indie forever

New name! New episode! New platforms!We’re now Indie Forever - a name that reflects what this has always really been about: independence as an ethos, not just a budget.Still rooted in indie film, but expanding the conversation - from filmmakers to designers, distributors, and people building things on their own terms.Our Patreon supporters still get all the goods - decks, resources, early drops - we just wanted to make the pod easier to listen to and share, so, you can now also find us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.New episodes drop every Friday, now featuring the occasional guest conversation with exciting creatives forging their own paths across different industries.Thanks, as always, for listening and supporting in whatever way you do.Indie Forever. In good company.

Multitasking is often celebrated as a skill but sometimes the real skill (read: challenge) is knowing when it’s helping and when it’s costing you.This week we get into the difference between productive momentum and burnout, how we each actually work when deadlines pile up, and why sometimes multitasking isn’t a choice so much as the season you’re in. Plus more on writing habits, routine vs unpredictability, and how we manage when everything hits at once.Thanks for listening and a reminder to submit any floating questions you may have for our Q+A episode coming up soon!

This week we talk about realizing that while we love Everyday People as our production company name (and we’re keeping it), there are, however, just too many other Everyday People titles out there for it to work as a useful search name for our podcast. So… we’re changing it.We already have a front-runner since recording, but in the episode we ask you to weigh in. Comment or DM us with your best ideas and we’ll do a poll if something strong comes in. We also talk about a pivot we’re making, the feature we’ve chosen to move forward with, and why (beyond branding reasons) that project is getting a new name too.Plus we chat Letterboxd, reading your own reviews, and whether replying is unhinged or fair game.As always, thanks for listening <3

This week we’re talking about creative compromise - what it actually looks like in development, and where the line is between being collaborative and losing the thing you set out to make. We get into navigating notes that fundamentally change the project, new execs coming in with a completely different vision, and the reality that sometimes the win is just getting something into production at all.Also: why sometimes getting what you want doesn’t mean everyone is going to be happy about it.As always, thanks for listening! Got a question or topic you want us to cover? Reach out or comment below. And if you’re enjoying the podcast, send it to a friend - we’re on our way to 100 :D :D

We saw the Is God Is trailer and went “uh oh.”This week we’re talking about the feelings artists rarely admit to out loud: jealousy, ego, and what it actually feels like when you see someone else make something that lives in the same lane as you.We get into that very specific feeling - the mix of admiration, envy, and the quiet panic that maybe your idea wasn’t as singular as you thought.We unpack the two waves of that feeling, what it means to build in a shared culture where ideas echo, and why most of it has less to do with the work itself and more to do with where you’re at.Also, we just hit 50 subscribers (!!) if you’re enjoying the podcast, please tell a creative friend and help us hit our goal of 100 subs in the next 60 days. Thanks for listening!

To our beloved subscribers: First thing's first - sorry this episode is coming to you late this week! Sasha forgot to hit publish on the post. OUR BAD. Promise it's still worth the watch! Alright, now second, on to the Oscars recap you didn’t ask for :D A show that started strong (Conan’s monologue was a 10/10) but ultimately carried us to a unsatisfying ending. We get into a few results that left us disappointed, and why Jesse Plemons being left out of the awards nominations conversation this season still feels like a robbery. (Also: eternal love for Kirsten Dunst.)Plus we talk about the ceremony itself — the hosting bits that landed (and the one’s that didn’t), the night’s looks (Ed Harris?!?!), and the overall production.As always, thanks for listening and hope you enjoy!

This week we're checking in with each other and with y'all. Navigating the industry right now as an independent creative is a bit of a mind f*ck. We discuss burnout, riding the waves of a creative career in today's climate, the uncertainty that can come with development cycles, and what it takes to maintain perspective during slower seasons.Plus Sasha shares why working at her local Chuck's Roadhouse might just be the thing to maintain her sanity and unlock her next story.Hopefully this doesn’t resonate that much… but it probably will. As always, thanks for listening.

This week we’re talking decks — what makes them good, the different kinds you actually need, and why a creative deck isn’t just for selling a show… it’s also for aligning your collaborators.We get into pitch decks vs. creative decks vs. grant decks, when to DIY and when to bring in a designer, and why it felt like we stuck gold when working with a designer like Onyeka Oduh (@queerdweeb) (Seriously, hire them.)Sasha also shares examples from past short and feature decks, including the show deck and creative deck for Bria Mack Gets a Life, and why even when it’s your own show, you still need a deck to direct. Plus some practical tips if crafting decks have always felt like your achilles heel.Enjoyyyy.

Episode 5: All Things Writing Pt. 2This one’s a rapid-fire Q&A where we get into the writing rules we live by, the ones we think are wildly overrated, and what keep us sane through the hard parts.We talk worst notes we've ever received, writing late at night versus early mornings, whether a little bourbon helps or hurts, and why some of our best ideas show up on airplanes or long drives in voice notes.There’s something very revealing about talking process in shorthand. You realize quickly what you actually believe versus what you’ve just absorbed from the industry. If Part 1 was about the internal negotiations of writing, Part 2 is about the practical philosophy of it.As always, appreciate everyone listening and engaging, we appreciate it.Enjoy.

In this first writing-focused episode, we talk about the kind of rejection that lives inside the writing process itself.We talk about writing for hire versus writing for yourself. About rejecting each other’s ideas in a partnership, not placating each other for the sake of harmony, and navigating notes that don't necessarily make something “better,” just different. We get into the energy of a writer’s room and that very real feeling when a story stalls, and the equally real rush when something finally clicks. We talk about using voice notes to capture ideas before they evaporate, commissioned development work versus building something from scratch, and Sasha shares a bit about the project she’s developing out of her deal with New Metric. This one is less about public rejection and more about the private negotiations that happen in the work itself.Also: in honour of our writing episodes, we’ve updated our Everyday, People Resource & Reference Library with 2 new screenplay drops. This includes scripts from this year’s Oscar-nominated films including Sinners, F1, and Sentimental Value. lPlus a second collection of recent studio releases like Materialists, Is This Thing On?, and No Other Choice.And yes. One day Sasha will figure out a camera angle where her hair isn’t chaotic and her glasses don’t reflect her screen the entire episode. But not today.Enjoy Part 1.

Earlier this year, creator @gracefullygabbie started publicly tracking her goal of collecting 1,000 rejections. She logs the auditions, brand pitches, and submissions she makes - with the understanding that more no’s inevitably increase the odds of a few meaningful yeses.That framing stuck with us.In this episode, we talk about what it would look like to actively pursue rejection instead of quietly structuring our lives around avoiding it. If we’re honest, most of us structure our creative lives around minimizing embarrassment, not maximizing possibility. So we’re trying something different as a way of expanding the range of what we’re willing to ask for.So we’re setting a goal: more swings, more risk, more visible asks.We get into how we’re thinking about casting and packaging our next projects, and who we’re reaching for. Plus what we’re calling our “rejection slate” - the specific asks we’re intentionally setting ourselves up to potentially hear no on.It’s less about tallying losses and more about loosening our grip on outcome. Reexamining what success looks like. Letting ourselves try without pre-rejecting ourselves first.We’ll be tracking what happens as we go!Enjoy the episode!

This episode is a direct response to a question we received from one of our viewers, Gavin, who is currently in post on his feature: What has your experience with Filmhub actually been like?In this Distro Dump, we break down our journey with Filmhub so far - why we chose it, how the onboarding process works in practice, what’s felt promising, what’s been less clear, and where it sits within our broader distribution strategy for Dinner With Friends.We talk honestly about expectations versus reality, what Filmhub is (and isn’t) designed to do, and how we’re thinking about aggregators as one tool among many rather than a silver bullet. We’ll keep updating with any useful news as our journey with them evolves. As always, appreciate everyone who’s listening and turning up for the process, not just the headlines.Thanks for following along. Full film and resource library on Patreon. For episodes and essays and writing reflections on filmmaking visit our Substack.

Everyone talks about premieres and sales. Almost no one talks about what comes after.In this episode, we share our first monthly distribution update on Dinner With Friends — the decisions and some of the trade offs. The journey of getting this film out into the world is far from over but we wanted to share the messy middle, while we’re still in it.If you curious about new paths for independent films, you’re exactly who this episode is for. We dig into festivals, theatrical releases, and working with aggregators.

TL;DR: We started a podcast and episode one is all about awards. Jump to 29:10 if you want our thoughts on this year's Oscars. Welcome to the Everyday, People Podcast (EPP), we’re excited to share this first episode where we get into awards culture: do they matter, what it’s actually like to win, the CSAs, the Oscars, and the narratives that form around them.We don’t get into who the fuck called Delroy Lindo “emerging” — but we do talk about his very well-deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination. We also touch on the resurgence of Tim Tim’s white boy rap era, who exactly is "everyone" when we describe a movie as one that “everyone must watch”, and what we'd like to think Sinners and Dinner with Friends have in common.This episode is free for all members. For our Studio and Screening Room members, we have two more episodes coming shortly, including our first monthly distribution update for Dinner With Friends and a conversation about why Sasha has become a very reluctant writer.If there’s something you want us to hear us talk about next, let us know. The more specific the better FYI! Here's a few things we're already cooking up:Slate Series — what we’re writing next, developing with others, and building internallyWriters’ Rooms — how they actually workTop 5 — Sasha or Tania pick our top five scenes, sequences, lines, or filmsMarketing a Movie — how success is actually measured and what we’re tryingThanks for listening and watching,Sasha & Tania