The No Film School Podcast

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, Emily Buder, Jon Fusco and Charles Haine discuss Hollywood studios' beef with Rotten Tomatoes and what the highest-grossing films of the year so far have to do with it all. They also talk about Canon's latest misfire with the 6D Mark II, Christopher Nolan's 70mm Dunkirk release, and Emily's favorite movie of the year thus far: David Lowery's A Ghost Story.   L...

When Liz Nord spoke with first time Palestinian filmmaker Maysaloun Hamoud back at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, her narrative feature In Between (or Bar Bahar in Arabic) was just about to premiere. As with any new director, she had no idea what the response would be or what the coming year would bring. But her film’s path has been particularly unpredictable, leading to three...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, Charles Haine and Emily Buder discuss the real problem with Lucasfilm's firing of Lord & Miller, and how to protect yourself from a cyberattack. We also reveal why a promising streaming subscription was killed before it even had a chance to live, and why you might never see Albert Maysles’ final film. In Ask No Film...

Ashley McKenzie is the type of director that does it all. The Canadian multi-hyphenate runs her own production company, writes her own scripts, and directs all of the company's films. When she’s on set, however, she gives up almost all notions of planning and control to make her shots as organic and in the moment as possible. For her debut feature, Werewolf, which has won awards at almost every re...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Charles Haine weigh the benefits of film school against its rising cost, and debates the merits of renting out your own gear. We share some fun facts about the crossover between TV directors and the year's biggest films, say a (possibly temporary) farewell to one of the world's greatest actors, and discuss wheth...

We saw a lot of movies in the Midnight Section at Sundance this year. There were a lot of weird movies. 'Bitch,' however, is a batshit insane movie. In terms of understanding what we’re dealing with here, the premise really only gets you half the way there: an underappreciated mother finds out her jerk-off husband is cheating on her and as a result, well, she turns into a dog. The real insanity, h...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder discuss the new coalition that has longtime rivals HBO and Netflix joining forces, why producers are losing money, and a new digital filmmaking initiative in LA. Charles Haine joins us for gear news and answers an Ask No Film School question about how to buy good lenses on a budget. In Weekly Words o...

The Emmy award-winning co-directors of Berlinale premiere ‘For Ahkeem', Jeremy S. Levine and Landon Van Soest, and one of the film’s producers, Iyabo Boyd, join No Film School’s Liz Nord for a frank and fascinating discussion about how to overcome the challenges inherent in telling the story of someone whose background is entirely different from your own. In this case, the film’s co-directors are...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder discuss the camera that Panasonic hopes will win back indie DPs, and the threat holding Hollywood ransom. We also uncover the indie heart of the Wonder Woman phenomenon, and how its director Patty Jenkins' next move is coming directly to a niche streaming service near you. The episode goes into Apple...

At Tribeca, No Film School's Emily Buder sat down with first time director Sophie Brooks and her producer, David Brooks, who also happens to be her brother. Their film The Boy Downstairs went through a very well structured series of steps to prepare it for a premiere at a major festival. The duo talk the strategies they put in place to prevent Sophie from making the same mistakes any other first-t...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder reveal the film that got Jessica Chastain and Pedro Almodovar teary-eyed at Cannes, and a lot more about the best and worst of the world's pre-eminent film festival from this year. We also discuss Canon's latest offering—an affordable camera whose specs were leaked ahead of this week's Cine Gear Expo...

'Flames' co-directors Josephine Decker and Zefrey Throwell waded into the most intimate waters with Ashley Connor, the DP who filmed them having sex. The threesome joins No Film School’s Liz Nord to discuss their provocative film—an art-docu-fiction-softcore porn-hybrid about Decker and Throwell's real-life relationship and its aftermath—after its Tribeca premiere. The conversation includes the fi...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco and Charles Haine divulge how to get the most authentic performances out of your actors, and how this year’s television NewFronts affect indie filmmakers. We also discuss an alternative to YouTube where you might actually get paid for your work, and share advice for directors, producers and cinematographers from indu...

Brothers Eshom and Ian Nelms come from humble beginnings. Neither went to film school, instead, they learned from going out and shooting a lot of bad stuff. Their first feature, Squirrel Trap, may be the perfect example. Shot for $1500 in the woods behind their parent's house, their crew consisted of only three people. Their father lit the whole thing with a flashlight and a bounce board. After su...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Charles Haine wonder if the massive decline predicted for summer box office returns is a hidden boon for indie filmmakers. We also discuss the new rules that might affect every freelancer, new E-mount lenses from Sony, an obituary for the MP3, and why the war between Netflix and movie theaters rages on even at t...

Renée Felice Smith and C.A. Gabriel, co-writers and directors of ‘The Relationtrip,’ join No Film School’s Liz Nord after the film’s SXSW premiere to discuss how they parlayed everything they’ve learned on other people’s sets (Smith as a lead actress on 'NCIS: Los Angeles' for eight seasons, and Gabriel as a commercial composer for high-profile brands) into their own utterly charming indie feature...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder introduce a filmmaker who learned how to tell whether festivals have actually watched his movie, and mourn the inimitable David Lynch's retirement from cinema. We also discuss what the annual Newfronts advertising presentations can tell you about where to pitch or sell your films, the closure of Face...

What does it take to be a fantastic documentary producer? From sitting in a ditch in Greenland’s below freezing weather, to pulling out an intensely personal story from a cut that may be a few hours too long, experienced producers Kate McLean and Glen Zipper embody the sort of intrepid attitude that a producer on a non-fiction film tends to need. What exactly does a documentary producer do, and wh...

In this special festival episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord and Emily Buder ask whether the Tribeca Film Festival has a secret identity, and talk about why everyone is talking about 'The Handmaid's Tale.' We share tales and trivia from our on-the-ground coverage of Tribeca, including fest acquisitions, awards, dystopian premonitions, plant musicians and the most memorab...

Chances are, you know John Carroll Lynch’s face even if you don’t know his name. The actor, whose perhaps best known for his role as the Zodiac killer in David Fincher’s Zodiac, has a staggering 110 acting credits to his name. At this year’s SXSW, Lynch finally added another role to his resume: Director. His debut feature, Lucky, stars the legendary Harry Dean Stanton, another actor who is no slou...

In this special episode of Indie Film Weekly, Charles Haine, Micah Van Hove and Jon Fusco broadcast live from the historic Plaza Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. The trio of No Film School editors come together for a moment of solace to discuss a week of non-stop coverage at the annual NAB Show. What they identify is a worrying trend. Another year with no huge gear announcements and technological adva...

Adam Leon made only one short before breaking onto the indie scene with his SXSW winning debut feature Gimme the Loot. With a budget around $60,000 the writer/director won the "Someone To Watch" award at the Film Independent Spirits and was able to get his film into almost every notable film festival on the market, including a run in the Un Certain Regard competition at Cannes. How did he pull it...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco and Emily Buder get excited about the 16th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival opening this week, and discuss whether (finally!) Netflix might let us see its films in theaters. We also say goodbye to the genius cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and remember his storied career working with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Ma...

Three cinematographers with three very different films at SXSW 2017 discuss their favorite gear, what DPs can do to stand out off set, how they make room for their actors or subjects in vulnerable situations, and of course, the shoots that almost killed them. Guests include Autumn Eakin, who shot Jessica M. Thompson's realist, contemporary THE LIGHT OF THE MOON, which won the SXSW Narrative Featur...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord and Emily Buder discuss the strike that threatens to bring Hollywood to a halt, while a big move by Netflix attempts to bring a whole new life to production in Tinsel Town. Charles Haine joins us to disclose all of the drone rumors from this year’s upcoming NAB show, and answers an Ask No Film School question about what focal l...