Daily Talks: The Business of Indie Filmmaking

Explore the opportunities and challenges of independent filmmaking in this panel discussion featuring industry professionals. From funding and production to distribution and audience engagement, panelists will share insights and strategies for navigating the evolving indie film landscape. The conversation will include a Q&A session, giving attendees the chance to ask questions and gain practical advice from experienced filmmakers and executives.

Meet the Panelists:

Aaron Harvey is an American independent filmmaker currently based in North Carolina. His most recent feature was the 2019 theatrically released INTO THE ASHES starring Luke Grimes, Frank Grillo, James Badge Dale, Marguerite Moreau and Robert Taylor. His feature THE NEIGHBOR starring William Fichtner, Jessica McNamee and Michael Rosenbaum was an official selection of over 20+ international film festivals and was released theatrically by Vertical Entertainment in 2018. His first feature, CATCH .44, starring Forest Whitaker, Malin Akerman, Bruce Willis, Shea Whigham and Brad Dourif and was released theatrically in 2011. He is currently in post production on his latest feature, COME WITH ME, starring Theo Rossi and Ron Perlman. Aaron has also directed a range of short films, notably IDIOT., which played dozens of festivals around the world. As well as writing and directing, he has also produced the feature film ECHOES (2015) starring Kate French and Steven Brand as well as the documentary, VALERIE, about the life of legendary actress Valerie Perrine. Aaron was one of the founding members of Annapurna Pictures and was actively involved in the companies initial slate of films including LAWLESS, HER, THE MASTER, ZERO DARK THIRTY, KILLING THEM SOFTLY and FOXCATCHER. He was subsequently hired to write several screenplays for Annapurna, including the long-gestating adaptation of the novel THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH as well as a draft of the iconic Ray Bradbury novel FARENHEIGHT 451. Currently, Aaron runs his own production entity, Michael Bruce Pictures, which has several projects in active development.

Natalie Metzger is a Spirit Award-nominated producer and Vice President of Production & Development at Vanishing Angle, where she champions bold, genre-defying independent films. She has brought to life an impressive variety of features and shorts that have earned acclaim across the world, premiering at Cannes, Sundance, Berlinale, SXSW, Tribeca, and more. Natalie’s producing credits include IT AIN’T OVER (Sony Pictures Classics, WGA Award nominee), THUNDER ROAD (SXSW Grand Jury Winner), WEREWOLVES WITHIN (IFC), GREENER GRASS (Sundance), THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW (MGM/Orion), THE BETA TEST (Berlinale), SPOONFUL OF SUGAR (Shudder), POOF (Cannes), THE ROBBERY (Sundance), Alden Ehrenreich’s SHADOW BROTHER SUNDAY (Tribeca), and upcoming Tina Romero’s QUEENS OF THE DEAD (Tribeca Audience Award). She is currently in post-production on coming of age drama UNDER THE LIGHTS (Lake Bell, Randall Park, Mark Duplass, Nick Offerman) and murder mystery comedy KILL ME (Charlie Day, Allison Williams, Giancarlo Esposito, Aya Cash).

Natalie is also an award-winning writer/director whose credits include feature documentary ALONE IN THE GAME (AFI Docs, Outfest), Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween SLEEP STUDY (Best Horror – Indy Shorts), sci-fi short IMMORTAL (Best Narrative Short – Eastern Oregon Film Festival), and feature documentary SPECIAL BLOOD (Dolores Huerta Award for Best Director). Her feature script AMORTAL won the Gold Prize at the Page International Screenwriting Awards, the Grand Prize in Screencraft’s Sci-Fi Screenwriting Competition, and is in the top 1% of Coverfly’s Red List. Natalie’s poignant PSAs and commercials, like “Topless Women Talk NFL,” have been featured in The Washington Post and Vice and have earned top honors such as Platinum “Best of Show” at the Aurora Awards and Telly Awards.
She has been an Artist In Residence at Sundance, Producer in Residence at Film Independent, and an alum of CoverFly’s Endorsed Writers Program and Eastern Oregon’s Filmmaker Residency. Natalie holds an MFA from CalArts and graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Emory University, where she was also honored with the Sudler Award in the Arts and the Pioneer Award.

Thomas Torrey is a writer/director/producer based in the Southeast. His production company, Bad Theology, has produced three feature films, including the 2017 ride-share thriller FARE, which the Los Angeles Times called “stunning” and Bloody Flicks named as one of the Ten Best Films of the Year; the 2020 mind-bender MINOR PREMISE, which Forbes called “one of the best sci-fi thrillers of the past decade”; and the newly released musical drama LONG DECEMBER, winner of the 2024 One In A Million Award at the Sun Valley Film Festival. Thomas also owns and operates Protagonist, a production company with a mission to help entrepreneurs and business leaders communicate and craft their stories through documentary and branded content.

Moderated by: Andy McMillan. Andy is an accomplished director, writer and photographer. His feature documentary as co-director, MISSISSIPPI RIVER STYX (Executive Produced by Rough House Pictures), premiered at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and won the Jury Bravery Award at Mammoth Lakes Film Fest, as well as the Ron Tibet Soul of Southern Filmmaking Award at Indie Memphis and the Audience Award at Charlotte Film Fest. Andy’s photographs have been published in CNN, ESPN, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Vice and Time. His series PTL was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and featured on Time Magazine’s Lightbox and CNN’s Belief Blog. He lives in Charlotte with a stubborn bull terrier named Rabbit.