indie spunk: UNFILTERED

"When it comes to building & monetizing a business that gives you brand visibility AND the ability to build a big abundant creative life... you HAVE to be able execute quickly. We don't have time for complicated. We don't have time for small. We don't have time for fear..."

APPLY TO JOIN *FREEDOM CREATOR* HERE.

This isn't the end... It's just a new beginning!

Things will be changing for the pod next year, so we compiled the BEST of the best highlights of Season 1 so all your film tips could land in one place!

Keep an eye out for more episodes in 2024, and join us on January 12th at 2pm for the Momentum Retreat to kickstart your 2024 with High-Level Support & Your Unique Action Plan!

Snag tickets here!

Let's take a moment to look back at all of the beautiful learning experiences/conversations over the past year (yes, the first season is coming to a close, how crazy is that!)

You’ll hear a highlight reel for film related tips that came out of this year from our guests about:

Thank you to all of our listeners over this past year! We’ve loved the opportunity to support all of you lovely filmmakers in your journey through this industry. 

Check out the full episodes more potent and impactful conversations (linked in order of appearance below):

In this episode, Izzy has a vulnerable, honest and empowering convo with Katy Chen Mazzara about financial wellness as a freelancer.

Katy Chen Mazzara is a certified trauma-informed financial wellness coach and graduate of UC Berkeley’s Personal Financial Planning program. As a former TV producer and award-winning documentary filmmaker, Katy understands the balance between dreaming and doing. Through her six step Financial Freedom Formula, Katy helps creative freelancers and entrepreneurs make more, worry less, and achieve true financial freedom, so they can create the life of their dreams.

She talks about how your current belief systems around money can hinder you, and what some typical mental blocks are around money, and why Katy doesn’t believe in budgeting. 

Stand-Outs from this stellar convo:

P.S. Katy is offering a FREE workshop on Dec 5th, 7th, and 9th!

In this Financial Freedom Formula workshop, Katy will guide you through a series of powerful steps designed to help you make more, worry less, and still pursue your passions. 

Here's a sneak peek of what's in store 👀:

✅ Attract more money so that you’re no longer limited by your bank balance.

✅ Break free from financial constraints by releasing money blocks, enabling you to thrive in your entrepreneurial endeavors

✅ Build a foundation for the future so that you can have peace of mind, security and stability.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to take the first step toward a financially empowered and creatively liberated life through Katy’s Financial Freedom Formula Workshop!

Sign up here!

Resources:

BTS of the Bachelor

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine

Katy’s Instagram

Katy’s Website

This is an exclusive recording of a Q&A Workshop inside the All-Access membership of indie spunk club.

BLACK FRIDAY OFFERS expire on Friday 11/24 at 8 pm PST! Get in on it here.

In this episode, Izzy speaks with close friend and Sundance director Chloé Aktas. They discuss capitalizing on beginner’s luck, making pitching personal, and Chloe’s process for writing. By the end of this episode, you’ll find that if you’re curious, resourceful, tenacious, and open, you will figure it out. 

Chloé Aktas is an American and Turkish writer/actor/director from North Carolina. In 2020 her short film “Lance (in a Neck Brace)” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was featured in IndieWire’s “Top Ten Must See Shorts at Sundance,” as well as recognized by NPR, No Film School Podcast, and Vimeo Staff Pick. Chloé was one of twenty-five directors personally invited to the Canada Goose and IndieWire Female Filmmaker Dinner at Sundance, celebrating “trailblazing women in the industry.” Her acting credits include “The Walking Dead." In 2016 her short film "Mutt" was a finalist for the 43rd Student Academy Awards.

This episode will empower you to:

P.S. Chloé’s short “Lance (in a Neck Brace)” is one of ten films nominated for the Cards Against Humanity Short Film Festival!

Click here to watch her short and vote for her film to win the $100,000 cash prize!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Chloé’s Instagram

Chloé’s IMDB

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

In this episode, Izzy and Sonja explore Sonja’s journey of self-made success, forged through hard work, relationship-building, and creating her own opportunities. 

Sonja O'Hara, an Emmy-nominated queer writer/director/actor, represented by The Gotham Group and WME, has been recognized as one of the "10 Filmmakers To Watch" by Independent Magazine. She's known for her Shudder series DOOMSDAY, which earned a Daytime Emmy nomination, and recently directed two feature films, including Lionsgate's MID-CENTURY with Academy Award nominee Bruce Dern and ROOT LETTER, praised by FilmThreat as an indie gem.

In this episode, Izzy and Sonja talk about:

— Directing in a way that emboldens your actor to make strong choices 

— Trusting that even if it’s a no right now, that doesn't mean it’s a no forever.

— Building the skills, the capability, and the team with your first project, so that it can become a stepping stone to something bigger

— Strategically approaching your career

— Diligently nurturing your network, thereby creating momentum

P.S. At 41:36, Sonja describes an uber sexy way to pitch yourself to agents as multi-hyphenate. It’ll get ya revved up. 

Resources mentioned:

FREE Film Budget Training

Sonja’s Facebook

Sonja’s Instagram

In this episode, Izzy dives deep with TV & Film Writer Tawnya Benavides Bhattacharya. They discuss how betting on herself led Tawnya on a journey toward writing and to the creation of her business, Script Anatomy. 

As Izzy and Tawnya discover similarities in their life paths, Tawnya shares how building her platform coincided with her career taking off.

Tawnya and her writing partner, Ali Laventhol, are currently Co-Executive Producers on Peacock’s hit show Bel Air and Netflix’s My Life With The Walter Boys. They are currently co-writing a movie with Peter Landesman (Concussion, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks), as well as The Girl In The Attic for Stacy Mandelberg. The writing team is currently in the 2023 Showrunner Training Program. They have written on multiple shows: A Million Little Things (ABC), Famous in Love (Freeform), The Night Shift (NBC), Ginny & Georgia (Netflix), Perception (TNT), The Client List (Lifetime) and Fairly Legal (USA), as well as Amazon’s Shelter, based on a Harlan Coben trilogy, and Salsa for Apple.

In this episode, Izzy and Tawnya talk about:

— overnight success happens over fifteen years

— trusting your co-creators and the delicate chemistry of a writers' room

— actionable tips on how to combat toxic environments

— finding balance, even in times of imbalance 

— honing your craft by making your own work

— most importantly, fave places for wine and pasta in Silverlake

Come for the food & drink recs, stay for the industry insight and wealth of knowledge that this amazing badass has to share! 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Script Anatomy

Tawnya's Twitter

Tawnya's Instagram

"Burn It Down" by Maureen Ryan

Sneak a peek inside one of Izzy’s coaching calls in this episode...

THE DOORS TO SCRIPT TO SCREEN CLOSE TOMORROW OCT 10!

Get your booty in here: https://indiespunk.com/script-to-screen 

In this ep, Izzy also discusses how she’s built her career over the past decade, through failures and setbacks, from hiding her first short film, to landing premieres at prestigious film festivals and getting featured in magazines. Since then, Izzy has helped her clients raise over 100k in film funds, and over 45+ creators get their films finished and festival-celebrated.

Izzy chats how to —

Most of all, Izzy shares actionable advice on how to get the most out of your crowdfunding campaign (which is included in S2S. Details below, doors close tomorrow! ⬇️)

Script to Screen Accelerator

JOIN INDIE SPUNK CLUB FOR FREE & COME TO ELEVATE TO YOUR NEXT BIG PROJECT: https://indiespunk.com/script-to-screen

In this episode, Izzy speaks with her client, actor/filmmaker Renu Razdan about her journey as a first time filmmaker, and the joy that comes with knowing that you only get to do that once!

Former Silicon Valley Tech Exec turned actor and now filmmaker, Renu came to indie spunk wanting to be a storyteller. She wasn’t sure how to translate her tech background to an artistic career. Now, in 2023 after a pandemic and in the middle of a strike, she says she couldn’t feel more “arrived” as an artist, explaining: “I understand what it’s like to be and call myself a story teller.” 

Now, Renu feels she can finally trust herself, trust her point of view, and she earned that trust through making her own film and working with Izzy.

In this ep, Izzy and Renu discuss how she:

P.S. Renu developed, perfected, pitched, surpassed her fundraising goal, and directed her short film “A Newlywed Story” with skills she learned through indie spunk courses. These courses are now available to the public in Izzy’s Script to Screen Accelerator program! The doors open THIS WEEK.

In addition to making her first short film ‘A Newlywed Story’, Renu recently starred in Saadvish Films' “Those Seven Steps”. She also appeared in the winning HBO Visionaries film Halwa streaming on HBO Max, and can be seen on CW's Dynasty. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Click HERE (and scroll down) to add yourself to the indie spunk mailing list & be one of the first to snag a free membership to indie spunk club! (Avail until Oct 4 2023 only!)

_________________________________

In this special extra-Aussie episode, Izzy talks with long time friends and collaborators, Raechelle and Karina Banno, to speak about their newest project THE PARTY JOB and their production company, Palindrome Productions.

Karina & Raechelle Banno have carved out independent careers as actors in their own right but founded their production company Palindrome Productions to shape and share stories that reflect the world around them. With women at the forefront of their creative process, Palindrome Productions endeavours to inspire and connect as a challenger of paradigms. 

Raechelle & Karina have a range of film & television projects in various stages of development, but their debut short film, THE PARTY JOB, is a dark comedy inspired by an awkward true story that brings a refreshing tale to audiences with a stellar Australian cast of well-known faces and exciting up and comers. 

Named as part of the official selection of the Phoenix Film Festival, Maryland International Film Festival, XXIV Festival Internazionale Corti da Sogni in Ravenna, Italy, and at the Academy Award Qualifying St Kilda Film Festival to name a few. THE PARTY JOB short has won awards for 'Best Short Film', 'Best First Time Director', ‘Best Debut Short Film’, as well as the 'Emerging Talent Award' at the Canberra Short Film Festival. 

Karina & Raechelle are proud to have THE PARTY JOB play as part of the 2023 official selection at the Lady Filmmakers Festival on the 28th of September in Los Angeles, California.

You’ll hear Izzy, Karina, and Raechelle speak about:

— the fear of mediocrity

— how a good set environment comes from the top down

— the importance of being public and flawed

— cultivating collaborative relationships that reassure you when you are unsure

— how failing can help you learn your own taste

P.S. It’s mentioned in this episode that their short “The Party Job” plays at the Lady Filmmakers Festival on 27th of September, but that’s the start date of the festival. Their film plays on Thursday the 28th! If you happen to be in town, come along and check it out!

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

This is Part Two of a three part series recorded LIVE at Production Connect’s indie film night, co-hosted by Izzy and award-winning filmmaker & founder of Production Connect, Andrew Sandler. Featuring Brandon Dermer, Quinn Shephard and Izzy Stevens.

In part two, Izzy and Andrew chat to the wonderful Quinn Shephard about her path to becoming a breakout film director.

Quinn’s directorial debut feature “Blame”, which she also wrote, produced, edited, and starred in, landed Quinn the title as the youngest female director to have a feature screen at the Tribeca Film Festival. This led to her signing with UTA, developing multiple projects, and eventually following up with her second feature “Not Okay” starring Zoey Deutsch (The Politician, Zombieland: Double Tap, Set It Up). This powerhouse of a filmmaker is a 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 Listmaker and is now in post-production for Hulu’s miniseries “Under the Bridge,” which she wrote and produced. 

In this episode Quinn covers:

— Hiring Chris Messina (I.S.S., Sharp Objects, The Mindy Project) as a 19 year old first time feature director

— Why you should always ask for what you want (even if it seems unlikely)

— Juggling acting & directing in her debut feature “Blame”

— Pivoting the film plan to stay on time and on budget

— How 'Not Okay' came to be...

P.S. If you’re interested in attending a Production Connect event, CLICK HERE to hop on their mailing list for upcoming events.

Resources for This Episode:

Quinn's IMDB

Quinn's Instagram

Production Connect LA