Off The Lot: The Indie Filmmaking Podcast
by Ken Kabatoff and Anthony Epp
Latest episode
The Problem With Canadian Film Financing, Festivals & Distribution
The Problem With Canadian Film Financing, Festivals & Distribution
About this podcast
Off The Lot is where serious indie filmmakers level up. Hosted by Ken Kabatoff and Anthony Epp, this podcast delivers real, hard-earned lessons from the frontlines of independent filmmaking. Each episode is a masterclass — featuring directors, producers, and creatives who are in the trenches, making movies happen without a safety net. If you want actionable insights, unfiltered conversations, and the blueprint to build your own career outside the studio system — this is the show.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 74 episodes
- The Problem With Canadian Film Financing, Festivals & Distribution · 59 min · Season 2 Episode 72Why is it so difficult to finance, produce, and distribute an independent film in Canada? And are film festivals actually helping indie filmmakers build sustainable careers? In…
- Making 'Send The Rain' — With Directors Hayley Gray & Kaayla Whachell · 56 min · Season 2 Episode 71Why do so many Canadian independent films struggle to break through internationally? And what does it actually take to get a feature film made in Canada? This week on Off The…
- Why Most Filmmakers Never Make a Second Feature · 1 h 3 min · Season 2 Episode 70You made your first feature film. Now what? According to research by film industry analyst Stephen Follows, only about 1 in 4 first-time feature directors makes a second film…
- Jovanna Burke — Rejection, Film Financing & Finding Another Way · 58 min · Season 2 Episode 69What do you do when the traditional path to making your movie keeps saying no? This week on Off The Lot, Anthony sits down with actor, writer and producer Jovanna Burke to talk…
- The 5 Stages of Getting An Indie Film Made · 1 h 7 min · Season 2 Episode 68Why do some indie films actually get made while others spend years stuck in development? In this episode of Off The Lot, Anthony breaks down the stages an independent film goes…
- Brand Deals, Product Placement & Marketing Your Indie Film · 42 min · Season 2 Episode 67Making the movie is only half the battle. Once your film is finished, you still have to figure out how to get people to actually see it. And if you're still trying to finance…
- How To Get Your First Film Made | Filmmaker Q&A · 47 min · Season 2 Episode 66How do you actually get started as a filmmaker when nobody is giving you money, grants, connections, or permission? In Episode 66 of Off The Lot, Anthony answers questions from…
- How To Budget a $2 Million Indie Film · 1 h 15 min · Season 2 Episode 65What does it actually cost to make a $2 million independent feature? Ken and Anthony break down a hypothetical $2M movie using the Telefilm Canada budget structure and real…
- Nat Boltt — 10 Years To Make Holy Days & The Broken Indie Distribution System · 1 h 4 min · Season 2 Episode 64Writer-director Nat Boltt joins Off The Lot to break down the decade-long journey behind her feature directorial debut, Holy Days. The film stars Judy Davis, Jacki Weaver and…
- 5 Lessons From Making My First Feature Film | Ken Kabatoff | Remnant · 1 h 13 min · Season 2 Episode 63I finally made my first feature film. After years of working in film and television, raising the money, assembling the team, shooting Remnant, going through post-production and…
- Tight Lettuce: The Reality of Making Your First Feature | Harrison Houde & Dakota Daulby · 1 h 13 min · Season 2 Episode 62Harrison Houde and Dakota Daulby spent years trying to get a feature film made. Then a producer called and essentially said: write the movie — we’re shooting it this year. The…
- The Director & 1st AD Relationship: How Great Film Sets Actually Run · 59 min · Season 2 Episode 61A great 1st AD doesn’t just keep a film on schedule — they can completely change what a director is capable of accomplishing on set.In this episode Ken and Anthony break down one…
- The Odyssey Review: IMAX Spectacle, But Where’s The Heart? · 39 min · Season 2 Episode 60Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is unlike anything ever put on a movie screen. Shot entirely on IMAX film across oceans, mountains, deserts and ancient landscapes, it is an…
- Are Movie Theaters Actually Making a Comeback? · 1 h 4 min · Season 2 Episode 59Movie theaters aren’t dying. In fact, more people are buying tickets—and the films succeeding are challenging several assumptions Hollywood has made over the last decade. In this…
- Mayumi Yoshida on Making Akashi and Changing Telefilm’s Rules · 1 h 15 min · Season 2 Episode 58Mayumi Yoshida spent nine years turning a deeply personal idea into her first feature film, Akashi—writing, directing, producing, and starring in a story that crosses…
- What Film Investors Actually Want In Your Pitch Deck · 1 h 13 min · Season 2 Episode 57Most filmmakers build pitch decks around the movie they want to make. But an investor is looking at your project through a completely different lens: How do I get my money…
- Corey Payette on Turning Stage Musicals Into Award-Nominated Films · 1 h 4 min · Season 2 Episode 56Corey Payette did not wait for a studio to give him permission. He built his stories on stage, proved them in front of live audiences, and then turned them into award-nominated…
- Telefilm, Gatekeepers & The Financial Reality of Indie Film · 1 h 1 min · Season 2 Episode 55Anthony Epp sits down with Ken Kabatoff for a candid conversation about the recent changes to Telefilm Canada's development funding, the challenges facing emerging Canadian…
- Remnant, Obsession, and The New Path For Filmmakers · 1 h 19 min · Season 2 Episode 54Anthony Epp and Ken Kabatoff discuss two of the biggest stories in independent filmmaking right now: the debate over crew compensation on breakout indie hits and the growing…
- Julie Bruns and Steven Kammerer: Beneath Crimson Sails and the Case for Ambitious Genre Filmmaking · 1 h 12 min · Season 2 Episode 53Anthony Epp sits down with Julie Bruns and Steven Kammerer, filmmakers and actors behind Beneath Crimson Sails for a wide-ranging conversation about fantasy storytelling…
