{"podcast":{"title":"Show Don't Tell: Micro-Budget Filmmaking","slug":"show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490","podcast_index_feed_id":809490,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/5470278/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/show-dont-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/d13f89e884537189f8742264eab84f72.jpg","author":"Noam Kroll","episode_count":279,"summary":"Each week, filmmaker Noam Kroll shares valuable insight into the world of micro-budget filmmaking, geared towards true DIY filmmakers looking to get out there and create their own films.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-25T18:20:15.435777+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490"},"episode":{"title":"Getting a $5K Feature into TIFF & Going Viral With An 80 Second Short Film With Nick Toti","slug":"getting-a-5k-feature-into-tiff-going-viral-with-an-80-second-short-film-with-nick-toti","published_at":"2026-05-14T21:05:22+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490/getting-a-5k-feature-into-tiff-going-viral-with-an-80-second-short-film-with-nick-toti","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/getting-a-5k-feature-into-tiff-going-viral-with-an-80-second-short-film-with-nick-toti--72026312","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72026312/show_dont_tell_ep273.mp3","summary":"In this episode I'm joined by filmmaker Nick Toti - one half of the DIY filmmaking duo behind the viral 80-second short Dead Grandma , the TIFF Midnight Madness sensation It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This , and the upcoming feature Homebody. Throughout the episode Nick breaks down the decade-long origin story of Dead Grandma , from an improvised game he invented while working as a nursery school teacher in Austin to a 35mm short film that blew up in Variety and landed him on this podcast. We also discuss how his $5,000 found footage feature It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This unexpectedly landed in TIFF's Midnight Madness, the unconventional theatrical-only release strategy he's used to screen it across multiple continents without a distributor, and why Nick is now trying to convince A24 or Blumhouse to fund a studio remake of Homebody. Topics covered include: The real-life origin of Dead Grandma and how it developed over a deade Co-directing with his wife and creative partner Rachel Kempf Shooting on 35mm film - and everything that went wrong before they even rolled How It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This got into TIFF Midnight Madness The aesthetic of Homebody : making a movie that feels like a lo-fi demo tape Actively pursuing failure as a creative strategy - and why it eventually worked Nick's 25-hour real-time experimental documentary project Die Die Books - the horror film criticism press Nick and Rachel run Much more! Links from the show: Dead Grandma Short Film Homebody Trailer Die Die Books Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday","meta_description":"In this episode I'm joined by filmmaker Nick Toti - one half of the DIY filmmaking duo behind the viral 80-second short Dead Grandma , the TIFF Midnight M…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4502,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490/episodes/getting-a-5k-feature-into-tiff-going-viral-with-an-80-second-short-film-with-nick-toti/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490/getting-a-5k-feature-into-tiff-going-viral-with-an-80-second-short-film-with-nick-toti.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}