Episode Details

Adapt or die. What does that actually look like for a working filmmaker?

Chicago documentary filmmaker Armin Korsos has a working filmmaker's answer to the question every documentarian is wrestling with right now. If you're not using AI, you will be losing work to people who do. In this conversation, Armin walks through how he turned 20 hours of pre-production paperwork into 30 minutes, how he uses AI image generation to send 40 pitches in the time it used to take to send 8, and why he believes the only currency that still matters in this industry is original ideas.

In Episode 278, Christian sits down with Armin Korsos, founder of the Chicago production company Caymanite and co-founder of Filmmaker Friday Chicago, a film community event series that grew from 50 people at its first event to over 1,700 unique attendees in its first year.

Born in the Cayman Islands to Hungarian parents, raised in the Chicago suburbs, and trained at Columbia College Chicago, Armin uses commercial production work to fund the documentary and narrative projects he cares about. He has a working filmmaker's take on AI (use it now or lose work to the people who do), a hard-earned theory about original ideas as the only currency that still matters, and a community he built for filmmakers who know the work can be a lonely process.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why Armin says "if you're not using AI, you will be losing work to people who do"
• How a Hungarian-born, Cayman-Islands-raised, Chicago-trained filmmaker built a production company that funds his passion projects
• What the Nvidia CEO said that changed how Armin thinks about original ideas when everyone has access to AI
• Why Armin believes "you must be the creator if you want the IP" when working with AI tools
• How Armin found a local approaching age 90 on Cayman Brac with no phone number, no email, and no address
• How a former Premier of the Cayman Islands recorded the narration for Brac in an airport parking lot
• Why an old-fashioned, boots-on-the-ground approach still beats the algorithm when looking for authentic voices
• How Filmmaker Friday Chicago grew from 50 people to 1,700 unique attendees in its first year
• Whether film school is still worth it in 2026, and what to ask yourself before going
• Why Armin says luck is preparation meeting opportunity, and what that has to do with documentary filmmaking

Chapters

0:00 If you're not using AI, you will lose work

1:45 Why filmmaking can be a lonely process

3:00 From the Cayman Islands to Hungary to Chicago

6:00 Where are the Cayman Islands? Grand Cayman vs Cayman Brac

7:18 Why the ceiling for artists in Hungary is lower than the US

12:19 Is film school worth it in 2026?

18:45 Building a production company that funds your passion projects

23:00 How working filmmakers are using AI in 2026

28:33 What the Nvidia CEO said about original ideas and AI

32:27 Why you must be the creator if you want the IP

34:03 Brac: a 15-minute conservation documentary on a Caribbean island

40:00 How to find a documentary subject with no phone, no email, no address

44:00 Recording the narration with the former Premier in an airport parking lot

46:30 Filmmaker Friday Chicago: from 50 to 1,700 attendees in one year

Frequently Asked Questions

How are working filmmakers act