In this inspiring kickoff episode of Gatecrashers, we sit down with filmmakers, authors, and creative rule-breakers Helenna Santos and Alexandra Boylan — the women behind the micro-budget feature At Your Own Risk.

We dive into Alexandra’s journey into producing her very first feature film, a micro-budget horror that proved you don’t need permission, massive resources, or a studio greenlight to make something powerful. She shares how learning to use what you already have access to — locations, friends, skills, and community — became the foundation for her producing career and eventually led her to mentoring other filmmakers. She's also produced multiple faith-based films from 250k-1 mill.

Helenna brings a unique cross-border perspective, sharing how building a creative life in Canada has shaped her approach to storytelling, sustainability, and artistic freedom — and how making work outside the traditional Hollywood system can open unexpected doors.

Together, we talk about why micro-budget filmmaking can actually be better than big budget projects:
less pressure, more flexibility, stronger collaboration — and the freedom to experiment, take risks, and simply have fun making art with your friends.

This episode is about:

• Creating before you feel ready

• Using what’s already in your hands

• Why smaller budgets can lead to bigger joy

• Building a creative life without gatekeepers

• And starting a new year by choosing momentum over perfection

If you’re an actor, filmmaker, or creator wondering whether you’re “ready” — this conversation reminds you that you already are.

Welcome to 2026.
Create boldly.

Alexandra & Helenna's Links

Tubi "At Your Own Risk"  https://tubitv.com/movies/666447/at-your-own-risk

Alexandra's Films & Books:

 ⁠https://theboylansisters.com/⁠

Helenna's Films & Books:

https://www.helennasantos.com/ 

The cavalry isn’t coming — so what do you do when you decide to make the feature anyway?

In this episode, we dive deep into the nitty gritty of becoming a first-time feature filmmaker after cutting your teeth on multiple shorts, and what it really looks like to build momentum when no one is swooping in to save the day. Teresa Catherine (she/her) joins us to talk about navigating life as a multi-hyphenate in NYC, writing your own roles, and committing to the stories that truly light you up — even when the path forward feels unclear.

Teresa is a multifaceted filmmaker, writer, and actress based in New York City and the founder of Maid & Prince Productions, a company rooted in championing women both in front of and behind the camera. From award-winning micro-budget shorts like Joke’s on You and Rocket (Wo)Men, to larger-scope festival standouts including Only the Dead and interiorem pueri (inner child) — her work has screened at festivals like Raindance NYC and Cleveland International Film Festival. Now, she’s stepping into her first feature, No One Likes a Mad Woman, currently in development after a successful short-to-feature evolution.

We talk candidly about:

• Making the leap from acting to producing your own work

• Learning by doing — and failing — as a filmmaker

• What changes when the project gets bigger (and scarier)

• Turning “no one is coming” into creative fuel

• Balancing artistry, survival jobs, and long-term vision in NYC

If you’re an actor who wants to write, a filmmaker staring down your first feature, or a creative tired of waiting for permission — this one’s for you.

🎬 Follow Teresa & support the project:
🎬 Donate (Tax-Deductible): https://www.filmindependent.org/sponsored-projects/no-one-likes-a-mad-woman/
🏰 Maid & Prince: https://maidandprinceproductions.com
🎭 Teresa Catherine: http://www.teresacatherine.com/
📸 IG: @teresacatherine — https://www.instagram.com/teresacatherine/
📸 IG: @maid.and.prince.productions — https://www.instagram.com/maid.and.prince.productions/
📸 IG: @madwoman_movie — https://www.instagram.com/madwoman_movie/

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: ⁠⁠⁠@foxandsiren.productions⁠⁠⁠

• 📸 Makayla: ⁠⁠⁠@iammakaylamcintosh⁠⁠⁠

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: ⁠⁠⁠Rebel Waves⁠⁠⁠

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: ⁠⁠⁠catyudain.substack.com⁠⁠⁠

• 📩 Email: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

  
  

  GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound

  Website: ⁠⁠⁠http://Dgsound.net⁠⁠⁠

  Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound⁠

Actress, writer, and director Roxanne Fernandes joins Gatecrashers to share her journey from Australia to Canada, navigating new industries, building community, and grounding her creative work in empathy and advocacy.

In this episode, Roxanne opens up about her early projects, what inspired her to volunteer with Look Glass, and how that experience continues to shape the stories she tells and the environments she helps create on set. We dive into the impetus behind Echo, her experience co-writing and co-directing the film with Megan, and the power of collaboration when storytelling is rooted in care and intention.

This conversation also explores how lived experience, community work, and accountability can inform safer, more inclusive creative spaces — and why language, process, and awareness matter for everyone on set, from actors and directors to producers, costume designers, and crew.

Content Warning:
This episode includes discussion of eating disorders. While these topics are handled with care, we hope this conversation also serves as inspiration and guidance for artists and crew on how to build more inclusive, supportive, and safe sets through conscious language and compassionate practices.

A thoughtful, honest episode about resilience, responsibility, and the future of storytelling.

🎞️ Roxane's Links

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roxannefernandes/
🎥 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4671385/ 

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echoshort2024/
🎥 IMDb (Echo): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35463275/

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: ⁠⁠@foxandsiren.productions⁠⁠

• 📸 Makayla: ⁠⁠@iammakaylamcintosh⁠⁠

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: ⁠⁠Rebel Waves⁠⁠

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: ⁠⁠catyudain.substack.com⁠⁠

• 📩 Email: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

  
  

  GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound

  Website: ⁠⁠http://Dgsound.net⁠⁠

  Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound⁠

In this episode, we sit down with the brilliant Angela Liu — a trilingual filmmaker, voice-over artist, and award-winning producer/director whose journey into vertical storytelling is anything but ordinary.

Angela shares how her path began in voice-over and sound, how she came to the U.S. for grad school, and how one chaotic production day — where the director was suddenly fired — thrust her into directing her very first vertical drama. That unexpected moment didn’t just change her trajectory… it launched her into an entirely new storytelling frontier.

Today, Angela works with leading vertical platforms like Dreameshort, Sereal+, and Flareflow, helping to define the rapidly evolving landscape of micro-dramas. In this conversation, she opens up about:

• 🎤 Her evolution from VO talent to filmmaker — and why sound is still at the heart of everything she creates

• 🎬 How she unexpectedly became a vertical director overnight

• 📱 Why verticals are exploding globally and what makes the format so creatively powerful

• 🧩 The growing importance of intimacy coordinators and ethical set culture

• 📝 Tips for actors auditioning in the vertical space (and common mistakes she sees)

• 🚪 How writers, directors, producers, and actors can break into vertical filmmaking

• ❤️ How her deep love for storytelling — especially stories for those who cannot speak for themselves — guides every project she touches

Angela’s passion, insight, and generosity make this a must-listen for anyone curious about the future of storytelling and the new creative opportunities unfolding right now in the vertical world.

Angela's Links

First vertical: The Unwanted Bride of Atticus Fawn

The hit: Fated at First Sight

AudioDrama app: Magicwave

Audio Dramas (trailers):

 Days Gone Wild, 

The Gang,

(trailer 2)My Sweet Pretty Boy (nominated for the best voiceover director for SOVAS Voice Art Awards, 2025), 

The Sweet Escape

Posters and Trailers

Website: https://www.angelaliuchen.com/

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4277032/

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: ⁠⁠@foxandsiren.productions⁠⁠

• 📸 Makayla: ⁠⁠@iammakaylamcintosh⁠⁠

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: ⁠⁠Rebel Waves⁠⁠

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: ⁠⁠catyudain.substack.com⁠⁠

• 📩 Email: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

  
  

  GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound

  Website: ⁠⁠http://Dgsound.net⁠⁠

  Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound

In this intimate episode, Makayla and Cat dive into the real story behind SHREDDED — a film born from grief, trauma, and the search for healing. Together, they explore how the project began, why Makayla felt compelled to make it, and the ways storytelling and surfing became powerful tools for processing pain.

Honest, vulnerable, and deeply human, this conversation pulls back the curtain on the emotional roots of the film and the journey of turning personal breaking points into art that can help others feel less alone.

🎬 Shredded — Direct Links & Resources

• Prime Video – Shredded (2024) Prime Video

• Tubi – Shredded (Free Streaming) Tubi

• JustWatch – Where to Watch / Streaming Info for Shredded JustWatch

• Official Trailer – YouTube youtube.com

• IMDb – Shredded (2024) Overview & Credits IMDb

• Review – “Shredded (2024)” on Ruthless Reviews Ruthless Reviews

• Official Facebook – Shredded the Film

In this explosive episode of Gatecrashers, Makayla and Cat sit down with actor–writer–director-producer Sean Crampton, a true multi-hyphenate force who’s rewriting the rulebook on how to build a career in Hollywood. Sean breaks down the unconventional path that led to his success — starting with his 10,000 hours spent grinding alongside his improv troupe, shooting scrappy sketches that became the foundation of his craft.

Sean shares the wild story of making his first feature film at just 24, how that passion project ended up landing James Franco. The future belongs to artists who operate like their own movie studio instead of waiting for permission from traditional gatekeepers.

We talk balancing the multi-hyphenate lifestyle, writing for the booming vertical content space, and an intro to how Sean is producing his own indie series in a true Mark Duplass, “just make it” style that empowers creators to build their own ecosystems. Community is everything in this industry.

If you're an actor, filmmaker, or creator who wants to break the system instead of chase it, this is the episode to inspire you.

Sean's Links:

• Rebel Filmmaking Community:
  https://rebelfilmmakingcommunity.thinkific.com/

• Bloomfield Boys Productions (Instagram):
  https://www.instagram.com/bloomfieldboysproductions

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: ⁠@foxandsiren.productions⁠

• 📸 Makayla: ⁠@iammakaylamcintosh⁠

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: ⁠Rebel Waves⁠

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: ⁠catyudain.substack.com⁠

• 📩 Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

  
  

  GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham SoundWebsite: ⁠http://Dgsound.net⁠Instagram: ⁠http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound

In this episode of Gatecrashers, we sit down with filmmaker Bonnie Gross — the writer, producer, and creative engine behind LADY PARTS, a fearless dramedy based on her real-life journey through pelvic pain, medical gaslighting, and the wildly intimate chaos that comes with a vulvar vestibulectomy. Bonnie turned one of the most vulnerable chapters of her life into a film that’s disrupting women’s healthcare conversations, winning festival awards, and now gearing up for a nationwide RoadShow.

We talk about building taboo-breaking art from scratch, the indie filmmaking grind, why comedy is sometimes the only way through medical trauma, and how Bonnie is taking Lady Parts on tour to spark a movement of advocacy, laughter, and loud-and-proud storytelling.

If you’ve ever been dismissed, doubted, or told to “tone it down” — this one is for the gatecrashers.

Based on writer & executive producer Bonnie Gross’s true story, Lady Parts is a dramedy feature film where a young woman’s sex life becomes a family affair when she has to undergo a vulvar vestibulectomy. Her loving but overbearing parents help her through recovery (despite her cringing) and learn that saying “vagina” loud and proud is the first step to advocating for herself in all aspects of her life.

Screening Interest Form

Donate to the Lady Parts RoadShow

LADY PARTS EPK

Website: www.ladypartsfilm.com
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21423506/
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/lady-parts-2024/
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_YoOG_Z99g 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladyparts_film/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladypartsthemovie
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shake_ur_bonbon
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ladypartsfilm 

🎟️ Upcoming Screenings

(Only Denver tickets currently available — more links coming soon.)

Philadelphia, PA
🗓️ Sunday March 1, 2026 – 5:30pm
📍 The Fallser Club, 3721 Midvale Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19129

Bryn Mawr, PA
🗓️ Saturday March 28, 2026 – 1pm
📍 Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

Somerville, MA
🗓️ Thursday April 9, 2026
📍 Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144

Washington, DC
🗓️ Thursday May 14, 2026 – 6pm
📍 The Miracle Theatre

Alexandria, VA
🗓️ Sunday May 17, 2026 – 6:00pm
📍 Patagonia Theatre, Alexandria, VA

Denver, CO
🗓️ Saturday June 13, 2026 – 3pm
📍 The Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St, Denver, CO 80211
🎟️ Tickets: https://bit.ly/ladypartsdenvertickets

GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound
Website: http://Dgsound.net
Instagram: http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound

💥 Gatecrashers Podcast — Hot Takes Episode #1

Things are heating up. 🔥

In our very first Hot Takes episode, Makayla and Cat (attempt) rapid-fire industry hot takes.

We’re talking:
🎬 The truth about short films — are they worth it?
🏆 Film festivals — what’s really going on behind the scenes?
🎭 The actor’s landscape today — can you just be an actor?
💣 Plus a few taboo industry topics.

From guilty film favorites to potential faux-pas, leave your hot takes and thoughts in the comments (On Spotify).

🎧 Listen now to Gatecrashers: Hot Takes — where honesty meets rebellion.

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: @foxandsiren.productions

• 📸 Makayla: @iammakaylamcintosh

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: Rebel Waves

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: catyudain.substack.com

• 📩 Email: [email protected]

  
  

  GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound
  Website: http://Dgsound.net
  Instagram: http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound

In this episode of Gatecrashers, we sit down with actor, filmmaker, and creative entrepreneur Ryan James Metcalf, the founder of Crop Shoppe, a cutting-edge production space designed for creators. Ryan shares his fascinating journey — from signing with one of the biggest talent agencies in the industry to discovering how making demo reels for fellow actors opened unexpected doors in his career and ignited his passion for filmmaking.

We dive deep into how technology and AI are transforming the creative landscape, why there’s no longer any excuse notto make and share your art, and how accessibility has become the great equalizer for modern storytellers.

It’s an inspiring, energizing conversation about self-starting, evolving with the industry, and redefining what it means to be a multi-hyphenate creator in 2025.

🎧 Tune in and get ready to crash the gates of creativity with Ryan James Metcalf.

—
Connect with Ryan & Crop Shoppe:

• Ryan on Instagram: @ryanjamesmetcalf 

• Crop Shoppe on Instagram: @cropshoppe 

• Ryan on IMDb: Ryan Metcalf (nm3122215) 

• Crop Shoppe website: cropshoppe.com

  
  

  GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound
  Website: http://Dgsound.net
  Instagram: http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound

In this episode of Gatecrashers, we sit down with Courtney Romano — filmmaker, writer, and founder of Queens Bird Films — to talk about the Non-De Film Movement, her rebellion against Hollywood’s outdated hierarchy. Courtney’s building a blueprint for filmmakers who refuse to wait for permission — creators who are done chasing studio validation, film festival approval, or anyone else’s green light.

We dive into what it means to operate as your own movie studio, how to survive (and thrive) outside the system, and why the next wave of indie film won’t look like anything we’ve seen before.

Follow Courtney and join the movement:
📩 letsgoagain.substack.com
🎬 queensbirdfilms.com

🌐 Connect

• 🎬 Production: @foxandsiren.productions

• 📸 Makayla: @iammakaylamcintosh

• 📸 Cat: @catyudain

• 📰 Makayla’s Substack: Rebel Waves

• 📰 Cat’s Substack: catyudain.substack.com

• 📩 Email: [email protected]

GateCrashers Podcast theme by Derek Graham Sound
Website: http://Dgsound.net
Instagram: http://instagram.com/dgrahamsound