Recently, the New York Film Academy welcomed Liz Manashil, who directed the award-winning indie, anti-romantic comedy Bread and Butter. The film stars Lauren Lapkus, SNL’s Bobby Moynihan and former NYFA guest speaker Micah Hauptman.
Manashil screened the trailer to our students and discussed the difficult process of crowdfunding and casting. Manashil wore multiple hats on the project, including writer, director, producer, and casting director. She even had to rewrite the script to make the project affordable and raise the money. Once the money was mostly in place, she was able to go after the cast she wanted for the film.
Manshil went on into detail on how she obtained VOD/digital distribution for the film and how that process worked. Afterward, students asked a variety of questions, ranging from what were the most popular perks on her Kickstarter (blueberry bread baked by her parents) to what did she learn from the project (to write something that’s even cheaper to produce next time).
After learning a few lessons about indie filmmaking, it’s no wonder Manashil is currently working on an indie sci-fi feature with one location.