The BraveMaker Podcast

320: Sundance Selected producer of Chasing Summer: Ray Maiello

Ray Maiello is an award-winning film producer and former Netflix and Paramount Pictures executive. He founded Moontower Productions to champion independent voices and produce bold films. In just three years, Ray has produced five films, including My Dead Friend Zoe, winner of the 2024 SXSW Audience Award and Chasing Summer, which is premiering at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.Other recent projects include "Are We Good?" starring Marc Maron and documentary films Jean-Michel Basquiat and The Trial of Alec Baldwin. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and based in Venice, California, Maiello’s producing career builds on an earlier chapter in music, where he founded Moontower Entertainment to develop artists from New York’s indie rock scene, including Wheatus, whose global hit "Teenage Dirtbag" topped one billion streams on Spotify.

319: From Sundance with Nicholas Bruckman

Nicholas Bruckman is an Emmy-nominated director and founder of People’s Television, a NYC- and DC-based storytelling studio producing award-winning independent films as well as creative campaigns for the world's leading brands, foundations, and social movements. His feature documentary Not Going Quietly, about healthcare activist Ady Barkan, won both the Audience and Jury Awards at SXSW and was released to critical acclaim in theaters nationwide and on Hulu. His follow-up, Minted: The Rise (and Fall?) of the NFT, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released on Netflix in 2025. Most recently, his docuseries The Price of Milk—which uncovers the hidden story behind the iconic “Got Milk?” campaign—had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

318: Live @ Sundance--what's it like AFTER being selected?

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317: Live from Sundance with DP: Tyler Clark of FREELANCE

🎬 BRAVEMAKER PODCAST — 2026 SELECTED PILOT SPOTLIGHTWe’re excited to feature Freelance, a 2026 selected pilot, on the BraveMaker Podcast!Joining us is cinematographer Tyler Clark, who brings a grounded, cinematic eye to the project and shares what it takes to visually shape a pilot from concept to screen.Hosted by Tony Gapastione (@tonygapastione) and Priscilla Lam (@mspriscillalam)In this episode, we dive into creative collaboration, visual storytelling, and the real-world process of bringing an independent pilot to life—what works, what’s challenging, and why story always comes first.🎙️ Tune in for behind-the-scenes insight, practical wisdom, and an honest conversation about making bold, beautiful work outside the studio system.

316: Sundance director Liz Sargent of TAKE ME HOME, 2026

Join Tony Gapastione in conversation with 2026 Sundance selected film: TAKE ME HOME. Written/directed by Liz Sargent. https://takemehomefilm.com/ [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2ZiTndsS1g1WkNObjlrN2FaMzJCTDBpZHVPUXxBQ3Jtc0tsZl9FaVNDVzFWbHJndkR2R05DT3ZFdHhfemp2S0pUb1VBRHZ1X2k3V0k5Z0dJR25FYW41WndMSkNFVEx4WjBBdnBRMnlScjA3c0ZSNzJJV2hwc09SOFFHRnpNYW9hYzZ3TkNiTXUwUFZNVzZxcEctNA&q=https%3A%2F%2Ftakemehomefilm.com%2F&v=dNaNjQiEZ5E]Liz Sargent is a Korean-American adoptee and award-winning filmmaker whose work delves into adoption, disability, and family dynamics. With a background in choreography, she brings emotional depth to her storytelling, shaped by her experience as the middle child of eleven in an intersectionalfamily.A two-time NY EMMY winner (2020 & 2021), Sargent is also a HALF Initiative Mentee (2022 & 2023), an MSSNG PCES AICP Mentee (2023), and NBCU's Launch Director (2024-2026). Her debut narrative short,Strangers' Reunion, (2019), was a personal adoptee film produced by Ritz- Carlton and Hearst under the mentorship of Mike Figgis, released in six languages worldwide.Her proof of concept, Take Me Home, premiered at Sundance (2023), won the Grand Jury Prize at American Cinematheque's PROOF FF (2024), and was the centerpiece at the White House to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Olmstead Act, where Sargent and her sister, the film’s star, shared theirstories with key officials.The feature pitch won the largest production award in the world at AT&T Untold Stories at Tribeca FF (2025) and will world premiere at Sundance in U.S. Dramatic Competition 2026.