indie spunk: UNFILTERED

Find Makayla here:⁠IG⁠ ⁠Substack⁠Youtube⁠⁠makaylamcintosh.comCheck out this past episode:How to Build Your Network & Career Momentum, with Emmy-Nominated Director Sonja O’HaraCome ⁠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 S&Q Films here!+ our FREE masterclass on feature film funding: My producing partner and I are breaking down the three biggest lessons we’ve learned this year about getting investors to say yes and building confidence in your team. Don’t miss it. Sign up here:https://indiespunk.myflodesk.com/3hardlessons

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 about how women are adopting AI at far less of a rate than men are, and that's a problem...so let's talk about it!We talk about how we want to use AI as a tool—not to replace creativity, but to amplify it—and why resisting it outright can put indie filmmakers further behind.🪩 Want more? Join the waitlist for "Watch Me Make a Movie"—your front row seat to every decision, detour, and win as we bring our feature film to life.

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 indie feature made, creatively and strategically.This episode is about pulling back the curtain on film funding. From budgets to investor talks to the mindset it takes to go from dreaming to funded, we’re telling you exactly how we’re navigating the financial side of making a movie.Inside this episode, you’ll hear:🪩 How much it actually costs to make an indie film (and why it’s always more than you think).🪩 The creative ways we’re raising money without industry privilege.🪩 What budgets really mean in practice (spoiler: they’re not static).🪩 The mindset shifts every filmmaker needs to go from “dreaming” to “funded.”Want an even deeper look into how we’re getting this film made?? Join the waitlist for Watch Me Make a Movie, our behind-the-scenes program where you’ll see every step of how this film comes to life.

If you think your film is “for everyone,” it’s probably for no one. DAY 4 of "5 Days of Building our Feature Film" is all about the brutal truth about how creative vision can MEET marketability, instead of pitting those two things against one another.Every filmmaker hits the tension between creative vision and marketability. Do you make the thing in your heart, or the thing that sells? The answer, of course, is messy—and if you’re not navigating this balance, your project probably isn’t moving.In this episode, we unpack:🪩 Why most filmmakers get stuck in the “creative vs. commercial” debate.🪩 How marketability doesn’t have to kill your originality.🪩 The messy middle: staying true to your art and making something people want to watch.🪩 How we’re navigating this in the development of our own feature.Want an even deeper look into how we’re getting this film made?? Join the waitlist for Watch Me Make a Movie, our behind-the-scenes program where you’ll see every step of how this film comes to life.