Filmmakers Collaborative

Filmmakers Collaborative Filmmakers Collaborative is a nationally recognized organization that encourages and supports the making of engaging and enlightening films.

Our vision is for a future of creative collaborations that FC supports, promotes and sponsors.

On the latest Making Media Now podcast, Michael speaks with FC member Nivi Jaswal-Wirtjes, director of an engaging and i...
12/16/2025

On the latest Making Media Now podcast, Michael speaks with FC member Nivi Jaswal-Wirtjes, director of an engaging and informative new documentary that connects the personal with the planetary, "Third Degree Burnout."

➡️ The film, Nivi's debut documentary undertaking, uncovers the hidden connections between personal burnout and the climate crisis, revealing them as symptoms of a larger socio-economic metacrisis.

➡️ With world-class animation, engaging interviews with over 20 experts, and playful humor woven into thought-provoking skits, the film breaks down complex ideas into something accessible, relatable, and impactful.

➡️ From the history of our food systems to the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the intersections of healthcare, politics, and society, this documentary offers a fresh lens on the systemic forces shaping burnout.

➡️ "Third Degree Burnout" is currently being met with accolades and applause on the film festival circuit! Check out our chat, as Nivi very generously shares how personal and professional experience and insight resulted in such an intriguing and informative film. (Link to trailer in Comments)

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is first-time filmmaker Nivi Jaswal-Wirtjes, the director & executive producer of a powerful and thought-provoking new documentary called “Third Degree Burnout” Narrated by renowned meteorologist John Morales, "Third Degree Burnout" uncovers the h...

"...Contrary to many big-name directors working today, Reiner didn’t have a signature style. He didn’t have a recognizab...
12/16/2025

"...Contrary to many big-name directors working today, Reiner didn’t have a signature style.

He didn’t have a recognizable visual and aural cadence like Christopher Nolan. He didn’t have the sensitive color palette of a Sofia Coppola, or the idiosyncratic vernacular of so many indie auteurs.

He was decidedly of an older, more general-interest tradition.

At the peak of his directing career, Reiner was among a now vanishing class of famous, well-regarded journeyman directors, peripatetic creators whose chief goal was to make broadly appealing pictures that were smart and elevated enough to be worthy of our attention..."

The director's deft marrying of prestige and populism in classics like 'When Harry Met Sally…' and 'The Princess Bride' now seems like a wondrous lost art.

"...The Boston Globe said on Monday that a former longtime editor, Brian McGrory, would return to helm the publication.H...
12/15/2025

"...The Boston Globe said on Monday that a former longtime editor, Brian McGrory, would return to helm the publication.

His return was announced in an email to the staff by Linda Henry, The Globe’s chief executive officer. Last week, The Globe’s current editor, Nancy Barnes, told the newsroom that she would step down this month after nearly three years in the job and become an editor at large.

Ms. Barnes, a former National Public Radio executive, was the first woman to run The Globe and the first top editor handpicked by Ms. Henry and her husband, John, who bought The Globe from The New York Times Company in 2013. Ms. Barnes, 64, said in a note to the newsroom that it was 'time for me to take a break from the daily firestorm of news.'..."

Brian McGrory led the news organization for a decade until he departed in early 2023.

"Rob Reiner, who directed such beloved Hollywood classics as This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me and When Harry Met Sally af...
12/15/2025

"Rob Reiner, who directed such beloved Hollywood classics as This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me and When Harry Met Sally after starring in the trailblazing sitcom All in the Family, died Sunday along with his wife, Michele, in their Brentwood home, TMZ reported. He was 78.

Reiner and his wife, 70, were found dead in their home on Chadbourne Avenue, with the couple “suffering lacerations consistent with a knife,” law enforcement sources told TMZ. The Los Angeles Fire Department had been called to their house at about 3:30 p.m., and LAPD Robbery Homicide Division detectives were investigating."

The two-time Emmy winner and Oscar nominee and his wife, Michele, were found dead in their Brentwood home.

"...The idea that Hollywood has crammed (often liberal-leaning) political commentary into popular, high-earning and even...
12/14/2025

"...The idea that Hollywood has crammed (often liberal-leaning) political commentary into popular, high-earning and even critically acclaimed entertainment may not seem too surprising. But there’s some dramatic irony to it in 2025 because many of the companies distributing the movies seem to be distancing themselves from those same politics.
..Clearly money talks, and at the moment, it looks like Hollywood is talking out of both sides of its mouth. Yet that raises a question: In the future, will we continue to see films from major studios with political leanings? Or will they prove too risky for future corporate profits? Only time will tell — but 2025 may prove to be an inflection point for Hollywood, in more ways than one."

In movies like “Eddington,” “Sinners,” “Wake Up Dead Man” and others, filmmakers have at last wrapped their heads around how to explain this period.

The Los Angeles Times weighs in with their Best Documentaries List for 2025."...The documentary films and series that ma...
12/12/2025

The Los Angeles Times weighs in with their Best Documentaries List for 2025.

"...The documentary films and series that managed to capture our attention this year broke through by telling us something new; educating us about an idea, a person or a perspective; or reframing a narrative.

Some are about famous people, some are about ordinary people who did something extraordinary, some are about people who suffered.

Best is a matter of perspective, but these titles are certainly notable and 100% worth your time."

The documentary films and series that captured our attention this year feature famous people and ordinary people, as well as new ideas and perspectives.

12/11/2025

Attention New England filmmakers!

Boston's PBS flagship station, GBH, seeks films by filmmakers from the New England region or stories pertinent to New England audiences, who want to share their work with our viewers!

With a rolling open call process, GBH is currently accepting submissions for completed non-fiction feature length, short films, and series for Local Lens.
https://www.wgbh.org/tv-shows/submit-your-film-to-gbhs-local-lens?fbclid=IwY2xjawOnoy1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF5Qk5rcFZBRHNMQnExdUVZc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmwsPyvzh3aeWZSnOSr54CRxKbdN7Qw432ejMX5Yo3m684FacRgxck9jmkVm_aem_D2J6tOBW2xMXDKZ3JHQkBg

GBH seeks films by filmmakers from the New England region or stories pertinent to New England audiences, who want to share their work with our viewers! With a rolling open call process, we are currently accepting submissions for completed non-fiction feature length, short films, and series for Local...

"...The reality series is targeted at viewers aged 18-35 and the gaming community, who are “already OK with characters n...
12/11/2025

"...The reality series is targeted at viewers aged 18-35 and the gaming community, who are “already OK with characters not being real,” and cost 90% less to make than real-life game shows, explained Paton.

'The question is, do you actually care that it’s AI if you’re entertained? I doubt it, and that’s all that counts,' he added."

Unfortunately, he's probably right.

The new AI series 'Non Player Combat' launched on Monday, Dec. 8. It consists of four parts, and is an exhilarating crossover between 'The Hunger Games' and 'Traitors', but totally generated by artificial intelligence

"...The Hollywood Reporter has learned, after news of the transaction broke, Sarandos called union leaders around the bu...
12/10/2025

"...The Hollywood Reporter has learned, after news of the transaction broke, Sarandos called union leaders around the business, proactively explaining the deal to them and hearing them out.

The industry’s rank and file would be forgiven for rolling their eyes. Netflix, after all, is proposing to remove one of Hollywood’s major employers and top competitors for talent and crews from the business.

To Teamsters motion picture leader Lindsay Dougherty, the statements from Netflix are just talking points until the streamer brings the receipts. 'When you get into these kind of generalizations, it’s important to have data, and it’s important to have information of what that actually looks like for people,' she said in an interview on Monday."

The Teamsters entertainment leader also would like to see Warners CEO David Zaslav “leave our industry and never come back,” she said in a recent interview.

NEW Podcast: Long-time friend of the pod, Tim O’Donnell of Pixela Pictura Films, and first-time guest Mary Dague join us...
12/09/2025

NEW Podcast: Long-time friend of the pod, Tim O’Donnell of Pixela Pictura Films, and first-time guest Mary Dague join us to discuss the just-completed film, "The Last Yztari."

This innovative and moving film tells the story of how, after using her body as a shield to protect her unit from an IED in Iraq, Mary Dague is left medically retired, missing both arms from the elbow down.

Many years after returning home, she finds a new place in online gaming communities as she adapts her controllers to work with her feet.

When her active-military husband readies to deploy again Mary is faced with the trauma of the past and the worry for her partner's yet to be diagnosed PTSD.

The film explores the liminal space between trauma and healing, and this world and a fantasy space where old wounds might present themselves as future insights or abilities. (Link to trailer in Comments.)

The film weaves observational documentary with an original generative AI system built from Mary's own fantasy novel. The novel itself a secret only revealed to the filmmakers and her husband after seven years of writing.

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo joined by long-time friend of the podcast Tim O’Donnell of Pixela Films and by first-time guest Mary Dague to discuss the just-completed film, "The Last Yztari." This innovative and moving film tells the story of how after using her body as a shield to protect...

"...In the two months since Sora arrived, deceptive videos have surged on TikTok, X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, ac...
12/09/2025

"...In the two months since Sora arrived, deceptive videos have surged on TikTok, X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, according to experts who track them. The deluge has raised alarm over a new generation of disinformation and fakes.

Most of the major social media companies have policies that require disclosure of artificial intelligence use and broadly prohibit content intended to deceive. But those guardrails have proved woefully inadequate for the kind of technological leaps OpenAI’s tools represent."

Apps like OpenAI’s Sora are fooling millions of users into thinking A.I. videos are real, even when they include warning labels.

“...'One Battle After Another,' a blisteringly funny look at a repressive society riven by political violence, dominated...
12/08/2025

“...'One Battle After Another,' a blisteringly funny look at a repressive society riven by political violence, dominated the 2026 Golden Globe Awards nominations on Monday, earning nine nominations.

It was followed closely behind by 'Sentimental Value,' a drama about a filmmaker’s dysfunctional family, and “Sinners,” a vampire movie set in the segregated South, which earned eight nominations and seven nominations, respectively.

See the 2026 Golden Globe nominations, where 'One Battle After Another' and 'White Lotus' lead film and TV.

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