1, 2025 • 64 mins
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
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November 24, 2025 • 56 mins
This week we welcome director Simon Cellan 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
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November 20, 2025 • 73 mins
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!
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November 17, 2025 • 67 mins
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 ...
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November 13, 2025 • 48 mins
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!
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November 10, 2025 • 58 mins
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/mmih...
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November 6, 2025 • 55 mins
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!
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November 3, 2025 • 81 mins
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
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October 30, 2025 • 64 mins
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!
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October 28, 2025 • 50 mins
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 Sim...
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October 23, 2025 • 53 mins
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 Lau...
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October 20, 2025 • 58 mins
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!
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Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts!
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October 16, 2025 • 40 mins
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 352 from January 2022 featuring filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk on the show to talk about her film slash/back which won the Grand Jury prize at SXSW. We talk with Nyla about making a sci-fi alien invasion feature in a completely remote town and we thought this was a good match for our episode with Alex Burunova on Monday because they both premiered their first f...
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October 13, 2025 • 63 mins
This week we welcome writer/director/producer Alex Burunova on the show to talk about how she got her first feature Satisfaction made, funded, getting to premier at SXSW and the long road she took to get the film made! 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 Podcast...
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October 10, 2025 • 107 mins
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 223 from August 2019 featuring filmmaker Writer director Hassan Said and Stars Briana Walsh and Jordan Potch days after they finished shooting their one take feature, This is Your Song. Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode from monday with J. Davis and Andre Hyland because this is the only other time I think we had a writer/director and th...
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October 6, 2025 • 59 mins
This week we welcome writer/director J Davis and Star Andre Hyland on the show to talk about the making of I Hate Myself and I Want to Die which premiered at the Austin Film Festival last fall, just about a year ago! Our producer extraordinaire Eric Toms conducted this interview from the Omni Hotel in Austin so it’s sure to be a good one. After that we play another round of THE GAME, enjoy!
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October 2, 2025 • 55 mins
On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 414 from March 2023 featuring writer director, Yoko Okumura! Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode with Mercedes Bryce Morgan from Monday because Yoko also started doing a ton of short content before making her first feature. After that we play another round of You’re the Expert, enjoy!
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