Does Your Film Budget Make Sense?

Some people hate looking at spreadsheets, but filmmakers need to understand what does and doesn’t make sense when putting a budget together. Come and learn the basics of how to save money, where to look for tax breaks, and how to stretch your dollars.

Taylor Nodrick is a Producer, Writer, and Director who entered the industry working in the Art Department of indie films in Alberta. Their tenure in the Art Department peaked in 2023 after serving as Production Designer on the feature films Department of Paranormal Affairs for Dept 9 Studios and Rob Grant’s This Too Shall Pass, for which they received an AMPIA nomination.

They have also directed and produced several independent horror shorts, including the AMPIA-nominated Herring of a Crimson Scale (2021), the Etheria Underground official selection Cinephile Complex (directed by Avalon Fast) in 2023, and the Fantasia, Brooklyn Horror Festival and Fantaspoa official selection Cease to Exist in 2024.

Having completed the CMPA’s Production Mentorship Program with Michael Peterson of Peterson Polaris Corp in 2022, they produced their first feature film, Shadow of God, in the fall of 2023, which world premiered at Fantaspoa 2025 and sold to Shudder. Their subsequent feature as a producer, Kurtis David Harder's Influencers, premiered at Fantasia 2025, closed Fright Fest 2025, won the gold audience award at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival and currently holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Most recently, their third feature, Avalon Fast’s CAMP, was supported by Telefilm during post-production before premiering at Fantastic Fest, where it won best feature in the Next Wave Competition before continuing on to play at Sitges, SXSW Sydney and Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, where it won best screenplay and best cinematography.

This event is sponsored by the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers. CSIF was founded in 1978 by a collective of twelve filmmakers who saw the growing need for film resources and film equipment on the traditional Treaty 7 territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Iyarhe Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3), also known as Calgary, Alberta. Now over 40 years later we are an integral part of the growing cultural community in Calgary and are excited about new collaborations and opportunities.