The Assistant Route: Networking, Mentorship, and Building a Film Career & Community
“I think that community, community, community is what indie film to me is all about."
NYDF founders Kourtney Bell, Nicole Lipp, Vika Stubblebine, Carlyle Tamaren, and Katherine Hughes
In this episode of the No Film School Podcast, GG Hawkins talks with writer, director, producer, assistant, and Not Your Daddy’s Films co-founder Vika Stubblebine about building a sustainable film career through assistant work, mentorship, community, and creative self-advocacy.
Vika traces her path from acting and theater at UCLA to working in TV production at Sony, becoming a writers’ assistant, writing episodes of S.W.A.T., and helping build Not Your Daddy’s Films into a Los Angeles community for women and non-binary filmmakers.
In this episode, we discuss:
- How Vika moved from theater, acting, and playwriting into film and television
- Why assistant jobs can be one of the most valuable ways to learn the entertainment industry
- What Vika learned working in TV production at Sony
- How mentorship from bosses and showrunners helped her move toward writing
- The importance of telling people what you want to do in your career
- How Vika landed opportunities in writers’ rooms and on S.W.A.T.
- Why Not Your Daddy’s Films began as a grassroots screening event
- Building community for women and non-binary filmmakers in Los Angeles
- The role of accessible events, panels, workshops, and screenings in supporting emerging filmmakers
- Why being on set in any capacity can help actors, writers, directors, and producers understand the filmmaking ecosystem
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