On the show today I’m talking with James Insalaco, who made his first feature, a comedy entitled Will Reading, on a shoestring budget over eighteen months. This is one of those DIY stories of a filmmaker putting together a self-funded project with available resources and friends as cast and crew. I think this is a great way to approach a first feature, recognizing that filmmaking is hard and it takes time to develop your voice and your skills. James discusses his festival experiences, his release on Amazon Prime, and his ultimate landing on YouTube. Most importantly, James took the experience gleaned from the release of his first movie to heart, and is carrying it into the making of his next feature. Which is what it’s all about, really.

Saylaco Films

Will Reading

Today I’m talking with Jason Ragosta, who’s been working on a variety of projects at both an independent and industry level for over two decades. Most recently Jason contributed a short to Sinphony: A Clubhouse Horror Anthology. We touch on a lot of stuff here covering Jason’s rich and accomplished history, focused on his team’s experience promoting and distributing the horror anthology through film festivals and streaming platforms. 

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Today I’m talking to Chris de Pretis, an East Bay filmmaker who made his first feature, Death Blood 4, on a shoestring budget, and is on the cusp of releasing his second. Chris’ approach was to use production of his first feature as a learning experience, as opposed to a bigger budget production with equity financing or crowdfunding tying him down to larger concerns. I love this approach to filmmaking as a way to build towards a sustainable career, keeping the stakes low while pushing forward with the long game. Chris brings great enthusiasm and transparency to his story here, we talk some real numbers, and get into some nice details about his promotional efforts, including an honest assessment of mistakes made and lessons learned. This is just one of those great, wide-ranging filmmaker conversations that I love on this show.

Instagram

In this interview, Jon Gustafsson tells the story of filming and releasing his documentary, Wrath of Gods. The film follows Icelandic/Canadian director Sturla Gunnarsson through the production of his ambitious historical adventure story, Beowulf & Grendel. Plagued by tempestuous Icelandic weather and unpredictable financing, the production survives by the skin of its teeth. Hired as an extra on the film, Jon was in prime position to document the struggles of the cast and crew, and especially a stoic and stalwart Gunnarsson, in the face of challenge after challenge. Then, what began as a BTS supplement to Beowulf & Grendel, gained a life of its own as a documentary in its own right in the spirit of Burden of Dreams or Lost in La Mancha. Jon takes us through the journey of making and distributing the film, with insight into the filmmaking process on many levels.

Wrath of Gods

Artio Films

Iceland Gone Wild

jongustafsson.com

UK-based filmmaker Richard Mansfield has been making micro-budget horror features for some two decades. After a few early experiences with more or less traditional distribution, Richard turned to self-distribution for the rest of his movies. He’s now up to 14 of them, and still going strong. Richard’s experience is a case study in ultra low budget filmmaking, with self-financed budgets at a level that present very little personal risk, and yet allow him to continue making these films indefinitely. Although this isn’t the way I’ve chosen to go about it with my narrative feature, I absolutely love and admire this way of making movies. Richard’s passion for what he does with these films shines through in this interview.

YouTube - Mansfield Dark Horror

Instagram

Tubi

Today I’m talking with Peter Hitchcock about making and distributing his feature film, A Song For Us. Peter, a UK native now living in Toronto, boasts a full and successful career working a variety of jobs in film and TV, but A Song For Us represents the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to make a feature film. The pleasantly understated and heartwarming narrative follows a 60s hippie as she reconnects with a former lover from the era. Peter’s experience self-releasing the film through FilmHub touches upon the realities of distribution today in the face of over-saturated streaming platforms and social media promotion; but also upon the joy of filmmaking for its own sake, telling the story you want to tell, and the satisfaction of touching audiences however and wherever they find your film.

A Song For Us

Trailer

Peter On Facebook

Allen C. Gardner has been making feature films since high school. Now in his early 40s, married with three kids to support, Allen is facing some decisions about how to make his lifelong obsession a bit more sustainable, but that’s not stopping him from charging forward. He has so many feature films to his name I couldn’t keep track of them all in the interview. What strikes me about talking with Allen is how he keeps forging ahead, undeterred by market realities or really much of anything else. His even temperament, unfettered enthusiasm, and dogged determination to keep making movies in the face of changing circumstances seems to me like not only a model for success but a well-earned reward in its own right.

Facebook

X

Instagram

Linktree

On today's episode I’m talking with Lisa Downs about her experiences distributing several documentary features which she collectively calls the “Life After” series. Each documentary catches up with the actor who played the lead character of an iconic movie, giving us a look at the paths their lives followed after such a unique and transformative experience. Lisa has put out two of these movies so far, is about to release a third, and is currently crowdfunding for a fourth and fifth. With the first film in the series Lisa had some disappointing distribution experiences, which led to a decision to take the reins and self-distribute the subsequent films. There’s a lot to take away here from Lisa’s journey, especially applicable to filmmakers looking to play the long game and build a fan base for their work.

Life After Movies

Instagram

Steve Rudzinski has carved out an impressive career for himself making and distributing a wide variety of indie films. Along the way Steve leaned heavily on horror conventions to sell his movies and build a strong and loyal fan base. Through his scrappy efforts, Steve managed to get to a place where he rejects traditional distribution options in favor of releasing his films himself, and, even more impressively, actually manages to make a living from it. This is a great lesson in career-building for the truly independent filmmaker.

Silver Spotlight Flims

I’m so excited to bring you this one today … it’s a long one, but I promise it’s worth it. Mark Stolaroff has been making films for over three decades, and in that time he’s seen the state of the industry and independent film distribution go through so many changes. I think that history is very important for filmmakers today to understand, because it kind of sets the stage for where distribution stands today, and indeed where it might lead in the future. While Mark admits openly that he hasn’t yet cracked the nut of making money off his films in a sustainable way, it’s clear from this interview that he has the drive and passion to keep at it regardless. In our chat, Mark compares indie films to prescription medicine, but I’m not gonna spoil that one for you, you’ll have to give the episode a listen. So settle in for a great discussion here, my conversation with Mark Stolaroff.

markstolaroff.com