Raza Rizvi is a filmmaker from the Bay Area and recently received his MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2023. He has written, directed, produced, and done production design for several short films that have toured the festival circuit. His most recent feature, Lemonade Blessing, which he produced, had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. He is currently producing a feature, Games We Play, that is set to be released in 2026. Raza is passionate about making and designing thematically provocative and intimate films that explore the deeper relationships between people and the buried inner truths that exist within ourselves.

Abhineet Kumar: Abhineet Kumar is a filmmaker from New Delhi, India. Raised across Brazil, Venezuela, Singapore, and Zambia, he grew up in transit — between countries, cultures, and landscapes. He works primarily as an editor, but also writes and directs films that dwell on family, time, and the quiet emotional distances between people. His short film "Was I A Good Father" won the Audience Award at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival. His website is https://www.abhi-kumar.com/.

Chris Merola is a filmmaker from Long Island, New York. His first feature, Lemonade Blessing, premiered in competition at the 2025 Tribeca festival. The film won the Audience Award for Best Comedy at the 2025 Newport Beach Film Festival, as well as the Cineclubs Jury Prize at the 20th REC Tarragona International Film Festival.

Shubhi Sahni is a media artist working across film, sound, digital media, installation, and poetry. Her work has been published in POETRY, distributed by the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, and screened/exhibited internationally at festivals such as Tribeca, Short Shorts, Vector, Reel Asian, and ReelAbilities. Shubhi holds an MFA in Cinematic Arts from USC where she teaches as an adjunct professor and a BA in Media Studies from the University of Toronto. Her website is shubhisahni.com.

 

What inspired you to pursue filmmaking as a career? 
 
Abhineet: What inspired me to pursue filmmaking? Honestly, it came from loneliness and solitude. I didn’t really have friends growing up, and I was missing that sense of connection. So I turned to movies, just thinking, let me try this. Maybe films could give me a feeling of community, solidarity, or belonging. Around the age of 16, I started watching movies obsessively, and eventually I came across The 400 Blows by François Truffaut. That film completely blew my mind. I was stunned by how deeply it reflected my own life and made me feel truly seen. I remember finishing it around 5 a.m. in Delhi, and when my parents woke up a couple hours later for breakfast, I sat down with them and said, “I’m going to make movies.” And that was it.

Chris: That’s a really interesting question, because I’m not entirely sure there was a single moment. I’ve been making films since I was a kid, and when you’re that young, the things you gravitate toward are just instinctual; it’s hard to separate why you do them from who you are. Before outside pressures come in, those impulses are kind of just… you. I’ve always liked making things. As a kid, I made little graphic novels and animations, and around sixth grade I started a YouTube channel where I’d post short skits and videos. I just never really stopped. Then around age 19, during my sophomore year of college, I realized that this urge to create wasn’t going away. That’s when I decided to fully commit and take it more seriously, as something I wanted to pursue professionally.

Raza: For me, it’s really about the idea of being able to emotionally affect people, with their consent, of course. There’s something powerful about having an audience trust you enough to let you guide how they feel, sometimes in ways they don’t even expect. I also started doing this really young, like Chris, just making things as a kid, and it’s always felt like the most natural way for me to express myself. Film is the only medium where I’ve really been able to communicate what I’m thinking and how I’m thinking it, through all of its elements: sound, image, story, character, psychology. You can be incredibly precise about how something is presented and how it lands with an audience. Over the years, I’ve realized that filmmaking is the truest form of expression I have; it’s how I connect and communicate with people, and that’s been really meaningful to discover.

Shubhi: It came a little later for me than it did for a lot of people. I was already in college, around my third or fourth year, and I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Then I took a class I loved, a history of television course, where we watched shows from the 1950s and 60s. I ended up writing an essay on I Love Lucy, and it was the most fun I’d had writing an essay. Before that class, I had never really thought about how movies or television were made. I noticed all the different people involved, such as production designers, cinematographers, writers and actors. I thought it was so cool that all these people came together to create meaning. I realized that I wanted to do something in television or movies, even if I didn’t know exactly what yet. 

Was USC and SCA always the goal? Tell us about your personal paths to SCA.

Chris: USC was the only master’s program that accepted me, and I got in off the waitlist, so it was truly my only option. Just being real. It ended up being a great option. I am happy here, I met my people, and in a strange way, it feels like this is exactly where I was meant to be.

Abhineet: I was in India for several years, working at a very small production company, and even while I was working there, I struggled to find a community of like minded filmmakers. I was missing being around people who were constantly making things and who shared the same love for film. For a long time, it felt like I was loving film alone. I knew that being in film school could give me what I truly needed, or what my soul needed, honestly. So I applied to a number of film schools, and I was very grateful to be accepted to USC. The only part of that decision that was difficult was the financial aspect. Looking back now, the experience gave me something invaluable. I met people I will consider my family for the rest of my life. I finally found a community and a group of people I could love film with.

Raza: I do not think SCA was a specific goal for me at first. I had already gone to film school for undergrad, and at that age, between 18 and 22, you are figuring out a lot of different things. I ended up taking more English, history, literature, and psychology classes, while film became something I pursued more on the side and in my own time. I graduated in 2019, and then COVID hit almost immediately, which put any post undergrad film plans on hold. While I was at home during that period, I decided to pursue a post graduate film program, partly because it meant focusing fully on film without general education requirements. I applied to several schools and was accepted to a few. USC stood out because it offered a longer program, which allowed more time to build relationships and really grow within the environment. Being surrounded by people who were intensely focused on filmmaking all the time helped me find collaborators I know I will work with for a long time, possibly for the rest of my career. Building that community at SCA was the best part of film school for me.

Shubhi: For me, USC was definitely the place I wanted to go. I am not sure if it’s the best way to choose a school, but I based my decisions on which applications I felt most excited to write. I researched several programs, but I only connected with three. What ultimately made me choose USC was my admissions interview with Midge Costin. I really bonded with her and felt an immediate connection. It gave me the sense that if there were people like her at USC who genuinely cared about students, then it would be a great place for me. That feeling turned out to be right. I now teach at USC, and Midge is a huge reason I had that opportunity in the first place.

Were there any classes, professors, or experiences that were particularly impactful during your time at SCA?

Raza: I can answer that immediately. Steven Flick, my sound professor, is probably one of the greatest people I’ve ever met. Not just as a teacher, but as someone who transformed the way I think about experiencing the world. His approach really connects with my personal filmmaking style, which is all about doing things very specifically and intentionally. In the sound design, mixing, and editing process, you get deep into the details and have as much control as possible, and he completely changed the way I approach that aspect of filmmaking. I also took some business-focused film classes that were really useful. One was with Jason Berman, and it got super detailed about the business side of things. That knowledge ended up being invaluable when Chris and I were making Lemonade Blessing. Even though he didn’t take that class with me, we leaned heavily on the advice and templates from that course to get our first project off the ground, which was incredibly helpful.

Abhinnet: For me, two professors really stand out. One is Steve Armer, who hilariously had a lot of issues with the Lemonade Blessing script. He was my screenwriting professor, and we had a small writer’s room. Steve was the first professor who really understood the kinds of films and the sensibility I was drawn to. He saw a glimmer of my voice and helped nurture it, pushing me to discover more of who I am as a writer. Before that, I often felt like I wasn’t a writer at all, or that I was a bad one, and he helped me realize I did have something to say. Instead of trying to make me into something else, he helped me find my own voice. That class was also amazing because our little writer’s room became like a family. The other professor is Barnett Kellman, in his directing class. That class gave me a lot of confidence as a director. He even gave all of us little cards at the end of class with the basics of directing, and I still keep mine in my wallet. I remember everything from that class, including being horribly roasted in front of everyone for my rehearsal. I was the sacrificial lamb because I went first, but it was an invaluable experience. So, Steve gave me confidence as a writer, and Barnett gave me confidence as a director. Both had a huge impact on me.

Shubhi: Mine is Pablo Frasconi. I took his class, Poetic Cinema, and he was one of the most influential professors I had. He changed the way I make films and introduced me to new ways of seeing the art form. In his class I got to explore making experimental films beyond traditional narrative. Before Pablo, I hadn’t thought about film that way and didn’t have much exposure growing up. My parents only took me to see movies like Avatar so I didn’t really know what cinema could be. Even now that I am working in emerging media rather than traditional film, Pablo has continued to support me. He’s introduced me to people, shared resources, and offered guidance. He has been a true mentor both artistically and personally.

Abhineet: I'll second Pablo as well.

Chris: Yeah, I’m definitely thirding Pablo. I respond strongly to a certain type of professor and teaching style. I tend to have a strong internal critical voice, probably inherited from my parents, that is always pushing me to do better. Because of that, I really connected with professors who challenged me directly and held me to a high standard. Barnett [Kellman] was a huge influence. He has a rigorous commitment to truth and authenticity and taught me that a scene has to feel grounded and credible from every angle. I remember multiple moments on the set of Lemonade Blessing when I stopped and thought, “I need to Barnett this,” whether that meant adjusting the furniture or rethinking how a moment played. Those instincts genuinely saved us. I also want to mention Mark Harris, who interviewed me and became an important mentor. He was incredibly honest about what was and was not working in my writing. He pointed out that my early drafts tended to underdevelop side characters, and his direct, sincere feedback shaped how I give and receive notes to this day. Organizing Creativity with Daniel Noah was another meaningful class. It focused less on craft and more on mindset, how you organize your energy and emotional life as a creator. At the time, I was preparing to put everything I had into Lemonade, and his encouragement to take real risks was incredibly impactful. Across all of these experiences, the common thread was authenticity. Leaning into truth and staying loyal to your own voice mattered deeply to me. At a school like USC, which is closely connected to larger entertainment systems that often demand compromise, having that internal anchor is essential. I am really grateful to Pablo and these other professors for reinforcing the value of truth and self trust.

Raza: He was my thesis mentor, so I definitely fourth that. I really appreciated that he gave me no notes throughout the entire thesis process. He would just say, “You’re doing great. This is beautiful.” It was refreshing to have that kind of trust and support; it’s a rare experience with a university professor.

 

Congratulations on Lemonade Blessing's 2025 festival run! What was it like working on a project with so many Trojans, and what did the experience teach you about collaborating on an independent film?

Chris: Making a movie is really difficult, and you have to work with people you genuinely love, not just as collaborators, but as people, because there’s honestly no other reason to do it. It’s so hard that you cannot survive unless you’re working with friends. Respecting someone as both a collaborator and a person is rare and beautiful, and when you find that, you hold onto them. While making Lemonade Blessing, I really understood the idea of a rising tide lifting all boats. Time and again, when I was making hiring decisions or teaming up with fellow Trojans, I realized that people work hardest when they are trusted to do something they’ve never done before. If you hire someone who has done this scale of film before, they don’t push themselves as much, they just do it. On Lemonade Blessing, none of us had directed, produced, or edited a feature, or handled post sound production at this scale. We were all breaking new ground together. That thrill and fear is what makes it exciting, and it only works if you trust your collaborators to take risks and figure things out. The most important thing I learned is that trust is everything. There’s no reason to go into battle with someone unless they’re your close friends.

Raza: At the beginning, we were talking about how SCA is great for forging personal relationships through filmmaking. For Lemonade Blessing, that was incredibly helpful, especially during pre-production and post-production. That’s where most of the Trojans came together, because on an indie scale, those are the phases where people do the most work for basically no money. You have to be working with friends, people you can talk to all the time, where it doesn’t feel like a job. It still carries the same spirit as a film school shoot, like a movie you make in the summer between semesters. That energy carried us through and really helped us get the movie done the way we did. I also think that spirit is injected into the film itself, a sort of ragtag crew doing something for the first time, which created something special in the end. After a year of pre-production, six to eight months of post-production, and another six months handling social media, advertising, and festival publicity, it’s been almost three years since the script first landed in our USC email boxes.

What was the most challenging part of making Lemonade Blessing, and were there any pivotal moments during production?

Chris: The most challenging thing is when you have limited resources. You want to limit the amount of unpaid labor that you make your friends do. So, I would say probably 75% of my job on Lemonade Blessing was producerial, just because there was just so much we had to do in the lead-up to production. But once we were on set, it was really nice to really hand those reins over, and I also feel like, takes a few days for a set to fully establish its visual language, and then also workflow between the crew. I would say by day three, we had hit a real stride. And then by day five, I think we were really cruising. But then you always end up with challenges. Like day thirteen, this bowling alley day was just infamous. It'll live in my head, rent-free forever. It's just tough, because if you're averaging a five-page-a-day script, some of your day is going to be seven and a half pages, and those are just egregious. It's just really hard. I think once we got going, it was pretty smooth.

Raza: I feel like the answer, especially for first-time producers, the answer to this type of question is usually super boring, and it is stuff like how do we do SAG paperwork. It's like, oh wait. SAG wants a $30,000 deposit to pay their cast. That really messes up our bank account and our cash flow. Now we're not gonna have enough money to pay people at the end, so we need to figure that out. We were also doing the tax credit in New Jersey, so we were also doing accounting. You know, it's like, oh, wait, I need to do payroll now. I've never done payroll before in my life for anything, and now I have to make sure that everyone's getting paid on time. It's really just super tedious stuff that you really can't learn until you actually do it. I'm super glad that I had the opportunity to do it, because now I know how to do it, which is great.

Shubhi: During post-production, the LA fires happened and our foley team was impacted. Everyone was okay, but we had to completely change our schedule after I had already booked everything. And honestly, it sounds more “exciting” than it was. But in reality, it was a lot of me getting on the phone with people, begging them to move dates, and not charge us money so we could stay under budget. 

Abhineet: I remember a pivotal moment in post-production. So, this actually involves Shubhi. Chris had written the ending of the film in the script, and we had a very fixed idea of what this ending was going to be. It was going to end on the protagonist, played by Jake. John and his mom, Mary, have a conversation by a lake and it was going to end there. As we were editing it, we were just like, it's not landing the way we'd like it to, it doesn't feel like the kind of conclusion we want to the film. There was something about it that just was not quite fulfilling us, in the way that we wanted to feel fulfilled by the end of the film. And then, Shubhi, gave the film a watch, and was like, how about you just end it on this scene that you have earlier. Where John is visiting a church and just doing these breathing exercises, and kind of, like. Contemplating and reflecting on everything that had happened in the film, and we thought, oh my god, yes, and we tried that, and it worked so well. We were like, wow, wow, the film really is made three times, you know? I don't need to say it, but yes, it's been made three times. I think the fact that we all knew each other really well, and that we were friends, that we had gone through the whole program together, and developed this trust between each other allowed that moment to happen. There was a comfort and a feeling of safety between all of us to share ideas like that. It was a really wonderful moment late in the game. We figured out and unlocked an ending for the film that did create that sense of fulfillment in us, or that closure or satisfaction. So yeah, thank you, Shubhi. 

Shubhi: This is going to sound cheesy, but it's because we all went to USC together that the film was what it was. I worked on many films before Lemonade Blessing but I was always brought in at the very end, basically just to fix up sound in the film. But with Chris, we started discussing sound at the script stage. I also worked with his sound recordist to strategize about important scenes. When we got into editing, the editors brought me into the assembly cut. Everybody on the team, because they went to USC and understood how important sound was, incorporated sound into the whole film. They gave me a say and a voice, which I'd never gotten before many of the projects that I had worked on before. 

What is it like collaborating with your friends on such a large project? 

Abhineet: It's truly just the stuff of dreams and magic, to be able to work with people that you truly love and have a bond with. I would love to keep working with all three of you over and over again, because, every time, it's like living the dream. Every time it's like living, my greatest fantasy of art and community and friendship combined into one thing. 

What is your creative process?

Chris: We were building beds before we shot Lemonade. We were literally putting together Ikea beds for the crew. We did not have enough money to really prepare for anything, and we were completely broke, just scrambling and figuring things out as we went. As for writing, I listened to Brian Eno and tried to write every day. I made an effort not to criticize the work while I was doing it and waited until it was finished before judging it.

Shubhi: I created a sonic mood board for Lemonade Blessing. In 546, we had to give sound presentations to the class about how we plan to sound design the films we’re working on. To prepare for the movie, I created a sound presentation for Chris and the editors. Amy Reynolds Reed, who used to teach 546 sound, taught us that Ben Burtt, famous sound designer and USC alum, creates sound palettes for his films. Much like a painter selects a color palette, he selects a sound palette. After watching the assembly cut, I built my own sound palette and developed themes and motifs, thinking about how sound could contribute to the story we were all telling. This is very similar to the process I have for my own creative projects. I tend to make audio-visual mood boards that guide me from ideation to completion.. 

Abhineet: I do have one more thing to add. It is not exactly preparation, but it is related. Chris really encouraged what we called “dojo time.” As an editor and co-editor, since I co-edited the film with Edouard Fan, who is not here right now, that meant a lot. There are directors who come in with a very fixed idea of how something should be edited and want it to match exactly what is in their head. Chris was different. He recognized the talent that Ed and I had and trusted us enough to let us work freely. He gave us space to experiment, follow our instincts, and try whatever felt right. A lot of the time, that freedom led to really special moments in the edit. It also made the process genuinely joyful, creative, and fun. Not everything worked. I definitely remember one early opening cut that was rough. But even then, the process never felt rigid or stressful. We were given the freedom to fully exercise our creativity, whether in editing, sound, or anywhere else, and that made all the difference.

Chris: Tell them about getting lost in the sauce!

Abhineet: This is not really about preparation, but while we were editing, we sometimes followed our creative instincts a little too far. When that happened, we called it being “lost in the sauce.” At the end of the day, we would literally label the edit in the project file as “lost in the sauce,” so we knew what we were coming back to. The next day, we never quite knew what we would find. It might be messy or strange, but there was often a kernel of something important, beautiful, or truthful in there that we could pull out and refine.

Chris: We would even check in with each other and ask, “Are we lost in the sauce right now?” Sometimes the answer was no, and sometimes it was yes. But every now and then, you have to get lost in the sauce to figure out how to get out of it. Amen.

Abhineeet: Just for context, Chris and I were roommates, Edouard Fan and I were also roommates, and Shubhi is married to Ed. There is a whole web of connections there, which made the collaboration feel even more close knit. 

Shubhi: It was really funny. Sometimes I would be doing sound in the bedroom while Ed was editing in our office, and we would go back and forth between rooms to show each other what we were working on. 

What advice would you give to aspiring filmmakers looking to get their first project made?

Chris: I think it depends on what someone wants to do, but assuming most people want to write and direct a feature, I would recommend spending a lot of time at SCA writing and producing. The thing that usually prevents you from making a movie is not a lack of directing talent, or even writing talent. It is the lack of money and the inability to convince people to commit to a long, difficult process. If you can do that work yourself, alongside a small team, it shows people that you are willing to get into the muck with them. That goes a long way. I would focus on producing thesis films or 546 projects and really learning what the actual problems are. One big issue, in my opinion, is that most USC films are over-crewed. Too many hands touch the final product, and too many cooks really do spoil the broth. That said, a strong script will always get people excited. If you have a great script and solid producing skills, you are far more likely to get a feature made than if you only directed an amazing 546 and won awards. At the end of the day, you still have to convince people to show up and do a lot of unglamorous work on a low budget film. Writing and producing are the real path to becoming a writer director.

Shubhi: My advice is find a way to make movies for no money at first. Reimagine your script or concept and find a different way to say things. One of my first short films at USC, I talked about my experience being in a hospital, but I had no money to film in a hospital. Also it was COVID, so that wasn't allowed anyways. I reimagined the scene as very basic animation that I could do myself and it made the film better. So I recommend that you ask yourself how you can communicate your ideas without money. It'll probably make you more creative and make you stand out. Also, you need to find a way to develop your voice outside of other people's influences, and once you get money and resources involved, other people's influences start to factor in. 

Raza: I would say it comes down to leading by example. For directors trying to get their first movie made, producing it is the clearest way to do that. All the effort you put into the unglamorous side of filmmaking: deal making, finding locations, scouting, driving, accounting, scheduling, and endless emails sets the tone for everyone else. When a director leads by example, it inspires the people around them to work harder, partly because they want to support and impress the creative force behind the project. No one is going to believe in the film more than you do, at least up until you start shooting. Because of that, you should expect to work the hardest and not assume anyone else will carry the weight for you. Embracing that responsibility, and accepting that it all falls on you, is a huge part of getting the film made.

Abhineet: I agree with everyone here, and the one thing I would add, even if some people might disagree, is this. I hear a lot of people talking about writing their first film and asking, will it make money? Will anyone buy it?” My advice is to ignore all of that. Just write something true, honest, and authentic to you, something you care about and feel passionate about. Stop trying to make something quote unquote “sellable” and make something you would genuinely want to see on screen. Ultimately, that authenticity is what will connect with people, which will sell, because people want to see something real.

What’s next for you all? Any new or exciting projects on the horizon?

Raza: We wrapped about a month ago, in mid-November, on a one-location psychological thriller film, which was roughly in the same budget range as Lemonade Blessing. There are also other USC people involved that I can connect you with. That film is now in post-production, which will probably take the next five to six months.

At the same time, I always try to have multiple projects in development. Development often means looking for funding or finding sources of money, but we have a variety of projects in the pipeline. There’s a horror comedy in development and a smaller, more personal passion project as well. The goal is to stay busy while still maintaining my creative voice, whic

Story by Emily Tutnick