Author: Jennifer Fischer

2019 was an important year of growth for women directors, particularly regarding episodic television. For the first time ever, women and minority directors (both men and women) directed half of all TV episodes with women directing a record 31% of all episodes. Valerie Weiss was one of the many talented women directors who had a busy year in 2019 directing many popular shows: Why Women Kill, Suits (multiple episodes), For The People, The Rookie, The Resident, Chicago Med and many more in a bold follow up to 2018 which saw her directing two of my personal favorites: How To Get…

Writer/Director Amy Taylor recently wrapped the film festival run for HUNTER’S WEEKEND. A seasoned filmmaker who has directed episodic content for PBS/Hulu, HUNTER’S WEEKEND is Taylor’s first feature film. It premiered at Reels of the Dead (at the Days of the Dead Horror Convention in Chicago) and received rave responses at Northeast Film Festival Horror Fest, Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival (the film’s LA premiere), MystiCon Independent Film Festival (part of the MystiCon Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror Convention), Loudoun International Film Extravaganza and the Women Texas Film Festival. In Hunter’s Weekend, park rangers, Lyle and Victor, want their elite, invitation-only hunter’s weekend event…

Life XP is an action-packed dramatic comedy that takes place both in real life and Virtual Reality. The main character Angela (Cassandra Ebner), finds herself fired from her old job and thrust into Beta Testing the newest VR system. Each week she is immersed in a new video game and it starts to have an impact on her everyday life. All Angela wants is to be the hero of her own story but seeing as she’s never played a video game before and her life is going into shambles this may prove harder to gain the XP points needed to…

Confession: I missed my youngest son’s first day of preschool because I was out of state working on a film production. Yep, me and Chelsea Clinton have that in common. She missed her child’s first day of preschool because she was campaigning for her mother’s presidency, something perhaps more important than my film shoot. In her case, her husband took their child to school. In my case, though, my husband wasn’t there for the big day either. He was with me — working on said film production. My mom took our son to his first day and wiped his tears…

Dead Poets Society was one of our family’s favorite movies growing up. The power of those students standing on their desks and saying “O Captain, My Captain.” The mantra, Carpe Diem, ringing through my mind. Carpe Diem — Seizing the day looks much different for me now than it used to. There was a time when it meant traveling solo around the Middle East or Southeast Asia — it meant something extreme and exciting. Now, Carpe Diem often means seizing the opportunity to snuggle up with my boys at the end of the day, seizing a rare date night with…

I just realized how soon my sons will be back in school. When summer winds down and fall approaches, I often move into “learning” mode along with the little ones in my life and Ms. in the Biz is a great resource for restocking my indie filmmaking toolbox. I mined some top resources to share with you. Whether you’re planning to shoot a film this Fall, preparing for the film festival circuit or getting ready for a crowdfunding campaign, Ms. in the Biz has got you covered! Top Articles on Crowdfunding: Everything and the Kitchen Sink: My Approach to Crowdfunding…

Filmmaking (and “the Biz” in general) is not for the faint of heart. There’s no clear path to success. Those who “make it” do so through a wide variety of methods, and success does not necessarily equate to happiness. Countless stars have fallen by their own hand even at the height of their success, leaving many of us baffled. And, countless independent artists suffer unhappiness because we aren’t more “successful.” Yet, in the film and television industry, especially with the power and reach of the internet and the evolution of new media, it’s hard to say what success actually is…

The “Biz” is not for the faint of heart. Neither is life. It never turns out as you planned and things are never quite as you expect. In Hollywood, everyone (even the most “successful” superstar) will tell you that you get way more nos than yeses, way more disappointments than celebrations. Some “nos” are easily brushed off, especially when you’ve been around the block a few times. You expect it, but other “rejections” are truly disappointments. Yet, others still, hit you like a ton of bricks and, every now and then, a “no” is so significant, so big and so…

This post is inspired by Ms. in the Biz founder, Helenna Santos, and Ms. in the Biz contributor, Alexandra Boylan, who were filming their own micro-budget masterpiece somewhere in the wilderness of New Mexico earlier this month. (To follow Helenna and Alexandra along their journey, check out At Your Own Risk Movie.) SMUGGLED, the award-winning film I produced 4 years ago, which is STILL screening at colleges and universities across the country, was shot with a crew of 4 – no joke, 4. Two of the four were college students and I was 7+ months pregnant and producing with my…

When it comes to music, I am a child of the 80s and right now, Billy Joel’s “Say Goodbye to Hollywood” ballad is the soundtrack swirling around in my head as I write. With Sundance wrapped and #OscarsSoWhite just around the corner, I find myself reflecting on the “state of the industry” — looking and seeing what Hollywood has to offer for independent artists. I find myself responding, “not much.” A large number of films bought at Sundance were purchased by Netflix or Amazon, and Netflix is credited with being partially responsible for the historic deal Fox Searchlight made as…

We are seeing a growing divisiveness in the United States. The run-up to the 2016 presidential election is making those divides quite clear and demonstrating just how “fear-addicted” our media has become. Politics is dominated by heightening either fear of the “other”, or fear of what those who fear the other will do. Very little emphasis is placed on understanding those we disagree with or on looking at issues thoroughly and humanistically. The movies that dominate the box office reflect this reality as well. Films are made for “this audience” or “that audience,” and independent films are receiving less and…

Sugar is NOT your friend. My youngest, who is 4, had one of his worst public tantrums ever recently and I blame sugar. Typically, we eat something healthy for breakfast, but we were running late the other day and left the house without getting a chance to eat. Then, a nice woman we know at a bakery gave the boys donuts. It was sweet, so I said yes and we all thanked her. However, about an hour later when Caterpillar (my blogging nickname for my youngest) had an utter meltdown at the coffee shop that left me rushing out the…

Just do it. Make your first film, and don’t be afraid to fail. It’s easy to come up with reasons why we can’t do something and hide behind the fear of failure, but I say embrace it! Mess up, make mistakes. Every successful person I know has failed time and again, so don’t waste time fearing failure. You can’t improve your art if you aren’t making it. That being said… Listen to criticism. ….be open to criticism. Filmmakers can lean toward narcissism. Check the ego at the door. Show your work to others and listen to their criticism. Having others…

Film promotion and distribution is a mystery wrapped inside an enigma — one I struggled to figure out as a “newbie” with a horror/thriller several years ago, that was recognized by IFC, but ruined by our distributor, to becoming a more seasoned producer with “Smuggled,” a multi-award winning immigration film that our company opted to distribute ourselves. It hasn’t an easy ride, but it has been worth it, and we’ve learned a lot along the way. 11 tips for navigating distribution: 1. Know what you’ve got — Be honest about what your product is. Check your ego at the door.…