Halfstack Highlights Ep. 60 - Sundance's Manashil Helps Indie Filmmakers Share Their Stories

Like most creative endeavors, pursuing a career as an indie filmmaker is not easy.  Lack of financing, time, resources (not to mention that pesky day job) all seem to conspire against you bringing your creative dream to life and sharing it with the world. Liz Manashil is working to try and make the process a little easier.  The Manager of Sundance Institute’s Creative Distribution Initiative is reaching out to indie filmmakers

Liz is a microbudget feature writer/director.  She is a frequent speaker on film panels and conferences, including South by Southwest 2018.  Liz is a former film critic and often serves as a judge/jury member at film festivals.  Her debut feature film, Bread and Butter, was released September 1, 2015 on The Orchard and can be seen on video-on-Demand nearly everywhere, including HULU where she once served as a film critic.  The film was called “an absolute must watch for women everywhere”, by HelloGiggles.  Bustle.com said Bread and Butter was a “rare film that tackles female sexuality head on”.  Liz is currently working on her second feature film, Speed of Life.

In addition to being an indie filmmaker, Liz is also the Manager of the Sundance Institute’s Creative Distribution Initiative (CDI).  With online resources, workshops, and networks of organizations, CDI empowers filmmakers by teaching them the everchanging ins and outs of what it takes to distribute and market independent films.

Despite having a successful feature film and being associated with the Sundance Institute, Liz continues to face the same obstacles and challenges as her fellow filmmakers.  This is one of the reasons she is so effective as the Manager of CDI.  She isn’t merely preaching from some ivory tower pedestal.  She is in the trenches daily working through the challenges to share her artistic story with the world.  Both of her feature films were funded through successful Kickstarter campaigns.  The lessons she learned developing the financing for her indie film projects, she shares with other filmmakers through her work at CDI and elsewhere.  “I have learned some nuances on how to creatively market and distribute an indie film by working on my own projects,” shares Liz.  “This is some of the information that Sundance and CDI can offer indie filmmakers.  Bringing a creative project to life is not always easy.  But we can make it easier by learning from others”. 

Liz Manashil took time from her busy schedule to talk with HalfStack Magazine’s Louis Vasseur for a podcast episode for HalfStack Highlights.  During the program, they discuss Liz’s work as an indie filmmaker, her work at Sundance, and a CDI program that can help indie filmmakers get distribution for their projects.  Listen to the full episode below: 

Just hit the play button for the full interview 
PODCAST: Play in new window | Download
Listen and subscribe via iTunes

 She is in the trenches daily working through the challenges to share her artistic story with the world. Both of her feature films were funded through successful Kickstarter campaigns. The lessons she learned developing the financing for her indie film projects, she shares with other filmmakers through her work at CDI and elsewhere. “I have learned some nuances on how to creatively market and distribute an indie film by working on my own projects,” shares Liz. “This is some of the information that Sundance and CDI can offer indie filmmakers. Bringing a creative project to life is not always easy. But we can make it easier by learning from others”.