Hi, Everyone!
I’m Kerstin Karlhuber, a director and producer. My new film "After All" is currently playing in theaters across the country and will be available on VOD starting November 7th!
I’m here to talk about all aspects of feature filmmaking, from development and prep, to collaborating with actors and key creative partners, through production and post!
Ask me anything!
More about Kerstin:
Kerstin's first feature film, "Fair Haven," has been called, "deftly and meticulously directed...A Don't-Miss Indie" –Film Independent, and “A stirring, well-acted, tenderly wrought story" -LA Times. The film received US and European theatrical releases and was acquired by Showtime. It was selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be featured in the permanent Core Collection at the Academy Film Archive and Library. It has an extensive, world-wide fan base and became a #1 bestselling title on Amazon in multiple territories.
Kerstin’s second feature film, "After All", starring Erika Christensen and Penelope Ann Miller, is now playing in theaters nationwide. Early reviewers have praised the film, calling it “A gut-wrenching story told through incredible photography and direction….there wasn’t a trivial moment.” -ABC7-TV Los Angeles.“ A throwback to when movies made you feel something emotionally…Christensen gives a performance so real, so raw, you'll want to reach up and give her a hug after you wipe away your tears." -KTLA-TV Los Angeles. Her third feature, "Mrs. Strissel and the Dogs," is currently in pre-production.
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Hi, Kerstin Karlhuber! Welcome to the community. I hope you're doing great! Thanks for having this AMA! What's one tip for producing an indie feature?
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Hi Maurice Vaughan Thank you! Along with the “don’t ride the rollercoaster” tip from my blog, I’d add this: find a solid, trustworthy team you can count on. It makes all the difference in the indie world. And once you do, don’t let them go!
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You're welcome, Kerstin Karlhuber. Thanks for the answer! I tried to make a big-budget feature film (it should've been a micro-budget movie) way back, and I didn't put together a team until later in the process. If I was to do it again, I would put together a team at the start.
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Hi Kerstin Karlhuber ! Hope all is well, and thank you for today's AMA. As someone leading an animation and audio studio that often collaborates with indie creators, how can we best position ourselves to support live-action directors like yourself — especially in post-production or stylized sequences — so that our work becomes integral to the storytelling process rather than just a service?
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Hi Kerstin Karlhuber, and congratulations for doing this AMA with us. I have two questions: What emotional response or cultural shift do you hope After All inspires in its audience? and How do you measure success beyond festivals and distribution? What does impact look like for you? I wish you the greatest of success.
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Kerstin Karlhuber The trailer for After All looks great. Hope to see the film.
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Cyrus Sales That’s a really interesting question. I hope I can answer it in a helpful way, and please follow up if I don’t! For me, story-driven collaboration matters more than technical execution. I’ve been in really technical post sessions where I’m thinking, “Wait… have you even watched the cut?”
On After All, I learned how important it is to bring post-production collaborators in much earlier, ideally during pre-production. When they’re part of the emotional DNA of the project from the beginning, we can be building the world together during production, not just polishing it afterward.
That hadn’t really occurred to me before this project, which has several very stylized sequences. Now I’m thinking a lot about how we can communicate that approach, and how to invite collaborators in early so that kind of creative partnership becomes the norm.
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Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg Thank you so much!
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Hey Kerstin! Congrats on your second feature! Exciting times, I'm sure. My question for you is in regard to funding. How creative did you have to be between equity investors, pre-sales, completion bonds (if any), etc.? Curious as to the dynamics of how you were able to pull it off. Thanks! Wishing you much success with this project and beyond.
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Sandra Isabel Correia Thank you for the lovely questions. After All deals with generational trauma and mental health, and an incredible response would be for the film to spark a larger dialogue around those issues. Our lead, Ellen (played by Erika Christensen) is dismissed as a general f-up. But as the story unfolds, we begin to understand the “why” behind her behavior, and the pain she’s carried. A fuller picture emerges.
If the film helps anyone feel less ashamed or less alone in their own struggles, that would mean a lot to me. And for those who haven’t experienced that kind of trauma, if it inspires even a moment of pause before judgment, that would be an incredible outcome.
Success beyond festivals and distribution is about connection for me. Hearing from audiences is everything! Of course, it’s phenomenal when someone shares that the story had an emotional impact on them, but even a simple, “I really enjoyed it,” feels like success. I’m so grateful to anyone who takes the time to watch and reach out.
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Hi Julio Antonio Toro ! Thank you so much! The financing was honestly the single biggest hurdle we faced. Like most indie films, we had to get really creative, piecing things together through a mix of investors, partnerships, loans, favors, begging, and borrowing. We weren’t able to secure pre-sales or a tax incentive, which made it all even tougher. Definitely securing a tax incentive on the next one!
The producers and I made many personal sacrifices to bring it together in the end. I’m definitely more creatively minded, but I learn everything I can about the investment aspect and business side of filmmaking because I think that understanding it is the only way to keep creating.
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Kerstin Karlhuber hi Kerstin, congratulations on your successes and thanks for doing the AMA.
My question is focused on how a director can best support the actors during emotional or psychologically intense scenes. I would appreciate your insights. Thank you.
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Hi Kerstin, congratulations! I’d love to know what’s the easiest way to get your script into production on a low budget whilst still producing a high quality film. I’m working on the script for the short film that will be ca. 20-30 mins. Many thanks!
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Hello Kerstin and thanks for your sharing AMA. I'd like to know your experience about the next question: Is Poster / graphics a Post-production stage? Thank you - greetings from Italy
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Hello Kerstin Karlhuber,
It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Meriem, and I’m a sci-fi author from Morocco.
I’m currently developing three main projects that I hope will one day reach Hollywood:
1. The De-Evolution Game: Paradoxes Unleashed – a sci-fi epic, similar in spirit to Mr. Nobody, but told through the eyes of a sentient AI who witnesses the long-term effects of time reversal across multiple parallel universes.
2. The Silent PFC War – a dystopian thriller where aliens, fearing human intelligence, release a gas that shuts down the prefrontal cortex, turning adults into childlike minds.
3. The Disabled Puzzle: A New Life – a science-fiction story built around three experimental simulations that allow ordinary people to experience real disabilities—blindness, deafness, and autism. The fourth part explores social discrimination and intimacy through the story of physical disfigurement.
English is my third language, so I’m still learning and improving. I currently have AI-generated drafts for all these projects, and I’m looking for professional feedback on my ideas.
How to develop human-voice, emotionally grounded screenplays,
How to balance large-scale scientific ideas with focused, character-driven storytelling.
Thank you so much for your time, and I hope to connect soon.
Have a wonderful day!
— Meriem Bouziani
SCIFISPY
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Hello Ugo Cavallo yes, graphic/poster design happens in post production, but often the team needs graphics early on for their pitch decks and other materials. They also will often use a placeholder poster for those materials as well!
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Hi Geoff Hall thank you!! The most important thing for me is creating safety and trust. Actors can’t access deep emotion if they feel exposed or judged. I always try to understand how each actor prefers to work and what they need from me. If they use a specific method, I want to know what it is. Some actors don’t need much at all, while others have very particular ways of working. For really emotional scenes, sometimes they need quiet, sometimes they need to listen to music before you roll, sometimes nothing- whatever it is, I make sure they get it.
For really intense scenes, I have asked for a skeleton crew before
(similar to what you’d do for a love scene). The crew understands that in these situations, being a little quieter or giving more space can make a big difference.
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Shauntel Angelíca Thank you so much! I think it has everything to do with your team. A truly talented cinematographer can elevate the look of your project immensely. Before my first feature, I made a short film with the goal of using it to help get the feature off the ground. I had maybe $1,000 total and found a team of artists who were at a similar stage in their careers and needed material to prove they could take the next step. Together, we made a beautiful short that looked far more expensive than it was. Some people turned me down because they wanted to be paid, and they just weren’t my people for that project. Find the right team, wear as many hats as you need to, and stay true to your vision for the film!
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Hi Kerstin Karlhuber thank you for the AMA. To jump on Geoff Hall 's question: what is the most important quality for actors to have?
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Thank you so much for sharing your time with us this week and providing these insights, Kerstin Karlhuber! I can't wait to see After All!
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Hi Suzanne Bronson I think that a great actor is curious, always observing, questioning, and exploring human behavior. They’re fascinated by what makes people tick. This is also true of great directors, I believe. I love working with actors who are collaborative and supportive of their scene partners- willing to give them what they need to do great work as well!
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Meriem Bouziani I didn't write After All, but screenwriter Jack and I had a table read with an early draft, which we recorded. Hearing the words out loud, what was working, what wasn't, was a huge help. We could identify the dialogue that wasn't authentic and make changes. Everything I do is character-driven first. The audience connects through emotion and character, so I think if you can keep this at the heart of the project, no matter what it is about, you're on the right track. Great questions and best of luck with your projects!
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Thank you very much for your insights Kerstin Karlhuber
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Hi Kerstin Karlhuber , thanks for taking the time to do this AMA. I have made films in the past, each receiving good press, short-run theatrical deals, and fairly standard streaming contracts on a few of the bigger outlets. However, I am now working to get a drama produced (inspired by a true story) and have been told several times by producers and financiers that, despite the quality of the script, the experience and draw of the attached cast (no longer attached), that the subject matter is just too heavy (child death & organ donation). I haven't believed that to be the case, but I'm starting to think they might be right. So... What is your experience in getting a drama off the ground? How did you find the right support, especially with a genre that is historically a low performer?
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Congrats on your success!
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Jon Shallit Thank you so much!
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Michael Fitzer, MFA Congrats on your success! After two dramas in a row, I’m taking a break from that genre, no one wants to hear the “D” word! It’s incredibly frustrating. That said, I do think attaching a truly top-tier cast can make a difference- but reeeally top tier. It also helps if the project can be positioned as a drama-plus something: drama/rom-com, drama/adventure, or maybe in your case, drama/faith? The good news is that if the project is high quality, you will find your supporters in the end. It might take longer than if you were making a horror film, but there are still sales agents and distributors out there who believe in great storytelling, no matter the genre. For us it just took years to find the right team and supporters. I'm wishing you the best of luck!
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Thanks Kerstin Karlhuber, and congrats on your success as well!!!
I have pivoted somewhat from that strict drama and happened to receive word a few months ago that my new "dramedy" script is being financed. Supposed to produce that in spring 2026. Suffice to say, your comments strike home for sure.
Keep up your great work! I'll be sure to track your future successes!
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Thanks again for having this AMA, Kerstin Karlhuber! I'm looking forward to seeing your films!
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Hi Kerstin Karlhuber Congratulations!! The film looks wonderful! (I worked with Erika on 'The Upside of Anger' starring Kevin Costner and Joan Allen for New Line Cinema. She is terrific! Bravo!!
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Hi Kerstin, congrats on this phenomenal achievement. My question to you is, how did you secure distribution? What steps did you take to land this type of distribution?. Thank you.
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Kerstin Karlhuber ah, thank you Kerstin. That’s great advice and I will hold that dearly over the coming months. I wish you well with your latest film.
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Yes. Echoing Don's question!
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Geoff Hall Oh I'm so glad! Thank you so much!
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Michael Fitzer, MFA that's fantastic! Congrats! Thank you for your nice words!
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Jack Binder Erika is wonderful to work with and an incredible actress! Thank you so much!
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Don Zorbas and Jon Shallit- Luckily, on this project, we had two producers with extensive distribution knowledge and experience. That made the difference. We got so many passes because we’re a drama; most wouldn’t even watch it, and if they did, the response was, “We loved the film, but we just aren’t taking dramas right now.” Dramas are a harder sell and a lot of distributors and sales agents don't want to put that kind of extra work in. Or they are struggling to keep the lights on these days and need sure-things.
It finally came down to our producers’ contacts taking a deeper look at it because of their history working together and deciding to sign us. From there, it took on a life of its own. We were expecting a five-ish screen theatrical release, and suddenly we had almost forty secured for opening weekend. I don’t know what will happen down the line with foreign and streaming, but I know we have a great distributor and sales agents who believe in the film. This was also the case with my first film, a drama as well. We had nothing but passes and finally a contact/friend of our producer took a deeper look because of their relationship and gave us a chance. He got us a deal with Showtime! A producer with real distribution contacts is gold! And thank you for your nice words! :)
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Kerstin Karlhuber thank you, Kerstin. It’s been a joy to talk with you here on the AMA. Have a great weekend.
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"A producer with real distribution contacts is gold!" Yes. It is about the contacts.
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Geoff Hall Thank you so much, so nice to chat with you as well!
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Jon Shallit yes that's the bad news AND the good news...depending.
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Now that you have the golden contacts and they LIKE you, you are in long term.
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Kerstin Karlhuber and do keep in touch, Kerstin. It would be good for me to have a conversation with you, as I approach pre-production.
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Geoff Hall of course!
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Kerstin Karlhuber, Thank you for sharing this with such honesty and heart. I was truly moved by your intention behind After All. My first short film as writer-director, The Misstep, also explores mental health, specifically ADHD, and that’s why films like yours and mine are so important. They show how storytelling, when rooted in social responsibility, can shift mindsets and help change culture. It’s powerful to witness how you’ve given Ellen space to be understood, not just judged. That kind of storytelling matters deeply.
Wishing you continued impact as After All finds its way into hearts and conversations. I am cheering for you, and for all of us :))
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Thank you for being so generous with your post - I'm very new at all of this so any information is always valuable!
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Kerstin Karlhuber thank you. network request sent.
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Thank you Lauren Hackney!!
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Sandra Isabel Correia thank you so much and congrats on your film! I absolutely agree with you, we have such a responsibility!
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We have Kerstin Karlhuber. Thank you.
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Kerstin Karlhuber thank you for sharing yourexperience :) appreciate - greeting from Italy
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Great dialogue here. Thank you for all your ask me anything responses. Having that great team is one I’ve learned is so important.
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Xochi Blymyer you're so welcome!