Markian Tarasiuk and Sean Harris Oliver are the filmmakers behind Hunting Matthew Nichols, a true-crime-style horror mockumentary that has become a notable self-distribution success story. Made for a budget of $300K Canadian, roughly $215K USD, the movie made all of its money back before it was even released through presales, then did $600K in its opening weekend in theaters, all thanks to the enterprising bootstrapping of the filmmakers, who entirely took charge of the future of their own film.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most important and inspiring conversations I’ve had in recent years, and it is very indicative of the type of stewardship filmmakers need to take over their projects. In this conversation, Markian and Sean discuss the making of Hunting Matthew Nichols, from a COVID-era concept to theatrical distribution, all done without distributors or studios. You might want to take notes on this one, and definitely check out William Earl’s article in Variety (see show notes) on this project, because this is a case study worth studying.

Key Takeaways

Do not wait indefinitely for permission to make the movie.

A major thread in this story is how much time was lost trying to get the “normal” system to say yes. The guys spent years pitching, hoping for financing via a traditional path, only to realize later that they might have been better off making the film sooner on their own terms, which they did. Then, once they got their movie made, the deals distributors offered them were so bad and senseless that they thought, maybe we can do this ourselves, which they did, and they were successful. The lesson for filmmakers: if the system keeps stalling you, fuck the system, do it yourself. Filmmaking is punk rock, baby. Sometimes you gotta do it your own way.

Maintain Beginner’s Mind. A lot of would-be filmmakers are insecure about their lack of experience to the point of paralysis, but this interview clearly shows you that being green can be your greatest asset.

The industry is going through an overhaul and growing pains, and many of the insiders have not caught up with the times and are still doing things in archaic ways. You do not need to follow them. As you get your movie made, you will be faced with so many people who tell you, this is how it’s done, but you can question that, you can doubt that, and ultimately you can reject that.

Self-distribution is possible, but it is a full-time operational job.

This is the counter to the other two lessons. Yes, you can do this all yourself, but it’s going to be a full-time job. Markian and Sean were very clear that the release and marketing involved months of constant work, long daily hours, pressure from deadlines, and a huge amount of problem-solving across both the U.S. and Canada. And now they have to handle distribution themselves, which is even more full-time work. So if you’re gonna go this route — and you can — you’ve gotta be ready to go all the way. It’s grueling, constant work, but at the end of it, you’ll have an incredibly comprehensive education in what it takes to get movies funded, made, and distributed, which is the best film school you can imagine and puts you in the most favorable leadership position for your own production company.

Show Notes

Movies and Shows Mentioned

Shelby Oaks
Undertone
Best in Show
Chris Guest mockumentaries
Strange Harvest
Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3
Good Boy

Books and Resources

William Earl’s Variety Article: ‘Hunting Matthew Nichols’: From Guerrilla Marketing to Directly Pitching Theater Owners, This $275K Indie Turned a Profit Before It Even Was Released https://variety.com/2026/film/features/hunting-matthew-nichols-viral-horror-movie-1236713088/
Team Click, the influencer support company they brought in late in the campaign for boxes and outreach support
Moon7, a key marketing partner on the theatrical rollout
HorrorTok, referenced as an influential horror-centered online community they were interested in reaching

Follow Markian Tarasiuk at:

IMBd: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5950996/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marktaras/
X (Twitter): https://x.com/MarkianTaras
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@markiantarasiuk
Website: https://www.markiantarasiuk.com/

Follow Sean Harris Oliver at:

IMBd: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1725784/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanharrisoliver/
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sean-harris-oliver
Website: https://www.seanharrisoliver.com/