Building Careers as Independent Filmmakers with Alexandra Boylan

Tired of waiting for her dream acting roles, Alexandra decided to create them for herself. Now an independent producer of multiple successful, profitable films, she shares her knowledge with aspiring Christian filmmakers in her book Creating Your Own Career in Hollywood, in her VIP Producers Mentorship Program, and in the following interview!

Alexandra Boylan opens up about her amazing journey to Hollywood and back again, and her passion for creating female-driven, faith and family films. From overcoming personal struggles to redefining what it means to be a successful independent filmmaker, Boylan's story provides valuable insights and motivation for aspiring creators in the film industry.

“Wait a minute, why am I waiting for someone to choose me? Why don't I pick myself and make a movie and put myself in the starring role?
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JACLYN WHITT: Alexandra Boylan is a dynamic, award winning Christian filmmaker, writer, producer, and actress who has been trailblazing through Hollywood for nearly two decades. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Boylan is known for her fearless pursuit of meaningful content. In addition to her numerous acting credits, Alexandra co-created the Boylan Sisters Production Company, a successful film studio that focuses on faith-based, family-friendly content. Their first feature- length film, Catching Faith, streamed on Netflix for two years and has spawned a sequel, as well as paved the way for other critically acclaimed movies such as The Greatest Inheritance and Switched. Their latest venture, Identity Crisis, also serves as a basis for a young adult novel which she co-authored with her sister and business partner, Andrea. Alexandra has previously published the widely regarded how-to guide entitled, Create Your Own Career in Hollywood: Advice From A Struggling Actress Who Became A Successful Producer, and is an active member of Influence Women and Women in Film Los Angeles.

Journey to Hollywood

So, we've just met. Tell me your backstory. I've seen some of your movies; how did you get to where you're at? 


ALEXANDRA BOYLAN: I grew up in Massachusetts. I am a minister's kid, and from a very young age I loved the entertainment industry. I loved movies, and at 19 years old I packed up my Toyota Corolla and moved to California all by myself to pursue acting. I had a big dream to become a movie star, like so many people do. I had such a tough time in LA– I didn't know anybody. I became homeless after a year– lived in my car for a month, and I just kept praying. I was like, God, I thought this is what you wanted for my life. After 10 years in LA, pounding the pavement “pursuing acting,” but really just waiting tables– I actually packed up my Toyota Corolla again and moved to Albuquerque, NM in 2009. The film industry was booming– but I really went out there to re-surrender my life to the Lord. I was like, Okay, whatever I'm doing for my life is not working. So what do you want me to do, God? Maybe I was wrong. I wasn't supposed to be an actress.

Transition to Independent Filmmaking 


When I moved out to New Mexico, I met all these incredible independent filmmakers and then I was like, Wait a minute, why am I waiting for someone to choose me? Why don't I pick myself and make a movie and put myself in the starring role?
So a group of us got together in New Mexico. Literally, I paid out of pocket for my first feature film. About five of us shot a thriller called Home Sweet Home about a girl returning to her childhood abandoned house; and there's squatters living in it, and they don't want to leave. We really made it to show our parents or to prove that we could make a feature– so I could give myself the lead. 


Success with Home Sweet Home

I ended up moving back to Los Angeles after filming that movie. I got a sales agent, we sold that movie at American Film Market to RLJ Releasing, and we got a major distribution deal. I was like, Ooh, I like this making my own stuff! Because I have such a strong work ethic, and I realized that as an actor you cannot work hard enough for someone to pick you; but I could put all of my creativity and my go-getterness into a movie, and I can see it through to the end. 

Making our first feature film was such a learning process because you don't know what you don't know until you've done it, and I'm so glad we did it. I learned, and we taught ourselves how to do it. Then we sold the movie. I actually had written another horror movie, and I brought it to my sales agent and said, “Hey, do you want to package this with the other film, or should we do another horror?” 
And he said to me, “Absolutely not! Don't do another horror movie.”

Shift to Faith-Based Family Films

This was back in 2011. He said “The market will be oversaturated next year with horror. You should move into faith and family films.” And I was like, Whoa! I felt like God struck the table and was like, This is what I want you to do! 
And I said, “Okay,” and he said, “If you could do the quality of your thriller in the faith space, you will stand out. I'll get the money if you make the movie. The only requirement is football.” So I walked away from that meeting. I always, I say yes– always say yes. I called my sister who lives in Wisconsin. I said, “Do you want to help me with this faith based film? Our only requirement is football.” We looked at the landscape of the faith-based space back in 2011. We did not see any women in starring roles following a female-led story. So we went back to our sales agent who was our executive producer, and we said, “Yes, we'll do this, but we wanted to star a woman.” And he said, “Oh, you can't do that! There's no numbers in the marketplace to back a female-driven, faith-based film.” And I said, “Yeah, but that's because nobody's doing it. So maybe if we do it, we can prove there's a huge audience. The women are the buyers of these.” So he said, “Okay, I trust you.”

The Making of Catching Faith

So we wrote a film called Catching Faith. I ended up putting everything I owned in storage, got rid of my apartment in Los Angeles, lived on the road for one year to make that movie a reality; because we only had a $75,000.00 all-in budget. We all went out, and we actually shot it in Chippewa Falls, WI– my sister's hometown. The whole town rallied around this movie, and we filmed it. We finished it. We were able to sell it to the same distribution company that bought Home Sweet Home, to RLJ Releasing, for triple the budget. It went on to be in their top-five most consistent selling movies, and it spawned a sequel. So we were like, I think we're onto something, making movies for women.

The Business Side of Filmmaking  


JACLYN: So, you said you paid for your first movie out of pocket. Are you comfortable saying how much your budget was for your first movie?  


ALEXANDRA: All-in, by the end of the process, I had put $10,000.00 into it.

JACLYN: And you were able to sell that and make that back. 

ALEXANDRA: And we sold it for double. 

JACLYN: How long was it? How many minutes?  


ALEXANDRA: It's a full feature film. 


JACLYN: Wow! Congratulations! 


GEOFF WHITT: What was that movie called?  


ALEXANDRA: That's called Home Sweet Home. It's available on Tubi, Amazon, and Apple TV. It was on the shelves of Walmart, and what's really cool is I'm the star of it. So when we got distribution, I was like, I finally have an acting role!

GEOFF: Which was your goal to begin with– 


ALEXANDRA: Exactly. So then I just really fell in love with creating movies. And it's really funny– it's true that when I gave my life to God, He gave me my life back tenfold with the ability to write and produce. I didn't even know I had all these skills until I started trying it, and I loved it so much that now I'm really more focused on the writing and producing than I am acting. I mean I was in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and I've done things here and there. But really, I focus on creating content, and I care so much about the audience. I really care about creating female driven content and content for teen girls. Every time my sister and I create a project, we're looking at the landscape of the culture and how we can speak into culture. 

It takes a long time to make a movie, as you guys know, and we raise all the private investment ourselves. So my executive producer who did Catching Faith 1 and Wish for Christmas for us said, “You know what? I'm really busy with my sales company, and I don't have time to raise the money.” So then we realized, Oh, okay, so we write the movie. We're going to have to produce the movie, and first we have to raise the money for the movie and then get distribution. We've really ended up just continuing to teach ourselves how to make our own films– how to have control over our career.  


Even when we've taken our scripts to studios, we've been passed on. I'm sure it was a blessing because a lot of our films, we took them from conception to completion without anybody coming in and changing the story or telling us who gets cast– all the things. We got to have complete control over our projects.  

And like my teen girl movie Switched– that was very successful. It's won a lot of awards– about two girls in high school that switch bodies; all about love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. We took that out to studios, and they all made offers on it. But the number-one requirement was that I had to make it raunchy, and I had to have the girls do inappropriate things. 


So I walked away from one deal was 2.5 million– and I walked away and said “I will not speak to young girls in that way.” My whole thing is empowering young women. We ended up raising private investment, made that movie exactly how we wanted to, and put a message into the world that is so important.  


After Catching Faith, we made Wish for Christmas. We went to our hometown in Massachusetts. I used my father's church and my high school. We go into small towns and have them rally around us because it's the only way that we've been able to do our films on such low budgets. I always say you don't need a lot of people; you just need the right people. We have the right people behind the camera, and I have the most incredible poster company– which, your posters are one of the most important parts of your film because that's how you're going to sell it. Then from there we did Catching Faith 2; and then we shot Switched; and then we did The Greatest Inheritance; and then we just did Identity Crisis. All of our films have recouped their money to their investors.

JACLYN: Yay. I'm so excited for you.
Wow!

ALEXANDRA: Thank you. That's where we've been able to roll them over. A lot of our investors have come back and, definitely for our films, a lot of people are investing because they care about the message of our movies. We are one of the rare studios making very clean, inspirational movies for teen girls without anything that a mother has to worry about.

Exploring Self-Distribution as Independent Filmmakers

Then, in between all those movies in 2015, a couple of us decided to go back to our roots of completely guerrilla-style, independent filmmaking because we wanted to test-out self distribution. So we made a movie called At Your Own Risk. It's on Tubi. It's on Amazon. We made it for a $1,000 production budget. 


We went to the New Mexico desert, shot a feature– four of us. We had our director and the cinematographer. The director held the boom, and my friend and I star in it. And we did that movie, actually all in budget was $5,000, and we were able to get an aggregator. That aggregator put us on Tubi, Amazon– all over the place. And we actually own 100 percent of the profit of that movie, so we see money. And we were just kind of testing-out self distribution. So I've done eight features now, in all very different levels of budgets, and crew, and cast, and–

JACLYN: Okay. I've got some questions now. I know a lot of people would rather start with a short instead of a feature. Do you have anything to say on that? 


ALEXANDRA: Yes, absolutely. I think we did a lot of shorts, and web series, and things back in 2010 with the team that I made Home Sweet Home with; so we definitely were practicing. I want to move into directing, so last year I directed a short film that I wrote. Got some friends together, shot it in my house, just kind of was like, I want to learn how. I mean, I sat behind the camera monitor on all my films, but I've never actually directed. 


I think shorts are a great way to start, but I would look at a short film as a learning process, not as I'm going to sell this and it's going to make money. You know, I think it's really just so you can hone your skill and work with a team and find out if you guys all like each other. Because for us, our Home Sweet Home team, it was really that we all got along and worked really well together. And we have worked with the same– I have worked with some of the same teammates since 2010 on Home Sweet Home that I'm still working with now on my films– eight films later. So shorts are great to hone your skill and to see if you can take something from conception to completion. I wouldn't stay there too long if you feel ready because shorts cost a lot of money, too. Sometimes you can just make a feature for the same amount of money, and then you have a chance to sell it or get an aggregator and get it out there to have a feature.

The Importance of Relationships in the Industry  


GEOFF: In talking about working with the same people, as you mentioned a moment ago, it just reminds me in so many parts of this industry that it really is about relationships. And when you've got those relationships that work– you don't mess with that. For those beginning, it's an important thing to know. It's about relationships, and not necessarily being discovered. It's about getting to know people.  


ALEXANDRA: That's such a good point because the industry is all about who you know, but it's how you know them. It's building a relationship and not just asking people for things. I try to give back as much as I ask and everyone who's worked with me. Even when we had nothing, like Home Sweet Home, we had very little money for post-production; but every person who worked with me, I hired them for the next one. And every time our budgets have gotten bigger, I've been able to hire those people. So, I say take care of people, because that's really important. If somebody came and helped you out when you didn't have anything, if you enjoyed working with them– bring them back, and then pay them. 


We've had the same sound designer, the same composer, the same editor. I've worked with the same poster company since my very first film, and the sales agent– I've worked with Ryan Keller, my sales agent, on– even though he doesn't raise the money anymore– he still stayed on as our executive producer. When I'd raise the money; he handled all the money, and then he would take our movie out and sell it. So a lot of these people I met when they were starting their career, and then they were building their career up. I was able to go with them because my sales agent was just starting, and now he's very successful at Vertical Entertainment.

The Role of Marketing and Distribution in Independent Filmmaking 


JACLYN: Since you've gotten into this self distribution you tested that out– did it become something where you were thinking, You know what, I like this. I'm going to do it. Or did it show you, You know, I'm not into the self distribution, like where are you at with that? 

ALEXANDRA: I go back and forth because I do think when you sell your movie to a major distribution company– like we worked with RLJ Releasing, Vertical Entertainment, Pure Flix, Universal– if you don't get the deal for marketing, you still have to do all your own marketing. And so when you self distribute– at least if you're doing all the marketing– you know the money's coming back to you. 


Whereas, if you go with Vertical or a distribution company that doesn't pay up front for your movies– they're just taking your film and putting it out there for you, and then we have to do all the marketing. Then the money is getting funnelled back to the distribution company. 


But there are definitely things that they can do that I can't do, such as homepage display on major platforms. So, Identity Crisis, we decided to work with Vertical Entertainment again. Our new teen girl movie that we wrote a novel for, available on Amazon, they were able to get us an Amazon homepage– on Vudu and Apple TV. That's something I couldn't do, and getting homepage-advantage is huge because that's how people are going to find you.  


So I go kind of back and forth. I think it depends on your budget, depends on your investors, it depends on your executive producers. You all have to be on the same board of how you're going to distribute your movie, and everybody has to be comfortable with knowing that. You know, if you have a million dollar budget, they want to know that there's an opportunity to recoup that. And sometimes going with a major distribution company means you're going to have a better chance to get on those platforms and then a better chance for homepage-advantage. You know– Identity Crisis– my executive producer did not feel comfortable doing self-distribution. He was like, “I feel more comfortable going with a distribution company that has the relationships with platforms.” And I respect that. It makes sense. It's a big risk to do it on your own too. 


GEOFF: The way I understand it is, if independent filmmakers are going to be working with a distribution company or desire to work with the distribution company, you have to have that relationship and maybe even the arrangement made before you make the movie because sometimes there are various requirements they have. Whether it's budget, A-list actor, B-list actor; a number of things that are gonna either make it or break it with regard to them taking you. And if the movie's already made; they then have no say, and you may not get that distribution where you want it. 


ALEXANDRA: Yeah, but it's really hard. That would be like an actual deal ahead of time. I have never been able to secure a distribution deal before with the script. The only one I was, was Catching Faith 2 because RLJ requested the movie, but they actually would not upfront the cost. All they would do was do a buyback deal. So they signed a contract saying once we make the movie they will buy it from us. 


We still had to go out and raise private investment, and then the distribution company bought it when it was completely finished. Their only requirement was they wanted Bill Engvall to come back. That was all they said, “We don't want it without Bill,” because, originally, Bill wasn't going to be in the sequel. And then the distribution company said, “If he doesn't do it, we're not buying it.” So we were like, Okay, forget it. We're going to go get Bill Engvall.

Empowering Young Girls through Film  


JACLYN: So you have gotten into making films specifically for female young adults. What is it that makes you drawn to that?  


ALEXANDRA: Well, I just feel like the more and more I look at the landscape of what entertainment is telling young girls, it's really bothering me. So instead of complaining about it, I'm doing something about it. I am creating an alternative to some of the messaging that we are telling young girls; they're only worthy if a boy likes them, or similar messages. Also, the other thing is, when we looked and saw that there were no female-led, faith-based films we started doing that. 


Then we saw that there wasn't a lot of YA content in the faith space that was like Mean Girls meets Freaky Friday for Christian girls– and they don't want to miss out. They want to get to see the hip and fun things. So that was our goal; to make a Disney-like movie that spoke into a Christian worldview.


Switched went on to do so well and sell all over the world. We get messages from mothers now just trusting our brand, being like, “I know if I turn on your movie, I don't have to worry that it's gonna throw in something inappropriate.” It's so important to me that we change the narrative for young girls and that we speak life into them. I see Euphoria and some of these shows, and I'm just like, Why would we tell young girls to behave this way? So we're focusing on giving them life-giving truths. Also, in the entertainment industry and films, we really pin girls up against each other so much. I've seen that my whole career, and so our films are bringing women together and showing relationships between young girls. Switched is all about the relationships with their friends, and boys are not even really part of that movie. It's really about friendships, and if we feel like if we can speak into that to the girls at a young age, then as they grow up, we'll be changing the culture of how women treat each other.  

And, like, Identity Crisis; which follows a shy science whiz in college who struggles with imposter syndrome and confidence, and she figures out how to clone herself and send her clone off to do all the things she's afraid of– only to discover that God already created her the perfect version of herself. And there are so many beautiful messages in this movie and book about You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are precious. And I just feel like we can't make enough of these to combat some of the other negative messaging young girls are getting.

The Power of Films in Affecting Culture


JACLYN: Thank you for doing that. I was one of those young girls that fell into the messages from the culture, and it totally threw me off-course in life. And, you know, it was only in my mid twenties when I was able to rededicate my life to God; then started to get back on track, and then realizing I had been believing the lies of the culture. And so I really appreciate the movies that you're making. I would have loved to have had them when I was a teenager or young adult. And I have been recommending them. You know, actually, I'm part of a homeschool group on Facebook and every now and then they'll ask for recommendations for movies. So I shared your website, and I told them, “Just keep following this production company. They are making movies that are exactly what you want to show your kids.”

ALEXANDRA: Thank you! We need so many more. And the other thing is, all of our movies come with companion materials. We publish Bible studies for youth groups. “TheBoylanSisters.com” is our website, and all of our resources are available to them. Some are free, some are paid for because we want to equip families to be able to have conversations. 


It isn't just about the movie. You can watch the movie, but then you can do studies and say, “What does it look like?” Each of our films has a message. Catching Faith is about integrity– telling the truth when no one's looking. Elijah Project's study is all about that, and so, to us, it's really important to not just have a film; but have resources for families to connect with their kids. 


And again, just the hipness; our movies have cool costumes. We want the girls to go and want to share it at a slumber party. And I think the other really cool thing is that we've been able to hit the mainstream audience with what we're doing. Amy Grant is my hero. As a young girl, she was my Madonna because she was so hip and cool. I was like, Thank goodness I have Amy Grant, because otherwise my parents wouldn't let me watch or see or listen to anything. And that's what I feel like today. I'm like, That's what I'm going to do with the entertainment. What Amy Grant did for music for Christians is what I want to do for entertainment for christian girls. So... thank you. 

Book Overview: Creating Your Own Career in Hollywood

GEOFF: And I know a lot of what you already talked about touches on the book that you mentioned earlier that you've written for independent filmmakers, Create Your Own Career in Hollywood. Why don't you tell us a little bit about that?  

ALEXANDRA: Yeah, so it's available on Amazon, and you know, I literally created my career from scratch. Didn't know anything, kind of taught myself, found amazing people. And then as my films started coming out and we were succeeding, I'd get so many messages of people asking, “Can I take you to coffee? Can I pick your brain?” 


And in the beginning, I actually did go to coffee with a lot of people and it just– it just got so overwhelming. So I was like, Maybe I could just put all this information into a book. And the other cool thing about the book is that I was writing for a site called Ms. In The Biz. It's an online platform that inspires and encourages women to get behind the camera and tell stories. 


I had written for that site for six years, and a lot of times my articles were while I was literally in the trenches making a movie. So I pulled a lot of my articles and also wrote some other stuff to kind of help equip people. This is my love letter back to young people who are like, How do I even start to make a movie? 


And instead of going to coffee with everybody, I'm like, “Go buy my book, read it, and then write me an email. And I'm happy to answer a question.” But I think the other thing is sometimes people want to pick my brain, but they don't know the questions they need to ask yet. They don't know yet because they haven't done it. 


So then I'm like, “Instead of us wasting any time, read the book. Then you can ask me questions.” So that's where the book came from, and I really do love inspiring filmmakers to take their career into their own hands because waiting around for people to pick you– it's just never gonna– no one owes us anything. So it's our responsibility to go after what we want to do. I just hate hearing people complain all the time. “I can't get this, I can't get that”. I'm like, “Then do it yourself. If they won't let you sit at the table, build your own table!”  


GEOFF: Well, so much– so much of life is like that. It's the same with musicians. It's the same with so many careers. You can wait to be discovered, which generally doesn't happen, or you go and make it happen. 


ALEXANDRA: You make it happen. I mean, still after eight feature films, I'm still hustling. The hustle never ends. It's not like my phone's blowing up. I'm still out there hustling and proving that there's an audience for the work I'm doing. It's a challenge, but I love it. Whatever project you're either writing or gonna produce, I always say you have to love it yourself because that'll bring you through all the hard days. Then you're gonna be with that movie for the rest of your life. I'm still promoting Catching Faith. I'm still promoting Wish for Christmas. So you have to love what you do, and you have to really care about it. I think phoning it in just isn't going to work. It's too challenging of an industry. You’ve got to be passionate about what you're doing.  


JACLYN: Yes, this is not a get rich quick industry. 

ALEXANDRA: No! Not at all. Not at all.  


Final Thoughts and Advice for Aspiring Filmmakers

JACLYN: Is there anything else– any last words you would like to share with our audience before we wrap up? Let our audience know where they can find you. 


Alexandra: “TheBoylansisters.com” is all of our faith based family films. I'm on Instagram and Facebook, “Alexandra Boylan,” and you can write to me and I'll write you back. All of our movies are available on Amazon. Tubi has At Your Own Risk and Home Sweet Home, and that's good because that's a free platform. 


And then, I guess my last bit of advice is to "Just do it". People say, “What would you tell yourself now?” I wish I had started making my own movies when I first moved to LA. I wish that if I could, I would have started in my 20s. I started in my 30s, and I've done really well in the past 10 years. But I say start right now. 


And you don't need a lot of people. You don't even need a lot of equipment. You need a camera and a boom, and someone who really knows how to work with lighting. We had no lights for Home Sweet Home. In fact, because we had no lights, we made the whole movie in the daytime. And it's a horror thriller, and we just didn't have the money for lights. The distribution company was like, “This is so unique. You made a movie that's a horror movie in the daytime. It works.” So it's like anytime you think you're having something that isn't going to work, use it to your advantage. You know, go to the New Mexico desert. You don't need a light there. The light is beautiful. If you watch our movie, Home Sweet Home, we have no lights. That is all natural. Naturally lit by the desert. You use what you have, and you make it work, and you just keep going. Be a finisher, and find people who are finishers. 


Everyone can start something, but not everybody can finish something. If I say I'm going to do something, I finish it. And I have surrounded myself with other finishers, especially post production. Because a lot of people will bail out at post. And so you really need to find incredible people that will see the movie all the way through the end.  


GEOFF: That's really good advice.  


JACLYN: Well, thank you so much for this interview and sharing your wisdom. And I am looking forward to getting that book. You're actually putting the bug in me right now. I always just wanted to be a writer. I had no interest in producing, but I'm starting to realize maybe producing would allow me to do more with what I'm writing, you know, to give me more of the freedom and the independence and, and to actually have the vision the way I see it, to bring that to life. So you're getting me thinking.  


Alexandra: And then when you're producing you get to crew up the movie. So you get to work with the people you want to work with, and you get to cast the movie. So you get to be sitting in there with the director, or if you direct it– choosing who you want to play the part. That's the other thing about being an independent filmmaker– you really do have to understand the entire process of making a movie, but that's why you start and you learn.  


It's so rewarding. It's like you've made a baby and then you send that baby out in the world and you're like, “I did it!” And don't go look at the reviews. Everyone loves to hate. You've got to put it out. Know that it's found the audience that it's for, but that'll stop people too. They'll get a couple of bad reviews and then they're like, “Oh, I don't want to do it again.” I'm like, Nope, just keep going. Keep going. And you'll build the audience and the people who love what you're doing. 


JACLYN: Thank you so much.  


Alexandra: Thanks for having me.

Alexandra Boylan's inspiring journey illustrates the power of persistence and the importance of creating content that challenges and uplifts cultural norms. Her faith and family films continue to provide an essential voice within the film industry, inspiring audiences and aspiring Christian filmmakers alike. For those looking to create meaningful and impactful films, Boylan’s story reminds us to start where we are, use what we have, and always strive to finish what we begin.

Alexandra has teamed up with Jaclyn Whitt of the Faith and Family Filmmakers Association to create a film mentorship program for aspiring Christian filmmakers. The online VIP Producers Mentorship Program has on-demand course modules, one-on-one mentorship calls, and a supportive community of aspiring film producers working towards a career in Christian filmmaking. It also includes a 12 month FAFF Association Pro Membership.

This interview was originally published as an audio interview on February 19, 2024

on the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast, produced by Geoffrey Whitt and Jaclyn Whitt

Editor: Chelsea Reeves © Faith and Family Filmmakers Association