Gems From Producers Unplugged Workshop
Six brilliant minds who are actively redefining what sustainable production looks like.
Carolina Groppa is an Emmy-nominated producer, speaker, and podcast host spotlighting producers and the human side of Hollywood.
We had the absolute best time alongside Callo at the Producers Unplugged workshop this past weekend. Thanks to everyone who showed up on a Saturday to gain insights into building a creative slate for 2026!
Fun. Was. Had.
This workshop brought together six brilliant minds who are actively redefining what sustainable production looks like. Our panelists shared many gems on their creative process, how they are doing things differently, and how they decide who to collaborate with.
Session 1: Building Your Production Company & Slate
Jesse Ozeri - Executive Producer of Brutalist (A24), Artclass Films
Milan Chakraborty - Producer of She Taught Love (Hulu/Disney)
Liliane Bedford - Co-Producer of Heretic (A24)
💎 The 20-Year Relationship Strategy
Jesse spent two decades building non-transactional relationships that finally led to leverage and credibility.
💎 Why Your Team is Incomplete
Milan’s advised that if no one on your team has navigated festivals and distribution, you don’t have a complete team. Understand how those specific relationships dramatically increases your chances of getting selected.
💎 How You Treat People
Liliane talks about being mindful of how you treat folks: “From an intern to now, I remember those people that were awful that I do not want to work with.”
Session 2: Diversifying Revenue & Building for Scale
Jett Steiger - Producer of Atropia & Founder of Ways & Means
Alice Ma - Founder & CEO of Mad Realities, Producer of Shop Cats
Maya Jackson - 1Community, Producer of Nonnas (Netflix)
💎 Brands as Underwriters, Not Product Placement
Jett’s radical honesty: “I would rather brands underwrite entertainment than trick the sons and daughters of billionaires into pretending independent film is a good business. It’s not — it’s gambling.”
💎 VCs Finance Company Infrastructure
Alice proved consumer demand first by being scrappy (she coded their first product herself), achieving 1.1 billion organic views, and then creating profitable shows that break even in year one while retaining IP. She then raised VC money to scale the model.
💎 Impact Without Preaching
Maya notes that “Audiences are really smart — nobody wants to be preached to, so we focus on commercial viability first and extract impact campaigns second.” Their Netflix hit Known Us was a feel good Vince Vaughn comedy with zero overt messaging that enabled a 6-month campaign on aging, Medicare, and caregiving — proving impact works best when audiences aren’t being told what to care about.
Eager to hear your takeaways!
Keep creating, keep hustling. And as always, thanks for doing this life thing with me!
