Filmmaker Mixer

Solidarity director Dustin Brown and producer Kaiulani Bush join the Filmmaker Mixer Podcast to discuss the decade-long journey creating a deeply personal debut feature about two immigrants whose lives are connected across language, culture, and circumstance. From short film beginnings to self-financing a trailer that caught the attention of Darren Aronofsky and Protozoa Pictures, this is a masterclass in persistence and independent filmmaking.Dustin and Kaiulani break down how lived experience, community history,and visual storytelling shaped the film’s emotional core.Filmmakers will learn how to sustain long-term projects, build momentum through grassroots filmmaking, and craft authentic social realism on screen.

Director and writer Ruthy Pribar and actress Ronit Yudkevitz join the Filmmaker Mixer Podcast to discuss their latest film, What Is to Come, which premiers at the Tribeca Film Festival. Following the success of her acclaimed debut feature Asia, Ruthy shares how a chance encounter with a woman carrying an extraordinary story inspired her newest film. We explore the responsibility of adapting real-life trauma, finding hope inside devastating circumstances, directing emotionally complex performances, and how her perspective as a filmmaker has evolved since winning the Nora Ephron Prize at Tribeca. Ruthy also reflects on the themes of survival, gratitude, and reinvention that continue to shape her work.

Production Designer Cabot McMullen joins the Filmmaker Mixer Podcast to discuss his work on Shrinking, his journey from architecture and theater to Hollywood, and how production design shapes audience emotion.
Cabot shares insights into visual storytelling, collaboration, set design, and the creative decisions that help bring characters and worlds to life. Filmmakers will learn practical lessons about design, storytelling, and building meaningful creative careers.

Sophia Meloni and cinematographer Lexa Krebs join Filmmaker Mixer to discuss the making of CHOP CHEESE, Sophia's debut short film inspired by a real family story. They break down adapting personal experiences into narrative filmmaking, collaborating with family members, and building an authentic visual style for a coming-of-age story.The film premieres at Palm Springs International ShortFest and has also been selected for HollyShorts. Filmmakers will learn about directing first projects, developing short films for festivals, working with actors, and crafting compelling stories from real life.

Filmmaker Mixer sits down with writer, producer, and horror storyteller Eric Miller, author of Whatever Happened To Uncle Ed? and screenwriter of films including Ice Spiders, Night Skies, and Mask Maker. We discuss genre storytelling, balancing horror with comedy, and how emotional truth strengthens supernatural fiction.Filmmakers will learn about writing tone, adapting ideas for production realities, creating memorable horror concepts, and sustaining a creative career across novels and film.