IndieWire's Filmmaker Toolkit
Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. From screenwriting to film language to cinematography, we'll be examining the innovative ways today's best filmmakers are getting their visions out into the world.
Episodes
January 6, 2026 • 56 mins
Co-Writer, Director, and Producer Mona Fastvold joins the Toolkit for an in depth discussion of her incredible new period musical. We dig into the research which birthed the transfixing movements and sounds of the film, the challenges star Amanda Seyfried faced preparing for the role, and how Fastvold and partner Brady Corbet execute epic scale on indie budgets.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors A...
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December 26, 2025 • 26 mins
Josh Safdie breaks down the craft behind his hectic hustler comedy 'Marty Supreme'. Josh opens up about his relationship to winning and losing, living the dream of working with production designer Jack Fisk, and how meeting Timothée Chalamet before his breakout in 'Call Me By Your Name' was key to his casting as Marty.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down ins...
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December 23, 2025 • 35 mins
Writer, director, producer and editor James Cameron joins IndieWire’s Jim Hemphill for a wide-ranging discussion of “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Cameron talks about his casting process, why maintaining the perspective of the audience throughout editing is so challenging and so important, and much, much more.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down insider news from H...
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December 22, 2025 • 21 mins
The star and showrunner of the hit HBO comedy sat down with IndieWire's Sarah Shachat to talk about how her experience in films translated to writing television, the advice she got from the female directors she's worked with, and how New York City is a great ex-boyfriend.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down insider news from Hollywood and debate the latest f...
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December 19, 2025 • 42 mins
We are fortunate to have the legendary Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi on the podcast to discuss Palme d'Or winning film. Panahi explains how he shot the movie in secret, and how his personal experience with torture lead him to make a film confronting the nature of revenge.
To hear the conversation with Jafar Panahi's full answers in Persian, skip to 22:32.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne T...
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December 17, 2025 • 49 mins
Norwegian-Danish filmmaker Joachim Trier joins the Filmmaker Toolkit to discuss his follow up to Worst Person in the World, the filmmaker family drama Sentimental Value. Trier broke down the details of that incredible house, and dove deep into the personal intricacies of his script.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down insider news from Hollywood and debate t...
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December 12, 2025 • 41 mins
The writer and director behind the beloved Knives Out mysteries returns to the Filmmaker Toolkit to break down his most personal one yet. Johnson discusses why the central themes of religion proved much harder to work out on the page than the mechanics of the mystery.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down insider news from Hollywood and debate the latest films...
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December 9, 2025 • 24 mins
Documentarian Craig Renaud joins IndieWire’s Jim Hemphill to discuss “Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud.” Renaud talks about both the difficulty and necessity of turning his camera on himself and his family after his brother and filmmaking partner was killed while covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and how he found a visual language to convey what his brother meant to him and to the worlds of filmm...
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December 5, 2025 • 44 mins
When Director Charlie Shackelton returned to his failed documentary about the Zodiac Killer, he realized he could make an even more interesting film about the true crime genre and his own creative process. 'Zodiac Killer Project' is that film, exposing the manipulative craft that makes true crime stories so enthralling and manipulative.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattan...
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December 2, 2025 • 47 mins
Oscar winning director Chloé Zhao returns to the Filmmaker's Toolkit to break down the devastating emotions and enthralling craft of her new film "Hamnet." You'll wont want to miss Zhao's in-depth breakdown of the ending, and how she achieved such a delicate triumph.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down insider news from Hollywood and debate the latest films ...
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November 26, 2025 • 54 mins
Those who know Kahlil Joseph's work have long been hoping he would make a feature film. The master of short form filmmaking, including collaborations with Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce, has turned his innovative YouTube remix news show "BLKNWS" into one of the most interesting films of the year. Kahlil shares how he made the transition to a feature, and discusses the rocky relationship the film had with A24, which ended up in Steven S...
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November 25, 2025 • 42 mins
With his two 'Wicked' films, director Jon M. Chu had the rare experience of orchestrating and unifying a massive musical to his vision. Chu was excited to dig into all the details he can finally discuss about the making of this two part phenomenon.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down insider news from Hollywood and debate the latest films and series.
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November 21, 2025 • 35 mins
Director Hikari joined IndieWire's Jim Hemphill to discuss her new comedic drama, staring Brendan Frasier as an actor hired to be a friend and companion to a family in Japan. Hikari explains the fascinating real phenomenon behind the film, and how she achieved her exquisitely subtle emotional storytelling.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down insider news fro...
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November 18, 2025 • 32 mins
Kevin Macdonald knows John Lennon and Yoko Ono are one of the most scrutinized relationships pop culture history. So he took a new approach to these icons: exploring how the TV they were watching from their Manhattan apartment shaped, and reflected, their views of America.
IndieWire Doc Toolkit is sponsored by HBO Max.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down in...
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November 15, 2025 • 32 mins
Director Edgar Wright sat down with the Filmmaker Toolkit to dig into his high-octane adaptation of Steven King's The Running Man. We dive into the world building, working with Glen Powell, and of course the craft behind Wright's action filmmaking.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down insider news from Hollywood and debate the latest films and series.
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November 14, 2025 • 45 mins
Richard Linklater returns to the Filmmaker Toolkit to discuss his loving recreation of the French New Wave. Linklater shares why the movies of that period meant so much to his filmmaking journey, and reflects on how much easier they had it making 'Breathless' than 'Nouvelle Vague' today.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Lattanzio break down insider news from Hollywood and deb...
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November 12, 2025 • 54 mins
Documentary filmmakers Andrew Jarecki & Charlotte Kaufman spent one fateful day filming a barbecue at an Alabama state prison, a day filled with inmates telling them the pleasant day they were witnessing was a lie created by the prison. The duo began to speak with the men behind the prison's back, using contraband cell phones to uncover what is really going on in our prison system.
IndieWire's Doc Toolkit is sponsored by HBO Max
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November 7, 2025 • 37 mins
Beloved Director Guillermo del Toro sits down with the Filmmaker Toolkit to talk about making his dream film, and how 'Frankenstein' has been a part of each of his prior films. Then del Toro opens up about an end to his era of monster movies, and how achieving this lifelong goal may be the start of a new chapter in his filmmaking style.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thompson & Ryan Latta...
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November 3, 2025 • 47 mins
A new Yorgos Lanthimos film is always an event at IndieWire, and 'Bugonia' might be his most topical and direct one yet. Yorgos digs into the key decisions that make this tense character piece feel so large in scope (including shooting in a small basement in VistaVision), and how his collaborations with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons deepened even further.
Listen to the Screen Talk Podcast. Every Friday IndieWire editors Anne Thom...
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October 29, 2025 • 36 mins
Writer and director Nia DaCosta joins IndieWire's Sarah Shachat to dive deep into her 1950s-set adaptation of Hedda Gabler. DaCosta explains how the film's lush look and sound came from years of building her team, and how the brilliance of the lead performances from Tessa Thompson and Nina Hoss allowed for incredibly layered character studies.
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