The No Film School Podcast

Three directors who have been invited to and attended some of the most elite labs and fellowships in the business join No Film School's Liz Nord to define pitch forums, labs, retreats, and fellowships, and let other filmmakers know why participation in these opportunities can be extremely rewarding. Guests Sierra Pettengill ('The Reagan Show'), Sabaah Folayan ('Whose Streets’), and Jeff Unay (‘Cag...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Charles Haine discuss the lifesaving info that every filmmaker can learn from recent Radiohead and NARCOS shoots, and a dirty debacle threatening the beloved indie institutions in the Alamo Drafthouse family. In gear news, we get a first look at Sony’s full-frame VENICE, and we answer an Ask No Film School quest...

This week’s guests have heard over 10,000 pitches between them and, in this episode, they reveal what works and what doesn't when you're trying to raise money for your films. No Film School’s Liz Nord is joined by Molly O’Brien (Chief Business Development Officer of Fork Films), Daniel Chalfen (Co-founder of Naked Edge Films), and Jose Rodriguez (Director of Documentary Programs at the Tribeca Fil...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord and Jon Fusco discuss why the Emmys are actually worth noticing this year and what we should make of all the hubbub around Darren Aronofsky’s latest film, ‘mother!’. We also share wrap-ups from the Toronto and Camden International Film Festivals, including the movie made with 10,000 hours of surveillance footage. In Ask No Film...

Why do theater when you can do film? Why do film when you can do theater? Why do one when you can do both? Why do both when you can do VR? Director Dan Hasse and director/actor Taylor Myers are an ambitious pair of artists based in New York City who grappled with these pressing questions at length before finally coming to a conclusion. The answer? Just do all three. The duo went abroad earlier thi...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Charles Haine bring you a fall gear preview. We discuss all the latest gear news coming out of Amsterdam's IBC expo, including more details of Panasonic's EVA-1 and major Resolve upgrades, plus the multiple Apple announcements made at the company's annual launch event and how they affect indie filmmakers. We als...

When Israeli journalist Maya Zinshtein took on a four-day assignment to cover the arrival of two foreign players to a local soccer club, she had no idea that it would turn into a year-long making of a feature documentary that dramatically reveals the skeletons in her own country’s closet. But this was no ordinary soccer team—and this is certainly not your average sports documentary. The team at th...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder jump into fall festival season with reports from Venice, Telluride, and TIFF. We also share some positive financial news for indies against the backdrop of the summer blockbuster fail. For her very last episode ever, Emily shares a compendium of all the best filmmaking advice she's received from doze...

Making a short should be an easy thing, right? That’s what No Film School Producer/Editor Jon Fusco thought when he decided he would finally shoot his own. He was wrong. Making any film, no matter the length is certain to be an ordeal. In both pre-production and on set, many more things are bound to go wrong than right. Fusco sits down with award-winning short director Hughes William Thompson to d...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Charles Haine reveal the best anamorphic lens test we've ever seen and ponder the future of indie stalwart Fox Searchlight. We also discuss how one actor is proving that Hollywood really can change how it does casting, and say a sad goodbye to influential horror director Tobe Hooper. In gear news, we discuss Sha...

Director Janicza Bravo and actor Brett Gelman were 'covered in blood' while trying to get their film ‘LEMON’ made, but now it's theatrically released by Magnolia Pictures. The pair are rising stars in both TV and independent film—she directed a Sundance-winning short and an episode of Emmy-winning ‘Atlanta’ and he has appeared in dozens of shows and his own Adult Swim comedy specials—but ‘LEMON’ w...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder discuss the CineFamily controversy that's shaking up LA's underground film scene, how much cash exactly is made by the films of top-grossing indie directors, and an update on last week's record-breaking story about whether or not MoviePass will mean the end of theater-going as we know it. We also say...

The reigning families of modern American movies are household names: the Coppolas, the Gyllenhaals, the Afflecks. But what about the Kaufmans? If you are a filmmaker, they have very likely affected your life.  Dad is Lloyd Kaufman, creator of the Toxic Avenger and king of B-movies, whose independent studio Troma Entertainment has produced and distributed more than 1,000 films. Mom is Pat Swinney K...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder ponder whether or not cameras have reached peak resolution, and debate the merits of MoviePass’s new plan to let you see unlimited movies in theaters for $10 a month. We also discuss Facebook's aim to become the new YouTube and Apple's billion-dollar content investment. I answer an Ask No Film School...

The quality of this summer’s offering of independent films has just been utterly ridiculous. There have already been so many new voices, new perspectives, and unique stories hitting the big screen and now we can add Matt Spicer’s Ingrid Goes West to the list as yet another standout title. The film, which earned the coveted Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance follows Ingrid Thorburn, an unhi...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco,and Emily Buder discuss two new and very different industry studies: one about the use of swear words in movies, and the other about the future of the documentary film industry. We also talk about the new President of the Academy of Motion Pictures, updates from the Locarno, TIFF and NYFF festivals, and Netflix’s fir...

The experienced cast of ‘In the Radiant City’ joins No Film School’s Liz Nord to dish on how (and how not) to direct actors. 'In the Radiant City’ is directed by Jeff Nichols protégé Rachel Lambert and co-written by Lambert and Nathan Gregorski. The film is a quiet but very tense family drama about a man who testified against his brother in a murder trial when they were kids, and his return to the...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco,and Emily Buder wonder if DSLR filmmaking is finally dead, and whether Soderbergh's new production model can revive indies. We also discuss a former Google Android exec who extols iPhone filmmaking, Netflix's $20.5 billion in debt, and say a sad goodbye to Pulitzer-Winning writer, director, and actor Sam Shepard. We...

Back at Sundance, No Film School's Jon Fusco sat down with a few of the teams behind a few of this summer's best independent films while they were still fresh off their premiere highs. Brigsby Bear, which came out July 28, obtained a $5 million deal from Sony Pictures Classic for Distribution rights. Director Dave McCary and screenwriter Kevin Costello join the podcast to discuss the journey each...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder discuss the new rules for breaking into Hollywood and why "constantly reminding people you exist is now part of the job." We also share what we learned from last week's Comic-Con and the 38th News and Docs Emmy nominations, which were announced this week. We bid farewell to both Adobe Flash and the Y...

‘Landline’ co-writers, Director Gillan Robespierre and Producer Elisabeth Holm join No Film School’s Liz Nord to discuss how they overcame the typical hurdles to get their second feature made and theatrically released. The pair first collaborated on 'Obvious Child', which premiered at Sundance 2014, where Holm won the Red Crown Producer’s Award, and went on to critical and audience acclaim and the...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco,and Emily Buder discuss George Romero's DIY Legacy, what filmmakers should note about last week's Emmy nominations, and a trio of stories about crucial on-set safety issues. We also share the best advice we've gotten from some of summer's biggest indie directors, and hear from ‘Killing Ground’ director Damien Power a...

You may know Steve Ellison better by his beat-making alias Flying Lotus, or perhaps even as Flying Lotus' MC alias, Captain Murphy. Music, however, was not his first love. The director, who now simply goes by "Steve" actually went to film school far before he laid down his first mixtape. Just don't call him a product of the cinematic education system. Steve's debut feature Kuso truly goes against...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco,and Emily Buder discuss how even indie movies aren't safe from Russian interference, updates in the indie box office, the battle to save net neutrality, and a too-early goodbye to actor Nelsan Ellis. We also hear from director David Lowery about the challenges of making his summer indie hit ‘A Ghost Story.’ Charles H...

No Film School's Emily Buder sits down with prolific indie filmmaker Nathan Silver and the stars of his latest movie, Thirst Street, Lindsay Burdge and Damien Bonnard.  Silver has made a movie every year for the past 8 years. Last year, he had the film Actor Martinez at Tribeca. Needless to say, Silver is a staple in the New York indie film scene. In their conversation, they discuss how Silver man...