GUEST POST: Finding My Way– Reflections on Producing My First Feature and Belonging
We asked 2023 Producing Lab Fellow Daniel Tantalean to share his experience in the Lab workshopping his film In the Summers, the 2024 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner about two siblings visiting their father over the course of one life-changing summer. Follow Daniel on Instagram at @DanTanFilm.
Applications for this year’s Film Independent Fiction Producing Lab are currently open, with the regular deadline of May 3.
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As a person and a filmmaker, I’ve always tried to follow my heart. When I first stepped into the crazy world of filmmaking, I had no idea which path I’d end up taking. There were so many avenues within the film and television industry to explore. It took years of exploring, testing out different positions and sectors, before I landed on the one that felt right– becoming an independent producer. And I chose it for a simple reason: I was looking for a strong, passionate community.
I am naturally an introvert. I’ve carried misplaced shame throughout my life, largely tied to the depression I’ve lived with since I was young. I’ve always searched for a place where I could belong, build my voice, and grow into a more confident version of myself. I got my first real taste of that in film school, where I unexpectedly stepped into a kind of leadership role in our small but determined young film students at Arizona State University. It was very much DIY in those early days, but we made it our own. And whether I realized it or not, that spirit of collective effort and possibility laid the foundation for what I would seek in my career moving forward.
That same sense of community reemerged during the Film Independent Producing Lab while I was producing my first feature film, In the Summers. The Lab gave me the chance to learn from an incredible mentor, Rebecca Green, as well as from a variety of guest speakers covering everything from international co-productions to production legal to distribution. At that point, I had spent years honing my producing skills, but I still had so many knowledge gaps. Over the course of just ten days, I felt myself begin to blossom. As the information clicked into place, I found not only clarity but belonging. The most valuable thing I walked away with wasn’t just knowledge, it was being welcomed into a supportive, compassionate, and inspiring community.
Being a “Producer” can feel nebulous and isolating. Even within the industry, many people misunderstand the producer’s role (sometimes even those who call themselves producers). The industry undervalues our work, prioritizing top-tier name talent, who take producing credits without doing the actual labor. Yet, sandwiched in between those irritating realities, I get to define who I am in this space and to me a producer is two parts of a whole: the primary function of putting a film together and a community organizer searching for daring new voices.
That’s exactly what I felt when I encountered Alessandra Lacorazza’s work and was invited to read In the Summers. From the first page, the script felt like home. It echoed the world I came from and also introduced me to Alessandra’s singular voice. I boarded the project in 2020 as Producer and yet I still remember the deep insecurity I felt. This was an ambitious debut feature. I worried I wasn’t ready, that I might not be enough. I didn’t want to let anyone down, especially the story.
In the Summers would go on to premiere at Sundance, winning the U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize and Best Director, and two Independent Spirit Award nominations. For a debut feature, both for Alessandra as a director/writer and for me as lead producer, this was a rare opportunity for our community to be seen in a larger context. For most filmmakers, this is the dream. It has opened many doors and I’m grateful every day to Alessandra for trusting me, even when I was still figuring things out.
But from the outside looking in, the sexiness of the moment can distract from what is often hidden away; how fragile everything feels behind the scenes. Every day felt like a miracle. From prep to production, the film constantly threatened to fall apart but somehow, we kept going. The breaking point came during post-production, when we ran out of money. We couldn’t finish the film.
That crisis hit just as I was going through the Producing Lab. I remember the overwhelming rush of shame and fear. My depression spiraled. I thought: Did I just fail this film? How could I have made so many mistakes? Am I not ready? The self-doubt was paralyzing. But what I remember most about that moment is not the fear— it’s the community. My Film Independent cohort, the artistic leadership, and Rebecca Green didn’t let me fall. They rallied. They supported me. They helped me find solutions when I couldn’t see them myself. And the In the Summers team found a way and made it to Sundance.
Most of us choose this path. And independent filmmaking is one of the hardest undertakings out there. The system often pits us against one another. It fosters scarcity and gatekeepers try to reduce us to the most common denominator so they can place “safe bets”. Yet, in all that noise, there is still a powerful community doing the necessary and crucial work. The only mandate they have is to make honest work that challenges our everyday norms and conceptions. A place for coalition building and working towards a better independent ecosystem.
As I look ahead to the next chapter of my life and career, I keep returning to the questions during the hardest moment of In the Summers. Now, with some distance, I can answer them more clearly.
Yes—I made mistakes.
Yes—I wasn’t always my best self.
Yes—I wasn’t ready in some ways.
Yes—I failed in small and big ways.
But just because those things were true doesn’t mean they define me. They were a part of the journey. And in having this experience, I now have the opportunity, and the responsibility, to be better. A better producer. A better person. A better collaborator. A better advocate.
Mistakes are part of becoming who we are. But growth requires work.
In the rat race to get our films made, it’s easy to forget the amazing amount of generosity that lives in our community. Film Independent is the clearest example of that. Their mission, their leadership, and their commitment to new and established independent voices is a gift, especially in a time of such uncertainty. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to be recognized by them, not just for myself, but for what they saw in In the Summers and in Alessandra’s voice. Our community is stronger when our stories are visible.
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Applications for the 2025 Film Independent Fiction Producing Lab are now open for Film Independent Members until May 19th.
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Daniel Tantalean is an Indie Spirit Nominated and Sundance Winning Producer and the founder of Yellow Nest Films. In the Summers won the Grand Jury Prize award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and has been nominated for Best First Feature at the 2025 Indie Spirit Awards. Daniel is a 2023 Film Independent Producing Lab Fellow and he is also a 2020 and 2022 NALIP Latino Media Market Fellow, and was chosen for the 2024 Tribeca Creator’s Market for the feature documentary Rebel Without A Pause.
His exceptional work has been featured at top film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, SFFilm, Hot Docs, and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Daniel was shortlisted for the 2021 AT&T Untold Stories Competition and produced the award-winning short doc Ale Libre distributed by The New Yorker.
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