Fiona Walsh Heinz
Line Producing vs production managing: The same, but different
Fiona Walsh Heinz redefines multitasking. Prior to our interview starting, she juggled making snacks and getting her 21-month-old daughter ready for an outing with dad so we could record WHILE growing another human inside her.
NO. BIG. DEAL.
It was inspiring to witness a producer, a mom, a pregnant woman…in her power.
Originally from the Bay Area, Fiona has 14 years of experience in feature films, documentaries, and episodic television.
She recently co–produced Chinonye Chukwu’s Clemency, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2019, Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, which premiered at Sundance 2020, and Miguel Arteta’s Beatriz at Dinner, which premiered at Sundance 2017.
She is currently in production on the Netflix feature Night Teeth.
A fellow Scorpio, we’ve had similar paths as physical producers, earning our stripes in the trenches of indie filmmaking. She’s raw, she’s real, she drops many F bombs. She’s a gal after my own heart.
Fiona gets into the nitty-gritty of creative vs. physical producing. She opens up about setting out to be a capital P producer and then finding herself stuck in the physical producer track.
She gives an extremely thorough explanation of how a line producer differs from the UPM role; two jobs that are often done by the same person.
Fiona also dishes on balancing motherhood with production and the advice she wishes she had been given when she started out.
Tune in!
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“You just want to be of value. Why wouldn't I lead with [what] I'm most good at? I can basically make any movie, anywhere, for any money… that is a skill that a number of producers who came up the other side don't have.”
-Fiona Walsh Heinz
Episode Transcript
