Make a Movie on Your Own Terms and Navigate Life as an Artist, with Brooke Berman

This week on Your Creative Midlife, I talk with Brooke Berman about her latest film, "Ramona at Midlife," which explores the central challenge of reconciling one's youthful aspirations with the reality of how life actually unfolds. The film follows Ramona, a former essayist turned animal shelter worker, as she grapples with the gap between her 25-year-old self, the person she expected to become, and who she actually became—a struggle shaped by both personal choices and broader cultural shifts. Brooke shares how she made the film on her own terms, how artists at any stage of life can pursue creative ambitions, and the top skills and resources for anyone who wants to make a movie. About the guest:Brooke Berman is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, and memoirist whose work has been produced and published across the US and abroad. Originally trained as an actor and solo performer, Brooke began performing her own work on the Lower East Side of Manhattan before receiving formal training in playwriting from the Juilliard School and Maria Irene Fornes. Her latest film, “Ramona at Midlife,” is available on Apple, Amazon, and other streaming platforms. Links:Watch "Ramona at Midlife" on Apple TV:https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/ramona-at-midlife/umc.cmc.7b4qpx8ldhzghe90ziw599t74 Watch "Ramona at Midlife" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ramona-at-Midlife-Brooke-Berman About Ramoa At Midlife:https://www.ramonaatmidlife.com/About Brooke Berman:https://brookeberman.net/ Brooke Berman on Substack:https://substack.com/@brookeberman “In Anna Quindlen’s Latest Novel, Hardship Is Relative” by Jennifer Weiner, The New York Times:https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/books/review/more-than-enough-anna-quindlen.htm“Why Women Still Can’t Have it All” by Anne-Marie Slaughter, The Atlantic, 2012: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/ Resources mentioned by Brooke:SunDance Collab: https://collab.sundance.org/About-Collab Film Fatales: https://www.filmfatales.org/ Film Stack Substack: https://filmstackdailydigest.substack.com/No Film School: https://nofilmschool.com/ Please rate and review on Apple Podcasts.  And see more about Betsy Bush and her guests at www.yourcreativemidlife.com.  Are you on your own artistic or creative journey?  We want to know about you!  Please contact us through the website.  Dare to follow your muse!