Welcome
The Modern Filmmaker exists for one reason: to create feeling.
Not hype.
Not empty motivation.
Not surface-level advice.
My goal—as a filmmaker, a writer, and a human—is to create work that lands in the body first. Work that lets authentic emotion populate naturally. Viscerally. Honestly. Sometimes uncomfortably.
Everything I release here—essays, reflections, lessons from set, failure, grief, momentum, collapse, and recovery—is built around that same mission:
To make you feel something real.
Because that’s what lasts.
That’s what connects.
That’s what moves people to act.
Hi, I’m Mike Rekola
I’m a director, producer, and writer working across feature films, television, and independent projects.
I believe deeply in this idea:
A rising tide lifts all ships.
My work has been featured across major national outlets, but the thing I’m most committed to is continuing to show up inside the work—especially when it’s uncomfortable, uncertain, or slow.
I also wrote The Modern Filmmaker’s On-Set Filmmaking Dictionary, a practical, no-friction guide to the language of film—from pre-production through post—built to help filmmakers walk onto set with clarity and confidence.
I’m a regular podcast guest, where I talk not just about craft, but about endurance, identity, creative failure, and how to keep going when the outcome is uncertain.
I split my time between Washington, DC, and my family’s fifth-generation farm in Connecticut with my wife Kaitlin, our daughter Emmi, and our two sons Wyatt & River.
What It Means to Produce
To produce……is to orchestrate a crew for a job at a location according to an idea and aesthetic.
This requires logistical planning, budget balancing, organization of people and places, and creative improvisation.
It is to oversee a project and ensure smooth and successful production.
This is what a producer does best.
We are creative and critical thinkers, an independent and collaborative team member, that is organized and a meticulous manager.
In short, a producer makes shit happen.
Success is simple: something made that evokes feeling regardless of medium.
How I Sustain the Work
I’m an independent creator. I don’t have a studio overhead or trust fund backing this work. I earn my living through:
Affiliate links and views
Sales of The Modern Filmmaker’s On-Set Filmmaking Dictionary on Amazon
Producing industrial and commercial work through Goodworks (you can hire us)
Consulting on individual projects
And a micro drive-in movie theater I’m currently building
None of this is separate from the art.
It’s what allows the art to keep happening.
Reach Out
If you have an opportunity, a project, or a problem you’re trying to solve, reach out and shoot me an email.
Advice is always free.
Networking is always free.
The door is open.
