Off The Lot: The Indie Filmmaking Podcast

Jovanna Burke — Rejection, Film Financing & Finding Another Way

What do you do when the traditional path to making your movie keeps saying no? This week on Off The Lot, Anthony sits down with actor, writer and producer Jovanna Burke

The 5 Stages of Getting An Indie Film Made

Why do some indie films actually get made while others spend years stuck in development? In this episode of Off The Lot, Anthony breaks down the stages an independent fi

Brand Deals, Product Placement & Marketing Your Indie Film

Making the movie is only half the battle. Once your film is finished, you still have to figure out how to get people to actually see it. And if you're still trying to fi

How To Get Your First Film Made | Filmmaker Q&A

How do you actually get started as a filmmaker when nobody is giving you money, grants, connections, or permission? In Episode 66 of Off The Lot, Anthony answers questio

How To Budget a $2 Million Indie Film

What does it actually cost to make a $2 million independent feature? Ken and Anthony break down a hypothetical $2M movie using the Telefilm Canada budget structure and r

Nat Boltt — 10 Years To Make Holy Days & The Broken Indie Distribution System

Writer-director Nat Boltt joins Off The Lot to break down the decade-long journey behind her feature directorial debut, Holy Days. The film stars Judy Davis, Jacki Weave

5 Lessons From Making My First Feature Film | Ken Kabatoff | Remnant

I finally made my first feature film. After years of working in film and television, raising the money, assembling the team, shooting Remnant, going through post-product

Tight Lettuce: The Reality of Making Your First Feature | Harrison Houde & Dakota Daulby

Harrison Houde and Dakota Daulby spent years trying to get a feature film made. Then a producer called and essentially said: write the movie — we’re shooting it this year

The Director & 1st AD Relationship: How Great Film Sets Actually Run

A great 1st AD doesn’t just keep a film on schedule — they can completely change what a director is capable of accomplishing on set.In this episode Ken and Anthony break

The Odyssey Review: IMAX Spectacle, But Where’s The Heart?

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is unlike anything ever put on a movie screen. Shot entirely on IMAX film across oceans, mountains, deserts and ancient landscapes, it is

Are Movie Theaters Actually Making a Comeback?

Movie theaters aren’t dying. In fact, more people are buying tickets—and the films succeeding are challenging several assumptions Hollywood has made over the last decade.

Mayumi Yoshida on Making Akashi and Changing Telefilm’s Rules

Mayumi Yoshida spent nine years turning a deeply personal idea into her first feature film, Akashi—writing, directing, producing, and starring in a story that crosses gen

What Film Investors Actually Want In Your Pitch Deck

Most filmmakers build pitch decks around the movie they want to make. But an investor is looking at your project through a completely different lens: How do I get my mon

Corey Payette on Turning Stage Musicals Into Award-Nominated Films

Corey Payette did not wait for a studio to give him permission. He built his stories on stage, proved them in front of live audiences, and then turned them into award-no

Telefilm, Gatekeepers & The Financial Reality of Indie Film

Anthony Epp sits down with Ken Kabatoff for a candid conversation about the recent changes to Telefilm Canada's development funding, the challenges facing emerging Canadi

Remnant, Obsession, and The New Path For Filmmakers

Anthony Epp and Ken Kabatoff discuss two of the biggest stories in independent filmmaking right now: the debate over crew compensation on breakout indie hits and the grow

Julie Bruns and Steven Kammerer: Beneath Crimson Sails and the Case for Ambitious Genre Filmmaking

Anthony Epp sits down with Julie Bruns and Steven Kammerer, filmmakers and actors behind Beneath Crimson Sails for a wide-ranging conversation about fantasy storytelling,

Chad Costen: From Homemade Monster Movies to Mister Sandman

Anthony Epp sits down with filmmaker, visual artist, and Vancouver Film School instructor Chad Costen to discuss the long journey behind his new fantasy feature film, Mis

Matthew Cervi On Producing Movies You’d Pay to See

Anthony Epp sits down with producer Matt Cervi for an in-depth conversation about the realities of independent filmmaking in Canada, from financing challenges to the thri

Special Episode: Building a Film Crew That Plays Like a Team

Anthony flies solo this week while Ken is deep in post-production on Remnant, leading to a thoughtful conversation about what really makes film sets succeed: chemistry, a