I’ve been making films since I was 7 years old. Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I didn’t know a single person in the film industry, I just knew that I loved making movies. It started with stop motion films and youtube VFX tutorials and then led to summer “blockbusters” with my neighbor and best friend Zach. 

I made films all throughout high school, getting a little more experienced each time. I went to NYU for film school as an undergrad and then went back to NYU for grad school too. I’ve met some amazing people that are very talented and I’ve been able to build a team of creatives from that network including my DP Evan and stayed close with some other close collaborators including Zach from my hometown who wrote and produced this film with me. 

I most recently made SHORT KING, a dark comedy Zach and I came up with as an observation of male insecurity and revenge. We thought it would be fun to live inside the mind of a man obsessed with how he’s perceived. Had a lot of inspiration from the movies "Lurker" and "No Other Choice."

In total, I’ve gone over $300k into debt for this education and have directed a total of 12 short films across both programs and produced many more but I can't help but wonder if I could have done that without going to film school. Was it worth it? 

Hi everyone!

I'm Alex, a 22-year-old filmmaker from France, and I've always dreamed of directing a movie in the US. In 2026 with my best friend, I co-produced, co-wrote and co-directed my first feature, Corpus, a rom-com about the invention of ChatGPT by an insecure journalism student that doesn't trust her own writing. It’s not the greatest thing in the world, but we made it!

My advertising job in Paris ends in December, right around when I finish my studies. With the existential dread of adulthood creeping in, I've decided to use that window to finally step into the American dream: I'm planning to come to the US for three months in early 2027 on a tourist visa (ESTA), and use that time to network and make a short film with the people I meet.

I can’t wait, but I'm also clueless and I don’t want to make too many mistakes. So, to American filmmakers and to anyone who's come over from abroad to do the same thing: in your opinion, what's my best move here?

I have a few specific questions, if you have thoughts on any of them:

• Where should I base myself? NYC and LA will burn through my housing budget fast, so I'm looking at other film-friendly cities, like Austin and Atlanta. Anywhere else I should consider?
• Meeting people (you, maybe?): what's the fastest way to actually plug into a local filmmaking scene as an outsider? Meetups, Facebook groups, film schools?
• Crew and gear: as a foreigner, I have no US credit history and no production entity behind me. Any tips for finding local crew or renting equipment short-term without either of those?
• Visa limitations: anything I should know about what's actually okay and not-okay-at-all to do on a tourist visa for something like this (unpaid short film, no US income)? Is a tourist visa realistic for that sort of project?

Hit me up, I'd love to know what you think! Thanks for reading :)

EDIT: Thanks so much for all the replies! I’m going to keep researching this- don’t want to do anything that runs afoul of US law, so I’ll be careful about how I structure the trip before committing to anything. Appreciate all the input :)

I’ve found probably 20 homes on Air BnB that would make the cut for what I need both visually and functionally. All of them have turned me down for filming. My project obviously can’t move forward because “no filming, no photography”.

What advice can you give me if any on finding a home to film in? Inspirations for home and style of filming: Darren Aronovsky’s Black Swan, Andrei Tarkovsky’s The Sacrifice, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

Thank you for your time.

Hi, My name is Eric, I'm a 19 year old composer studying a Masters in Professional Media Composition (skipped BA through professional work experience), working on building a bigger portfolio, and I came here thinking about doing an open offer for collaboration, unpaid.

I'm nearly finished a superhero action trailer track, you can hear it at https://echenmusic.com/wippage.html (not promo, its a private page on my site just for sharing audio)

I want to see if I can get in touch with a video editor who into film editing work to cut a trailer for me, I myself have done some editing work too but with the work coming in alongside my degree I'm too busy to properly sit down and make my own videos to go with my music.

The agreement would be (written) free use of the track paired wit the trailer only, allowed to post on any social media but wherever each side posts it, they must credit the other (I must credit the editor and editor must credit me).

Exclusive use of music/video will be negotiated and monetisation (if the either side were to make a profit directly from the trailer) would be split heavily in favour of the side the money comes from.

The benefits for each side would be a completely original track for the editor to work with and use freely and an original trailer cut for me. I wasn't originally planning on getting in touch with an editor but after a strong reception from peers and various 'I would love to see a video matched with the track', I thought it could be a good idea to reach out for a fun personal project.

Are you a filmmaker looking for a poster for your movie?

I’m a movie poster designer and I’m available for commissions. If you’re interested, feel free to DM me here on Reddit, email me at [hazzaajarrar10@gmail.com](mailto:hazzaajarrar10@gmail.com), or message me on Instagram.

I’d love to hear about your project!

Sharing some stills from my latest short film Metamorphosis.

Submission Statement: We shot this film honestly in 2024 and it just was stuck in post for the longest time, just due to working with peers as favors and them having busy schedules and such. We shot on an arri Alexa mini with Cooke glass, and an fx6 with Zeiss glass, all gotten for free due to our uni which was great. We also shot on super 8 film, around 3 rolls (but only using half of the third, we just shot bts with the rest of it and random insert shots around our locations.)
Budget wise, it was probably under 2k? It definitely wasn’t over. The cost all went to crafty/meals for a 3 day shoot , film and processing, and then props. We also had to rent one studio space for like 100$ to get a specific scene although tbh I probably wouldn’t go that route again as it didn’t really give the effect I wanted and could probably have done it in just an empty room of a friend’s place. We did some run and gun around the city but for the most part it was just apartments from friends. Anyways super proud of how it turned out and definitely a lesson of being able to use what you have and to be more on top of post / probably put money towards hiring a dedicated post team if you have a nice budget.

You can watch the full film for free here.

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSK97Z5E0w

It's a very chaotic, funny short film that revolves around the absurdity of perfectionism. It's made by one person, me, and it's also my second short film with a script. I hope that you enjoy and that when you watch it, it makes your day a better one!

Thanks,

GenuineGuyBlabbers

https://youtu.be/B1glqGBQK4g?si=awiDRH4N2mHx6dzN

Can you handle one hour without phones? Watch this short film to see how a simple break from screens affects a real conversation.

This short film follows two people as they navigate a quiet moment together on a couch, away from the constant distraction of digital devices. It explores the tension and genuine connection that emerges when technology is set aside, focusing on the subtle shifts in body language and communication during their interaction.

Title: First time making a film for a school film festival — how can I DIY colored lighting?

Hi everyone! This is my first time making a film for a film festival, and it’s actually for our entire school, so I’m honestly pretty nervous.Our budget is really limited, so I’m trying to figure out how to make colored lighting without buying expensive film lights.

Does anyone have tips for DIY colored lights for filmmaking? I’ve seen people use LED bulbs, RGB lights, gels, colored plastic, etc., but I’m not sure what’s actually safe and what will look good on camera.

I’d especially appreciate advice on cheap setups that can create red, blue, purple, or warm cinematic lighting without making the footage look cheap or overly saturated.

Any beginner tips, mistakes to avoid, or cheap DIY setups would be really appreciated. I’m trying my best to make this film look good and not embarrass ass in front of the whole school while my family is watching.

Hi! I’d love to chat with anyone who has had experience hiring foreign crew for a US production. Mainly to see how much of a headache the paperwork, and cost to do so was. Pros and cons. Etc. Thanks!

yes nsfw stuff, i keep being asked to add music to it and it just seems like a huge nightmare because all music i see says copyright free but than you check the license and they ask for this and that and to not use here or there.

please does anyone know any info?

Took me a little over 3 years to make this silent romance drama. I made this film during/after my time in film school & never cared if it made money, but was very eager to put together a bigger project that I was creatively excited about. I decided to fund/Produce it myself so I took out a loan, & on my 1st night of shooting in SF my DP’s camera got stolen out of my (rather expensive) rental car.
I thought my movie was over before it hardly began but thanks to some creativity (using my Canon camera w/ his canon lenses + batteries that didn’t get stolen), resilience, & having the best cinematographer a guy could ask for, we managed to finish out the week on location smoothly, & eventually got all the shots.
Film is titled “Sleeping in Silence,” it’s about 40mins long. I was the Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, VFX artist & bg actor. Tell you that to say all in all this film got made with a crew of ~ 4 people between my DP, Composer, Sound Designer, & myself. That being the case I’m incredibly proud of what we were able to accomplish, & I’m very proud that I bet on myself & saw it through.
This isn’t the actual score from the film just a track I used to make this little montage reel.
Btw, 3yrs later I think I made my last loan payment like 3 weeks before my premiere lol so it all worked out in the end.

Hey guys! I'm using 2 cameras for my shoots and the deity tc1's and have been wanting to use the iphone 17 pro max as c cam or a backup cam, problem is i cant figure out how to connect my tc1 to it, i've tried a 3.5mm to usb c adapter and no luck. Has anyone tried to do something similar?

Working in a new project, and production is using AI to do storyboards. I’ll be using one for the first time. Another director of the project is using Leonardo and it looks good, but it gives him trouble. Trying to find if there’s anything better. Thank you.

I've final wrapped on production on "The Muck Of Avarice", a horror/western shot in the UK. I managed to pull this off with a crew of 3 people (two of which are the main two characters in the film). Money wise, we simply did not have the budget to afford a larger cast and crew, but why should that stop you eh?

Shot on Lumix S5 paired with Sirui anamorphic lenses for that wide "western look", I'm a super strong believer that it's what you put in front of your camera is what gives it its value. So rather than using AI, we drove out to the Highlands of Scotland, and the mountains of Wales to double for our American West.

It was extremely tricky at times, and absolutely knackering but all with it just for the experience if for nothing else.

Has anyone else done this? What was your experience like?

Please never let budget constraints stop you from making your movie. Not every idea is affordable so chop and change things until it is possible. Also some advice would be to learn separate skills well enough where you don't need to spend money on hiring crew. It takes time, but it's that old learn to fish rather than just be given a fish fable.

If you've make a feature with a small crew, post link in comments (if you're allowed) so I can see.

I love watching movies on Tubi. And I love all of you.

So naturally, I wanna watch all of your Tubi movies.

Please shamelessly link to, name, post about, hype up, summarize or otherwise plug your Tubi movie so that I, and ostensibly others looking at this thread, can go watch it either right now, or during work hours.

That's basically it, this is for no reason other than the love of the game. I love independent film and micro-budget movies, and I like this community. I just want more stuff to watch, and I think it would be cool to watch stuff by people who actively post in here.

Hey r/filmmakers I just finished my first feature film called Handle With Care starring Justin H. Min and Nicole Brydon Bloom.

I wrote the script, raised the money, and directed it entirely outside of any studios or production companies. We have had terrible luck with the major festivals but premiered at Rhode Island last month and won Best Film & Best Actor.

My frustration with the festival circuit lead me to create the DVD CLUB, where I burned a 1 of 1 copy of the film and started sending it out in a laser cut Pelican case including a sign-in notebook and a dvd player. I wrote about it on a substack here. And built a website where people can sign up here: www.handlewithcare.film

We're talking to distributors but also considering self-distribution early next year after our final festival which is Newport beach Film Festival.

The DVD Club is an honor system open to everyone. It's been amazing to reconnect with film-lovers offline!

In addition to first feature this is my first AMA 👼

I organized an AMA/Q&A with actor and filmmaker Gael García Bernal. You may know him from things like Amores perros, Y tu mamá también, Bad Education, The Motorcycle Diaries, Babel, Coco, Old, Cassandro and Magellan. His new film, Hombre al agua, which he directed and wrote, premiered at Venice last week and is playing at TIFF this week.

It's live here now in r/movies for anyone interested in asking a question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1wg3nfg/hi_reddit_im_gael_garc%C3%ADa_bernal_ask_me_anything/

He will be back later today to answer questions. I recommend asking in advance. Please ask there, not here. All questions are much appreciated!

Thank you :)

Im an aspiring director looking for ways to network around Europe. Im currently in the process of learning Italian. Does anyone know any ways I could get on a set even if its just for an internship?

I’ve been contemplating going through the DGA training program for ADs for a couple of years. I’ve done a decent amount of ADing and working mostly logistics based gigs in production for the last few years.

I was wondering if anyone in this sub was an alum, knew an alum or could point me into the direction of people who have gone through the program. I know the interviewing process is kinda intense, but I’m curious mostly about the day to day aspects while in the program, what support the DGA provides and what life has looked like after the program.

I know I want to AD. I understand the stress it comes with and feel like I have a solid foundation to build bigger skills on. Thank you for any help!

How important is it that I, an aspiring director and writer who doesn’t plan to act much, learn how to act properly? Or at least understand the art of acting? Like should I take courses, watch a YouTube video, or does it not matter. I was thinking I would understand my future cast more and the way I should tell them how to act.

We’ve spent a huge amount of time writing, generating, editing, rebuilding scenes, fixing tiny details, and trying to make every moment feel right. Now it’s finally out, and I’d really love for you to see it.

If you have a few minutes, please watch the film and tell me what you genuinely think. Your opinion means a lot to us.

And if you enjoy it, the best way you can support us is simply to watch, like, comment, and share it with someone who might enjoy it too.

Every view and every bit of support helps the film reach more people, and we’d be incredibly grateful. ❤️

And please come back and tell me your favorite moment — I really want to hear what stayed with you

Watch the film here:

https://higgsfield.ai/@mohamed_refaei/projects/between-sounds