Film Fights With Friends
Film Fights With Friends
Film Fights with Friends is the premiere action filmmaking podcast and film festival. Join filmmaker stuntmen Paul Varacchi and Stephen Koepfer on a show that was nominated for Best TV/Film Podcast at the 2025 Podcast Awards and won the Dramatic Action Awards for the past 2 years running! In 2015 Paul and Steve founded Breakfall Studios, New York’s top action design studio. Get a view behind the camera as they sit with industry guests, break down cinematic fight scenes and action sequences, explore the filmmaking craft, and share their own filmmaking journeys. STEPHEN KOEPFER Stunt performer, filmmaker, renowned coach and martial artist. Stephen has stunt doubled for the likes of Jonanthan Banks, Eddie Marsan, Henry Winkler and Tom Hollander as well as performed stunts on productions including Ray Donovan, Caught Stealing, The Beast in Me and John Wick 2 & 3. As a filmmaker, he has produced and directed several narrative films and documentaries that reflect his passion for storytelling. PAUL VARACCHI Martial artist, stunt & motion capture performer, and celebrity chef. Paul has appeared in such shows as Daredevil, The Punisher, Walking Dead: Dead City and World Beyond, The Night Agent and Gotham. Behind the camera, Paul has many years of production involvement in roles ranging from PA to department head including extensive Health and Safety experience at Marvel and Disney. At the age of 8, Paul’s dad took him to see Robocop and the rest is history! ® Film Fights With Friends, LLC
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July 18, 2025

206: Dying to Work in the Film Industry

206: Dying to Work in the Film Industry
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Season 2

Joining Film Fights with Friends is Dr. Paul Heinzelmann, a physician, former clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School and Producer/Director of Safe Sets: Dying to Work in the Film Industry - a feature length exploration of systemic issues impacting the health and wellbeing of film workers. This critically important documentary weaves together candid interviews with technicians, union representatives, public health experts, and notable performers (Jon Hamm and John Malkovich) with the story of Dr. Paul's effort to conduct research into health and safety in the film industry. The cumulative impacts of sleep deprivation, toxic exposure, stress, long hours, accidents and other issues explored in Safe Sets are not only detrimental and unhealthy, but potentially deadly for film workers. Stunts-gone-wrong and other accidents happen all the time on film sets. Not just the ones that make the news – workers die with such regularity that the life expectancy of film workers is estimated by some to be many years shorter than the national average. Film workers frequently succumb to untreated injuries, illnesses, substance use dependencies and mental health issues because they lack the time and resources to schedule medical appointments or to simply rest and heal.

Safe Sets IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28515733/reference/

Safe Sets Website: https://www.safesetsmovie.org

MENTIONS:

TAMMFF Film

Freeway: https://filmfreeway.com/TAMMFF

FILM FIGHTS WITH FRIENDS

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Steve’s Instagram: Instagram.com/sambosteve

Steve’s IMDB: http://imdb.me/stephenkoepfer


Paul’s on Instagram: http://Instagram.com/KravMagaChef

Paul’s IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8062990/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1


Breakfall Studios’ Instagram: http://Instagram.com/breakfallstunts


OUR SPONSORS

PRODUCERS

Executive Producers:

Stephen Koepfer

Paul Varacchi


Produced by:

Press Record Studios

- Matthew Kaplowitz

- Richard Butler

- Andrea Levine

http://www.pressrecordstudios.com


Video Editor

Matthew Kaplowitz


Original music by:

Ahrue Luster


Brought to you by Breakfall Studios

®Film Fights With Friends LLC