Sarah Shachat
Craft Editor
Sarah Shachat is a writer from New Orleans, now living in New York City. She is the Craft Editor at IndieWire, where she looks at the artistic choices behind building great television series and films. She also helps produce and host the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, along with other special projects focused on filmmaking.
Latest by Sarah Shachat
Filmmaker Toolkit
Filmmaker John Wilson tells IndieWire about helping to run the Low Cinema in Queens while also working on his new film “The History of Concrete."
After Dark
After a former Anthropic researcher warned that humanity's extinction could be as close as 2030, John Badham’s cyber thriller offers a frighteningly clear answer to the question: "OK, how?"
Best Foot Forward
Director Lena Khan; choreographers Phillip Chbeeb, Makenzie Dustman, and Joya Kazi; and DP Adam Carboni tell IndieWire about dances that contain every facet of the characters — just like a diamond stolen by the British.
Filmmaker Toolkit
Documentarian John Wilson also tells IndieWire about how documentaries need to avoid looking like AI while telling human stories.
Awards
"Beef" Season 2 was clearly sacrificed to the eldritch power that haunts "Widow's Bay."
Olympian Effort
Director Mary Mazzio tells IndieWire about putting the story of the first all-women's team at the America's Cup before the world's harshest critics.
Big Cowboy Boots To Fill
Costume designer Cynthia Ann Summers tells IndieWire about taking inspiration from Tippi Hedren and Anthony Bourdain for HBO's latest superpowered mystery series.
How I Shot That
Cinematographers with features playing at the 2026 Venice Film Festival tell IndieWire how they created the many visual languages of their films.
Festivals
The third annual edition of the festival will run from October 9 through October 18 across Lower Manhattan.
A Real Page Turner
Directors Jack Auen and Kevin Walker tell IndieWire about using every page and graphic to spin a conspiracy thriller from the archival evidence of a time-travel hoax.
Posting Through It
An initial version of a post-production-specific tax credit for California would bring the state into step with other hubs for post around the U.S. and the world.
Ready. Set. Go.
Production designer Anna Kathleen tells IndieWire about building more than one world for a giant orange unicorn to rampage through.
