indie spunk: UNFILTERED

We wrapped. We slept. We cried a little. And now we're back with fresh energy eyeballs to debrief the actual shoot of Survival Job , our first short film together as a production company. Spoiler: it was the best set either of us has been on, and that wasn't by accident. In this episode, Izzy and Becky break down what happened before the shoot, when the cameras rolled, what they'd do d...

We're back, pre-production chaos and all. Spoiler: it looks like a lot of unanswered emails, 40+ grocery store phone calls, and at least one existential crisis about becoming a beekeeper. In this episode, Director & Producer duo Izzy and Beck break down the real, unfiltered deets of getting a short film off the ground, and the things nobody talks about online. We get into: Why we never onc...

Welcome back to Indie Spunk: Unfiltered. It's been a BIG week (but also when is it not??). We are deep in pre-production for Survival Job—casting submissions are rolling in, locations are almost locked, and contracts are going out—and somehow in the middle of all of that, we've found time to drop not one, not two, but three announcements...and you have to tune in to find out what they are....

The best films aren't engineered... they're excavated. This week, Izzy talks with Beck about the missing layer traditional screenwriting skips entirely, how she rewrote her feature James On Rage without knowing what it was about and ended up a Stowe Story Labs fellowship finalist, and why your subconscious brain knows what your story is about before your intellectual brain does. If you hav...

Welcome back to Indie Spunk: Unfiltered. No guests this week—just Izzy and Beck, one in Larchmont with a helicopter overhead and one in a home office with a barking dog, delivering what might be the most unexpected pep talk of the season. This week we get into the science of comfort and why our primal brains are actively keeping us stuck, the question Izzy can't stop thinking about ("what...

Actor & Writer Gemma Scoble joins Izzy and Beck to talk upcoming film "Survival Job" — a short written by and starring Gemma Scoble, about a Midwest actress hawking bottled water in dystopian LA who witnesses an act of violence that changes the course of her life. Think Sean Baker meets Tarantino. Think: nobody gave me this role so I built it from scratch. The team chats about the fi...

This week Izzy and Beck get into the rage, updates on their feature film, "James on Rage", why high-achievers are terrible at celebrating wins and what they're doing about it, the mindset shift from "please work with us" to "who do we want on our team," and ambition vs. rest. Izzy also shares the most chaotic side quest (sneak peek: she just wanted to walk in a pa...

Welcome back to Indie Spunk: Unfiltered! This week Beck sits down with author, intuitive reader, spiritual mentor, and all-around multi-hyphenate Kate Van Horn—a longtime friend of the pod who has been quietly helping creatives get out of their own heads for years. This one's equal parts grounding and practical: how to build rituals that actually support your creative process, what tarot can d...

Welcome back to Indie Spunk: Unfiltered.  This week Izzy and Beck put the film updates on pause — because sometimes you're so deep in the messy middle of production that the most honest thing you can do is admit you can't talk about it yet.  So instead, Beck straps on her game show host hat and puts Izzy in the hot seat for a chaotic, whimsical, deeply unhinged round of rapid fire questions.  Plus...

Hot off the heels of a major SXSW premiere, writer and star Dalia Rooni takes us behind the scenes of making her debut indie feature, Same Same But Different . From early development hurdles to casting challenges and the chaos (and unexpected magic) of production, this conversation pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to bring a first feature to life. Izzy & Dalia get real about crea...

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Quick update coming atcha from SXSW! Yes we recorded this in a hotel vestibule on the way to the airport back to LAX, and YES we had an amazing, whirlwind experience over the last 4 days. Here's what happened... 🎙️  Get Anonymous Advice On The Podcast:   ⁠⁠https://forms.gle/sMWovGuD8JC9Crxu7⁠⁠   🎬  Apply for Filmmaker Breakthrough Mentorship:   ⁠⁠https://indiespunk.com/filmmaker-breakthrough⁠...

🎙️  Get Anonymous Advice On The Podcast:   ⁠https://forms.gle/sMWovGuD8JC9Crxu7⁠   🎬  Apply for Filmmaker Breakthrough Mentorship:   ⁠https://indiespunk.com/filmmaker-breakthrough⁠ 🎥  Join our Filmmaker Database:   ⁠https://indiespunk.myflodesk.com/filmmaker-database⁠   📩  DM us on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/indiespunkunfiltered⁠ No Spoilers: We stop talking about "Wuthering Hei...

Welcome back to Indie Spunk: Unfiltered. This week, Izzy and Beck playing a full round of "Am I the Asshole?" — filmmaker edition. From recasting your best friend three weeks before rehearsal to an investor who wants to make your protagonist "more likable", this episode is the honest conversation the industry pretends it doesn't need to have. In this episode: [00:08:30] You...

"Is it unethical to ask people to work for free on your film if you have $0 budget? What's the line between collaboration and exploitation??" This week, we’re answering your questions about unpaid labor in indie filmmaking, when saying "no budget" is honest or it's actually just lazy, how to avoid being a dictator director while still prioritizing efficiency, and whethe...

This week, we’re answering your questions about making our feature film, James on Rage . From where we are in the funding process, how industry connections actually unfold (it's def not how you think ), and the story behind the A-list actor who read our script… and hated it ( lol ). We’re transparently pulling back the curtain on what it really looks like to build a feature from the ground up...

We looooove a pop culture moment just as much as we loooooove asking each other questions about things we might not know about each other, and this episode has BOTH ! So, buckle the f*ck up...this is a wild one. We’re covering the strangest acting gig Izzy's ever gotten (psychics and stalkers included ), what's been going on in Hollywood legal drama, a dash of religious deconstruction, awa...

Is the film industry dead or are you just talking to the wrong people??? This week we’re answering a question from a recent film school grad who’s looking around at working professionals and seeing… exhaustion, cynicism, and people quietly planning their exits. Cool cool cool. So how the hell are you supposed to stay inspired when the people seemingly *ahead of you* look defeated? Beck & Izzy...

Ahhhh rejection. In all it's most glorious forms. This week we get alllll up in the FACE of rejection (incl. sharing Beck's literal rejection email received at 6am on the day of recording. Yup.) In this episode, Beck & Izzy break down real listener questions about being passed over, ghosted, and politely shut down by the people who were supposed to say yes. We’re talking film scripts t...

We’re getting personal! Making tough relationship choices, thinking of breaking up with a close collaborator, pitching yourself to be a bridesmaid after ghosting the group chat for film dreams... If you're struggling to set boundaries and communicate to the people in your life, tune in to this episode and pay attention to Beck & Izzy's straight-up, no BS wisdom. They've navigated these exact s...

We’re kicking off 2026 with a brand new era of Indie Spunk Unfiltered from Izzy and Beck—a new format, new energy, and a whoooooole lot of real life filmmaking talk. In this episode, we catch up on the wild momentum of the past year, share what’s shifting for us creatively and professionally, and introduce the new structure of the show: part life update, part filmmaker group chat, part no-bullshit...

Find Makayla here: ⁠IG⁠ ⁠Substack⁠ Youtube⁠ ⁠ makaylamcintosh.com Check out this past episode: How to Build Your Network & Career Momentum, with Emmy-Nominated Director Sonja O’Hara Come ⁠watch me make a movie⁠ !

I sat down with indie filmmakers Jillian Smith and Reagan Yorke — two total forces who are making films their own way and bringing a community along with them. We talk about the messy magic of indie film, why authenticity matters more than polish, and how they’re building something bigger than just movies. If you’re into unfiltered stories about carving your own path, this one’s for you. Check out...

On today’s episode we catch up in the middle of a whirlwind week—prep for another film Beck is producing, investor reach outs, and money mindset deep dives. Between juggling schedules, wine recs, and building the community in Watch Me Make a Movie , this episode captures the real texture of being in the trenches of indie filmmaking.&& we even get into AI. Reese Witherspoon recently talked...

The #1 Q we get: how do you pay for a film? Day 5 of "5 Days of Bringing our Feature Film to Life", and we’re going out with a BANG—and by bang...we mean money talk. We promised to keep it real, so here's the truth: we’re not nepo babies . We don’t come from money. We don’t have a major studio pulling strings behind the curtain. And yet, we’re still raising the capital to get our ind...